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Meeting A Messenger On A Mission!

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Blogger’s Note: In the very near future, I will be doing an in-depth blog on hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide exposures to firefighters. This blog centers around my meeting with one of the fire industry’s pre-eminent authorities on hazardous materials and especially the “Toxic Twins”.

I can’t remember ever posting a blog that included pictures, but I had the privilege of interviewing two stars at Fire Rescue International in Chicago last week. One interview was on the floor of the convention center and the other was done in the friendly confines of the FirefighterNetcast booth.

On the left side of the first picture, you have me. As you can see, I tried to dress to resemble my profile picture in my blog spots so that I would be readily recognizable. While I was at the FireRescue1 booth getting my free T-shirt, they had their website up on a big screen and wouldn’t you know it; they had the bloggers page up and on MY blog. In that picture of me, I am wearing a white shirt and tie. People in line were looking at the screen and looking at me. They did it a couple of times and then I took my hat off to screams of “that IS you”. True story. I still giggle when I think about it.

On the right side of the picture is Steven Pasquale, who has done Broadway, movies, released a jazz CD and also played Firefighter Sean Garrity for the entire run of the Denis Leary hit TV series “Rescue Me”. Steven’s star power was being lent to Meridian Medical’s rollout of the new Cyanokits®. I was thrilled when I was asked to interview him and his co-star, whom I will mention momentarily, but I was only allotted 15 minutes, so my questions had to be short and focused. But his handlers had never dealt with ChiefReason before, so I was able to get about 25 minutes with both of my guests.

And besides; I had my crew with me-John Mitchell and Rhett Fleitz, my producers and Willie Wines was our photographer. We had the manpower edge and used it to my advantage.

The gentleman in the middle of the photo is Rob Schnepp, simply an amazing man. Steven Pasquale is fascinating, but Rob is amazing. Knowing that I could not tap the surface of this man’s expertise in a 15 – 20 minute sound bite, I had Rob scheduled for an interview in the podcast booth.

None of this would have been possible without a lot of help and coordination from Shawn Longerich, Executive Director of Cyanide Poisoning Treatment Coalition. Thank you, thank you, Shawn.

That said; let’s get back to it.

Rob has a passion. It is hazardous materials. Within that, he has a passion for the hazardous effects of smoke on civilians and firefighters. You literally turn on the EveryReady Bunny® when you ask him to talk about the effects of cyanide and carbon monoxide poisoning on firefighters. He is not Barney Fife with one bullet in his pocket; not even close! His resume’, his accomplishments and his published material is far and wide on topics of hazardous materials.

It makes perfect sense that Rob would be involved with the only FDA-approved cyanide antidote kit that is available in this country. We talked about the importance of quickly recognizing the symptoms of cyanide exposure, introducing the victims to the antidote and getting them to a hospital. Our time together flew by.

Don’t get me wrong; Steven Pasquale is a multi-talented entertainer and at 33 years old, he has accomplished more than many entertainers almost twice his age. I would compare him to Clint Eastwood, but Eastwood hasn’t done Broadway…yet! But then, Steven informed me that he doesn’t write, so they equal out and the comparison holds merit.

And Steven Pasquale’s appearance at Fire Rescue International on behalf of Meridian Medical makes sense. Steven clearly understood the importance of delivering cyanide antidote as quickly as possible, so his advocacy on behalf of firefighters is appreciated.

But, the “go to” guy for the Cyanokits® is Rob Schnepp. How they work, when to introduce them and the importance of pre-hospital care for symptoms of cyanide exposure are topics that are easily discussed with Rob.

We completed our work at Meridian’s booth, my production team left to return to the FirefighterNetcast booth and I hung around to get feedback. I found myself eyeball to eyeball with…Steven Pasquale. Honest to God; we stood there and talked for about 45 minutes on a wide range of topics and I might share those thoughts in a blog down the road.

Rob and Shawn showed up for the podcast at mid-morning. Rob would present on the topic of smoke to an afternoon audience.

The podcast went very well, but I feel that we merely scratched the surface of this man’s deep reservoir of knowledge, which is why I have every intention of having him on my show again in the near future. In the picture, Rob is again in the middle and FFNetcast producer John Mitchell is on the right.

Rob, keep spreading the word on the Toxic Twins, brother.

Even if that is one leader/one safety officer at a time.

The message is much too important to wait for some to come to their good senses.

The educational supplement “Smoke: Perceptions, Myths and Misunderstandings” from the Cyanide Poisoning Treatment Coalition is must reading.

Oh; and remind me to tell you about my conversation with Bobby Halton.

TCSS.

The article is protected by federal copyright law under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It is written and submitted by Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason. This article or any other article submitted under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella cannot be reproduced in ANY form without the expressed, written permission of the author. Violations are punishable by applicable laws.

Please visit: www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on September 1, 2010 • Filed under: Firefighter Safety & Health, Miscellaneous, Special Operations • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Nation’s Medevac Under Attack

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Some months ago, I blogged about the safety of the medevac industry. I wrote the blog shortly after we had a medevac helicopter go down here in Illinois, killing everyone aboard. Here is the blog: http://www.firefighternation.com/profiles/blogs/the-safety-of-air-ambulances.

USA Today ran a story on Thursday, August 19, 2010 that we should take notice of: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-08-19-1Amedivac19_ST_N.htm.

The headline for the article written by Alan Levin “Medevac Industry Opposing Upgrades Wanted by NTSB” is an attention grabber, because you have to wonder upon reading it, why anyone would oppose more safety in an industry that has had a recent, poor safety record.

So as not to violate copyright laws, I will encourage to use the link and read the article.

Since year 2000 to year-to-date, there have been 122 fatalities attributed to air ambulance crashes.

I understand that, in the larger scheme, the fatalities are a small percentage when compared to the thousands of flights, but when you call your service a “life flight”, the last thing you assume is that you are going to die taking one.

“Medevac” is an abbreviated term for “medical evacuation”. That is to say that a person(s) has a medical condition and they are being evacuated to a facility that can treat the patient’s medical condition. The whole premise is to get them safely to that facility, so it makes sense that every effort is made to do just that. That would include improved technology and equipment. It may very well include removing older air ambulances from service. It might also include night vision technology and warning systems designed to alert the pilot to an impending collision/crash.

So, why would the industry be opposed to it?

After 2007/2008, the industry DID take many voluntary steps to improve safety, but they were voluntary. Mandated change is what appears to be the hang up, but with 13 fatalities already this year, voluntary efforts don’t appear to be going far enough.

Without question, changes are going to add to the cost of running the service, but let’s face it; Life is priceless. It is heart-wrenching every time an air ambulance goes down and families are left to ask their questions.

So, is it a question of money or perceived government intrusion into an industry that wants the latitude to correct deficiencies on a voluntary basis or is it both? Is there more to it?

Where can sense and sensibility meet to reduce the number of air ambulance accidents and yet allow air ambulance operators to manage their business efficiently?

In rural America, where pre-hospital response times are often measured in miles, it is a question that will hopefully be answered very soon.

TCSS.

The article is protected by federal copyright law under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It is written and submitted by Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason. This article or any other article submitted under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella cannot be reproduced in ANY form without the expressed, written permission of the author. Violations are punishable by applicable laws.

Please visit: www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on August 21, 2010 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Self Dispatch or Insurance Co. Saving Scratch?

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On April 16, 2005, Andover, IA volunteer firefighter Justin Faur attempted to rescue a co-worker who had fallen into a manure pit at his place of employment. Both men later died.

At issue with the fire department’s workers compensation insurance carrier was whether Faur was acting as a firefighter or as an employee as a result of his efforts to save his co-worker. The insurance company (Travelers) contended that Faur was not acting as a firefighter at the time.

This was just handed down recently by the Iowa Supreme Court. (http://qctimes.com/news/local/article_801f5f46-a755-11df-903b-001cc4c002e0.html?oCampaign=hottopics)

Read about the workers’ compensation hearing here: http://decisions.iowaworkforce.org/workerscomp/2008/February/FAUR,%20JUSTIN%20-%205016580A.doc

For volunteer firefighters, the argument often comes up that, since most don’t have assigned shifts, that line between on duty and off duty becomes very blurred. In this case, it appears that the question may be: when is a volunteer firefighter acting as a firefighter or as a private citizen with firefighter training?

In my opinion, our government and our judicial system can’t seem to reconcile legislation and its interpretation that affect some of the distinct, cultural differences between career and volunteer fire departments.

Career firefighters have clearly defined on-duty and off-duty hours. A shift for them is usually 24 hours and is spent at the fire station. They don’t punch a time clock, but time sheets are kept for payroll purposes. They can be “re-called”, if a large incident requires additional manpower. They are dispatched through a central dispatching agency.

A volunteer firefighter is theoretically available 24 hours a day, if they are within their response area, can leave their full time job to respond or the other activities that fill their lives.

It is not unusual for volunteer firefighters to witness an emergency in their fire district and to call it in to a dispatching center, expecting the appropriate agency to be dispatched. When possible, the firefighter will initiate assistance, if it is within their scope of training and it is safe to do so.

It was clear that Iowa Workers Compensation Commissioner Christopher Godfrey understood the volunteer firefighter culture in his initial ruling in favor of Justin Faur’s survivors.

So, when is a volunteer “on the clock”?

In my opinion, the clock begins as soon as the firefighter recognizes the existence of an emergency that requires the assistance of his fire department, makes the call to the dispatching agency or has someone else call 911 and they can begin to render aid, however limited.

For a judge to say that a volunteer firefighter is not “on the clock” at that point is to remove a very key component that is critical to life safety issues in the rural setting. It also flies against the ideal of “neighbors helping neighbors”.

Again; Commissioner Godfrey “gets it”, as he recognized the importance of minutes and even seconds where lives were at risk.

For this model to work in the eyes of the Iowa Supreme Court in the case of Justin Faur, he would have been required to leave his co-worker face down in the manure pit, wait for the dispatching agency to properly tone out the Andover, IA Fire Department and wait until they arrived in order for benefits to be paid.

Faur’s mistake may very well have been to not wait for his fire department so that properly protected responders could enter the hazardous environment of methane gas, but the strong emotion of having an unresponsive co-worker in a pit and a desire to help someone needing it was too strong to keep Justin Faur from risking his life to save another.

I don’t know what was going through Justin Faur’s mind at the time of the incident, but I know that anyone familiar with hog or cattle confinements understand that methane gas is a by-product and a dangerous one at that and I’m sure that Justin Faur knew it, too. He entered the pit, knowing the danger. Very few “private citizens” would have done it and some firefighters might not have, but Justin Faur did.

And had Faur not been a member in good standing with the Andover, IA Fire Department, I might be inclined to side with the Iowa Supreme Court.

However; this is not the case.

Two factors leap out when reading available information on this incident: (1) As an employee, Faur recognized the emergency and had 911 called and (2) His firefighter instincts took over and he attempted to affect a rescue.

So, his surviving family members should be entitled to all benefits accorded to a firefighter; be it insurance death benefits, PSOBs or workers compensation benefits from his fire department.

If the Iowa Supreme Court doesn’t see it that way, then in my opinion, the case should be appealed at the federal level, up to and including the U.S. Supreme Court.

When you tell someone to call 911, the presumption is that they will call and the appropriate emergency agencies will respond.

Firefighter Justin Faur did NOT self-dispatch.

He placed “self” above all else and paid the ultimate sacrifice with his life.

And that is not Emotion speaking; that is Logic and Fact speaking.

I oppose the practices of self-dispatching and jumping calls and that isn’t the issue here.

In my past, I witnessed many incidents, called them in and went to work in my capacity as a volunteer firefighter. Period.

Faur might very well have initiated his rescue, anticipating that the additional help of his fire department would be there very soon. Who would know that any better than someone who had been on that department for the past two and a half years?

Under “normal” circumstances, this would be a subrogation issue between two insurance companies, but in this case, the Iowa Supreme Court chose to trash a very logical and articulate decision by Commissioner Godfrey and narrow the language/definition of “summoned to duty only through official channels”. And the Court is basing THAT on the assumption that Faur did not receive the pager tones.

If the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision in this matter is allowed to stand, then the entire volunteer response system may come under their review.

As an example: imagine if they would rule that you are not covered as a firefighter while in your personal vehicle on your way to the station or to a call.

Tell me that wouldn’t significantly change the landscape of what volunteer fire departments do!

THIS case needs further review AND further discussion.

Let me know your thoughts.

TCSS.

The article submitted is protected by federal copyright laws under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It cannot be re-produced in any form without the expressed written permission of the author Art Goodrich, also known as ChiefReason. Please visit www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on August 16, 2010 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Look For The Hook

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Look For the Hook

Many of us took similar paths into the fire service.

For some, it was for the opportunity to help someone in a time of need.

For others, it presented an opportunity to give back to their communities.

Privately, the excitement that a call could generate fueled an adrenaline spike that would explode into the ultimate struggle of Good vs. Evil.

There is no question that most firefighters want to be seen in the best light, held in the highest regard and looked upon as someone who can be trusted with the lives and properties in their communities.

We have trained to keep skills sharpened and up-to-date, while paying our respects to the fire service’s rich history and tradition.

Some of us have been drawn into reading volumes on fire history to an almost obsessive level. Though reading about Benjamin Franklin and his formation of the nation’s first volunteer fire department does little to enhance our skill sets, we recognize its importance to rounding out our personas as firefighters.

And that brings me to the purpose of this blog or rather, this question:

Are the motivating factors that shaped us 30 years ago still fueling the candidates entering the fire service today?

Are kids still “running to the curb”-as Tiger would say-to see the fire truck go by on its way to a call?

Are kids who have not grown up in a house where there have been generations of firefighters finding their own way into the fire service?

What is kick-starting that desire in the next generation of firefighters?

Will firefighter jobs be plentiful with the retirements of the 50/60-somethings or will they fall prey to budget constraints and destroy the dreams of those who wish to serve?

When you examine the cultural differences of today vs. 1980, you can see how societal changes have affected the perceptual inclinations of our newest firefighters.

What people my age perceived upon entering the fire service was an almost paramilitary, clandestine brotherhood.

Nothing left the confines of the fire station. Discussions and disputes started and ended at the fire station. Each man “covered” for the other, regardless of the circumstances. At the very least, they “didn’t know anything”.

The perception was that the fire department had to be seen as a group of honorable and rational men, capable of making split-second decisions in life and death situations.

Investigations into firefighter deaths would hardly ever go far enough as to reveal any damaging or damning facts that could impugn the dignity of the deceased and otherwise could bring shame or embarrassment to the grieving family. Some called it “extending a professional courtesy”.

And besides; even if something “unseemly” did make it to the news, it was local; where it stayed.

But today?

Everything and everyone is on the fast track.

Short bursts and short bites followed by copious amounts of diverse and sometimes perverse information can quickly lull us into overload mode.

We are not attracted to any, one subject; we do not want to “specialize”.

We are de facto game show contestants, vying to show our deep reservoir of general knowledge.

We want to do something today, but do something entirely different tomorrow.

And we don’t want to do anything that is going to chew up large chunks of our time. That feels too much like a job!

So; how do we get a hook into the newbies and reel them in?

How can a fire department match their training programs to candidates who are not fond of repetition or being told incessantly what to do, for that matter?

I have always been a traditionalist where it comes to the fire department. But, I am also a realist. I honestly believe that it is important to cite fire department history and some of the nation’s, major fire service milestones into perpetuity. Knowing why a ceremony is a time-honored tradition brings honor and dignity to the act and we must carry that forward.

Where we can jack it up for the next generation is in the training and how it is presented. Challenge them to improve the process. Let them drill with the music on. Turn it off if it’s a distraction or they are not drilling correctly. Find out what trips their trigger and then trip it.

What I learned from my days of fishing is that the biggest hook didn’t necessarily catch the biggest fish, but it made it harder for the fish to get off of the hook.

So, look for the right hook…

And don’t forget the bait!

TCSS.

This article is protected by federal copyright laws under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It cannot be reproduced in any form without the expressed, written permission of the author, Art Goodrich aka ChiefReason.

Please visit www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog at www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on August 10, 2010 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , , , ,

FirefighterNetcast Rewind

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Last week was my third podcast for my show, “FirefighterNetcast Presents The Voice of Reason”.

My guests for that show were Shawn Longerich, Executive Director for the Cyanide Poisoning Treatment Coalition and Dr. Alan Miller, an expert on many chemical agents, such as hydrogen cyanide (HCN); the topic of my program. Dr. Miller and Shawn were extremely knowledgeable on the subject of cyanide poisoning and their advocacy on behalf of those who might experience an exposure to chemical agents is undeniable.

Having guests that you feel at ease with certainly makes for a fluid show. You hope that the audience is every bit as interested in the guests as the host is. I research my guests and the topics that we will discuss to reduce the likelihood that long “gaps” will appear through out the interview.

That is why I had Dave Leblanc, a jake from Harwich, MA on my very first show. I knew that we could create an energy that would come through in the interview and capture the audience in that “around the kitchen table” banter style. I enjoyed that first show immensely, thanks to Dave and my callers.

I had State Representative Don Moffitt on as my guest for the second show in an effort to create a map for firefighters who struggle with the political landscape of the fire service. I realize that Don is not your typical legislator, which is exactly why I asked him to do the podcast.

The legislative process, otherwise known as the political system, can be overwhelming, if you lack the knowledge and the patience to deal with it. I can think of no one better to teach that.

As a former school teacher, Don brings his knowledge and patience along to educate those who are interested in learning the legislative process.

My next show will be Tuesday, August 24th at 9:00 PM EDT.

My guest will be John Kriska of www.kriskafiretraining.com. We will be discussing positive pressure ventilation (PPV); the do’s and don’ts and the “what ifs”.

Though I have several more guests who have already committed to doing the Voice of Reason, I will also be doing a call-in show, where callers can rant about whatever is on their mind…as long as they keep it “clean”!

I wasn’t sure how I would react to the medium, let alone how the audience would react to me, but I am told that feedback has been positive.

With Rhett Fleitz, John Mitchell, Tiger Schmittendorf and Chris Naum on the FirefighterNetcast team, it challenges us all to bring our A-game every time and to strive to “hit the home run”.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to check out FirefighterNetcast, I would encourage you to do so. You can listen live on show night; you can go to the archived shows at both FirefighterNetcast and BlogTalkRadio or you can download the shows from iTunes for free.

Even FireGeezer is giving us a shout out on the days of the shows.

So that you know that FirefighterNetcast is truly a team effort, it would not be possible without FirefighterNation, FireRescue, Go Forward Media, Elsevier and of course, the producers-the Dynamic Duo of John Mitchell and Rhett Fleitz.

It has been a blast so far.

I will see some of you in a few weeks at Fire Rescue International in Chicago.

I will be the serious-looking guy in the funny hat!

TCSS.

Posted by chiefreason on August 4, 2010 • Filed under: Miscellaneous • Tagged: , , , ,

Belt It Out: WEAR IT!

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Mourn the death of yet another young volunteer firefighter.

Extend your condolences to his family, friends and fire department.

Read the story about his last few minutes on this Earth (http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/pennsylvania-department-mourns).

Then read the rather spirited discussion surrounding the details of his death (http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/yeah-suredont-bother-wearing).

And when you are through with all of that, I want you to get upset and downright angry because; FIVE years after the nation’s fire departments were asked to take the seatbelt pledge by then Acting United States Fire Administrator Charlie Dickinson, firefighters are still dying from not wearing them.

From apparatus crashes to accidents in personally-owned vehicles (POVs) while enroot, the message is getting missed and it’s another missed opportunity to educate our firefighters on one of the most basic firefighter safety principles-the wearing of seat belts.

The National Seat Belt Pledge is very straight forward and states: “I pledge to wear my seat belt whenever I am riding in fire department vehicles or any moving vehicle. I further pledge to ensure that all firefighters riding with me wear their seat belts”.

How many times have we responded to a motor vehicle accident (MVA) and found life-less victims lying outside of the vehicle and on the ground, knowing full well that seat belts may have made a difference?

I responded to a call some years ago and found all FIVE family members ejected from their sport utility vehicle (SUV). Three of the five didn’t survive.

How can we stand in front of our citizens as public safety champions if we aren’t willing to practice what we preach?

We love going to school assemblies and “scaring” young adults into following safe practices; yet, we don’t do as we say? Hypocrisy comes to mind.

It’s not heroic to die imitating a human cannonball. It is senseless, because it is easily preventable.

There is no excuse-none, zip, nada; for not wearing your seat belt.

Don’t give me that crap about it won’t go around you with your gear on. They make seat belts to fit those of you who are “big boned”.

Dr. Burton Clark wrote a very good article after Firefighter Joe Torkos died from being ejected during an apparatus accident. He said: “…we cannot point a finger at anyone; we cannot put the blame on someone else or something else; so there are no headlines. Not using seat belts is our own fault; we have no excuses; we are the flaw”.

However; a quick Internet search on this subject will find a couple of interesting trends: (1) Families are suing fire departments for not enforcing their seat belt policy and (2) Officers are being criminally charged for not ensuring that their crew was seat belted at the time of their accident. Neither will bring back the deceased firefighter(s), but I think that it points to a growing frustration over not following a very basic safety principle.

So, what is your excuse?

Do you need to see a seat belt policy?

Here is one suggested by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the United States Fire Administration (USFA) and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC). It reads: “All personnel must be seated and belted whenever the vehicle (either department or personal) is in motion for department business. The driver and/or officer shall ensure by voice and personnel reply that seat belts are properly fastened. The driver will only proceed when it can be confirmed that all members are seated and belted. The only exception to the use of seat belts while a vehicle is in motion is a situation where a person is providing direct patient care (EMS) and there is no reasonable restraint system available. Utilize a progressive disciplinary system holding the violator and the supervisor responsible to ensure compliance with the seat belt policy, reflecting the serious and potential life-threatening consequences of failure to comply”.

Now that you have a policy…

ENFORCE IT!

TCSS.

The article is protected by federal copyright law under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It is written and submitted by Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason. This article or any other article submitted under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella cannot be reproduced in ANY form without the expressed, written permission of the author. Violations are punishable by applicable laws.

Please visit: www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on July 19, 2010 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

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Why would any member of a fire department want to leave the department as other than a member in good standing?

Why would you want to leave all of your good work for a group that you once held so close to your heart to a letter from the department severing the relationship?

Do we stay on until we get upset enough and mad enough to quit?

Do we continue to believe that we are a teenager in the body of a 50-Something as we chalk up yet another injury?

Have we reached a juncture where we talk a litany of accomplishments over the years, but haven’t attended a training session in over a year?

Are we “turning it over to the young guys”, but not to the extent that they can tell you anything?

Are you less helpful, but more critical?

Do you find yourself talking about all the calls that you used to go on as you make fewer and fewer calls; the ones that you now cherry pick?

Do you think that you have earned special treatment, purchased with your years of service and are upset because you must follow the guidelines like everyone else?

Do you believe that your officer’s rank is a life-long appointment and that leadership is what the chief does?

Why does reality only set in after you have let your passion, skills, attendance and fire department relationships erode and then overshadows your time served?

What prevents us from planning our time with the department to the eventuality that we allow for participation through another avenue that is every bit as pivotal to the successes of the fire department?

Instead; we “force the hand” of our once-called/so-called “brothers” to push us over and then OUT. Where it could have been a happy and memorable moment, populated by platitudes, testimonials and well-deserved recognition, it has developed into a sour source of bitterness and bad feelings.

Could there be this confusion over the notion that to remain on a fire department, we must be a “member in good standing” and it has nothing to do with getting off of the department? In other words; the priority of membership and being in good standing does not apply to “non-members” or “former members” apparently.

Is it important that we cut the chord as a firefighter WITH firefighters to eliminate any lingering effects; sort of an “all or nothing” assault on our sensibilities?

Cut it clean/cut it quick; right?

We think that we don’t want to “just hang around” the fire station, even though that is exactly what we have been doing for the last ten years, along with missing meetings, training, fundraisers, open houses, equipment checks and parades.

When you belong to a fire department, you are part of a group that is driven by teamwork.

It is an organization that is structured.

It is a culture that breathes rarified air.

Unfortunately; you can only stay as long as you contribute. That doesn’t only mean the physical stuff. There is plenty of other work to do besides riding the truck.

You do it within a framework and under the terms of your by-laws and SOGs.

But, you can leave on your own terms and with your head held high.

It doesn’t have to be with middle finger extended!

TCSS.

This article is protected by federal copyright laws under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It cannot be re-produced in any form without the expressed and written permission of the author, Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason.

Please visit www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog at www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on July 15, 2010 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , ,

From My Observation Point

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He is the trusted partner in the enterprise.

He must gather the intel that will allow for the successful execution of the plan.

He is consulted in the selection, purchase and use of the right equipment.

He must develop; then refine the information that is inserted into the tactics used to dispatch the obstacles that lie before them.

He must diplomatically guide his enterprise to attain the goals that are set each year.

He must make sure that schedules are kept and milestones are achieved.

Every piece of equipment must be properly maintained, repaired or replaced. Each piece has a purpose and must work to plan every time that the plan is executed. Or you could simply be the “water boy” or “towel boy”. It doesn’t matter!

He must never violate the confidence and trust that has been put upon him.

He must work hard, but be transparent when the situation calls for it.

He must make certain that everyone gets to Point A; then Point B and so on.

And if he is asked for his honest opinion, he will give it, even if it isn’t what wants to be heard.

As a part of the team, he may have to do his share of “heavy lifting”.

He does it, knowing that his role is most important, but is the least recognized; at least to those outside of the team.

He lives for the moments when his advice is asked, is taken and the outcome is successful.

A “high five” is all he needs to continue on.

He feels the same pain when there is failure. The low is at the exact same, emotional level, but at the opposite end of the spectrum.

He watches from the side and out of the way.

He stands in awe as the crowd recognizes an extraordinary effort.

He must balance his consolation and adulation, so as not to confuse it with accepting failure and apply tough love on a case-by-case basis.

And though he runs in a circle populated by gifted people, he doesn’t think that of himself.

Yeah; as I watched the John Deere Golf Classic at Deere Run over the weekend, I thought a lot about the caddies and how similar they are to fire district trustees!

TCSS.

The article is protected by federal copyright law under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It is written and submitted by Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason. This article or any other article submitted under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella cannot be reproduced in ANY form without the expressed, written permission of the author. Violations are punishable by applicable laws.

Please visit: www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on July 11, 2010 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , ,

Taken Down By Traditional Media

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Use of social media is at its saturation point.

From the tech-savvy teenager to the blue-haired baby boomers; texting, tweeting, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Digg, Google, Ask, Mozilla, etc. have come to deliver our information with the velocity and power of a lightning bolt.

In the recent past, we have seen the so-called, social media experts expounding upon their hypotheses for communications of the future.

They are preparing the arrangements for the death of the print media-the “traditional” media, in my opinion.

No more newspaper or news magazines. If you want it in print, you will have to go to a website and print it off, but really; will it be the same? Hardly!

It used to be that, if there was important, breaking news, TV programming was interrupted with a news bulletin or a special edition of the newspaper would be printed and delivered.

And if you were reading it in print, it was already HOURS old.

But today; you can get it as it is happening-streaming, live video shot from helicopters and drones. Media people are imbedded with police, fire, EMS, military, politicians, religious cults, drug cartels, despot governments, porno industry, human traffickers-you name it!

All that you need is a camera phone and presto; you just went “viral” on YouTube. Hollywood, here I come!

There are endless websites with a full menu for whatever titillates you.

I grew up on Rolling Stone, National Lampoon and Mad magazines.

They were as far from “mainstream” as you could get. They were both counter-culture and pop culture.

In its early years, Rolling Stone was heavy on music and music personalities, mixed with some political activism that wasn’t so much anti-war as it was pro-peace.

National Lampoon magazine was a favorite of mine for its political satire which was simply outstanding.

Mad magazine was pure escapism and hilarious; pure nonsense, yet relevant.

From Hunter S. Thompson to Dotson Rader, Rolling Stone pioneered a more liberal interpretation of freedom of speech for us. They pushed the bounds, used expletives unabashedly but not obscenely and widened the scope through which many of us view our own activism to this day.

Rolling Stone was everything that Look, Life and the Saturday Evening Post magazines weren’t. It was like James Dean vs. Beaver Cleaver!

You could not view Rolling Stone in the same way as any other magazine. It was, in a word, “cool”…and relevant. If you weren’t reading it, you weren’t keeping up with what was happening, cool and hip. From shaping your musical tastes to the clothes that you wore to your political views, Rolling Stone was immensely influential.

When they changed their focus sometime in the 1990s to broaden their appeal to younger readers, I stopped reading it. I felt that they had deserted our cause. It was like losing an old friend. They just weren’t relevant to me anymore and the death of Hunter S. Thompson took part of its soul and killed any desire by me to return.

Then BAM! They brought down a four star general (http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/119236).

I mean; maybe they didn’t blow the lid off of Watergate or the Iran Contra affair, but their brutally honest and candid article on our top general in Afghanistan cost him his job!

But, when I say that the article that appeared in the Rolling Stone (http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/119236) cost General McChrystal his job; that is not to blame the magazine…for the most part.

I want to believe that it wasn’t Jann Wenner’s (THE man at Rolling Stone) or Michael Hastings’ (the writer of the article) intent to take General McChrystal down, but when you have been around as long as Wenner and his Rolling Stone (1967), I have to think that Wenner had a smirk on his face as the July 8-22, 2010 issue went to press.

The July 8-22, 2010 edition wasn’t suppose to hit newsstands until Friday, June 25th, but the McChrystal article was already viral by Tuesday, June 22nd and by Wednesday, June 23rd, McChrystal was called to the White House, called on the carpet and stripped of his true calling for calling his boss, the President of the United States-and I am paraphrasing; uncomfortable, intimidated, uninformed, disengaged and a disappointment. Again, I am paraphrasing from a lengthy article that must be read in its entirety to get a real sense of it.

So, when I say that traditional media took down General McChrystal, you have to consider this:

In my opinion, the traditional relationship between the subject of the news story and news reporter builds from a synergy of comfort and confidence-of speaking freely; confident that the common sense of the interviewee will guide dialogue and the common sense of the interviewer will determine what goes or doesn’t go into the published article.

An added common sense safety valve is the editor-in-chief, whose very name and reputation rides on articles such as “The Runaway General”.

I have no doubt that McChrystal’s firing and subsequent retirement was yet another unintended consequence of our social media (See: http://www.firefighternation.com/profiles/blogs/social-medias-unintended), triggered by a traditional media interview.

Think about this: McChrystal was fired two days BEFORE the interview hit the newsstands!

Rolling Stone had already posted the story on the home page of their website by 10:00 am on Tuesday, June 22nd (http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/119236).

I believe that when we are in the public’s eye, we must assume that NOTHING is “off the record”.

The tape is always rolling-be it audio or video. What we say or do will be sliced and diced, re-configured and publicized as a re-invented and re-incarnated skeleton of the factual body.

The McChrystal firing should serve as that reminder once again.

The story has re-ignited the debate over whether access by the press should be limited.

Naturally, the Media is opposed to ANY access limitations, but where they haven’t exercised good judgment in what appears in the finished product; why should they be rewarded with a front row seat to our news events?

Do you realize that, by today’s standards, very little live audio and video exists from World War II and even the Vietnam War and yet; VOLUMES have been written on both wars?

Our society has become so impetuous and impatient that we must have immediate gratification from our day’s events.

Is restricting free access restricting free speech? That’s open to debate.

Think for a minute of how damning and damaging a perceived inappropriate comment by a firefighter could be to your fire department if it were to be made public.

Do you think that there would be the added footnote that this is how some in our profession “process” bad stuff? Probably not.

Do you think that YOUR boss will react in a similar manner to General McChrystal’s boss? Probably so.

We want to watch “Rescue Me” with a wink-wink, but we want a public view of what we are to be akin to walking among the lepers, cursing those who sully our reputations with their bad behavior.

We want to project traditional values through non-traditional means. If we cannot pick and choose our media moments, then we at least have to stay true to our mission and if we must engage in the “off color or off handed”, then do so when no one else is around, take an oath to silence and a pinky swear, because if we don’t, we will be misinterpreted, misrepresented and misunderstood by a public who wants to believe that we are better than that.

And let’s face it; we exist in a culture populated by the weak and the strong, the passionate and the dispassionate and the sinners and the saints.

So, at the end of the day, you have to ask yourself if you want to be remembered for one blog, one Facebook comment, one YouTube video or one news article, because in today’s world, it won’t matter if you have four stars or four bugles…

It may be just enough to bring a career crashing down in the traditional sense!

TCSS.

The article is protected by federal copyright law under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It is written and submitted by Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason. This article or any other article submitted under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella cannot be reproduced in ANY form without the expressed, written permission of the author. Violations are punishable by applicable laws.

Please visit: www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on July 5, 2010 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Need Not Be Present To…Re-Certify!

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“Over 200 Massachusetts EMTs Suspended in Certification Scheme” is a headline that will get your attention!

Many of you will recall that FirefighterNation posted a news story back on May 27, 2010 about this: http://firefighternation.com/forum/topics/boston-firefighters-among.

In a recent news article (http://firefighternation.com/forum/topics/over-200-massachusetts-emts) that was posted on June 18, 2010, you will find more current information, including punishments that have already been delivered.

It has also been handed over to the states’ attorney general for further action, if warranted.

What struck me was the very last comment in the http://firefighternation.com/forum/topics/over-200-massachusetts-emts article. It stated:

Auerbach said some of the EMTs caught up in the probe expressed remorse for their actions, but others ‘did not quite understand the severity of their actions!

That statement simply blows me away.

Is it stealing?

Is it cheating?

Is it fraud?

Is it a criminal act?

Now; I am not sitting on my pedestal, high atop of moral ground, but; when you commit a dishonest act, you can either continue down that path and end up in REAL trouble or you can see the errors of your ways and correct it.

We are not talking about sneaking a peek at someone’s poker hand when they leave the table to go to the restroom.

We are not talking about taking a couple of tomatoes from your neighbor’s garden.

We are not talking about a kid writing the answers on their arm to test questions on a high school exam.

We are not talking about someone who drives 5 mph over the posted speed limit.

We are not talking about someone’s indiscretion only hurting them.

No; we are talking about someone who took money to go to classes, did not attend those classes and received credit anyway and was re-certified as a giver of advanced medical care.

We are talking about actions taken that will hurt a fire department ambulance service and a community for months and even years to come.

Others on the fire department who did the required work to re-certify as an EMT will be resentful and distrustful of those who “bought” their re-certification.

The face of the fire department will no longer be the face of one of the most trusted occupations on Earth.

The public will feel that their trust has been violated. They won’t know who to trust. They won’t know which ones cheated and which ones didn’t, so they will distrust ALL of them! It doesn’t matter to the public if this is the first or the tenth time. The time is NOW.

So; though the public might not be interested in learning the pathology of this scandal, I have to wonder if this type of behavior has been reinforced by years of not getting caught for other dishonest acts.

I have to wonder if these thieves cheated on exams during their high school days, then college and then, they fabricated a job resume that got them hired to their jobs. I wonder if they are getting “free” cable TV from their neighbors.

In their world, dishonesty has become their reality, so they would not view their dishonest actions as wrong or at the very least “no big deal”.

They got caught this time, so they’ll just pay the money again and take the test. No problem, right?

Ask yourself if you would rather have someone who cheated at card games, but studied hard, did their practicals, kept up on their in-service training so that they could re-certify their EMT license OR someone who paid off an instructor to get a free pass on their re-certification. Hmmm…

Get out the deck of cards!

How screwed up does your moral compass have to be to NOT comprehend that lying, cheating and stealing to gain re-certification of life-saving skills is wrong?

Here’s a paradoxical question for you and you don’t have to raise your hand: how many of you would cheat if you KNEW that you could get away with it?

Some of you will answer “no” and will be completely honest.

Some of you will answer “no” and be lying about it.

Some of you will answer “yes” because, in your mind, the reward is worth the risk.

Some of you will answer “yes” but will try to rationalize it with the old “I didn’t have time to study” argument.

Still, some of you will answer “yes” because the few times that you got caught, you simply had to re-take the test, get lectured by your parents and promise never to do it again. Oh; the AGONY!

So; would an EMT who got their certification COD be qualified? Would YOU want to take that chance?

How would you feel if you found out that the guy who did your surgery was actually the night shift janitor at the hospital?

Or that the marriage counselor that you are seeing has been divorced FIVE times?

How about the drivers’ education teacher who has not had a valid drivers’ license for three years (DUI) and is teaching your sweet child?

I know how I would feel!

Why then, would instructors want to risk their teaching certificates and their students be willing to violate the public’s trust?

For the money?

Because they are lazy?

Because they didn’t think that they would get caught?

Because they thought that they knew everything anyway?

Because they thought that they were “different and special”?

Because they didn’t care?

Because they weren’t smart enough to pass it on their own?

No matter; rational people won’t be willing or able to justify it under any circumstances.

It may not feel good to be beaten by a team that cheats, but it would feel worse to “out-cheat” them in order to win. Remember: cheaters never win and winners never cheat!

We have to continue to believe that hard work has its rewards. Honesty, integrity, moral fiber and ethics have to drive those of us who are in public safety.

If we don’t conduct ourselves in that manner, then we will be facing moral dilemmas each and every day.

And little by little, our public’s trust will continue to erode.

TCSS.

The article is protected by federal copyright law under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It is written and submitted by Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason. This article or any other article submitted under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella cannot be reproduced in ANY form without the expressed, written permission of the author. Violations are punishable by applicable laws.

Please visit: www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on June 24, 2010 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Social Media’s Unintended Consequences

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Good or bad; the explosion of the use of social media for its velocity and reach comes with some unintended consequences.

The same velocity and reach that will get the word out for a charitable event, fundraiser for a sick friend or a missing person will also be used to send venom, rumors, allegations and lies.

Social media is both a blessing and a curse that has caused a great “freedom of speech” debate.

Our freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights. “Speech” has been broadened to mean “expression”, in that the freedom can be verbal or non-verbal.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech”.

As I understand it as applied to social media, Congress could not enact a law prohibiting the creation of a social website that falls within the intent of the First Amendment and does not promote any of the exceptions to the amendment which are: defamation, causing panic, fighting words, incitement to crime, sedition or obscenity.

I believe that website “Terms of Service” buttresses their user policies against the exceptions to free speech, so that they are somewhat indemnified from charges that might be brought against a user of their website who engage in any of the exceptions to the First Amendment.

So, in my mind, someone who is fired by their employer because of something that they posted on a website is NOT protected by the First Amendment, because Congress has no interests in the website beyond the website’s right to exist and as long as the website doesn’t promote any of the exceptions to the First Amendment.

When a website removes a user for making a personal attack on another; be it another member, non-member or organization, I don’t believe that they are violating the user’s freedom of speech. They are invoking the website’s “Terms of Service”.

In much the same way a private business has the right to refuse service to anyone, a website that is privately held can fashion very liberal or very strict guidelines for membership and for the use of the website.

That is not to say that there may be moral or ethical arguments, but moral/ethical considerations are not identified in the First Amendment.

In that regard, it raises philosophical issues with freedom of expression and it is my understanding that the English philosopher John Stuart Mill, in his book “On Liberty”, provides the more accepted test for government intervention of civil liberties that is known as the “harm principle”.

It states: “…the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant”.

It should be noted that, according to Professor Julie Van Camp, most of the “classic” exceptions to freedom of expression, as established by the U.S. Supreme Court, are consistent with Mill’s harm principle, with the exception of obscenity.

So, that same website user decides to use the website as a very public platform to disparage or embarrass their employer; the employer sees it and terminates the employee.

Did the employer violate the employee’s freedom of speech, according to the language in the First Amendment?

Some may like to think so, but if the employee was not suppressed from posting it on the website, thereby freely expressing their opinion on the website, then how was their freedom of speech suppressed, according to the First Amendment?

In my opinion, the opinion expressed by the employee might be somewhat unpleasant and even contain some fact, but the employer isn’t terminating the employee for saying it, but because it was said publicly and consequently, violated the company’s code of conduct. Most employees sign a statement when they are hired that says that they agree to follow all of the rules and that they will do nothing to bring embarrassment to their employer.

Many will remember the firefighter/paramedic that was fired over the YouTube video that was posted on Facebook (http://firefighternation.com/forum/topics/firefighter-fired-over?page=3&commentld=889755%3A4548000=1#889755Comment4548000).

His employer stated that he was terminated for: “You displayed poor judgment in producing a derogatory video depicting a member of this department with a physician which is implied to be at Colleton Medical Center…This video has created an embarrassing situation for this department, our public image and the cooperative relationship we enjoy with Colleton Medical Center. It reflects poorly on you and Colleton County”.

“Poor judgment” is not protected under the First Amendment.

But, this isn’t the only example of an employee being fired over a social website posting.
Here is just a sampling of examples of employees being fired over a social website posting:

http://www.inc.com/news/articles/2010/05/waitress-fired-for-facebook-post.html

http://sports/espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3965039

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/bored_teenage_worker_fired_over_facebook_entry

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/95125549.html

And now, we have a story about an anonymous commenter who will be charged with defamation, once their identity is discovered. Let’s face it; it may no longer be “safe” to hide behind a user name and computer screen and violate someone else’s rights (http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=495908&query=Newspaper).

According to the news article, the Third District Appellate Court in Ottawa, IL ruled that The Times newspaper in Ottawa must turn over information that could identify a person who posted alleged defamatory comments on the newspaper’s website.

According to Appellate Justices Holdridge and McDade: “…type of anonymous speech are protected by the Constitution, but the Maxons showed grounds for defamation that took away the defendant’s Constitutional right to make anonymous web comments”.

They also went on to say in their ruling that: “the alleged defamatory comments were not presented as opinions, which would protect the commenter from a lawsuit, but as fact”.

Now; there were some who felt that the anonymous commenter should be protected.

Why?

While you ponder that question, we should also be thinking about our own posting “habits”.

We may want to get a better idea of what is stated as fact and what is stated as opinion.

TCSS.

The source for part of this article was “Freedom of Expression: The First Amendment” by Professor Julie Van Camp.

This article is protected by federal copyright laws under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It cannot be re-produced in any form without the expressed, written permission of the author, Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason.

Please visit www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on June 7, 2010 • Filed under: Miscellaneous • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Not Too Sharp Doesn’t Cut It

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In less than three weeks, we had two confined space incidents (http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/ohio-firefighters-overcome and http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/indiana-firefighters-injured-1 ) where firefighters were injured. Reports indicate that confined space protocols were not followed in both cases.

All departments should be trained to recognize a confined space and to also recognize whether they are trained and equipped to conduct confined space rescue. If not, defer to someone who is.

All firefighters should have enough common sense to know that when you look into a hole, see two people who are unresponsive, that you don’t jump in with them.

I am conflicted about how I should feel about this.

On the one hand, I am outraged that in this day and age, we still have firefighters taking stupid pills because they certainly aren’t taking the training.

On the other hand, there isn’t a national standard that MUST be met in order to legitimately call ourselves “firefighters”. Yes; we have NFPA standards, but they are not the law of the land and though they may be used in a court of law as the basis for arguments on firefighter qualifications, fire departments are not bound to follow them.

You also have OSHA regulations that ARE the law of the land, but depending on whether you are an OSHA state or if you have a third party like your state department of labor administering the regulations through their agency, volunteer fire departments can fly under the radar for quite awhile and it usually takes a complaint to get the attention of OSHA. Even then; unless the violation is “egregious” or “willful” or “IDLH”, OSHA will typically allow the offenders time to correct their deficiencies and to pay a small fine for their troubles.

I don’t believe that this will be the case in the Ohio and Indiana incidents. Ohio does not have a state plan, so they will most likely be contacted by federal OSHA compliance officers. Indiana has a state plan, so their state OSHA compliance officers would be conducting their investigation into the incident.

From reading some of the comments being posted in the discussion forums, you would think that the “good ole boy” fire department culture is alive and well.

Even if it were to apply to the Ohio and Indiana near-miss incidents (and I am not saying that it does), I will tell you that it is not a prudent or a wise position to take, because there is no logical reasoning to support it.

No department, regardless of size or type can justify such reckless behavior in any of their firefighters and if they do, then it’s time for new officers and fire commissioners on those departments.

If a command structure is so lax that the first arriving will forego BASIC personal safety and to risk imminent danger to their life or their health, then their command structure is non-existent. And that lends to the issue of whether SOPs exist in these departments. I would seriously question their existence.

Then, we often wonder why federal agencies are crawling all over volunteer fire departments who want to plead “poor us” on the one hand and claim “we are all firefighters doing the same job” on the other hand. Don’t make me vomit!

Clearly, with these two, recent confined space incidents, we are NOT the same and if they are the litmus test for our preparedness, then we are in some deep doo-doo.

However; I don’t believe that we are.

I believe that volunteer fire departments, for the majority, have come a long way from those days when fire departments were just another social club in the community. I know for a fact that we fixed it in our community some time ago and we are not far from the norm.

We are not flush with money. We still do fundraisers and we borrow money if necessary. We have to consider whether to repair or replace our equipment. We don’t have people beating our door down to join. We are competing with other organizations and obligations for a candidates’ free time. We are like many departments in that regard.

But, two things that we insist on are: providing necessary personal protective equipment and training for the services that we offer our community. We will NOT do anything that we are not equipped or trained to do. Yes; we are equipped and trained to do confined space rescue. We split the cost between taxpayers and business owners in order to provide the service and under Illinois law, we can charge for extraordinary expenditures as a result of the rescue, if necessary.

Again; I believe that there are many departments who are more like us than those who are not.

In my mind, these recent events aren’t even wake up calls. Maybe it is for the affected departments, but for the many departments who have SOPs, it only serves to remind us that some should seriously consider getting out of the business, because; if they can’t afford to get into it, then their communities’ cannot afford the risk.

 When I think about the Indiana incident and the fact that aid was delayed to the victims because they had to remove two stricken firefighters first, it makes my blood boil because firefighters are constantly complaining about the few seconds that they are delayed by Dispatch or because the motoring public didn’t pull over when they saw the blue light or because a proper size up delayed the error chain or because incident command wasn’t established fast enough and on and on.

So, this begs the question: how long was aid delayed to the victims because two firefighters had to be pulled out first?

And is it appropriate to insert the old adage: how much good can we do for the victims if WE become the victims?

I thank God that no one else died in these incidents, but it wasn’t because it was planned that way.

It was because of luck and divine intervention.

We have to continue to keep the pressure on organizations that masquerade as fire departments.

We have to sharpen the knife and excise those who create tremendous liability to their fellow firefighters, their departments and their communities. If there isn’t a plan in place to train and provide the equipment for technical rescues, then the plan should state that your department will not attempt such rescues. If you don’t tell your communities what you can and cannot do, then they will expect you to do EVERYTHING.

We have to be sharp enough to recognize the realities, educate our communities and then meet expectations.

We simply aren’t cutting it if we don’t.

TCSS.

This article is protected by federal copyright laws under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It cannot be re-produced in any form without the expressed and written permission of Art Goodrich, also known as ChiefReason.

Please visit: www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on June 1, 2010 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , , , , ,

The Answer Is In The Form Of A Question-First Due Blog Carnival-3rd Edition

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Without question, the most important ‘ah-hah’ moment for me came many years ago in a training session taught by none other than and then-Lieutenant Rick Lasky, who was an instructor for the Illinois Fire Service Institute.

Rick was teaching a class called “Saving Our Own”.

Rick asked, “If one of your firefighters gets into trouble, how are you going to get them out?”

And as crazy as it sounds, I hadn’t given it much thought up to that point, because as a firefighter, Trouble was what we were taught to mitigate; right?

Think about it. Firefighters are paged out because someone else is in trouble and needs our help. We respond to the incident, where we find Trouble and we immediately go to work on relieving the victims of their troubling situation.

As Rick taught the class, he made it painfully clear that getting firefighters out of trouble is an arduous task. He spoke from a personal level about a friend of his who became disoriented, couldn’t find his way out and firefighters couldn’t get him out of a window in time to save his life. According to Rick and I am going off of memory, two firefighters could not get the stricken firefighter up and out a window with a sill height of approximately 40 inches. They didn’t have the necessary tools or extra breathing air, because they were not equipped as a rescue team but as  a fire attack team. The space that they were working in was very tight, adding to the difficulty. It was easy to see how problematic it was by Rick’s very personal and detailed account.

In Illinois, Saving Our Own became the forerunner of RIT training and unbeknownst to any of us at the time, we were learning cutting edge tactics to rescue firefighters caught in a life-threatening situation.

Rick showed us the tools that we would need for the tasks and also showed us customized tools that were not on the market at the time. An example was the short-handled sledgehammer with a rope-wrapped handle. Imagine being in a space barely big enough for one person and trying to swing a standard sledgehammer to breach a wall. It wouldn’t happen. Simple “why didn’t I think of that” ideas that could make the difference in a life and death situation was laid out for us.

I left the class with a new found attitude. I no longer viewed us as invincible. I no longer thought that we could get into any situation and get back out without assistance. It caused me to take a better look when I was doing size up at a scene.

Most of all, Rick’s class revealed a very flawed attitude in many firefighters and some of them were on my fire department. The ‘flaw’ was that many firefighters would wait too long to call for help, thinking that they could get themselves out of trouble. There may have been some who felt that calling for help was admitting defeat or that they screwed up or that they didn’t want anyone hurt trying to get THEM out of trouble, but whatever the reason, it was flawed and very wrong.

We started practicing RIT like our lives depended on it. Many of my firefighters took RIT training whenever it was offered. We purchased the necessary equipment in the hopes that we would never need it, but had it if we did. I made it very clear to the department that getting into trouble may happen, but not calling for help as soon as it was realized was unacceptable.

Since we took the training, we have been fortunate in not having to call a ‘mayday’. We have created an awareness in officers and firefighters alike that has helped us to remove potential hazards from the work space to reduce the likelihood of it causing our firefighters harm upon ingress or egress.

Think of the power of Rick’s question: if one of your firefighter’s gets into trouble, how are you going to get them out?

And Hope and Luck are NOT part of that equation.

It takes planning, training, the right equipment and the right attitude.

To answer Rick’s question forces you to conduct a very critical self-examination that clears the way for the realities that your department might be weak in an area where strength is a must.

You have to train to save others, but you must also train to save your own.

TCSS.

Posted by chiefreason on May 25, 2010 • Filed under: Miscellaneous • Tagged: , , , , ,

Could We Have ‘Dunmore’?

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Voters in Dunmore, Pennsylvania have spoken (http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/referendum-vote-causes).

With a ‘no’ vote on a referendum to increase taxes to fund the fire department; you would wonder what factors determined the vote outcome and what lies ahead for the future of fire service to the town of Dunmore.

Does it appear that there is a public backlash occurring with the fire department?

What has been the relationship between the town and its firefighters?

Are there concerns by the voters that money earmarked for fire department purchases have not been spent wisely?

Were the voters expecting to see current services maintained with the failure of the referendum?

Was it clearly communicated that, without passage of the referendum, cuts would have to be made?

Did a misconception exist that services would come from other communities in order to maintain current levels of service?

Did the public understand exactly what a mutual aid agreement covers?

When fire departments get involved with referendums for whatever reasons, they are immediately invested at an emotional level.  In my opinion the reason is simple; firefighters are passionate about what they do for their community and want their community to be just as passionate as they are.

The reality is that many in the community have no sense for what motivates their firefighters, because those issues are transparent to them.

On a typical day, firefighters won’t show outward or public emotion, believing that it is a sign of weakness and unprofessional. It is for this reason that I feel that the public will reject this uncommon display of emotion as ‘gamesmanship’ by the fire department to instill fear in their citizens and that will detract from any need-real or perceived.

The relationship, if one has been established between a fire department and their community, is very important.

People might see their firefighters in their fire department roles, but they must also see that firefighters share many of the same social and economic morays as they do.

Voters want to see firefighters as productive citizens in their communities, whether it is at sporting events, church or other civic/community events. They don’t want to see their firefighters in trouble with the law or with their mortgage lender.

Some may expect a higher moral code for their firefighters, but not a higher level of entitlement.

In other words; citizens expect firefighters to BE better, but will not treat them as ‘better’. And if firefighters have been given preferential treatment-real or perceived-then backlash will also occur.

Open houses at the fire station are a key to establishing need for equipment and justification for its purchase. Having recently, purchased equipment on display with firefighters ready to answer questions is the best response to questions of spending practices.

The public needs to know that their tax money is going for needed equipment and that fundraiser and donations will be used to raise money for additional equipment and items from a ‘wish list’.

However; holding fundraisers and then showing up in new fire department logo clothing such as polo shirts, coats and hats can send the wrong message, even if members personally paid for the clothing. This is an example of bad timing that gives the appearance of impropriety that could lead to public apathy towards the fire department. In this case, much will be made about it and the department will find itself defending themselves from misguided public perception because of a lack of communication.

Many small departments see very few structural fires and have more than likely expanded services to include vehicle extrication and first response to medical calls, even though taxes have only been collected for fire protection. Unless the fire department is charging non-residents, then more than likely, revenue has not kept pace with expenditures.

Residents will often miss the more subtle calls and will only notice that there aren’t many fires, which in their minds, means that there isn’t as much of a need to fund fire protection beyond current levels or quite possibly, reducing it.

Do we establish a sense of betrayal with our public when they discover the costs that allow firefighters to pursue their dream for the best job in the world?

If firefighters project an uncommon passion for their occupation, does it somehow create an expectation by the public that we would do it for nothing or very little?

Do they take us at our word that we will continue to serve no matter how tough things get?

Getting assistance from neighboring communities in the form of mutual aid has always been the answer in towns where the event grew to larger than local resources could manage. Mutual aid was never intended as a ‘stop gap’ measure for budget constraints.

‘Mutual’ means that there is an expectation that reciprocity of effort is shared by communities and that mutually benefits the area.

In my opinion, you are going to see fire departments offer services on a contract basis to communities who are making cuts in programs.

At the very least, you may see departments voiding MA agreements and in turn, billing for services.

Regardless; neighboring communities will not allow the expense of their services to increase as their neighbors decrease and relying on mutual aid to fill that gap.

It might very well create feelings of protectionism and isolationism that is reminiscent of the 1950s.

A few months ago, Mike Ward asked if the fire service was the next ‘tea party’.

I will ask, “Could we have ‘Dunmore’?”

TCSS.

The article is protected by federal copyright law under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It is written and submitted by Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason. This article or any other article submitted under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella cannot be reproduced in ANY form without the expressed, written permission of the author. Violations are punishable by applicable laws.

Please visit: www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on May 25, 2010 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

FirefighterNetcast Presents The Voice of Reason-Show #1

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I can’t speak for the show’s listeners, but I had a complete blast last night (5/17)!

For my inaugural show, Dave LeBlanc of www.iacoj.com and www.backstepfirefighter.com (Bill Carey’s blog) kindly accepted my invitation and was the perfect guest, as I knew he would be.

It was like I was the lead singer, singing his praises and then, like a lead guitarist, Dave would go off on a riff; allowing me to get a splash of beverage and to “wander the stage”.

I would have to say that hosting a net cast requires skillful multi-tasking.

I discovered that you must first get the proper adjustment on your headset; set the proper volume for ear pieces and microphone; then, sigh in to www.blogtalkradio.com ; open www.firefighternetcast.com and Google Talk; stay to your outline and notes; watch feedback in the chat room; maintain thoughts on subject at hand with guest; get another question ready; check Google Talk for messages; and oh yeah; have fun with it, while making it interesting for guest and audience.

The only glitch of the evening came when my Skype dropped my call. It took me about five minutes to re-establish my connection to the show. I can’t help but wonder if John…

I was in a near panic, but, because of the pros that they are; John (www.firedaily.com) and Rhett (www.firecritic.com) stepped right in, took a question from the outline and kept the flow to the show. Good save, fellazzzzzz!

It was a raucus chat room last night. Chatters were discussing, but were also having fun. It resembled a play ground every now and then, but it was exciting to see so many “at the show”.

Callers Wayne and Jason took the energy of the program to the next level.

The show wound down with Dave honoring his fallen brother firefighter, mentor and friend, Bobby J; who lost his battle with cancer last December 26th.

The show ended with one of my favorite songs to honor our fallen: “Grace of God Go I” by Flogging Molly.

Then, we did a post production meeting. I laughed so hard that I hurt. I called a friend after the meeting and then took Chopper out, so I could smoke a celebratory cigar.

What a night!

It’s one that I will never forget…

TCSS.

My next installment of FirefighterNetcast Presents The Voice of Reason will be on Thursday, June 24th at 8:00 pm CT/9:00 pm ET.

 

Please visit www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog: www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on May 18, 2010 • Filed under: Miscellaneous • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Getting to the “Right” Place

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How is it that we have no fear of going into a burning building, entering swift water to rescue a victim, rappel down a 200-foot cliff or go out in bad weather to spot tornadoes and yet; when an opportunity comes along that has life-changing potential, we are too scared to seize the moment?

Did any of you have a master plan for how your life would go?

I know many firefighters who planned on it from when they were very young, so for them; did you plan on becoming an officer?

Was your goal ever to rotate off shift to an administrative position working Monday through Friday?

Or, were you planning to rotate to another station house?

When the decision is made to “stay where you’re at”, is it because you have grown comfortable there?

Is it because there would be too much upheaval to change it?

Are we concerned with how the change would affect the ones around us?

Or, are we looking for an excuse, so that we won’t have to confront our own fear of change?

Many of you who follow my “stuff” know that I don’t ask questions for the sake of discussions. I don’t ask if I already know the answer…most of the time!

No; I ask because I want to know the answer and to learn.

What impediments do we put in front of ourselves that denies us the opportunity to further our success and when we do, is that in effect, failure?

We know that we don’t like failure, but what is it called when we don’t challenge ourselves to reach new heights and simply show up and “do our jobs”.

There isn’t a more challenging occupation than firefighting.

Well-planned pre-plans can quickly turn into ad hoc chaos in a New York minute and we have to rise to the challenge and live to tell about it. We are so focused on our tasks that we don’t have time to be scared and it begs many questions.

When does training become skill?

When does work performance become experience?

When does knowledge become wisdom?

When does student become teacher?

When does craftsmanship become leadership?

When does change become essential to our personal growth?

My spiritual advisor-Baziman-did not pose these questions to me. Rather, he asked me other, more introspective questions and made some personal observations of me that led me to ask those questions.

Not only am I asking them of my readers, but I am also asking them for myself.

Though we may not get together, I want us to get to the same place.

Do you hear me, Baziman?

I HAVE to ask questions to get to my answers.

More specifically, I have to ask the RIGHT questions to get the RIGHT answers.

I have constructed incident pre-plans in meticulous fashion, leaving no doubt and little to chance.

I have lived much of my life in “ad hoc chaos” and though it has made my journey through this life exciting and adventurous, it has lacked a certain fulfillment.

Now, I am on a new mission; a new pathway that has already revealed that I stand in the way of me!

I am not going to go back and take a more cautious route.

No; I am going to remove the obstacles and continue my journey. Hosting FirefighterNetcast isn’t a beginning or an end. It is but a destination along the way.

Baziman will be my wing man, my GPS and co-pilot.

And we will split the gas!

TCSS.

The article is written and submitted by Art Goodrich aka ChiefReason. It is submitted under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It is protected by federal copyright laws and cannot be re-produced in any form without the expressed and written permission of the author.

Please visit: www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on May 14, 2010 • Filed under: Miscellaneous • Tagged: , , , , ,

Person of Convictions or Convicted Person?

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Allowing convicted felons to serve on a fire department is not a moral/ethical question, but is one of legal liability. Beyond that, it raises serious issues with public trust.

Do we have no more regard for the public that we are sworn to protect that we would knowingly unleash a criminal with a key to the city?

Have we no more respect for the law-abiding members of the fire department that we would force them to act in concert with someone with known criminal tendencies?

Is it worth the potential legal problems from a failed, sociological experiment?

As a trustee for a fire district, I can tell you that the answer to all of the above is a resounding “NO”!

Every fire department should have a “Code of Ethics” that every prospective member should know before they join and would agree to follow if hired.

It goes without saying that current or active members would be guided by the same code of ethics.

If a prospective member has a criminal past, the code has already been violated. There are no second chances. A criminal past cannot be “undone”. Criminals cannot “take it back”, call a “do-over” or pretend that they were young and foolish and made a “mistake”. Breaking the law is not a mistake; it is a crime!

Most reasonable people are driven by the values that were instilled in them by a parent(s), their schools, churches and communities and are re-inforced by the laws of the land.

Though it is not intrusive to a civilized society; for those willing to break laws for personal gain, the laws are designed to discourage any thought of committing a crime by outlining the punishments if you do.

For those who perpetrate a criminal act, it is understood that they need to become gainfully employed once released from prison, but NOT in a public safety position in the public sector.

The private sector is better suited for a criminal assimilating back to Society.

It should be noted that, in my opinion, convicted felons are NOT starting a “new” life. They are resuming their lives with one strike against them.

I realize that you pay for your crime once, but you suffer the cost for the rest of your life-as it should be.

It is the fire department’s “Code of Ethics” that reminds a community that they will be served by the most ethical public servants that can be found and will be uncompromising with this mission.

Codes will not be ignored and rules will not be bent or broken.

Violations of the “Code of Ethics” will result in dismissal with cause.

Following are examples of verbiage often included in a “Code of Ethics” document:

  •  We will respect ourselves and the public that we represent and serve.
  • We recognize that our position as a public servant is a privilege.
  • The Public Interest will always be placed before individual, group or special interests.
  • We will not discriminate and will work to prevent and to eliminate discrimination where it exists.
  • We will accept “thank yous” and gestures of gratitude ONLY and will accept charitable donations in the spirit in which they are given.
  • We will not display negative or rude behavior towards the public.
  • We will not use our position of trust for personal gain.
  • We will always protect the confidentiality of our public’s information.
  • No drugs (legal) or alcohol will be consumed while on duty. When off-duty, at least eight (8) hours must pass after drugs (legal) or alcohol has been consumed before a member can respond to a call or callback.
  • Statements concerning the fire department will be issued through the Public Information Officer. Personal opinions shall be identified as such.

Keep in mind that it is a “Code of Ethics” and it does not take the place of pre-employment questionnaires, employment applications, criminal background checks or employment contracts. Having members recite a code of ethics may deepen and strengthen their commitment to them.

“Employment” is to be construed as career OR volunteer.

A volunteer fire department can be charged with negligent hiring in the same way a municipality with a full time fire department can.

And I have been advised that “Tort Immunity” will not cover it nor is there insurance for it. You pay cash if negligent hiring can be proven.

If that isn’t enough to discourage you from hiring people who have already proven that they cannot conduct themselves within the confines of the rule of law, then I don’t know what will.

Maybe, some of you weren’t cut out to be trustees.

Wait…

You probably thought that allowing the fire department to “elect” their members gets you off the hook?

Wrong again!

Under the law, you cannot abdicate any of your legally, sworn duties. Allowing the fire department to choose their members is, in fact, “hiring” them. And trustees “approve”, even if they are not directly involved with the decision.

Here, the fire department personnel committee makes the recommendation for a new member and the trustees approve it. Then, the probationary period starts. Once they make it through probation, they are “retained” and approved by the trustees.

But, be sure to use that argument in court: Well, your Honor; the fire department put him on the department. We had nothing to do with it.

Judge: And that’s exactly why you’re here! Get your checkbook out.

So; you might want to re-think that whole second chance mentality; at least where you claim to have the best interests of the public in mind.

TCSS.

The article written by Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella is protected by federal copyright law. It cannot be re-produced in any form with the expressed and written permission of the author.

Please visit me at: www.fireemsblogs.com and go to www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on May 10, 2010 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Tell Her Before It’s Too Late!

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MothersDayCard

Sunday will be Mother’s Day.

When I think of Mother’s Day, I harken back to my childhood days because, honestly; that is a time when I needed Mom the most.

I realize that Moms are there for us even as we get older, but by that time in our lives, we have learned to care for ourselves and more than likely have found a partner who can assist us in our times of need. The only problem with that is: now, if I fall down, I won’t be picked up and my “boo boo” kissed. No; I will be told to “get up-you’re embarrassing me”!

Looking back, I don’t think Mom ever got a day off

You would think that, when it was bed-time, she could kick back and relax. Not so in my house!

There were eight kids and someone was always sick with some type of childhood disease. Mumps, measles, chicken pox, colds, flu-you name it-Mom was up with us at night caring for us, so Dad could get up and go to work.

But, Mom also had to get up and “work”. She had to get the others up, fix breakfast, prepare an emergency fix for a garment of some sort, get us off to school and get the house ready, so when we came home from school, we would destroy it once again.

She had to do the grocery shopping, take us to our different functions, take us shopping for clothes when we could afford it and meet with teachers to discuss our progress or in my case, a lack of it.

She was the judge/jury and disciplinarian when there were matters that required it. More on that later.

She would take us to Sportsman’s Lake to swim and there were no lifeguards. You were on the honor system and a parent, guardian or adult child was responsible for you.

I remember when I was about five years old, we were swimming. I was suppose to stay near the shallow shore, but being the adventurer that I was, I kept going out a little farther when Mom wasn’t looking. After all, she had several of us to watch.

Well, wouldn’t you know it; I went out too far and dropped into deep water and I couldn’t swim!

The next thing I knew, this “body” landed right on top of me. Apparently, Mom didn’t see me and instinctively ran to the dock and jumped in, landing right on top of me.

She got me to shore and was again on top of me, making sure to get that nasty lake water out of my lungs. She was beating on me like I was a drum!

I swear that she beat me well after all of the water had cleared my system. Hmmm; me thinks that she was enjoying it a bit too much!

Was she glad that I hadn’t drowned or mad because she got her hair-do wet? Readers; you decide!

Regardless; Mom saved my life that day for sure.

I remember that when I got older, I was due for some punishment; most likely because one of my sisters and I had been fighting. Mom always took THEIR side. Women!

Anyway, I think that I was like 13 years old and had decided that, on this day, I was too old for any more spankings.

So, when Mom was in her back swing with her right hand, I grabbed her by the wrist. Knowing that the left hand was coming right behind it, I reached out and grabbed her left wrist as well.

She was stunned and speechless, but her eyes were cutting me in two!

I said, “Mom, I am too old for any more spankings. There will be no more. You need to come up with some other way to discipline me”.

She tried to struggle free, but I held on for fear that she would sneak a short, right hook in on me.

I said, “Mom; please promise me that you won’t hit me anymore”.

She promised, but cried harder than I had ever seen her cry.

And looking back, I believe that she cried because she realized that her “little boy” had grown up. Either that or she figured out that I was faster with my hands than she was. Readers; you decide!

However; Dad had made no such promise and proceeded to demonstrate rather liberally that HE would decide when the spankings would stop and it wouldn’t be on THIS day!

For the record, the last time Dad laid a hand on me was when I was 16 and was not home from a date at our pre-determined time. Thank you, Candy Burnett for keeping my interest past curfew!

Back to Mom.

When I was in the hospital for several weeks during my senior year in high school, it was Mom who would come and stay with me during the day, would go home and fix dinner for the family and then come back in the evening with Dad. What an angel! I still get emotional when I think of how much she gave me and how hard she worked; often ignoring her own health issues, but that was Mom. She was an extraordinary woman and a GREAT mother.

I honestly believe that I was a little snot the other 364 days of the year, but on Mother’s Day, her world for that ONE day was perfect and I was her perfect, “little boy”. She cherished the attention that she got on her special day and it was well deserved.

In retrospect, I should have worked a little harder at making every day her “Mother’s Day, but I was a dumb kid, trying to figure out more inventive ways to get into trouble.

After Mom passed away in 1999, I found a box of her mementos and I think that she had kept every card and letter that I had sent her over the years, but in that box, I found a card that I had made for her when I was much younger.

The card was made out of grade school-issued construction paper and I must have made it in fourth grade. It really touched me that she kept it for so long.

On the front of the card, it said, “To Mother. In all the world, there is no other can take the place of my dear Mother.”

Inside of the card was a typewritten verse, obviously the work of my fourth grade school teacher, Mrs. Quicksted.

It reads, “A Message to Mother. Mother dear, I bring a message from my heart this Mother’s Day. As with eagerness and gladness; Thankful words I’ll try to say I am happy. I am grateful for your care along the way! Mother dear, your gentle wisdom guards me as the seasons fly. And I know your loving kindness as the days and years slip by! So I sing my humble praises, to your goodness testify! Mother dear, may I grow sweetly in the ways of truth and grace. By your precept and example be safe guided in Life’s race; Then I’ll merit your approval finding in your heart my place.” From Arthur.

Mom; I hope that I found your approval and my place in your heart.

Love and respect to mothers everywhere on Mother’s Day and every day!

Posted by chiefreason on May 8, 2010 • Filed under: Days to Remember • Tagged: , , ,

Putting the Trust in Trustee

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As some of you know, I became a trustee for our fire district after having a fulfilling, active career as a volunteer firefighter.

I haven’t written many blogs from a trustee’s perspective, because I doubt that there are many trustees in my audience.

Over the years, I have been contacted by many firefighters who were having problems with their governing bodies. I have offered a diverse range of opinions, due to having been on both sides of the fence. I cannot recall a single instance where I was contacted by a trustee for advice.

I am self-effacing as a trustee, because I still have a firefighter’s passion. I still get jacked up when the guys are talking about a recent call.

I go to their training sessions to stay current with the skill sets.

I go to meetings in case they have questions. The “old” trustees didn’t like coming to our meetings and hated answering questions even more than going to meetings.

Though I might look like I am out front; in reality, I don’t get involved unless I am asked or unless there is slow progress towards a resolution.

In other words; I take what they give me.

I had MY time. Now; it’s THEIR time.

I am not, nor will I ever be your typical trustee.

You know the type. The typical trustee has never served on a fire department, but is “good with a check book”.

The typical trustee knows the color of a fire truck, but they know the color of money even better. But, you don’t spend it; you save it.

With the typical trustee, the most often, uttered reply will be, “We don’t have the money for that”. Second on the list will be, “Do you REALLY need that?”

Believe me; I was well-schooled on the “resistance fighters” known as our trustees. The fire department and I, as their leader, was the enemy, because we were always trying to take “their” money.

Though we were constantly denied money for much needed equipment, our trustees wouldn’t apply for grants, they wouldn’t increase the taxing rate, didn’t seek a referendum to increase taxes or look at viable alternative revenue streams, such as charging out-of-district users.

I literally had to take them on in order for our department to respond to calls on the interstate highway that runs through our district. They “got it” once they were told by our attorney that we could be sued and they ALWAYS followed the attorney’s advice-right or wrong.

That was in 1989. In 1990, they finally agreed to out-of-district charges; a flat rate of one hundred dollars.

The acrimony continued until we changed the process appointing them to having them elected.

A new era of hope and change arrived for our department.

Though we still have a dust up from time to time, anyone familiar with the “old days” can tell you how much better it is today.

Dealing with fire district issues as a chief in the “old days” made me better. I became more resourceful, more diplomatic and more determined to improve all aspects of our business; from communication to funding levels.

I did not want the department’s attention diverted from their mission to provide fire protection.

I made them a promise when I became a trustee. It was not an empty promise and I have kept my promise to them and our fire district residents.

When we take a vote, we have enough discussion to have a clear understanding of what we are voting on, so most of the time, the vote is unanimous.

My advice to fire department officers who interact with their fire boards is to remain respectful, diligent, patient and knowledgeable of the laws that govern the fire service.

Yelling only increases the temperature of the room.

You can keep your fire board engaged without them feeling threatened and you can do so without compromising your principles.

Communication is the key and any impediment to good communication must be removed.

There are many legal pitfalls for governing bodies. Fire districts should temper everything that they do with a proper legal review.

Too often, trustees are afraid of legal liabilities and choose to do nothing.

It is just as important for a trustee to continue their education as it is for firefighters.

Trustees who are unwilling to improve their trustee skills are just like firefighters who don’t want to train; NEITHER has any business being a member of their fire department or fire district board of trustees.

In a nutshell; trustees should be leaders too!

TCSS.

The article written by Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella is protected by federal copyright law. It cannot be re-produced in any form with the expressed and written permission of the author.

Please visit me at: www.fireemsblogs.com and go to www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on May 4, 2010 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , , ,

Of Dreams, Clowns and Eagles

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As I crested the hill, I could smell the smoke in the air.

At the top of the hill, I could see a column of black smoke penetrating the air above an enclave of small, modest homes.

I quickened my steps as I headed towards the source of the smoke.

As I got nearer, I could see that the smoke was pushing powerfully from the doors and windows.

People were running around in the front yard of this residence, screaming that a young boy was inside.

A couple of men were on their hands and knees, coughing and vomiting after making an effort to enter the house to rescue the young boy. Apparently, the young boy ran from them and they had to exit the house because of the thick smoke and intense flames.

It was clear to me that I was not going to enter through the front door, so I ran to the side of the house, where I found another door.

I looked through the door and could only see the lower portion of the little boy.

I kicked in the door and as soon as the kid saw me, he took off in the other direction. He was running to a closet and as he got down on his hands and knees to crawl into the smoke-filled closet, I grabbed him by the waistband of his jeans, tucked him under my left arm and exited the same way that I had entered.

I handed him over to his mom and to the cheers of the neighbors just as the fire department was starting their attack.

I woke up from my sleep, wringing wet from sweat.

Later that same day-Friday-I was driving through Galesburg in the right hand lane. I came to a stoplight and stopped. A mini-van pulled up next to me in the left lane and I looked over at the clown that was driving.

No; it was an honest-to-God clown with a red wig, white face and a red nose. He looked at me, smiled and gave me one of those “clown waves” with his white-gloved hand.

You had to be there to sense the weirdness of the moment. The only thing that could have made it funnier was, if he had been driving on of those really small clown cars.

However; a lone clown driving a mini-van is a bit odd on its own.

Today-Saturday-two firefighters from my department, a retired bat chief from Galesburg and I played in a firefighter golf tournament in Monmouth at Gibson Woods Golf Course. IAFF Local 1702 was hosting 19 teams in a best ball format.

When I play golf, I like to play well, but I also like to enjoy it and have fun. I don’t let bad shots spoil the moment. Don’t get me wrong; I like to play well, but if I can play and make more good shots than bad shots, then it was a good day.

My team played very well in the windy rain on a wet course. One of my guys-Jeff-missed a hole in one by just two feet. We made several long putts, had some birdies and a couple of bogies. We missed winning our flight because of a scorecard playoff.

But, what I take from the day is the eagle that I scored on the sixth hole.

It was a par 4, 386-yard hole that dog-legged to the right. The corner was well protected by trees and missing the corner to the left had you in tall rough grass. I hit my drive just left of the trees at the corner and into the middle of the approach fairway to number six green.

The GPS said that we were 130 yards from the hole. The others missed the green with their shots and I was hitting last. I didn’t feel pressure.

I grabbed my 7-iron because of the wind and because I don’t hit my irons with any distance. Yes, I know; many of you would use a wedge of some sort, but I have not perfected my irons play.

I hit the ball well. It was straight in line with the flag pin. It felt good when I hit it, but you never know. We had been hitting good shots all day and were coming up short. That’s golf, you know?

But, on this shot, my ball hit the green, took one bounce and disappeared. My teammates thought it went in the hole. I thought that it bounced off the back of the green.

We got into our carts and went to the green and I asked Tyke to check the hole. I was getting a wedge and my putter and walking to the back of the green to look for my ball.

I watched Tyke reach down and pull my ball out of the cup. EAGLE!

Jubilation and celebration overcame my group.

When others can feel just as good for your accomplishment as you do, then that is a feeling like nothing else that you can experience.

And that’s how it should be with fire departments; sharing the good and the bad, picking each other up, coming through in the clutch and celebrating each other’s success and failures as a TEAM. It’s not just a golf lesson. It is a Life lesson.

A dream, a clown and an eagle. Somehow; they are connected and I must find it.

I think the dream was telling me that I would accomplish something exciting. Seeing the clown was to remind me to have fun, I think. And scoring the eagle let me know that, when you put everything together correctly, success will come. Perhaps my spiritual advisor can tell me.

Sounds a little bit strange, doesn’t it?

Well, that’s me!

TCSS.

The article is protected by federal copyright law under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It is written and submitted by Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason. This article or any other article submitted under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella cannot be reproduced in ANY form without the expressed, written permission of the author. Violations are punishable by applicable laws.

Please visit: www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on May 2, 2010 • Filed under: Miscellaneous • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Most Influential LODD Report-Submission for Blog Carnival

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We should take something from every LODD report that we read.

We should take the time to read them, if for no other reason than to honor the fallen firefighter(s) and their families.

Over the years, I have read several LODD reports that have had a profound influence, but there is one that affected me more deeply than the others and changed ME with regards to how we should conduct ourselves in a leadership role, remind us how important safety is while conducting our business, to train our departments to recognized standards and to NEVER use the term “volunteer” as an excuse to be less than professional.

The LODD of Bradley Golden was one of the most tragic examples of the stigma that is carried by the volunteer fire service with regards to officer qualifications, leadership skills, training and standards/compliance.

In short; Bradley Golden’s Line-of-Duty-Death was the result of colossal failures from the top down and affects me so deeply because it was so preventable.

According to the NIOSH LODD report http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face200138.html, on September 25, 2001, Firefighter Bradley Golden of the Lairdsville, NY Fire Department died from asphyxia due to smoke inhalation during a live-burn training exercise. Firefighter Bradley Golden was just 19 years old and had been a member of the department for THREE weeks!

In addition, Adam Croman and Benjamin Morris were seriously injured during the same training exercise.

For a complete story that goes well beyond the NIOSH LODD report, go to http://chiefreasonart.com/brads-page/ .

On October 31, 2002, the final “Death in the Line of Duty” report was published by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face200138.html.

The following recommendations were made:

1)       Fire departments should ensure that no one plays the role of victim inside the structure during live-burn training. (NFPA 1403, 2-4.13)

2)       Fire departments should ensure that a certified instructor is in charge of the live-burn training and that a separate safety officer is appointed and has the authority to intervene and control any aspect of the operation. (NFPA 1403, NFPA 1041)

3)       Fire departments should ensure that only one training fire is ignited at a time by a designated ignition officer and that a charged hose line is present while igniting the fire.

4)       Fire departments should ensure that Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are developed and followed.

5)       Fire departments should ensure that all firefighters participating in live-burn training have achieved a minimum level of basic training. (NFPA 1403, 2-1.2)

6)       Fire departments should ensure that before conducting live-burn training, a pre-burn briefing session is conducted and an evacuation plan and signal are established for all participants.

7)       Fire departments should ensure that fires used for live-burn training are not located in any designated exit paths.

8)       Fire departments should ensure that the fuels used in the live-burn training have known burning characteristics and the structure is inspected for possible environmental hazards. (NFPA 1403, 2-2.10)

9)       States should develop a permitting procedure for live-burn training to be conducted at acquired structures. States should ensure that all requirements of NFPA 1403 have been met before issuing the permit.

As I said, the LODD report does not tell the whole story. See http://chiefreasonart.com/brads-page/.

In the aftermath of Bradley’s tragic death, Assistant Chief Alan Baird III was convicted of criminally negligent homicide. The parents of Bradley Golden filed a lawsuit against the fire department.

On July 17, 2003, “Bradley’s Law” was signed by NY Governor George Pataki. The law makes it illegal for people to pose as victims during live-burn training.

And I will always remember Firefighter Bradley Golden, tragically killed while in the prime of his youth by those sworn to protect him.

TCSS.

Posted by chiefreason on April 27, 2010 • Filed under: Miscellaneous • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Leaving It On The Floor

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FDIC 2010 is “in the books” as they say and what a great time it was.

I started out from home at 5:00 am on Thursday, so that I could get there in plenty of time to see Tiger’s presentation. Unfortunately, I wasn’t properly credentialed, so I was not allowed into the hall until 2:00 pm Thursday afternoon.

However; I was already seeing people that I knew, so time passed very quickly.

I had the opportunity to catch up with Chief Rick Lasky. Rick and I go back to his early days as a lieutenant for Darien-Woodridge Fire Department and at that time, he was also an instructor for our Illinois State Fire Institute. Rick is one of the good guys and a vivid example of why we choose the fire service. He deserves nothing but best wishes and I am honored to know him.

Then, I saw my good friend, whom I credit with rescuing our state’s fire service programs. Dick Jaehne came to us after the sudden death of Jerry Monigold; then the director of our training institute. Through no fault of Jerry’s, our monies for programs were dangerously low. Dick stepped in and now, the Illinois Fire Service Institute is thriving and expanding and is considered one of the top training and research programs in the nation.

I had the distinct honor and pleasure of meeting many “cyber-friends” for the first time. They truly humbled me with their kind words. How is it that you can walk up to people whom you have only known through the Internet, connect in a heart-felt hug and talk like you’ve known each other for years?

Well; it happened right there on the floor at FDIC. And I would have been content if that was all that happened, but it got even better.

Rhett Fleitz (FireCritic) came out and managed to get me onto the floor and back to the FirefighterNetcast booth, where he and John Mitchell (FireDaily) were taping shows for future net casts. I was treated to a steady diet of some of the best bloggers and speakers in the fire service. Check out this list: Justin Schorr-The Happy Medic; Chris Kaiser-Life under the Lights; Tiger Schmittendorf-Run to the Curb; Ron Siarnicki-National Fallen Firefighters Foundation; Chief Billy Goldfeder, Ray Gayk, Fred Simmon; Tim Sendelbach-FireRescue Magazine and the list goes on.

Several of the pictures that you will see were taken by me with Rhett’s camera.

I also got to meet Bill Carey and to spend some time with him. He is a great guy and just a real gentleman. Don’t let his youthful good looks fool you. He is a seasoned veteran in every sense of the word.

Some crusty old jakes made the trip. 1835Wayne and Chiefy54 spent some time with me. Chiefy gave me a challenge coin from the Patriot Guard. It now resides in my jewelry box. It is very special to me to be given such a strikingly beautiful coin and I am touched beyond words by the gesture. Thanks Chiefy. And Wayne; that was a great toast to the brothers that you gave Friday night at “that” bar.

Chris Naum of Command Safety and I got to spend some with him before he did his segment with FirefighterNetcast. What a passionate guy. We have already made plans to meet in Chicago in August.

Perfesser Mike Ward of FossilMedic and FireGeezer fame was there. He always out-dresses me; he in a nice business suit, accented with a splendid scarlet Jerry Garcia silk tie and me in my Leary Foundation T-shirt and Khaki Cargo shorts. I don’t know anyone in the business that is busier than Mike. Check out his article on tea parties and the fire service.

I had the pleasure of meeting Shell. Shell has been a fan and a chat room regular since the very first FirefighterNetcast. She is a joy to be around.

And of course, I got to hang with three, lovely ladies from FireRescue Magazine. Shannon, Janelle and Cindy deserve my thanks for putting up with me. Trust me; the stigma of being seen with me should wear off by next year’s show!

Last, but certainly not least, huge props go out to Dave and his lovely wife Diane, Chris Hebert and Paul Andrews of GoForwardMedia. Thank you for the opportunity and continued support.

I lost my voice, but I found new friends, new energy and affirmation of why I do what I do.

I will close with a product review.

Best beer at Indy this year?What else-Fire Chief Ale from Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewing Company.

Get some!

TCSS.

The article is protected by federal copyright law under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It is written and submitted by Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason. This article or any other article submitted under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella cannot be reproduced in ANY form without the expressed, written permission of the author. Violations are punishable by applicable laws.

Please visit: www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on April 25, 2010 • Filed under: Miscellaneous • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

There’s a Map to Street Smart!

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As I listened to Dan and Nick from http://traditionstraining.com/ Thursday night on http://www.firefighternetcast.com/, I thought about the Doobie Brothers song, “Takin’ it to the Streets”, because that is what I took away from the two hour program. Two hours flew by and I think they could have easily done another two hours.

First of all, I have a deep and abiding affection for truckies. Engine and ladder companies are very important to fireground operations, but, in my mind, they are engaged in tasks that involve hydraulic and mechanical aptitudes. Truck companies and truckies are, shall we say, “different”.

It’s like; if engine and ladder companies are the cavalry, then surely truck companies are the foot soldiers, who lead the charge. As Rick Lasky would say, they “get dirty, break things and swear”!

Listening to Dan and Nick, you get a sense that they sat through their share of cookie cutter classes and realized that what might work for one department might not work for another. They offer an “adaptive” approach; customized and individualized for the firefighters in their classes.

And they do it at the street level, where it matters the most.

After I took the top spot in my department, gone were the days of climbing the ladder, punching a hole in the roof or my personal favorite; going interior with the nozzle.

No; I would be relegated to tactics and command, building construction, ICS and other pertinent, officer training classes. The “fun” days were over. It was no longer “doing” but making sure that it got done.

Traditions Training on FirefighterNetcast transported me back to when I was 30 years old once again to forcing doors, conducting room searches and pushing myself to my physical limits.

You could hear the passion when they spoke about training. They were jacked up and it got me jacked up. Anyone who has ever been in a class where the instructor spoke in a monotone and condescending manner like they were on C-Span, know that Dan and Nick are at the opposite end. I don’t know that they have a “different” approach, but it is certainly the RIGHT approach.

By right approach, I mean that they know how to engage their students and by making the training interesting, they keep their students interested. They call it “combat ready”. I like that.

I want to be a firefighter again!

I want to take their class.

I will seek them out at FDIC.

I want to shake their hand and thank them for providing our men and women with life-saving skills and for giving them, you know; street smarts.

And in the finest tradition of the fire service.

Thanks to Dan and Nick for sharing their gift and thanks to John at http://firedaily.com/ and Rhett at http://firecritic.com/ for another great FirefighterNetcast.

TCSS.

Posted by chiefreason on April 9, 2010 • Filed under: Miscellaneous • Tagged: , , , , , ,

YOU Matter!

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95% of the time, readers who respond to my blogs offer their opinions and they will agree with what I wrote, disagree with what I wrote or note that it has given them something to think about.

And it is done in a very respectful manner.

It evokes pure joy in me that I can write with enough passion as to incite thoughtful replies from readers.

But, I can also incite that other 5% too.

They aren’t as nice. They aren’t as thoughtful and respectful. In fact, they have confused “opinion” with “insult”. I have to believe that, since they resort to insults, they are incapable of articulating an opinion; at least, on the subject matter of the blog. They have plenty to say about the blogger!

And, I blame that 5% for discouraging the good people from offering their opinions.

I mean; who wants to be the cyber-punching bag for the cyber-bullies?

Can you think of a worse form of suppression? This isn’t an oppressive society where you can be arrested and jailed for your opinions, but you do have to put up with the bullies.

I have been hit hard for a couple of articles that I have written, but I’m still standing and there is a reason for it!

I grew up with the stink of poor on me.

I can still remember the smells.

As a kid, our house was heated with coal. The basement, with its dirt floor, stunk from the raw coal.

The house stunk from the smoke as the coal burned in the furnace. Undoubtedly, my clothes stunk from the smoke, but I didn’t notice.

I only noticed that, when I went to a friend’s house, their house didn’t smell like mine.

I became very intimate with coal. It was my job to fill the stoker that fed the furnace. This had to be done twice a day during the winter or the fire in the furnace would go out. It happened a couple of times and discipline for me was severe.

My other two jobs as a kid was taking out the garbage and feeding our dog. When I was old enough, mowing the lawn was added to my list of chores.

I remember the stink from boiling chicken feathers. Dad would buy chickens and we would help “process” them for our consumption. After the chickens were killed, Mom would dip them in the vat of boiling water so that the feathers would be easier to pluck.

But, it wasn’t as bad of a smell as dressing rabbits and squirrels that Dad shot during their hunting seasons. Oh yes; we ate what he shot and as the other “man” in the house, I had to help clean the game. It was no game!

It was the same deal with fish. We caught them, cleaned them and then ate them. Frog legs, too!

Growing up like I did may have given others their excuse to steal. Not me; because, even though my family had the bare essentials, we also had strong principles instilled into us by our parents.

My life of crime ended when I stole a penny piece of licorice from the Candy Shoppe and Dad took me back into the store and begged the owner to call the police. Vern, the owner, thought it best that Dad should deal me the appropriate punishment. Jail would have been the better option in this case! I don’t believe that his punishment fit my crime. It took three days for my butt to be pain-free.

And that was probably my first encounter with “tough love”, but not the last.

My parents grew up during the Great Depression. They DID have to walk miles to go to school. I never realized how bad they had it until I studied the Great Depression in my high school history class. Mom and Dad didn’t like talking about it, so I knew that it was bad.

My childhood was spent in the 1950s, during the early years of the Cold War. Eisenhower was the President then. Yeah; I’ve been around since Eisenhower. Our son has been around since Jimmy Carter!

I use my upbringing as the basis for the principles and opinions that I possess today. I feel that both principles and opinions, based upon those principles have been a big part of my fabric since I was old enough to know the difference between right and wrong.

I also knew the difference between hard work and a free ride. That one was easy. A free ride didn’t exist in my world.

We were all expected to help with those things that supported the family, like the HUGE garden that we would plant each year. We were required to help water it, keep weeds out of it, pick the vegetables that were ready and help Mom prepare them for canning. I swear that growing up; the only groceries that we had to buy from the store were milk, eggs, meat and bread.

However; I got to enjoy my childhood. I got to play with my friends, go swimming and play baseball, but I learned about priorities at an early age. I was committed early on to principled decision-making. I would never ask to go and play with friends, if Dad was going to the garden. I wasn’t going to let the family down.

Can you see where the spill over from my childhood to my development as a person, as a member of the fire department and now as a blogger?

In my mind, I am a better person for growing up as I did. It gave me mental and physical toughness. It is where I started to develop my critical eye and my critical thinking.

There was no “fairness doctrine” growing up. Dad’s decisions were predicated on what was right, but not necessarily fair. If it was right AND fair, then it must have been pure coincidence.

I learned from my father that you could be poor, but proud. WE knew that we were poor and Dad would have none from anyone who wanted to remind us of it. He would let them know all about pride. End of conversation!

So, to those of you who can relate to something in this blog, please know that you have a kindred spirit.

Stand up and voice your opinions.

YOU matter!

The article is protected by federal copyright law under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It is written and submitted by Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason. This article or any other article submitted under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella cannot be reproduced in ANY form without the expressed, written permission of the author. Violations are punishable by applicable laws.

Please visit: www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on April 5, 2010 • Filed under: Miscellaneous • Tagged: , , , , ,

Time to Get Out

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Yes; it could mean the amount of time needed to evacuate a structure when conditions inside become untenable, but for the purposes of this blog, it simply ponders that issue that faces every firefighter or EMT when we ask ourselves “Is it time to get out of the service?”

I get frustrated when the discussion boards lack discussion; meaningful discussion, that is. Oh; there is the same old chatter from the squirrels, but the good information that is coming out in a host of blogs…if they are getting read, they certainly aren’t being discussed to any great degree.

Are we THAT busy in our lives that we can’t take a moment and check in to see what’s shakin’ in our little world of the fire service? Then, if we have a few minutes but don’t take the time, are we disconnected or disinterested?

In case you didn’t know, the winds of discontent are blowing…or sucking, depending on your perspective.

As I learned from listening to a recent podcast on www.firefighternetcast.com, our people in fire/EMS are not all that happy and in some cases are getting burnt out and burn out leads to GETTING out.

We cannot afford to let that happen, so what do we do?

Bear with me as I share my thoughts with you. Maybe you should go and get that beverage now.

Where is it written that WE must shoulder the weight of the world just because we want to help our communities in their times of need?

Who says that we have to internalize and otherwise hide/mask all of the ugly junk that we see that defies any plausible explanation or description?

Why do we continue to believe that, if we don’t do it, no one else will? Can’t you feel the sheer desperation of having no alternatives that effectively forces someone to commit?

And finally; why do we watch our brothers and sisters succumb to the pressures of giving our best efforts, failing to change the outcome and believing that it’s failure nonetheless?

Well, I am here to tell you that you lost touch with reality on the day that you thought your fire certifications and EMT licenses was going to fix everything!

We continue to set the bar high which, in and of itself is a good thing, but when we don’t have a net to catch the ones who barely miss reaching the bar, we set ourselves up to fail. We must keep everyone engaged, improve our leadership, training and expand the knowledge base in everyone who chooses to be a firefighter/EMT.

Besides; what are we really measuring our success against anyway?

From cheating death?

From cheating all of those external forces that we cannot control, but manage to survive in while it kills others and taking our guilt from it with us?

And along with that guilt, a sense of failure that washes over us with such pervasive force that we forget our love for what we do?

We become so emotionally invested with every, single incident-we become so singular of purpose-that we let the outcome define us going forward. Each time a building falls or a patient dies, a little bit more of our desire to do the job leaves us until we have no more desire to do it.

We should not measure ourselves and what we do by the outcome of one incident. Instead, we should look at incidents-one by one-as lessons learned, pay compliments to those involved, share a light moment and get ready for the next one, because, in the end; it is the volume of work and we are adding the chapters; some bad, but many that are good or even great.

We hear a lot about pain thresholds. How much pain can we take before it becomes too much?

And though it largely refers to physical pain, I have to believe that the same holds true for mental pain.

I know someone who used a staple gun to pierce their ear and laughed about it as they did it, but when they saw the blood, they immediately passed out!

On the other side, I have friends who will go to the emergency room if they get a bug in their eye, but can deal with the most complex, multi-agency response incidents that I have seen. So, one type of pain threshold isn’t necessarily indicative of the other.

As we know, firefighters need both mental and physical toughness to weather the beatings that we will take from an incident. We have to take something positive from EVERY incident. There ARE positives even if there is a negative outcome and we have to talk it to that point where we all agree that, had we not been there, the situation would have been worse, regardless of the outcome.

Veteran firefighters hold the secrets to their longevity of service. They could be invaluable to the ones who are struggling with the emotional aspects of a call. Veterans could take the broken pieces of someone’s spirit and help to put it back together, if only they were asked.

See; veterans know the protocol. Veterans won’t invite themselves to the party. Veterans don’t take shots at those who have just seen grotesquely mutilated metal and flesh. They remember their first few times and they know all too well that you have to process it. It’s something that you don’t joke about…until you have had time to get better, that is.

Veterans play a pivotal role in helping others process what they do, see and hear at an incident and especially if it is having a negative impact. Were it not for the veterans, our turnover rate in the fire service would be 100 percent plus. They remind us that each of us are uniquely different, but with similar stories and it’s the telling of those stories to each other that gets us back to our love for what we do!

I got by because I treated calls as if they fell somewhere between “I haven’t seen the worst one yet” to “I have seen worse”.

Roll that one around for a bit, but it makes perfect sense to me. They are on opposite ends of the spectrum, so every call will fit somewhere between them. That is how I managed to truly love every minute of my 22 active years of running calls. I have a couple of scrapbooks that I visit from time to time and I know that many of you have your scrapbooks in the memories of your minds.

Today, I have plenty to be concerned with. I am still active in making sure that our fire department is ready for emergencies.

Though I am dismayed by some of what I am reading about scumbags in the fire service, I take something positive away EVERY day; whether it is a story of a good save, a baby born on the way to the hospital, a near miss with a happy ending, a story on a friend’s promotion, an article from a friend’s keynote address, or a book written by an old friend from his Illinois days. That’s right; Illinois claims Chief Rick Lasky.

People in the service like Rick, Tiger, Dave, Gonzo, Rhett, John, Mick, Ted, Jason, Chris, Mike, Steve, CJ and many others help to keep my compass needle pointing in the right direction.

I will offer you this piece of advice: you will miss opportunities if the only times that you dream is when you sleep.

Take something positive from the job and end the day with good thoughts.

TCSS.

The article is protected by federal copyright law under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella. It is written and submitted by Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason. This article or any other article submitted under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella cannot be reproduced in ANY form without the expressed, written permission of the author. Violations are punishable by applicable laws.

Please visit: www.fireemsblogs.com and my blog www.chiefreasonart.com.

Posted by chiefreason on March 27, 2010 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , , , ,