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FDIC & Brotherhood

I recently responded to a post on the thinking man’s fire blog “fire(fighter) behavior”.  The post primarily discussed the tremendous training opportunities available at the fire department instructors conference (FDIC) and asked what those who attended FDIC brought back with them to share with their fellow firefighters at home.  Below, is the comment that I left on his blog.

“What I brought back was the reality that you don’t have to attend any of the phenomenal H.O.T. classes, or sit through any of the mind-blowing classroom seminars to get something out of FDIC.

All you have to do to is GO to FDIC! From the Probie or the motivated senior fireman to the comfortable old-timer, anyone who needs or wants to see what the American Fire Service is TRULY about needs to GO to FDIC.

If being surrounded by 30+ thousand of your BROTHERS telling and listening to old war stories while seeing the newest technologies isn’t great enough, go to Ike and Jonesies, stand in the sea of firemen and watch the parade of IFD rigs roll by as the Pipes and Drums echo through downtown Indy ultimately ending up inside the bar with 200 firemen’s drinks raised high in the air out of respect for what it all really represents… that this is the GREATEST PROFESSION IN THE WORLD!

What I brought back from FDIC was that, no matter what the economy does or what the Mutts do, this job is bigger than any one firefighter, or chief, city or state. Don’t do your job because it’s your job, do it because you love it and because society and the firefighters behind you are depending on you to get it done… no matter what and without excuses.”

FTM-PTB and Be SAFE,

Matt “Jeebs” McDowell

Posted in Discussions, News and New Stuff

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No comments Posted by safefirefighter on May 6, 2009

Tradition, Motivation & Training

Why do you do this job?  What makes you tick?  For me, it’s the tradition, brotherhood and challenge of the job and the excitement of not knowing what the next shift will bring.  These may seem like clichés, but they are all true and undeniable.  Unfortunately, tradition, brotherhood and challenge are being replaced by bureaucracy, self-preservation, complacency and Internet learning which has turned the excitement of the unknown into the fear of the unknown.

The fire service if filled with people who have a stack of degrees and certificates inches thick and can regurgitate the “Essentials of Firefighting” by definition and page number.  However, these same people can’t tell you the difference between burning contents versus burning structural components, haven’t carried a tool since being a Probie and go offensive when they should go defensive and defensive when they should go offensive.

All of a sudden, the fire service is consumed with “customer service”.  Constantly bending over backwards to meet other people’s standards and expectations often at the expense of out own training and safety.  Coincidentally, everything looks good on paper (I.S.O. makes sure of that)!  Meanwhile, we still lose 100+ brothers a year.  How, and to whom, do we address this problem?

Education is invaluable.  Know one should ever be ridiculed for wanting to learn and better themselves.  However, real world experience or real world training are required to reinforce that knowledge.  That class you took, the article you read and that new tool on the rig doesn’t mean squat unless you get out and use it.

So, how do you get people back into hands on training?  The truth is…you don’t.  I recently attended a workshop with Chiefs Rick Lasky and John Salka and absorbed/realized a few new things:

  • “Your attitude is up to you.”
  • The only motivation is self-motivation; you cannot motivate someone else, you can only lead them in the right direction and provide inspiration.
  • “Your people are a mirror of your attitude…be a model.”

How do we put the tradition, brotherhood and challenge back into the fire service?  The answer is… by living it and breathing it every single day!  Hold each other personally accountable for your words, actions and attitudes.  Passion is easily noticed and easily contagious.  We don’t have to hold hands and sing our “Essentials” A, B, C’s together and we don’t have to agree on everything.  It’s about sharing ideas and experiences, but not necessarily the same ones.  It’s about taking new and knowledge as well as new and old experiences and meshing them together.

If you want to teach someone about tools, go use them.  If you want to teach someone about fire behavior, go to hands-on training classes or get online or grab a fire magazine (Firehouse, Fire Engineering, Fire-Rescue…etc) and size-up the incident photos. If you want to preserve the tradition and brotherhood of the fire service, then be a mentor and a leader.  You don’t have to motivate, just inspire.

FTM-PTB and Be Safe

Posted in Discussions, The Brotherhood

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No comments Posted by safefirefighter on April 13, 2009

RIP Tillerman Bob

Last week my neighbor passed away after an ongoing battle with respiratory and cardiac illnesses.  His name was bob.  Bob retired from the new Rochelle (NY) fire department in the 80’s and moved, with his wife, to South Carolina to be with their kids (and grandkids) and escape N.Y. winters.

When I moved into the neighborhood I would see Bob on a regular basis sitting on his front porch, smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer.  Being the social butterfly that I am, I walked over one day and introduced myself.  I immediately knew (unofficially) that Bob had been a fireman, because his first question to me was “how long you been on the job?”  I told him then asked him where he was on the job and what his assignment was.  His reply was “New Rochelle Ny, I was a tillerman.”

My conversations with bob were always short, always on his front porch and I always walked away with great one-liner.  after telling a war story of the “old Days” he looked and nodded his head toward his cigarette and said, “we did things real stupid back then, and look at me now.”

He was referring to foolish risks in general, but, more specifically, he was talking about breathing smoke (and smoking cigarettes).  I vaguely remember the war story, but i’ll never forget that last statement.  Not long after that Bob’s health started to worsen and I rarely saw him out on his porch anymore.

Bob never knew that he had an impact on me.  But, now that he’s gone, I think about what I will leave behind, what nugget of knowledge can I instill in someone that may make them better or safer at their job.  Ours is a unique profession in that you may leave it, but it never leaves you.  Maltese crosses and war stories are around every corner.  The trick is not to take your responsibility lightly or take your job for granted.  It is the duty of everyone in the fire service to leave it better than they found it.

Bob was found in cardiac arrest and was unable to be revived.  Ironically, or fittingly, he was found on his front porch.

FTM-PTB-RFB (RIP)

Posted in Safety and Health, The Brotherhood

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No comments Posted by safefirefighter on March 8, 2009

Brotherhood 101

BROTHERHOOD 101 (CLICK HERE)

I found this Powerpoint on the Indy Metro FOOLS website and thought that it needed to be shared.  It talks about pride, integrity and mentoring in the fire service.  It questions how we do the job.  Do we take the good with the bad?  Do we let the “bad” affect how we do our job (we shouldn’t)?  While you look at it, think about how it applies to you and your company and department.  please check it out, talk about it and spread it’s message.  There is only one Brotherhood like the fire service, let’ protect it!

Special thanks to Wayne Twp. FD (Indy) Battalion Chief Todd Taylor for creating the message and to Shawn Grass, president of the Indy Metro FOOLS, for letting me use it.

FTM-PTB and Be Safe

Posted in Uncategorized

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No comments Posted by safefirefighter on February 15, 2009