Beach Read Time

It's almost that season and for some it already is.  Wonderful to see your book on a tropical beach.

Get your copy now.  Mayday! Firefighter Down

More Memories

Cleaning out Dad's house, I came across a treasure trove of pictures.  The old school gear and methods shown warm my heart and bring back memories of when the job was big red trucks, revolving lights flashing, and the undulations of the siren under the officer's foot.  At 8 year old, this was long before I understood the reality of the danger and ugliness at the core of firefighting.  The smell of wood smoke permeating Dad's white duck coat, the three-quarter boots on the floor of the back seat, and the old Cairns helmet resting on top were my companions on every trip in the car.

Going to a live fire training was better than Christmas. And in this one, we made our own snow. Hi-expansion foam wasn't common back then and is less so now.  For a wide-eyed 8 year old, it was an amazing experience. 

Looking past the foam generator toward Dad in the, shall we say, more utilized white coat. 

Our "snow" going into and back out of the building.

Memories

Sorting through old pictures, we discovered a now poignant shot, long forgotten.  The two sets of bunker pants, one real, the other real enough for the owner, sitting side-by-side awaiting a call.  I remember the line advancement with pretend hose and search drills the little guy did in the living room.  The boots,  his, are bigger now and the pants real.  It was a joy watching him grow into them and taking him inside his first time.  Memories are a good thing. 

For the Next Generation.....

A great book for kids by a friend of mine.  It will be up and running on Amazon soon.  Pre-order it now! 

Becky: The New Fire Engine

Sunday Funnies

A great way to start off the year with the Sunday Funnies. 

 

"Living The Dream"

The experience of being a live-in firefighter is one that most who have ever done it would not trade for anything.  “Living the dream,” it is called by many, particularly those who never had the opportunity, and they are not wrong. 

A few things do change, arguably for the better, after you move out and on.  Language is one.  Fire stations are not kind to the vocabulary.  The F-word is not only a noun, verb, and adjective, but in skilled firehouse hands, can be used as punctuation.  I remember having to consciously restrict myself when outside the station in “normal” company to avoid saying things like “pass the f@^*ing potatoes.”   As time passes, so does the propensity to use the F-word in every sentence.  Once or twice a paragraph suffices. 

Sleep improves as well.  When living in the station, I think I slept eight straight hours once a week, maybe.  Between calls, staying up late bullshitting, and calls, three to five hours was a normal night’s sleep.  This experience is excellent practice for the period following the birth of your first and subsequent children.  That amount of sleep would now leave me on a continuous coffee intravenous. 

The live-in opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Thankfully, it is one you only get to do when you’re young. 

A Chief's Philosophy--From the Archives

It's November again and election time in many fire departments.  Invariably, some first time chief's will take office come January.  If these thoughts help even one of those folks, I've been successful. There are rules, and then there are rules. Here are some I've tried, not always successfully, to follow.

Ryman’s Rules: A Volunteer Chief’s Philosophy

1. You are responsible. You are responsible 365 days a year, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. If you are there or 3,000 miles away. You are responsible. You can delegate authority, but not responsibility.

2. The chief is always right. Invite input, debate, etc. from the officers. However, once the decision is made, that’s it. In public, the officers must show solidarity.

3. The officers are always right. If an officer makes a decision you disagree with, in public or with the other firefighters, that decision was right. You talk about what you would have done differently in private.

4. Delegate, delegate, and delegate. You can’t be involved in every activity, nor should you be. Give the junior officers responsibilities and hold them accountable. If they follow through, give them more and more. If they don’t, let them know about it and don’t give them any additional work.

5. Try to develop a command presence. Your presence at an emergency should send a message to the firefighters that everything is going to be okay. Regardless of how badly something is going, try to maintain a calm exterior. Motivate your people. This is done differently for each individual. If you give an order or tell them to get into a building, they should totally believe that you believe they can do it. Never tell a firefighter to do something you wouldn’t or couldn’t do yourself. Chiefs give orders on incomplete information regularly. Even if you have doubts about it, give the order as if you are 100% confident about it. Your confidence is a force multiplier.

6. Let them have fun. Nobody is getting paid for this. The younger guys have to enjoy themselves. At the same time, know when to pull in the reins, and when you do, jerk them hard. They still have to be professionals. You can’t be their buddy anymore. You are the man, and they have to recognize it as such.

7. Pace of change. Keep them sullen but not mutinous. The pace of change has to be fast enough that the young guys see progress, but not so fast that the dinosaurs get riled up. As long as both groups are slightly unhappy, you’re doing fine.

8. Don’t be afraid to piss somebody off. If you’re not pissing somebody off once in a while, you’re not doing your job.

9. Encourage training certifications. Push the guys to get their Firefighter 1 and other certificates. The time is fast coming when what you are able to do, and what positions you can hold in a fire department virtually anywhere will be determined by these certificates. At the same time, work to keep things in perspective. Firefighter 1 or 2 does not equal “super firefighter”.

10. Develop junior officers. The greatest legacy a chief can have is by the officers he leaves behind.