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On Training and Taking Personal Responsibility

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* Image from Goshen, MA. Fire-Rescue website.

 

Got your cup? Here let me fill it up…..What 'da? Who left the pot empty?!?! This is what I'm talking about!

Hello all. I'm a little cranky today. Maybe it's the weather, I dunno. Maybe it's what I've been seeing a lot of lately on the training ground that's got me irritated, not sure. First off, the picture up above of the young lad from Goshen F-R isn't meant to imply the kid was doing anything wrong. He wasn't. It was a rest and rehydration break during a full day of instruction. But I thought the general pose lent itself to my discussion. Hence why the faces of the innocent have been blurred.

You see, I've seen an awful lot of lackadaisical, ho-hum, here-we-go-again plodding through training lately. A lot of, been there, done that got the t-shirt attitude. Only problem is that I as an instructor have also seen a lot of corner cutting and sloppy performances on the drill ground. I get it. Throwing a 35 isn't a lot of fun, especially when I tell you that it's only you and your partner because the other two guys from the truck are throwing the 24 to another window and everyone else is committed. But when I'm telling you that because the scenario is an advanced fire condition in an ordinary constructed SRO with people in the windows, do 'ya think 'ya could move a little faster than give-a-crap speed? From the first time Benjamin Franklin mustered his troops to train on passing buckets down the line this kind of attitude has been the bane of every training instructors existence.

Good, solid, realistic training. Something that challenges us. Something that makes us think. Those are responses I've heard when asking the question, "What do you want to see out of the trainig division?" And I agree that the responsibility to put that kind of training on falls squarely on the soulders of the Training Officer and the instructors. However, it cannot be a one-way street. The students need to engage and act like it is an actual scenario as well. That part falls squarely on you. If you come into training with the attitude that this is B.S. and you only have to "get through" the evolution then you aren't going to get anything out of the most inventive, realistic scenario any instructor can come up with.  Sometimes the topic is boring and there is only so much that can be done to make it interesting. Blood-borne Pathogen training, for instance, was one of my most hated topics as a trainee and still is as an instructor. So when I had to present it recently I incorporated a mini response drill using a CPR manikin as the victim. The responding crews shuffled into the room, laughing and joking, not really paying attention all too much. When they approached the patient and began receiving information as to what had happened etc., the first guy, not wearing any gloves or any other form of personal protection kneeled in an open Zip-Loc bag of melted chocolate bar that was deftly placed under his knee on his way down. When he reached down with his ungloved hand to see what it was and brought his hand back up covered in melted Hershey bar and was told it was feces, the look on his face was priceless. Another guy got a 60 cc syringe of cream of mushroom soup in the kisser after he went to intubate without any eye protection or a mask. Interesting enough for you? Realistic enough for you?

We had done another drill at the training tower towards the end of fall before the weather got too bad. All the windows and doors had been framed out with 2×4's and covered with plywood to resemble HUD coverings or at least give the look of an abandoned building. This was going to make for actual forcible entry work for companies instead of the "simulated" work that was accustomed to. One exterior door on the back-side of the building had been covered in a similar fashion but then forced, giving it the look of a covering that had been removed to let someone sneak inside. Companies were initially gathered in the classroom area of the education building and given the scenario and objectives for the drill. Time of day: Now; Weather: As is; Building: As you see it; Information: As given by dispatch. The tones then dropped for a reported fire, 123 Main Street with the companies due assigned. The first-due companies kind of got up, moved out of the room to their rigs and then all showed up at once on scene. This led to multiple companies standing around waiting for the first-due Lieutenant to finish his walk-around, give his size-up and begin instituting his plan. No one thought that, hey, wait a minute, my Engine would normally take 4-6 minutes to get there, I'd better hold back. No one thought that this building would normally be the middle building in a block of storefronts and we couldn't just walk around the entire perimeter. No one thought that the truck should actually be moved from where it was parked when companies reported to training. It was frustrating to watch. The drill kind of plodded along with the main objectives being met along the way. But it was disappointing to see how slow the assignemnts were carried out. How uninvolved many of the participants were. How little buy-in there was. Many of the instructors had thought that we had provided the troops exactly what they had asked for, and it still didn't get their engines going.

I've mentioned LYBITS before in another post. For those that haven't read that post or have forgotten, LYBITS is a shortened acronym for the dreaded Leaving Your Brain In The Car When You Get To The Firehouse Syndrome. Maybe it can mean leaving your motivation there too? Are you just showing up to work to get through the shift? Are you simply showing up to training because you have no other choice? Do you truly believe that training is important to develop muscle memory and that automatic pilot so that when you really need to perform you will? Do you truly believe you have it all down and don't need to do this stuff anymore? I sincerely hope not. 

I don't have a magic bullet. I don't have any kind of inspiring quote to give you that will suddenly inspire you to really invest yourself in your training. I can only hope that you care enough about your profession, your teammates, your family and those you've sworn to protect that you'll do it on your own.

Now get off 'da tailboard and ask not what your training division can do for you, but what can you do for your training division.

 

Posted by on January 23, 2012 • Filed under: Archive, Tradition, Pride, Ownership, Training, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Let’s Hear It For The D.C. FEMS!

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I hope you all have a strong cup of regulah this morning. It's cold outside, I didn't sleep real well last night and this morning we learn of the official end of an era.

In case you've been living under a rock lately I'll just fill you in that the D.C. FEMS are not a new team to join that Lingerie Bowl league, although I wish it was. It's what Fire Chief Ken Ellerbe of the former District of Columbia Fire Department has decided, in his infinite and omniscient wisdom, that the citizens of D.C. want to see their fire and EMS department called. Now, originally Ellerbe said that the name change was going to better reflect the entire role of the DCFD and that is was about both missions, fire and EMS. Now it is evidently about what the people really want to see and hear about their fire and EMS department. Where he got this information from I have no idea. And furthermore I sincerely doubt any of the residents of DC really give a crap. Now, I know what you're going to say. "Kenny," you'd say, "if the citizens don't really care in the first place then what's the big deal?" "Who cares what the department's called?" Well, that argument does hold some water but here's my problem with it. You're making a change under false pretenses. You're making a change becuase it's, "what the people want!" Or because, "It better reflects what the department's overall role is." I say, if those are the only two reasons you are making a change, and one that sounds really, really dumb, and you are going to incur monetary encumberences in this time of econmoic downturn and budget crises, then you're an idiot. And probably an idiot who has political aspirations past the fire department. Oops. Was that my outside voice?

To make this whole thing worse there is collateral damage being done to our brothers and sisters in DCFD, er, DCFEMS. I'm not sure if they're on a quarter master system or if they have to pay out of pocket for uniforms and the like but according to my morning copy of The Secret List from FirefighterCloseCalls.com, it is going to cost members between $300 and $400 in new FEMS logo emblazzoned clothing. Any member caught wearing the old DCFD logo will be subject to disciplinary action. I'm seeing a lot of write-up's in the future just on principle. I'd take one happily, gotta tell 'ya. Not to mention that I'm sure they have to repaint all the rigs, change letterhead and a hundred toher things. So what's that going to cost? Maybe it doesn't matter since they're in DC. Maybe the DCFEMS can just raise their debt ceiling and do stuff without regard to budgets. Seems to work in the rest of the town, right?

This whole ridiculous thing goes back to the post I made a little while back I called, "Does It Really Matter? Really?". If you haven't read the post it is still available below. In it I talk about silly stuff that evidently Chiefs and such think is really, really important that really, really has no bearing on our job and our performance at all. Like changing the name of your organiztion to FEMS. Usually these things are done under the guise of better customer service, or representing the people you serve better or other such silliness. I dunno. As I state in that post, I just think that when people call 911 they want us to show up on a timely manner and perform our jobs well and professionally. They could really care less about what we are wearing our what our rigs say. But to change the name of a proud organization with a rich history to something that sounds so, well, silly under the premise that it's what the people want? How about addressing issues that really matter, where they really matter.

My regulah's cold. I'm gettin' off 'da Tailboard to go freshen it up some.

Posted by on January 4, 2012 • Filed under: Archive, fire-rescue-topics, General Rants, news, Tradition, Pride, Ownership • Tagged: , , , ,

“Risk a Lot to Save a Lot” is B.S.

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* Image from Ukiah Blog.

Ok, now 'dat I have your attention you better sit down and have some of this Irish regulah wit' me because I've got a feeling this one is going to get me in some trouble. Here goes…

"Risk a lot to save a lot" is B.S. No offense to Chief Brunacini but what has become a fire service golden rule is, in my opinion, a myth. The over-simplified saying attempts to take our entire job and box it up in a nice little saying that rolls off the tongue and can easily be remembered standing outside a burning building at 2 A.M., unlike RECEO and COAL WAS WEALTH and all that other crap. Along with its sister-sayings of "risk a little to save a little" and "risk nothing to save nothing" , "risk a lot to save a lot" has been bastardized to justify some actions or to crucify others. And I think it's crap. Maybe my logic is flawed but here's why I think so.

The Brother from  FF Robert Wiedmann of FDNY Rescue 2 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn; FF Jon Davies from Worcester Rescue 1; the Worcester 6; FF Paul Brotherton, Lt. Jeremiah Lucey, Lt. Thomas Spencer, FF Timothy Jackson, FF James Lyons and FF Joseph McGuirk; FF Corey Ankum from Chicago Truck 34 and FF Edward Stringer from Chicago Engine 63. What do all these men have in common? They have been seriously inured or killed while fighting fire where people were reported to be or thought to have been trapped. What else do they have in common? They saved no one. Does that mean that their memories are somehow tarnished? Does it mean that there was no reason for them to have been in a situation where their lives could have been at risk? My humble opinion is a resounding, "NO". Each of these men, and thousands of others, have been injured and killed doing a job that is predicated upon one thing; risking our own lives to help someone else. Nowhere in any oath that any of us took does it say that there absolutely, positively must be someone trapped in a fire building or another emergency. No where does it say that we absolutely must have infallible knowledge that someone is in there, under there or on top of there. Wherever there happens to be. We risk a lot every day just by going to work and rarely do we ever make true saves.

One of the closest calls I've had in my career occurred on an interstate highway at the scene of an MVA. It was a minor accident. A couple people with neck pain who wanted to go to the hospital be checked out. I was holding the head of the backboard while we removed one of the drivers from the vehicle. My back was to the lane of traffic that was still open and our apparatus had been placed in a blocking position behind the accident. At the time I had one of those big Mag Lights hanging from my truckman's belt and it usually hung right off my right butt-cheek. Just as the patient was being moved onto the board a car whose driver was obviously far to important to be held up by all this traffic, used the inside break-down lane to pass all the slowed or stopped vehicles. Problem was there was a Mass Statie cruiser sitting in the break-down lane right even with the accident. So this moron jerks his wheel to the right, cuts across two lanes of traffic heading right for us, jerks it back to the left and continues on his way. But not before he hit that Mag Light hanging from my belt hard enough that it flipped up and struck me in the back hard enough to leave a bruise that lasted for weeks. I thank God every day I had that bruise too because a couple more millimeters and it would have been much worse. What did I save? A patient who wanted to go to the hospital to get checked out probably for no other reason than to strenghten their court case when they sue the other guy? Yet I risked everything. It's my job. It's what I was called to do.

Operating in the roadway at an accident; operating at a structure fire; natural gas leaks; electrical hazards; Haz Mat jobs; domestic violence or other EMS runs. They can all injure or kill you just as quickly as searching ahead of a hose line looking for someone who may or may not be there. In my eyes at least, the risk is the same but the end-benefit to most types of runs we take in is far less. For most of those types of runs the only thing that will be saved is property. And it seems as though in todays fire service property isn't worth any risk. But do we still go on those runs? Of course. Should we stop going on those kinds of runs? Of course not. Do we need to develop risk matrices and acronyms for every type of run we might encounter? If that's what happens I'm throwing my helmet at someone and walking out of the firehouse giving a double one-finger salute. We do our jobs. We train to minimize risk. When the bell goes off we go. We use our knowledge, training and experience when we arrive to make decisions and act upon them. That's what we do. We are firefighters and Jakes-of-all-trades.

There are those that will say of the Brother from Rescue 2 Brother Wiedmann, "He shouldn't have been there!", "There was nothing to save!", "It was too much risk!". But what if he had been burned when the natural gas leak he had been investigating in the same apartment building, with all the residents standing safely in the street, found an ignition source and exploded? Then it would be, "What a brave firefighter!", "Their job is so dangerous!", "You just never know.", and other such statements. Yet the end-result would have been the same. A burned firefighter who risked everything in doing his job to save what? "Risk a lot to save a lot", my ass. We risk a lot to do our jobs. Period.

 

Posted by on December 20, 2011 • Filed under: fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, General Rants, in-the-line-of-duty, line-of-duty, Tradition, Pride, Ownership • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Things I’ve Learned

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Everyone warming up with their cup of regulah? It's cold out there today. Let's just sit and chat for a while until we warm up a little, shall we?

The following is a partial list of things I've learned or have come to believe are true over my career. These are my beliefs, which come from my experiences and may be different from yours. They are in no particular order of importance, except the last two, which should be the most important. Please feel free to add your own in the comments.

1)   The fire service is a small world. Everyone knows someone. And with the internet, everyone knows someone you'd never in a million years think they'd know. Keep it in mind.

2)   Even though I do it more than I'd care to admit, responding out of emotion is rarely the correct choice.

3)   The day you say "screw it" to checking a piece of equipment is the day you'll need to use it and it won't work.

4)   I don't care what anyone says, there's something to the whole full-moon thing.

5)   The shift before you have something really important to do, you'll be up all night. Guaranteed.

6)   This job is fairly simple. It's when we try to simplify it even more with acronyms, flow-charts and decision making models that we generally screw it up beyond all recognition.

7)   Getting promoted has very little to do with how good a firefighter you were, or are. In fact, it is generally the exact opposite.

8 )   Little things matter. Don't believe me? Have an o-ring fail on your airpack sometime.

9)   You may get away with something you shouldn't 100 times. But that 101st time, ouch.

10) There is no feeling in the world like saving another human life.

11) There is no feeling in the world like not being able to save another human life.

12) People that are just a little touched don't scare me. They can be kinda fun. People that are truly hoopie, that don't live on the same planet as the rest of us, they terrify me.

13) When someone looks at you and tells you they are going to die, believe them.

14) There is nowhere colder than at the top of a stick flowing water on a greater alarm fire in the middle of winter.

15) The drive into work on Christmas morning is one of the loneliest and saddest, no matter how long you have on the job.

16) When something at home breaks, won't open, won't start or leaks you'll be at the firehouse. Promise.

17) You'll get hurt at some point. Hopefully it won't be serious.

18) If you try to "just get by" it'll cost you at least twice as much as if you would have just done it the right way the first time.

19) Some of the best friends you'll ever have will come from this job. So will the worst enemies.

20) He who talks the most generally also gets ignored the most.

21) If you are a good officer you're company will perform well for you because of you. If you are a poor officer your company will do so for and because of the barn-boss.

22) You can know exactly where you are going but be driving to the wrong place. Think about it, Magellan.

23) Being a lowly firefighter is the best job on the department. Officers, am I wrong?

24) If you want to know if there is any company pride, or a morale problem, look at their hand tools. Hand tools and their state of care is like a window to a company's soul.

25) You will work for idiots.

26) You are, in fact, an idiot from time to time also.

27) You'll have an "Oh S*%t" moment at some point. When you do, thank God you're ok and learn from it.

28) An Engine is an Engine. A Truck is a Truck. A Rescue is a Rescue. A Squad is a Squad that performs one of its two primary functions at a time. A Quint is a pipe-dream unless it has a minimum of six members on it.

29) A Halligan is a solid piece of formed steel with an adz, pick, bar and fork. Anything that is more than one piece and has those other features is an imposter.

30) If you get a "feeling" listen to it. Usually it pays off. It might not be in the form of a massive collapse, explosion or other really bad situation being avoided, but it will pay off somehow.

31) There is always someone better than you.

32) The fire service is an political animal. I hate it too, but get used to it. The Chief, Mayor, Selectmen or Trustees will not always make the "right" decision.

33) A company officer has his or her place on the fireground. And it's with their company.

34) If what you are seeing in front of you doesn't seem right, it's probably because it isn't. Take a second to think about it before going forward.

35) People are rescued alive from seemingly impossible conditions. Give them a chance.

36) Training is the most important "thing" in the fire service. Sorry Pub Ed/Prevention nazis, but it is. 

37) You will rarely be thanked in an amount equal to what you really put forth. But if that's why you're doing this then you're already screwed.

38) Your family won't always understand fully why you are so tired, upset or emotionally drained. You have to undertand that from them though. Get over it.

39) We see some really crappy stuff.

40) We see some really hysterical stuff too. Laugh heartily when you get the chance.

41) No one will ever fully understand what a juvenile, fun, crass, wonderful place a firehouse can be unless you're in the club.

42) Anyone who says an axe is only a cutting tool and not a prying tool has never really forced a door.

43) In my opinion the best position on the fire department is the irons.

44) The age of the "Keyboard Firefighter" is in full swing (not me though, I swear). My advice is to ignore much of it but rip their freakin' heads off when they are just dead ass wrong.

45) New kids are like lumps of clay. Or pieces of s*%t. Figure out which is which and either mold them or flush them.

46) A senior firefighter or Barn Boss can have more of an influence than any officer ever will. It can be good or bad, however. It's up to the officer to use it or squash it.

47) Bucketing, an egg in a boot, the "Cinnamon Dragon" and ice water into the shower are still funny. Fake gunmen, wrapping people up and hanging them upside down and other such non-sense that is videotaped and posted on YouTube for everyone to see your idiocy, is not. 

48) When you partially go through the floor and fire is trying to eat up your leg until the Engine from below hits it and beats it back, go thank them. Even though they still wish they were assigned to a special services unit.

49) Playing with your kids and loving on your wife is better therapy than a bottle or anything else will ever be.

50) This is still the best job in the world. You don't have to be here. Remember that.

Now getjerbutts off 'da Tailboard and add something to this list.

~TK

Posted by on December 11, 2011 • Filed under: Archive, General Rants, Tradition, Pride, Ownership • Tagged: , , ,

Top-Notch Training Opportunities

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Good morning jakes! Got your mug full of regulah?

I promise that these two upcoming training events are ones you won't need to be all loaded up on the regulah for. I've mentioned the new Go>Forward Fire and Leadership Training venture before and I just wanted to remind you that there's still time to get registered for their innaugural event coming up in St. Charles, Missouri. For you Midwest-types that's a great opportunity for 'ya to get some great training from some of the industry's biggest names as well as some newcomers to the conference training scene. For those of us in our "Right"-coast minds, the King of Prussia, Pennsylvania event is coming up in November. Another awesome opportunity for training from the best in the biz.

Click on the banner or the link above and it'll take you right to the site and you can click on whichever venue will be closer to you. There you can view information on the venues, the conference schedule and class descriptions as well as instructor bios but most importantly you can get registered for either event. Don't be one of those slackers who doesn't go to training unless your department spoon-feeds it to you every day on shift. Invest in yourself and bring something back for the group.

 

Now getjerbutts of 'da tailboard and go get registered!

~TK

Posted by on September 13, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, Tradition, Pride, Ownership, Training, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Our Kids

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*Image from Uniform Duds for Kids.

 

Everyone got there cahffee? Grab some diamond plate. This one might stir up some lively discussion.

So the other night I was listening to an on-line podcast over at FirefighterNetCast that is hosted by Christopher Naum entitled "Taking it to the Streets, The New Fireground and the First-Due." If you click the link you can listen to the replay of the show. The guests were Division Chief Ed Hadfield, Coronado, CA. FD and Deputy Chief Jason Hoevelman of the Sullivan Fire Protection District, MO. The main point of the podcast was talking about the new firground, how we need to start changing our thinking and tactics at some of these fires with new construction methods and new hydrocarbon-rich fuels burning. The show was great with many good points being brought up and discussed by the host and the guests. But I'd like to talk about another great aspect of the show. In case you have never attended a NetCasts show in person you're really missing out. In addition to the great content there is a live chat-room that runs throughout the show in which the producers of the show, the host, the guests and then the listeners all type-chat with each other. It is a great feature and really leads to some great discussion and information sharing.  There is also a call-in number that you can either dial from any phone or use Skype to call in and talk directly to the host and guest(s). It is a topic that was brought up in the chat room and then commented on by the guests that I would like to discuss today.

One of the listeners typed a simple question into the chat-room. I don't remember it exactly so I'm going to paraphrase here, "Is there something different about todays younger firefighters definition of "work" than, say, the older generation's?" A couple people chimed in and then another listener typed his opinion that basically said, paraphrasing again, "Yes. Kids today often haven't had a real job before getting to the fire department. They don't know what real work is." I agree with that sentiment, for the most-part. Anyone with the least little bit of knowledge of the history of our job knows that the number of firefighters coming from the ranks of the construction and mechanical trades has dropped significantly. Those that come from a farm, factory or some other background where mechanical apptitude is needed as a way of life are even fewer. On the flip-side we are getting more firefighters with college education and knowledge that, while may not be directly applicable to the fireground, is very valuable to the department as a whole. Computers, legal issues, radio equipment and communication skills come immediately to mind as examples.  A little more discussion in the chat-room ensued and then Division Chief Hadfield typed a response, paraphrasing, "The kids haven't changed. They just need to be LED!". Again, I agree with that statement too, for the most-part. I'm sure when the legions of carpenters, electricians, plasterers and plumbers entered the fire service in the '40's, '50's and '60's there was some of this sentiment too. I can imagine the barn-boss grumbling, "Sure 'dis kid can swing a hammer but he can't roll hose for s**t!" Or, "Hey junior! When I want you to come to my house and patch my plaster I'll call 'ya. Until then, sit there and shut-up." That's just the way of the fire service. We're gonna break your stones for a while until we find out what you're really made of. But there's a major difference between yesterdays kids and todays, and it's what I think the listener who responded to the question was talking about.

So, 20 and 30 years ago (and more) you had these tradesmen or guys that worked in factories or on farms that became firemen. Many of them had also served in the military during war-years. They brought special skill-sets that revolved around those trades or mechanical apptitude but they also brought something else. In general, the candidate-firefighters of old brought an ability to follow orders, think on their feet and put in a hard days work. Life was vastly different back then, even as recently as the '70's. No one sat around playing video games all day, or glued to their smart-phones or were handed things by their comparatively well-off Mommies and Daddies. No, most of the older generation firefighters worked, or fought, for what they had. Which left precious little time or expendable income for "fun" stuff. Many of the kids I see today, whether it be in my own department or teaching at the academy, have either had no real job to speak of or worse yet, have had many different small jobs. I say "worse yet" because I have asked several of these candidates why they hopped from one menial job to the next in their short work-life and more times than not I get answers like, "I couldn't stand my boss," or "My boss had it out for me," or "I  wasn't being paid what I deserved," or my personal favorite, "It took up too much time so I quit." Huh?!?! So now they want to be firefighers. And suddenly they are forced to report for duty earlier than many have had to get out of bed in years, they have to dress in a certain, prescribed and detailed manner, follow orders that are being barked at them, do certain things at certain times without question, think on the fly in a very fast-paced environment, learn the use of a multitude of tools, learn foreign materiel i.e. building construction and put in a harder days work than many of them have ever done. Talk about a culture shock! It's no wonder we have some trouble in getting through to these kids. Our academies and probationary time is not set-up to allow for a learn-at-your-own-pace approach. You have a set amount of time to complete the academy and the rquirements or fail. You have a set amount of time to make probation or fail. Except in a very few cases, there are no do-overs or time extensions. Sink or swim lads and lasses. 

Now here's where I think Chief Hadfield's comment comes into play. I don't necessarily think he was disagreeing with the listener's comment. I think what he was trying to say was that more officers, and senior firefighters, need to step-up and show our "babes in bunkers" the way. Another listener typed a comment that I think is reflective of an emerging problem in the fire service today. The listener said, "Too many officers "lead" from the office." Obviously nothing I, or anyone else says can be construed as being reflective of any entire department. However, I have seen in person and talked to more and more firefighters who have that exact complaint. That their Lieutenant or Captain sits in his or her office all day and they never see them until the tones drop or someone needs to be yelled at. When it comes to spider-solitaire, checking their e-mails or their stock portfolios or running their side-business they're the bomb. As a company officer, in its truest sense, not so much. Now that's not to single-out the officers only. There's plenty of senior guys who do the exact same things and never invest one second in the new boot. IMHO, er, in my humble opinion (I learned that one from one of those kids) many of us older guys are just as much to blame. These kids need to be led, yes, but don't expect that you're going to take them onto the floor, haul out your extrication equipment and in 10 minutes teach them all the ins and outs like you would with a guy that has worked with heavy tools and equipment before. It's just not gonna happen. In the same vein, when you're sitting around having an impromptu training session at the local building under construction don't throw out building terms like, lintle, top-plate and bearing wall and expect these kids to completely get it like the carpenter on the shift. Many of these kids learn just enough for the test they have to take on building construction, and other subjects, in the academy but have no real practical understanding in real-life. Many of these subjects are going to need to be reviewed and in some cases, completely re-taught. It ain't gonna happen over night brothers and sisters.

Be ready for something else, folks. The "whys" and "this is stupids". Now, to many of us the automatic and best response to those two statments would be a tersely stated, "because I said so" or some version of that retort. Many of us grew up in the fire service under officers who led with iron fists and little in the way of management or personal communication training. An officer or senior member gave you an order and you did it without question or hesitation or be prepared to suffer the wrath. That approach doesn't work with these kids. While it kind of doesn't make sense that they only want to study the absolute minimum to get by for the tests in the academy they actually do want an explanation as to why they are doing some particular thing or other in that particular way. And if that explanation consists of, "because that's the way we've always done it" or some other time-honored traditional response you may get met with the "this is stupid" retort. And guess what folks, in some cases they may be right. Remember, we're kind of set in our ways, brought up in a different fire department. These kids look at things differently and are more technology savvy. Those explanations we simply accepted and shut-up aren't good enough for them. Many times they don't mean offense or insult by their statements, it's just part of their lexicon and their everyday operation. Sometimes we need to take a deep breath and remember that. Then back-up and perhaps explain a little more in-depth or ask what exactly their question is so we can better answer it. Again, they, and we, won't change over night. But I think both our groups need to be willing to.

Well, until next time, getjerbutts off 'da tailboard and go invest in a younger member! Just be patient.

~TK

Posted by on August 19, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Archive, fire-rescue-topics, General Rants, Leadership, Tradition, Pride, Ownership, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , ,

New Training Opportunities

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Everybody got some regulah? Grab a seat.

Today I want to talk about some new training opportunities that will be coming our way. And by "our way" I mean close to home. There's a new fire and EMS training company in the market and they are looking to revolutionize the way training is given in a congerence setting. Go>Forward Fire and Leadership Training has announced two innagural training conferences, one in St. Charles, Missouri in October and the other in King of Prussia Pennsylvania in November. So in a roughly 5 hour drive from our area you can attend a three day, high quality training conference that will break the model for training conferences. More on that in a miunte.

Does Go>Forward look familiar to anybody? It should. Go>Forward Media owns FireEMSBlogs.com which hosts this rag of a blog and many other of your favorite fire and EMS blog sites. Go>Forward Media also owns Fire-Rescue Magazine, JEMS Magazine and Law Officer magazine. The company saw an opportunity and a different direction to go with fire training in a conference setting. So the company branched out and created Go>Forward Fire and Leadership Training to try and bring a new educational experience to students. Now, for all you traditionalists, don't get your undies in a bunch. They ain't trying to butt in on FDIC or any of the other major conferences. What they are trying to do is bring more affordable, local and intimate (not that kind of intimate, chowderheads) training to us while focusing on student-instructor relationships. That means that not only will you be able to take a class from some of the finest instructors in the world like, Alan Brunacini, Tim Sendelbach, Dennis Rubin and Brotherhood Instructors, but you will also get to talk to and network with them as well. You see, not only has Go>Forward made the conferences local, more affordable and smaller but they have built-in time after lectures and hands-on classes to meet and talk to the instructors. Giving both students and instructors an opportunity to talk and learn from each other and to hopefully build a relationship that lasts past the conference. Check out Go>Forward's announcement page here to check out information on the conferences. 

 

I know it's a short post today but I'm tachnically on vacation, so get over it. But I did want to make you aware of these new opportunities so that you have some time to check them out and get registered. For those of us in the Atlantic states area check out the Liberty Regional Fire & Leadership Training Conference in KoP, PA. page and get registered. For you Midwesterners check out the Gateway Midwest Fire & Leadership Training Conference in St. Charles, MO. and get registered. Lets decrease those "You can teach a monkey…" moments, shall we?

Now getjerbutts of 'da tailboard and go train!

~TK

Posted by on July 31, 2011 • Filed under: administration-leadership, Archive, command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, Leadership, Tradition, Pride, Ownership, Training, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

You Can Teach a Monkey…

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Everybody got their regulah? Ya' comfortable? Good.

Ok, ok. I know. That's a gorilla, not a monkey. Koko, the gorilla, actually. The one they taught sign language to and how to read and a bunch of other stuff. But it was a good picture to illustrate my point and I couldn't find a monkey pic that would do it as well. So calm you'ah liva. Anyway, today we're going to talk about the next generation. Those that will replace us and, more than likely, become our bosses before we retire. Yup, those kids.

So my shift and my battalion happen to have quite a few new guys on the job and three are just getting ready to get off probation, maybe. So my B/C calls up the house just after change the other other morning and tells my Luft that all the companies with new guys and probies are getting together to drill and run them through their paces. He also tells him that I'm going to be running one of the stations and evaluating them. So my day was off to a great start. I love teaching and am committed to training anyone that wants to learn while hopefully doing so myself. So as it turns out, the town had condemned an old building that had sat vacant for years and was intending to tear it down to make way for a community center and park or something. So they gave it to us and the coppers to train in before the wrecking ball came. It was a three story former tax-payer with two separate commercial occupancies on the lower and two apartments on each of the uppers, for a total of four. There was also an one-story addition off the back that was used as storage for the stores up front. The original building was ordinary construction with the addition being very cheaply slapped up with stick-built construction. The only thing we couldn't do was burn the thing down and we had to leave some way of securing the building once we were done. My mind was racing with ideas.

So we showed up at the appointed time and I got together with the B/C and the other instructors. We hashed out a plan and went over safety issues. The B/C really wanted to ensure that the new guys had their basic skills down pat, and then maybe we'd run a full-scale evolution or something. We had three Engines, a Truck, two Medics and ourselves so we basically had a structure fire assignment minus one Truck. Myself and one of the Truck guys were given the ventilation station. We went up to the roof of the building and decided we'd do some inspection cuts, louver-cuts, peeling the roof membrane and ventilation of the upper floor windows from the roof. We then went to the addition roof and decided about the only thing it was good for was some axe work. My Truckie partner took the main roof and I went to the addition. But first we made some "special" arrangements I had filled him in on.

So the kids were told what groups they were in and what they would be doing and to grab the appropriate tools and equipment. In some cases it was kind of interesting what they chose. So, my first group shows up and they have a chainsaw, two 8-foot hooks, a set of irons and a life-safety rope. Notice anything missing? Like a ladder. I briefed them on what I wanted, a typical 4'x4' vent hole, drop the ceiling, do a quick recon of what the roof structure was like. Nothing huge. Then I told them to get to work. They immediately started heading toward the 14' roof ladder I had placed. "Stop!", I barked. "Where 'ya goin'?" They kinda looked at each other and then one kid said, "Up to the roof, sir." "How 'ya gonna get there?", I countered. Confused looks, one kid even turned around to check that leprechauns hadn't taken the ladder he was sure was there. "Uh, the ladder?", another said questioningly. "That ladder?", I asked pointing to MY ladder. "Yes sir", the same kid answered.  "No you're not.", I replied. "You were told to bring tools and equipment to ventilate this roof, right?", I kind of snapped. Two of the four instantly got it, set their tools down and went to the Truck to retrieve a ladder. That was when I heard it for the first time. My B/C had come up behind the group while the exchange was going on, unbeknownst to them. As the two went to retrieve the ladder he kind of mumbled, "You can teach a monkey…". I let it go at the time and waited for the ladder to arrive.

So when the ladder arrives and is thrown the kid with the chainsaw gets set to start it. He makes all the appropriate settings, throttle lock, choke, checks the chain-brake, decompression button, and starts to pull. Muffled putters is all he's met with. We had switched the saw in the cabinet of the Truck with a training saw. A training saw with no gas, to be specific. He continued to pull for a few seconds and then ran through his steps to start the saw again, which I was pleased to see. He did not, however, check the gas. More futile attempts at starting the saw ensued, while everyone else in the group stood and watched. Finally I yelled, "Didja check everything?" Lightbulb goes off, gas gets checked, "it's empty", is the befuddled response. "Now what?", I bark. "I'll go get a gas can!", one kid yells and starts to book for the Truck. "Stop! You have an Engine company trying to advance the line and they're getting the crap beat out of them! Not to mention any civilians that might still be in there. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?!?!?!" One of the better kids responds, "I'd radio the Chief and let him know what the delay is and that we'll be cutting by hand until the saw is ready. Then I'd send someone to get the gas and fill the saw while the rest of us were working on the roof." "Good! Do it!", I bark. 

The rest of the evolution goes pretty well, except for the four layers of shingles and tongue-and-groove under those that I had identified but they had not. A little education was done at simply looking at the edge of the roof. Anyway, the rest of the groups had some similar troubles to greater or lesser degrees. When all the newbies had rotated through all the stations (both ventilations, hose advancement, search and rescue coupled with ladder work) the instructors met out front with the B/C and the company officers. Each instructor took a turn going through each group on their respective station and pointing out the good and the bad. A few times through this process the chief mumbled his line of, "You can teach a monkey…". But no one ever asked him about it. Many of the issues that the instructors had identified seemed to boil down to one thing; thinking. In general the actual performance of the tasks assigned went well with all of the groups. There were very few real issues at the task level. But each and every instructor noted that if a wrinkle or problem was thrown at the groups they seemed to stall-out for a minute. Some of this could be attributed to experience, but not all. We have several "new" guys that came to us from other jobs. So, then is it a training issue? Both ours and their previous jobs? Again, on the task level it doesn't seem to be the case. A number of other new guys are really good rookies and will do just fine on our job. So what's the issue?I have discovered a fictitious affliction that I call, "Leaving Your Brain In The Car When You Get To The Firehouse Syndrome". But that's too long so we just call it LYBITS for short. Rookies aren't the only ones that suffer from it, believe me. But it does seem to attack them more so than a lot of others.

So we returned to our respective quarters and continued on with the tour. Later that evening the chief came by with some frappes (not those foo-foo coffee drinks that the rest of the country drinks, mind you. Look it up if you don't know what they are) to thank us for the work of the day. We were sitting on the bench out front, chatting and drinking our frappes, and I finally asked the chief about his monkey saying. He kinda laughed and then explained, "We can teach a monkey how to do the tasks of a fireman," he said. "But you can't teach 'em to think like a fireman." I suddenly had one of those light-bulb moments. We train our people well when it comes how to do the tasks of our job. Indeed the newbies did perform most of their tasks well. Just look at the story I relayed. They were told what tasks they were going to have to perform but they just assumed that the ladder they saw on the building was for them, forgetting this was supposed to be a "train as we play" evolution. And then with the chain-saw. The candidate that was attempting to start the saw did all of the tasks correctly, he kind of failed in the thinking the problem through department. The getting the gas can issue, they couldn't see how their delay of opening up the roof affected the other operations going on or the potential to save civilian lives. They were simply focused on their task at hand. Checking out the roof by looking at the edge, I kinda think it's basic and should be talked about in the ventilation portion of the academy but I'm kind of willing to let it slide a bit and chalk it up to experience. Hopefully they'll learn and remember for the next time. So how do you train someone to think? Can you train someone to think? I think to a certain extent yes. When I conduct drills, either for multiple companies, an in-house session or at the training academy, I like to do it kind of in a scenario based way. Instead of saying, "See that roof? Grab the saw, a hook, an axe and the roof ladder and go ventilate it." I like to say something like, "You're the first-due Truck. You've been assigned to open the roof. Whaddya need and how 'ya gonna do it?" Then talk through the evolution, throwing in questions and problems, before I send them off to do it. Then, once we've done it, we talk about it some more. Personally I think that maybe, just maybe, by doing it that way and by throwing problems and questions at them in a more calm setting than when we're up on a roof with the chain saw screaming and saw dust flying, maybe they'll start to really look at the entire picture instead of just that particular operation. That's my hope anyway.

If anyone else has any other methods or tricks and tips I'd love to hear them, and I'm sure other brothers and sisters would too. Share them in the comments, or just tell me how crappy the post was. But until next time,

Getjerbutts off 'da tailboard and go impart some knowledge to some kid who's gonna be you'ah officer some day.

~TK

Posted by on June 1, 2011 • Filed under: Archive, fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, Tradition, Pride, Ownership, Training, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , ,

Of Pride, Passion And Professionalism.

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Pride,Passion,Professionalism

Everybody got their cup of cahfee? Everyone comfortable? Good.

So for todays little chat I thought I'd talk about the three P's; Pride, Passion and Professionalism. These three words may arguably be at the very heart and soul of the fire service and should drive much of what we do. These words and their synonyms are  often discussed in firehouses across the land and can even, at times, lead to heated debates. They are at the core of what we try to instill in our new Boots, Probies, Candidates etc. and which we as senior members boast we are full of. But are we? And what exactly do these words mean?

Let's start with the definition of Pride. Funk and Wagnall's on-line dictionary defines it this way:

1: the quality or state of being proud: a: inordinate self-esteem : CONCEIT  b: a reasonable or justifiable self-respect c: delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship

3 a: ostentatious display

4: a source of pride : the best in a group or class

6: a showy or impressive group

The definition of Passion as defined by F&W's is:

3: the state or capacity of being acted on by external agents or forces

(2): plural: the emotions as distinguished from reason  b: intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction c: a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept.

And finally, the definition of Professionalism:

1: the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a PROFESSION, or a PROFESSIONAL person.

Profession: 4 a: a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation b: a principal calling, vocation, or employment

Professional: (1): characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a PROFESSION
(2): exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace
2 a: participating for gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged in by amateurs

Now, take a look at these two videos and see if you can match the definitions listed above with either and the different portions of each. The first video has a soundtrack so you may want to turn your volume down a little. Use the "Back" button in your browser to navigate back to The Tailboard.

Fully Involved

People Hangin'

Ok, so we've seen a couple examples of fire operations that both resulted in the same ending, that bein' the fire went out. Did you have the definitions of the three P's in your noggin while you were watching them? Then let's talk.

The first video out of PGFD is a wicked pissah. Lots of fire, looks impressive, bad-ass fire men get in, get on it, get out, right? So, that particular company is obviously passionate about the job. They should be proud of what they accomplished and from what we can see they generally operated with the professionalism we expect in the fire service. But does it stand up to our definitions?

Passionate: intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction, a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept. Check. I think all those things are obvious from watching the video. I certainly can't fault them there. But what about the part of the definition that reads, the state or capacity of being acted on by external agents or forces? Like maybe, a big fire with people standing and pointing? Could we safely say that maybe the members were acted upon by these outside forces and felt the need to be as aggressive as they were? I don't know if this house was occupied or if it was a vacant. Now, keeping in mind that we only have the front of the building to look at, do we think that anyone is alive in that house? Did the situation that is presented warrant firefighters advancing past and underneath fire into a structure that was being greatly weakened by the minute? Since the person who narrates the beginning of the video doesn't mention a rescue being made (pride and professionalism) I can only assume there was no life safety threat. Except to the firefighters operating!

Pride: a reasonable or justifiable self-respect, delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship. Check. This company can definitely be proud of their performance and of bangin' out the red devil. But again, what about the part about conceit and of an ostentatious display? Did they have to do what they did or did they simply do it because there was a structure, it was on fire and it's what they're supposed to do? Or, and even worse, did they do it because they really wanted to show the second-in companies what they are made of? Or to "protect" their "good" name as an aggressive interior attack company?

Professionalism: the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession, or a professional, a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation, person exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace. Again, check. Sort of. From what we can tell these brothers and/or sisters did perform in a courteous, conscientious and generally businesslike manner and they obviously had the training that was required to accomplish the job. But, you see what's coming right? What about characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession? What about using the specialized knowledge and academic learnings to take in all the information being presented and make an informed decision as to which mode to use to attack this fire? It seems as if they forgot all about that and were drawn like the proverbial moth to the flame. Pun intended. This is just my observation from the comfort of my easy-chair next to my roaring fireplace, but I don't consider this video an example of conforming to the technical standards of our profession and should someone have gotten hurt or killed the ethics could be called into question also.

I know, I know. There are about a thousand of you out there jumping up and down screaming that I'm soft for even suggesting this. That I'm all safety conscious and am what's wrong with the fire service today. Take a blow for a second. Even though we just met and haven't developed what I'd call a deep and meaningful relationship yet, I'm asking you to trust me in something. If I thought there were a live person in that building I might just be right there with our brothers in the video. If I thought there were a downed/lost/disoriented firefighter in that building you wouldn't see me in the video because I would be inside trying to get at 'em. But barring those two situations I don't see what there was to save in this video and how the risk to the members operating was justified. It's just not good enough anymore to say, "well it's just what we do." Gratefully this example turned out with no one seriously injured or killed. It very easily could have been the opposite and all the officers of this company would have been able to say would have been, "we gave the bulldozer operator  a job for the day."

On to the second video. This is obviously out of FDNY and happened to be in Squad 252's first-due area in Brooklyn. Again, another wicked pissah of a video with people from the block jumping in to help out the victims trapped on the uppers, ladder rescues being made and smoke pushin'. Good stuff. One of the main reasons I picked this video was because of a comment that was made on the website where I found it. Our supposed brother or sister had this to say about the video, "this video is disappointing.  it shows a lack of motovation and speed in the action of the fdny members at this fire.  People are trapped.  The first due company should be RUNNING to put a line in place not dicking around like a bunch of volunteers in hoe-dunk nowhere.  Lives are at stake here and yet the first due engine has poor positioning and slow line placement.  Why?" Punctuation, spelling and capitalization, or lack thereof, original to author. So, does what we see stand up to our definitions? Is the comment author on track? Let's see.

Pride: the quality or state of being proud, a reasonable or justifiable self-respect, delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship, a source of pride : the best in a group or class, a showy or impressive group. Hmmm. Check, check, check, check and double-check. Inordinate self-esteem : CONCEIT, ostentatious display? Not that I see. The brothers in this video should be justifiably proud of the job they performed on this scene. Were there problems, issues? Of course. There are on every scene. But the job was still accomplished while putting our ultimate mission first; life safety.

Passion: the state or capacity of being acted on by external agents or forces, intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction, a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept. Check and check. The difference I see in this video versus the first in regards to being acted upon by external forces is towards the positive. The members in this video saw the life-safety issue, identified it and addressed it immediately in a calm and professional manner. They were influenced by these outside forces but used their passion for the job (as well as some training and experience) to drive them to a positive outcome. If you only sort of like your job or are ambivalent towards it you will not be able to perform at this level.

Professionalism: I think this is where the comment author misses his mark. The conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession, or a professional person, a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation, characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession, exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace, participating for gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged in by amateurs. Do I even need to waste my time? Check.

Lest some of you think that this is an FDNY love-fest and that I have something against PGFD, it's not and I don't. Both organizations have immensely talented and dedicated personnel. Both organizations have rich tradition and history and reputations. There are problems and issues everywhere. I simply chose two videos that I felt could be used to discuss the three P's. As I stated in the opening these three words can and should be right at the heart of what we do. They can, however, be easily misinterpreted or their meanings twisted to justify certain mindsets or behaviors. Hopefully my ramblings sparked some thinking on your behalf.

Now. Don't we have some work to do? Getjerbutts off 'da tailboard and go do somethin'.

~TK

 

Posted by on April 20, 2011 • Filed under: Archive, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, Tactics, Tradition, Pride, Ownership • Tagged: , , , , ,