A new addition to the family

Hiring a new guy is usually exciting and nerve racking all at the same time. I enjoy taking a probie under my wing and paying it forward, teaching them what I've been taught. Some of the best advice I got as a probie was "keep your eyes and ears open, but your mouth shut...unless you are asking questions.

Some firefighters take the responsibility of training a new hire very seriously, while others do not. I personally enjoy it because I get to pave the way for him and start him off on the right foot. It also gives me the chance to brush up and refresh on things I may have forgotten or haven't done in a while.

Some firefighters I know see it as an inconvenience because they have gotten "comfortable" and now they have to get out of the recliner and do a little training. Then, years down the road they wonder why he doesn't "get it."

Just remember, we have a duty to him, ourselves, and the citizens to make him the best he can be. I hope everyone takes this serious and puts the time and effort into it that it deserves. 

I hope everyone enjoyed our talk from "the bench."

Are our eyes opened now?

Hello all, I hope everyone had a good Christmas and Happy Holidays, I sure did.

In the wake of the tragedy in West Webster, NY on Christmas Eve, I have been doing some thinking and Situational Awareness/Prepardness in my mind. There have been a lot of blog posts about this subject, but I'm going to give my thoughts on it as well.

What have we learned from this tragedy the killed 2 of our fellow brothers and wounded 2 more? I'm not going to go in to the gun control debate here, but there are some things i think do need fixed.

Have you been more aware of your surroundings since then? You know, sometimes there are just no warning signs something like this is getting ready to happen. For those of you with an EMT or Paramedic certification, we always say in our practical sessions....."scene safe, BSI or PPE." But sometimes it's not always that easy to see or point out.

Today was my first shift back to work since Christmas Eve and we ran a 84 year old female cardiac arrest at 0817 hrs. Even though I had ran a million thoughts through my head about being more alert about my surroundings, I did what I have always done on these types of calls. I got out of the engine and went straight into the house never giving it a second thought.

After I got back to the firehouse, it was all racing through my mind again. What if, what if, what if..... I never want to put me or the guys on my shift in a situation where we come back and say "we got lucky...what if?"

From here on out I hope we (the fire service as a whole) can more attentive and alert and learn from what happened in NY. God Bless our 2 fallen brothers, may you Rest In Peace.

Hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year!

Our Current Situation

Hello all, sorry I've been away for so long but I had been studying for a promotion test and busy teaching a Firefighter Level I class. Which just happened to lead me to my next entry....the Volunteer fire service as a whole. A few of you on twitter also expressed some input on this topic as well as far as the problem with the Volunteer service and wanted my input. Well, here goes.

I love being an instructor, sort of like being an officer or senior firefighter, it gives me a chance to give back to the rookies and newbies and teach them what I've been taught along the way. But, it also gives me a way to let others learn from my mistakes without (hopefully) making those same mistakes themselves. This recent firefighter level I class pushed my patience to the brink and I found myself comparing my class to the Volunteer fire service.

I felt like there weren't enough students who were taking this job (class) seriously. A lot of them were more interested in texting, playing on their phones, and just general goofing around in class than they were paying attention. I had published and advertised the dates a month ahead of time so there would be no question about class dates and times. I also let them know on day 1 what would be expected of them and the classroom work and hands on skills that they would have to complete. 2 weeks into class, I had students telling me 10pm in the evening was too late to be having class because they had kids, a job, etc. some other students would tell me after doing ladder raises they were tired, it was hot, etc. It was really all I could do to not tell them exactly what I was thinking.

About 2/3 of the class passed the written final, which I was very pleased with for this group. But, I really feel like maybe this new generation of young kids could be a real problem for the future of the fire service if we don't do something about it now.

A LOT of places have problems at their volunteer departments, whether it be the "old guys" not wanting to participate with drills, training, classes, etc., or the young guys who just want to be there for the t-shirt and the red lights. As a the Chief at my Volunteer Dept., I find myself asking myself this question quite often..."what can I do to make this department flourish?" I have "old guys" and young guys both and I do believe there is a place for everyone, but how can I use them ALL effectively?

The biggest problem I'm seeing right now in my area is that we have a lot of people (young and old) who want to be associated with a FD, but I don't think they want to put in the time and effort it truly takes to become the best they can be. Whether it be taking classes, building morale, cleaning the station, learning streets/area/trucks/equipment, young and old need to involved in this aspect. I was always taught "lead by example," but now I'm finding that doesn't always work. This new generation of members have this sense of entitlement, like they don't have to work to get anything or anywhere....it should just be given to them. I have worked hard to help make my department the best that it can be, along with the hard work and dedication of present and past members.

I hope to post more on this topic in the future, but please give me some feedback. Let me know what other topics you want to see here at "The Bench."

Volly World

For the most part, I work with a good group of guys, but one thing that drives me nuts about them is how they talk about and treat volunteer firefighters. I started out as a volly and so did a few of my coworkers, so it especially irks me when one of them talks down to a volunteer. We all do the same job, yes some of us get paid and some don't, but nonetheless the job is the same. In my opinion, Professional is an attitude, how you treat people, and how you carry yourself.....NOT getting a paycheck. Some of the paid guys I work with are as unprofessional as you can get!! I love being a volly, and I believe we have one of the best Volunteer Depts around. We have a true brotherhood that is felt all of the time, not just at Christmas dinners and council meetings. That's all I got for now, everyone stay safe!!

A little more about me

In my first entry, I talked a little about my background and the 2 departments I currently belong to. In this edition, I'm going to talk about my career department, my next article will cover my volunteer department.

As I stated before, I am a Captain for Dunbar Fire Department in Dunbar,WV. Our dept. is a little unique in the fact that we only staff 4 firefighters per shift. We operate out of 2 stations, with an Asst. Chief (shift commander) and a firefighter out of Central Station, a Captain and a firefighter out of Station 2. We also have a Chief and Deputy Chief that operate out of Central Station Mon-Fri 8a-4p.

Our Dept. is also unique in the fact that half of the 14 members have 6 years experience or less. This leaves very little room to hide and makes you grow up as a firefighter very fast. When I was hired, there were only 3 people with less than 9 years of service, so experience and knowledge were at an abundance.

The theme of this blog is big city tactics in a small dept. We have a certain way of doing things on emergency responses that is very efficient and works quite well for us. I have friends on other larger departments ask me quite often...."how do you guys do it with only 4 guys?" That question actually made me sit down and think "how do we do it."

We have to be able to do the job of 15-20 people at a larger dept. with only 4 guys. Which means, we have to stretch lines, search the structure, get a water supply, fire attack, ventilate, etc. with limited manpower in a short amount of time.

I am very curious about how you do things at your department. Leave a comment or feel free to email me at thefirehousebench@Gmail.com.  Thanks and stay safe

The views expressed in this blog are of the writers opinion only and do not reflect the department I work for or any employee/member of those depts.

Welcome

Welcome to the Firehouse bench. This is my first (of hopefully many) posts about my view of the fire service as I see it. I am a 12 year veteran of the fire service and by no means do I think I know everything. I look forward to hearing feedback and differing opinions about how other firefighters see/do things.

A little about me..... I started my career in 2000 (16 years old) as a Volunteer at The Culloden Volunteer Fire Department in Culloden, WV. My family has been involved with Culloden VFD since it was founded in 1954 so it was in my blood. My father, and his 2 brothers, have all served as Fire Chief at CVFD so it was an easy decision to join when I reached the required age. In a very short amount of time I was taking a variety of classes and participating in all the training I could, It payed off when I reached the rank of Lt. at 21 years old.

In 2005, at 21 years of age, I was hired as a Career Firefighter at Dunbar Fire Department in Dunbar,WV. It was a dream come true to be able to get to do what I loved for a living. While the job remained the same, the culture and day to day practices were completely different. I had never been around people who didn't have the passion or the love of being a firefighter, but it didn't take long to realize there were people out there who actually just did this for a PAYCHECK. I was determined to never be one of those people.

In 2009 I became a Fire Instructor through the Kanawha County BOE (RESA III). This was about the time I started to see the "Big Picture." I felt like there were so many things that were not being taught to younger firefighters. I'm not talking about the basic core competencies, I'm talking about the little things that veteran firefighters teach new guys. I took the passion I have for this job and went into teaching full steam ahead!

In 2010, I was promoted to the rank of Captain on "A" shift, all of my hard work and dedication finally paid off. I was in a position now where I could lead and mold younger firefighters down the correct path. While this may seem easy, its sometimes difficult to do in certain environments. I have learned through multiple officer classes and working under multiple chiefs what kind of officer/leader what works and what doesn't. I do not claim to have all of the answers, but you can never go wrong if you treat people the way you would want to be treated.

In July 2011, at 27 years old, I was promoted to the rank of Chief at my Volunteer Department. No one could've ever prepared me for this role. I thought I was ready for responsibility, overall I think I was, but it was so much easier being a line officer and letting someone else deal with the problems. It was a work in progress, and still is, but I feel like I am adapting pretty well.

Before I make any command/officer decision, I ask myself....how would this make me feel if I were on the other end of this? If I wouldn't be very happy with it, I may rethink my decision, but at the same time I also know...I'll never make everyone happy all of the time. I just try to do the best I can without making ANY decision on sheer emotion, that seems to be when we (as officers) get ourselves into trouble.

I hope you got something out of this and feel free to email me or post a comment. I am open to ideas and constructive critisism. You guys stay safe out there!!