I have these voices in my head and I'm not sure which one to listen too. Now let's make this clear I'm not crazy, though a few may argue that. What I am talking about is the Safety fire service voice and The Aggressive fire service voice that has been waging war inside my conscience for the last few years!
The American fire service is constantly changing mostly for the better. New tactics and strategies for our modern day combustibles and new light weight construction.
We have advances in PPE design, Communications equipment, and technology in general taking us to new heights not even imagined by my Father 30 years ago.
I also think there has been a steady attack on the soul of the American Fire Service.
I grew up in a home where our Christian faith was the center of our living and the Volunteer Fire Service a close second. I was raised to believe that helping others was more important than ones own self.
My father lived that out very well as a Volunteer Fire Fighter, community member, and church member. Helping others was just what we did if that meant sacrifices of our own that was just accepted as part of our way of living. My father always stopped and helped the injured or sick or someone just in need of general assistance. As a young child that leaves a lasting impression on you that for me I have carried for the rest of my life.
A bible verse that has carried me through life and my career in the fire service has always Been John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." When I joined the fire department I knew this was my calling, what I was meant to do.
Now I am constantly bombarded with messages of "I am supposed to be number one" and "the customer or people in need of help are now number two".
This puts a pretty disgusting feeling in my stomach. Last time I check the entire reason we are here is because when someones world is spinning around and about to come crashing down, we step in and prevent it from crashing and burning.
As FDNY Lt. Ray McCormick said in his keynote speech at FDIC "this will cause the single greatest lost to the American Fire Service the lost of public trust".
I believe that being a Firefighter is a privilege not a right. I am entrusted by the public with the greatest responsibility ever, to protect them at all costs.
Yes if that means giving our lives to save another that to me is an acceptable loss.
This doesn't mean we are reckless at what we do, or become dangerous. It means we learn how to adapt and overcome. We spend the time to learn to be warrior's against our enemy.
It means aggressively understanding the modern day fire combustibles the latest training and techniques to combat them. It means learning the building construction in our area and understanding how they burn under the new combustibles. It's about knowing where we can go and where we can't.
Standing outside doing nothing cause it's safer is not the answer. The asnwer is teaching our people to understand what enemy they are facing and how to properly combat that enemy. Writing the citizens off we swore an oath to protect cause we refuse to learn to be good competent interior firefighters cause it's too dangerous is unacceptable.
I am a seasoned firefighter and newly promoted company officer. I have recruited and brought into the fire service some of my closest friends. Now those friends are married starting their own families and this now weighs very heavily on me.
As a company officer I could calm my fears by playing it safe, writing everything off and never doing what we are called to do all in the name of making sure everyone goes home. That would be the easy way out while disgracing everything the fire service stands for.
What I am going to do is make sure we stay at the top of our game. I'm gonna make sure we are "Warrior Ready". We will do this by making sure everyone is focused on understanding the enemy we are up against and how to be the best at combating it. I think that as a company officer this is the least I can do.
I am responsible for not only my life and the lives of my crew but their families. I won't let incompetence, poor training, and lack of education ever be a factor. I think that's a pretty good answer for the voices in my head.
FDFC
