“Taking out the Trash”

I came to work the other day and the Lt told me “I took out the trash.  FF ____ is going to another house.  He’s not our problem anymore.”  My first question “Why?”.  Now, don’t get me wrong this firefighter is apparently not cut out for this work.  He does not go into the building when commanded to, he abandons the pump at fires and frequently goes AWOL and that is the start of the list.

So he’s gone now, not our problem anymore, right?  WRONG!

Now he could be detailed in.  He could very likely be a pump operator at a fire we are at together. He could do something stupid that endangers everybody at an incident.   At least when he was on our company we knew what to expect, or more realistically what NOT to expect.

What do you do?  To most of you it’s obvious; document, document, document then terminate his employment. My officer decided that strong arming the firefighter into putting in a transfer bid was the best option.

He is a liability to the department and as an officer it’s up to you to do the right thing for everybody’s safety.  But because you think it’s better to “take out the trash” than do your job he remains a liability.

The firefighter in question is a good guy, just not a good firefighter.  He would be better served by seeking other employment but that cannot happen while he believes  he is an “awesome firefighter” (his words).

I think I’m digressing into a discussion about weak leadership here.  Hmmmm..

Stay Safe

Flashover Friday: “I fight your Fears”

OK, after somebody pushed my buttons last week. (firestudent) I just could not deal with this half A$$ dance around the subject anymore.  OK, in no particular order My favorite “Marginal” firefighters.

1. “Fearless”: When you work at THE slowest company in the city “I fight your fears” must refer to insomnia.  And you were appointed there?  Come on.  This put’s you in the marginal category automatically.  Just take the stupid sticker off your car already.

2. “New Salt”: When you are the new guy on one of the best companies in the city, you are still a new guy.  Don’t act like you are one of the the vets that are forced to work with you.

3. “Legendary, like my daddy”: Just because your dad was a legend on this job does not mean you inherited his drive, work ethic, or on the job experience. Do your time, training and take your lumps like he did.  Crying to him every time someone corrects you makes you look like a 7 year old girl.

4. “Not in the job description guy”:  You get on the piece, shut your mouth and do what your told.   Nana called 911 because she wants her cable hooked up.  Not the best use of our time.  But if you cuss her out like she’s  a kid she WILL send a letter to the commissioner.  Every call we go to is in the job description.

5. “Helmet Cooker”:  “Hey look at me I’m salty looking!”  No you aren’t.  We can all see the burn marks from the torch on your device.  your gear is filthy from that rollover on a rainy night 6 months ago.  And that smell is a combination of your body odor and mold.  God only knows what’s growing on there.  Take pride in looking good, not looking like Pigpen.

6. “Back seat Boss”: “I wouldn’t have handled it this way, he doesn’t know what he’s doing”. Guess what?  He’s the boss, he got promoted and you did not even attempt.  Then when you are in the front seat you are clueless, make simple mistakes and risk people’s lives out of fear of looking bad.

I guess I sounded like Jeff Foxworth “you might be marginal if…”

Let’s hear some more in honor ogf Flashover Friday.

You might be Marginal If…….

Forcible Entry Training Video

Forcible Entry Training Video , posted with vodpod

RIT and a little challenge tossed in.

Ok  folks, here we go. We all or most have been hit by less manpower, because we all know we can do more with less. For those of that run with a 3 person company, (Driver, Boss, and a Firefighter) no real challenge here. For those who have 5 or 6 member teams here is the challenge. My company just went through this, we had an acquired structure, through a neighboring FD, but be creative! Three member company as RIT, now take one out to be the victim, two out right? Mayday called, the two member team, equipped with a TIC, RIT bag, and at least a tool, goes in after the downed FF, this downed FF is on the second floor or basement, ours was on the second floor. Drill and Challenge Time!!

1. Do your members know how to call a Mayday and When to call? You might be surprised.

2. Building construction and layout of the structure, confusing?

3. Can two members handle this job?

4. Composure, think about it

5. Radio Traffic

Bosses need not be a victim! Train your folks, show some leadership ability or don’t see what happens. Brothers will more than two members, try this with two, as they say, see how the other half-lives!

Enjoy, can’t wait to hear from all ranks, Be Safe, this is to make us think, not get us hurt!

Just Because You Look Salty Does Not Mean You Are!

The firefighter dressed in Black is a 36 year vet in an Urban department he does not have to look salty

While participating in a burn with brother firefighters the question came up about how nice and shiny my new helmet was. Although I knew the firefighters I was with where just kidding it made me think. For firefighters who have not been in the business long or still think it is acceptable to look salty, let me impress upon you are wrong. The salty look means nothing. Stop and THINK. The set of gear that looks so worn could be gear that is used to conduct live burns in, which is a controlled environment with heat and smoke concentrated on it for long periods of time. Also, all it takes is that one hot fire that the individual showed up to all year-long.  Looking Salty also comes with the most hefty price. When you don’t clean your gear, and you look so salty, those are incomplete products of combustion left on your gear. Think about that.These incomplete products aid in breaking the materials down in your gear and making YOU flammable as well as the cancerous products that get into your pores when you sweat.  These are just a few thoughts for those who feel they need to look salty. It is not about how you look that makes you salty. It is, however, how you perform in the way you train and perform on the fire ground. Just remember the salty ole dog just might be the cleanest guy you see. This does not mean wash your gear every time you get smoke on it. It means at least rinsing away dirt, grit, and grime. Washing your gear needs to be done at least twice a year just for the environment it is exposed to of diesel fumes and other things from apparatus. But, if it is heavily soiled it should be washed following the manufacturer’s guidelines.

Tactics Tuesday

Discuss your Size- up Incident operations. Tell us where you would place your apparatus

Tactics Tuesday, posted with vodpod

Basic Competition Drill

Here is a quick and easy drill that we found on the internet a little while back. It is fun and promotes friendly competition between all members. All you will need is full P.P.E with SCBA, tape tools, a cone and a stop watch or other timing device.

Setting it up takes about 5 minutes. First figure out your starting point, measure out 10 feet and place a piece of tape on the ground. Place 3 or 4 different hand tools to one side or the other. Measure another 10 feet and place another piece of tape down. Measure about 25 to 30 feet and place a cone or other highly visible marker on the spot. You are now ready to perform the drill.

First you start with a rapid dress drill and start the stop watch. Have members get all gear on EXCEPT their face piece. Go to the first mark and select one of the tools. Move to the next mark and kneel down and put your face piece on and go “on air.” Make a radio announcement that you are entering the structure to perform a search. Go to the cone and around it then back to the second marker. Make a radio announcement that the search is complete and the time is stopped.

This is just a quick and easy drill to help promote a little friendly competition between your members. If you happen to know which department originally came up with this drill please feel free to let us know so that we can give them a little recognition for a great drill. Take care, be safe and have fun.

Flashover Friday

The topic for Flashover Friday is: Marginal Firefighter

1 . How do you deal with them

2. Tips for improvement

3. How to handle the rest of the crew tired of the marginal firefighter

We want to hear from the Senior Man all the way up to the Officer’s

The Basics: What does it mean to you?

Often times firefighters will wonder why during an advanced topic such as rappelling they are struggling with rigging and rope work in general. The answer to the question is because during Fire I they choose to not work until they can’t get their basic knots wrong. When you see an engine company who arrives first but is not the first line in the door it is because there is a lack of Basic skills training to deploy the line. The point I’m trying to make is no matter who you are if you have not mastered the basics you will not succeed when called upon to do advanced operations.  Firefighters to often believe after finishing fire school they have mastered the basics; I can not even began to tell you brothers and sisters with less than ten years on the job that are not constantly drilling on the basics how you are doing yourself a disservice.  I use the ten year mark because you have had a decade of time to practice until you can’t get it wrong. There are some who will read this that don’t fill the bill, but for the most part everybody believes basics are for the rookie. I challenge you to stop hiding behind what you feel is seniority and get up and do some more drilling on the basics.

Tactics Tuesday

Give your size up an incident operations based on what you see

Tactics Tuesday, posted with vodpod