Qua Alius Vereor Calco…

A Combat Position

"If Prometheus was worthy of the wrath of heaven for kindling the first fire upon earth, how ought all the Gods to honour the men who make it their professional business to put it out?" - John Godfrey Saxe (c. 1890)

Qua Alius Vereor Calco…

What does it mean? "Where Others Fear to Tread." It sums up the reality of being a fireman, it is a motto that suits my message: The Fire Service Warrior.

This blog is about combat, and it is meant to be read by: those men and women who choose to go into battle, who chose to risk their lives for a cause they believe in; it is meant to benefit those whose lives are lived with purpose and value; it is meant to be a guide for those who seek to follow the Warrior's path.

Our country has become quite familiar with the words "Homeland Security" in the years since September 11^th 2001. We must not forget though that our nation's firefighters have been on the bleeding edge of the sword that has served to provide safety and security to our communities since Benjamin Franklin founded the Union Fire Company in Philadelphia, December 7^th, 1736. Of course it is not just our firefighters who have placed their lives on the line to protect the community, and we must acknowledge our cousins in the Law Enforcement Community for their efforts as well. Their sacrifices are often overlooked, and their job misunderstood by many; they are the complimentary edge to the sword that protects us.

Firefighting is combat. It is not a battle against another person, but it is combat none the less. A Fireman places himself in a position where he must risk his life to protect his community. That calling, that selfless willingness to place one's neighbors ahead of oneself is rooted in the same noble drive as our warrior's who defend our nation on foreign shores. The risk is the same; it is the risking of all that you, and your family, hold dear, your life, to protect others who cannot protect themselves. At times in our history the relative degree of risk has varied; during times of war our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines have born a much greater share of the risk, but in times of tranquility it is our public servants who have shouldered the burden of securing our homeland.

There are those who may not have looked at the idea of Fire Departments being engaged in combat before; there are bound to be individuals who would philosophically disagree with the very implication that firefighting is combat. Yes, the fire service has assumed many roles beyond "just" fighting fires. Many of the Fire Departments around the country provide Emergency Medical Services, Hazardous Materials response, Technical Rescue and other services to aid their "customers", their neighbors who they have sworn to protect. It is a reality that those same neighbors see us first, and foremost, as being there to crawl down a dark, hot, dangerous hallway that is being ravaged by the effects of unrestrained fire to save their loved ones, protect their property, and salvage their possessions.

So, if we look at both the statistics and the environment that a firefighter may find him or herself in I believe that the analogy is not only appropriate, but essential if the Fire Service, and the public we serve are to understand the role we play in our communities. In 2005 there were 115 Line of Duty Deaths (LODD) reported to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA). Additionally the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has estimated that 80,100 firefighters were injured in the line of duty in 2005, and nearly 50% of those injuries occurred on the Fire Ground.

This should not come as a shock but Firefighting is a dangerous profession. We take a young man and send him into a building were most of the time he wont be able to see, he cannot breath the air, which is filled with toxic gases, the temperatures he will have to work in can reach 1200° Fahrenheit at the ceiling, and he is wrapped in a coat, pants, boots, gloves, hood, helmet and self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) that hinder his dexterity, his mobility, his verbal communication and his ability to maintain an awareness of the environment around him. Oh, and as an added element that most pervasive of physical forces, Gravity, is constantly exerting its pull on the structure that our Warrior is doing battle in so that if the building has been sufficiently weakened by the effects of the fire it is likely to collapse on him.

In the classic text, The Art of War, Sun Tzu, a warrior philosopher who lived more than 2,000 years ago in China, tells us "Therefore those who do not know the plans of competitors cannot prepare alliances. Those who do not know the lay of the land cannot maneuver their forces." In the fire service we recognize the importance of mastering our knowledge of: Fire Behavior, how our enemy will behave; Building Construction, how the terrain on which we do battle conspires with our enemy to defeat us; our Personal Protective Equipment, if we do not know the limits of our "armor" then we do not know our limits; our Tools, we must know what weapons to bring and how to use them if we hope to be victorious; our brothers and sisters, we each have our strengths, and our weaknesses, we must balance those strengths and weaknesses to achieve success.

Is it possible to guarantee that all of our people will go home? No. Firefighting is an inherently dangerous job; we risk our lives to protect the lives and property of the community we serve. There will be times when we will need to take a risk, perhaps even one with little possible benefit because there may be a life on the line.

Every firefighter must take seriously the need to understand and apply these five principles. The 20-year veteran and the new candidate must both strive to know all there is to know about their profession, this requires study and practice. With the exception of some areas that would be described in the media as "of a lower socioeconomic stature" (and that Fireman call the ghetto) our personnel are not in battle with Fire on a daily basis. It is vital if we are to send our firefighters into combat that they have the capacity to study and learn from the experiences of others, that they are able to think critically and analyze information they are presented with to apply it to their own responses, and to understand how their body and mind helps and hinders them in their quest to return safely to their loved ones at the end of their tour of duty.

Today's firefighter must be a warrior who will unflinchingly put his very life in harms way to accomplish a mission, but who is also steeped in knowledge so that he willfully chooses the path he is on. Firefighting is combat. Anyone who embarks on this path must understand this fact, just as anyone who enters the military must know he or she may be called upon to risk his life to protect his nation. It is a calling that not everyone is suited for, and that is okay, there are plenty of ways to serve your community: volunteer to help your church, be a Scout Master, or what ever you are suited for, just do your part to be a responsible and thoughtful member of the community.

Every fireman must be prepared to die. He must strive to live; train to do everything possible to survive the circumstance he must face, but at the end of the day he must look himself in the eye and know that he will place his life on the line to do what he has been called upon to do. A fireman who is unwilling to risk his life is of no more use to society than a police officer who is unwilling to use his weapon to protect the citizens of the community he is sworn to protect.

This blog is not meant to fluff the egos of those people who look at the fire service as: a social club, a place to just collect a pay-check, a way of getting the respect of their friends, family and neighbors, for "being a hero", or anyone else who has neither the courage, nor the ability to engage in combat, and risk his life for his fellow man. You know who you are.