Friday, January 28, 2011

Achieving Relative Safety

Well, it comes to Friday and time for another video blog.  Today I tackle the second point in our ethos statement:  Fire Service Warriors acknowledge the dangers of their vocation and do everything possible to minimize those dangers except shirk our duty.



Check it out.  Check out the guys over at Forged Clothing (whose shirts I wear each week).  Tell your friends to visit us.


Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Frank Brannigan Was Wrong...

Bold words from some random guy blogging, I know but I think I am onto something here.  Francis Brannigan, a Fire Protection Engineer who many of us know from his writing on building construction and his classic text Building Construction for the Fire Service, used to say, "The Building is your enemy; know your enemy!"  He was wrong.  The Building is the battleground, it is the terrain in which we and the enemy do battle.



Fire is the enemy and fire behavior is a predictiable indication of how the enemy will behave.  If we look at line of duty death and injury statistics we see far too many of our brothers and sisters being injured or killed because of fire development.  Just last week Mark Falkenhan-FF/Medic, Lutherville Volunteer Fire Company, Baltimore County FD was killed after being trapped in what sounds like flashover conditions. On Sunday a woman and three firefighters were injured at a building fire in Springfield, Virgina.

The video below show us the progression of the fireground.  Dave Statter has some good comments about this over at his blog.



We can get into a debate (I suppose) about exactly what fire behavior we are seeing.  It is not a backdraft.  It is not a smoke explosion.  This is a rapid spread of fire because of (probably) ineffective ventilation techniques. I'm not going to launch into some Tactics diatribe here because I do not know exactly what occurred at this fire.  I don't know if this was a townhouse type building where the second floor was a different occupancy.  I don't know if they pulled up with a two person Engine and one person on the Truck.  Something different did have to occur for that fire to be vented in a way that prevented the spread of fire over the heads of the attack team.

What we can talk about is the fire progression and why the fire spread was predicable.

Look at the smoke conditions at the start of the video.  This entire building is heavily charged.  The structure of the building is involved.  The fire is deep seated.  Based on info from http://www.wunderground.com the temperature was in the low 20's(F).  The somewhat "lazy" nature of the smoke once it is outside the building is due to the temperature. The key factors though should be the volume of dense smoke we see and the color.  We have to recognize that if it was 65 degrees outside this smoke would push away from the building with great velocity.  In this case it is "pushing" out pretty hard but then hanging more than we would normally expect from a hot fire.  WHY?  Because the "fluid" that is unburned products of combustion carried by heat contracts and slows when it hits that cold air.

Something worth considering is the inherent relationship between temperature and pressure.

How well do your firefighters understand Boyle's Law and Charles's law of fluid dynamics?  I know, I know, that's HazMat... right?  Maybe I'm biased to looking at this through a lens of Chemical and Physical properties because I just got back from a validating committee for a HazMat Technician Text Book.

Charles's Law simple says that as temperature increases so does pressure in a closed container.  Boyle's Law tells us that if you keep temperatue constant as pressure doubles volume halves/ as volume doubles pressure is halved.  In other words if you give a fluid more space the pressure is lessened, if you give it less space pressure increases.  Here is where they come together. As temperature is building because of unrestrained fire the pressure in the building begins to increase.  If the building was perfectly sealed that increase in pressure would eventually smother the fire by consuming oxygen.  If it cools off the fire goes out and all the unburnned products of combustion just congeal on surfaces.

However, once we allow the building to ventilate (in any manner) we create a place for that "fluid" to go.  However because it is a small opening relative to the amount of product temperature and pressure continue to build.  The exiting "fluid" is heated but to rich to burn (I know, more HazMat).

At the 1:45 mark you can see flame in the C/D corner window on the D side (if you call the front door side of the building where the truck is parked A).  In 15 seconds heavy fire is venting out the window.  30 seconds after the flame is viable we can see through the A/D corner window the fire is extending.  Three seconds later (2:14) the unburned fuel that is exiting the front lights up.  Once it lights up you will notice that the smoke is moving a lot faster up and away.  That's because the heat is now outside and overcoming the slowing/contracting effect of the ambient temperature.

We MUST study these fires and understand what is happening in the building.  I was in Tulsa over the weekend and spent a few minutes talking with Ed Hartin who teaches extensively about Compartment Fire Behavior Training  Ed is a Fire Behavior guy.  We talked about how it is the lack of knowledge about Fire Behavior that is getting us hurt and killed on the fireground.  While fire behavior may not be predictable with 100% accuracy I venture to say if you are a student of this trade we can get close to 95%.  We don't know until we are inside the compartment what effect the layout may have on fire growth and spread.  However we should understand intuitively what the smoke conditions are telling us about the growth, stage, and location of the fire.

The building is the battleground, and warriors going back as far as Sun Tzu have taught us how important it is to understand the terrain. The ENEMY though is the fire.  You can know all you want about the terrain but if you do not know what the ENEMY is going to do you will still end up killed.  The Fire is Your Enemy, Know You Enemy; The Building is the Battleground, Know the Terrain.

Friday, January 21, 2011

On Duty....

Here is Episode 2 of the Fire Service Warrior Video Blog. 

Today is a discussion about Duty.  It's focus is on the first point in our Ethos Statement.




Thanks for checking out the video blogs.  I hope you're enjoying them.  Please keep up the comments and feedback.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Tackling Staffing and Mourning The Fallen

I'd like to offer my condolences to the family of Firefighter Mark Falkenhan, of the Lutherville Volunteer Fire Company (MD).  FF Falkenhan was searching an occupied building for occupants when, according to Baltimore County Fire Department Chief John Hohman, a flashover occurred.  Our Brother was severely burned and succumbed to his injuries.  Godspeed, Brother; my thoughts and prayers are with both your families.  You can find CNN's coverage here.

I don't know if I should touch this with a ten foot hook right now, but I received a comment on the blog last night that I think is worth discussing.  Jessie Rosewall, Assistant Fire Chief, of the River Delta Fire District (CA)commented on "They Have Delusions of Adequacy":

"I am glad you are reporting information but instead of griping, complaining and pointing fingers. Why don't you assist these politicians, management leaders and unions in developing strategies to accomplish goals of keeping fire apparatus staffed? The bottom line is, just like you home budget, you can't keep spending more than what you make. Yes, some of our leaders or politicians have allowed this to happen. Instead of banking revenue while the boom was going good, they made foolish mistakes of increasing spending.

We are all feeling the stretch. We also see the unions equally to blame. Our hands are tied when we look at other staffing options such as volunteers or reserve firefighters filling seats on apparatus.

Unfortunately some, not all of your brothers and sisters in the unions see them as "TAKING AWAY A PAID JOB" instead of a well trained part time paid, reserve or volunteer capable firefighter who can save a life just as well as a paid person.
"

So we come to the 800 pound gorilla in the room at every fire department convention, conference, round-of-drinks.  Do we need career firefighters?  In the interest of full disclosure, I am a dues paying member of the International Association of Fire Fighters and worked to organize a former part-time fire department I worked for with the Service Employees International Union.  


My answer is yes, we need career firefighters. We want career teachers, career doctors, and a career military.  We should want career firefighters for the same reason: a career member can devote more time to mastering their trade than someone who must support his or her family doing other work.  I have met many dedicated, trained, focused Fire Service Warriors for whom the fire service is an additional duty they have stepped up to perform.  Everyone of them has said to me that they wished they could be a career firefighter and they have all complained about the difficulty of making time to train on top of their full time job and spending time with their families.  


I do agree with A/C Rosewall that Unions will argue against the employment of substitute firefighters.  That is why they exist.  Again as a dues paying member if my local said, "Sure, lay the bottom six guys off and we'll use a bunch of electricians, plumbers, mechanics, and school teachers as volunteers to fill those spots," I would file a lawsuit for failure to represent.


I want to be clear however: My stance on career firefighters has NOTHING to do with unions.  No one can deny that unions have done good for many blue-collar folks; however their system cuts both ways.  The union has the responsibility to preserve and defend the employee who meets the minimum standard just as much as the superstar.  That is the nature of organized labor all over this country. What we come to though is staffing.  How do we staff apparatus and provide adequate fire protection for everyone in a fiscally responsible way.  

My anecdotal assessment is that we need consolidation.  It costs money to keep fire stations open, buy apparatus, buy equipment, and administer a Fire Department or District.  It costs money to train, and staff apparatus.  Fire has no idea if there is a political boundary on one side of the street versus another.  The village I live in has career firefighters, and strives to show up on a call with four personnel per apparatus.  Cross the street that is the dividing line between my community and the City of Chicago and every company pulls up with five personnel.  The fire doesn't know that my commuinty has lower staff and that it has to develop more slowly.

If you look at communities all over there are fire departments that are providing redundant services.  For example in Cook County (IL) there are 118 fire departments. According to the Census Bureau in 2009 the estimated population of Cook County was 5,287,037.  Of that 5.2 million people, 2.8 million (2006 estimate) live in the City of Chicago.  The City of Chicago is 227 square miles.  The remainder of Cook County is 718 square miles.

If we separate the City of Chicago from the rest of the County we see that there are 117 separate fire departments protecting 2.4 million people in 718 square miles.  There are 117 fire chiefs; 117 organizations that are buying small quantities of equipment; 117 organizations trying to purchase apparatus; 117 organizations trying to find qualified members to arrive of the scene of a fire ready to work.  I know there are departments that are struggling under the weight of overtime everyday.  That's because they are trying to "Do more with less," and aren't hiring the staffing needed to minimize overtime.

I think we need to look at consolidations in a serious light.  Figuring out the details are far above my pay grade, but I can tell you this.  A simple look at the numbers shows that all of Cook County (excluding the City of Chicago) could be protected to the minimum standards of NFPA 1710 with roughly 8000 firefighters, officers, and chiefs.  I would bet my paycheck that if a consolidation like that happened the tax burden on our citizens could be reduced and many of the budget issues we are seeing would go away.

I'm sure I have chosen to sit under the sword of Damocles here but even suggesting such a thing, but its what I believe.  Later on I'm going to record Video Blog number two and talk about the Duty of Fire Service Warriors.  Cheers.



Tuesday, January 18, 2011

They Have Delusions of Adequacy

So, for the Camden, New Jersey, Fire and Police Departments a terrible day is upon us.  I mentioned this yesterday, Camden is laying off 30% of their Fire Department and 50% of their police department today.  The guys at Firefighter Close Calls have collected a good deal of information, here.

Public Safety lay-offs have become  politicians go-to tool for slashing budget gaps.  "We will just have to do more with less!" is a rallying cry you can hear regularly during times like this.  You cannot do more with less unless you have some kind of technological advancement.  Henry Ford did more with less because he saw how to maximize the potential of the assembly line.  A Boeing 777 has a cockpit crew of two (rather than the three person crew of the early days of commercial jets) because engineers figured out how to automate the monitoring of Engines and systems.  A computer takes care of tasks that were once done by a flight engineer.

We cannot do more with less on the fireground.  It takes human beings to force entry, stretch hose lines, throw ladders, and for God's sake SEARCH for any of our neighbors who may be trying to get out.

The Village I live in I chose for two reasons: good schools and a career fire department with 4 person companies.  Shortly after I bought the house my family lives in now the Village board at the urging of an anti-union Village Manager laid-off three firefighters and shut down my first due Truck Company; they made it clear they wanted to reduce staffing to three person Engines and rely on automatic aid for all Truck work.  I went in with my wife to have a discussion with the Village Manager.  That is 2 hours of my life I will never get back.  The one thing that stuck with me was when he said, "You are the only person who will come into complain about this."  He was right. 


We have to recognize that the political climate for Fire Departments has changed.  We are often viewed as an expensive and unnecessary insurance policy.  Do your part to change that view.  Go to my article "Why We Need Firefighters" and write something like it for your local paper, or email the link to the editors and see if they will do something with it.

To the men and women of Camden, good luck.  To my Brothers and Sisters there, keep your heads held high.  To the politicians all over this country who are slashing staffing rather than taking a hard look at other poor spending choices, acknowledge you have delusions of adequacy and tell your citizens the truth.  You will not do more with less, and they are more at risk then they were before.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Succeeding In Spite of Our Selves...

I think there are days that as firefighters we end up succeeding in spite of our best efforts to get killed.  There are folks who drive too fast, refuse to wear seat belts, think a healthy lunch is ordered off the McDonald's Value Menu, and whose exercise regime consists of shuffling to the pop machine on the apparatus floor during commercials.  I'm pretty sure at this point anyone who is regularly reading this blog knows that that kind of behavior will cause you to meet an early death.

What scares me are tactical errors that we make that by shear luck work out okay.  There is a maxim I've read from the fine folks over at Magpul Industries (click on their Mindset tab for some great quotes), "Familiarity and prolonged exposure without incident leads to a loss of appreciation of risk."

Watch this video to see what I'm talking about.  It's a fire from the 13th of January, 2011.  By all rights it could have become a NIOSH report in my opinion.



I dislike being a "Monday Morning Quarterback" of a fire department's actions if I wasn't at the fire, but this video scares me.  There are issues with opposing lines, a PPV operation that I think spreads the fire, and committing to an interior operation with what looks like too few resources.

Look at the smoke conditions on the "A" side.  That front eve is highly pressurized, and that was before the PPV went into operation.  That is a sure sign that the attic is well involved.  Fire burning above me concerns me.  If you go to the YouTube video and read the comments the video's author says they had problems with water supply. 

I think if we want to be serious about reducing firefighter injuries and LODDs we have to acknowledge that our ability to operate in a relatively safe way on the fireground has a direct coloration to our staffing.  That was the key point in my article "Why We Need Firefighters" that Fire Engineering featured on their website.

I know there are people who see my writing and my ideas as advocating an overly-aggressive mindset.  I really don't think that is the case.  This is one of those fires where I think we needed more people on scene to make the building behave.  Again, I was not there, and I can only judge based upon what the video shows.  I have to say that I spent the six minutes and forty odd seconds waiting for a collapse.

Consider the last fire you had where Everyone Went Home but it was only because of the grace of whatever divine creator is looking down on you that you did.  We all have those stories where things could have broken bad at any moment.  Learn from the fires where things "went right" as well as the one's where things went wrong.  My buddy Dave LeBlanc talks about this some in his post "From Sir Lancelot To Wyatt Earp to Dick Winters, Putting Others Ahead Of Ourselves". 


I'm glad everyone from the Lafayette County Fire Department went home.  Believe me I'm not criticizing the guys and gals who put the fire out. I think this is one that needs to be learned from and not repeated with that "loss of appreciation of risk."  This is a fire where something could have broken bad.  While I think we sometimes have to place our toes over the edge to fulfill out duty it cannot be allowed to happen without careful thought, discussion, and post fire analysis.

On another note, take some time to look into what's happening in Camden New Jersey today, too.  Tomorrow, January 18th, 1/3 of their Firefighters are due to be laid off.  Thoughts are with the Brothers and Sisters there. 



Friday, January 14, 2011

Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself....

Video Blogging Comes To fireservicewarrior.com
That's right folks after messing around with recording, editing, and uploading for two hours or so, I am happy to tell you that my first Video Blog is now right here!

In the coming weeks I am going to take up each of the points that are on the Ethos page.  Give those a look.  For now, our first video blog is a bit about introductions.



Next Friday we will take up just what our duty is as Fire Service Warriors

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Check This Out

Fire Engineering posted an article I wrote titled, "Why We Need Firefighters."  It's a piece that is really written for the lay-person to understand what this calling is all about.  I would love to see everyone out there print it out, and send it to the editor of their local paper (please just make sure you include the link so they can cite it properly if the print it) as an example of why fire department staffing is a critical issue.

In other news I am planning on debuting Video Blogging here tomorrow.  For the next ten weeks I'm going to post a little bit of my thoughts on  Ethos of the Fire Service Warrior starting with the ten points I discussed here.

Thanks to everyone for reading, referring the site, and being part of the discussion. 

Monday, January 10, 2011

What Are Your Bad Habits?

So I gave myself a new rule, "No looking at the computer after 10pm."  I decided that I didn't need to start reading things 10 minutes before bed that got my brain turning over a problem to the point where I have to get out of bed and go write.  I love writing.  I love thinking about how to be the best possible Fire Service Warrior.  However, I also like getting a full night's sleep.  Then this comment was posted at 9:45 tonight in response to Manifestos Seem So Unabomber...

Great posts as always. I'm a little confused about who made the CPAT suggestion as an annual fitness test.

At any rate, I disagree. I think we should set the standards higher.

The CPAT is an absolute joke. No offense. It's a highly political test, set to the lowest possible standard.

I've seen plenty of fat bodies (and small bodies) pass the CPAT, often barely.

If we truly want to embrace the the physical culture of the warrior ethos we must hold our people to a much higher standard. Something along the lines of passing the Combat challenge in full PPE on air (to a single time standard, non gender specific) would be a much better standard to hold ourselves.

Remember, if we want to call ourselves WARRIORS...we must walk the talk, and most importantly respect those who truly ARE warriors and must continually earn the right to maintain that title.

You don't see many lardass SEALS, Rangers, Recon Marines, PJ's, or SF guys out there. They meet the physical performance standards continuously through the training pipeline and into their careers, or they don't make the cut, PERIOD!!!  - TravisR.



First the suggestion that the CPAT be an annual exam was mine.  I agree with Travis that it is a minimum standard.  It is a minimum standard though that two major Fire Service organizations have agreed upon.  If we could get it made a minimum requirement for continued operational time riding on an Engine, Truck, Squad, Rescue, or other line company, a requirement for anyone who is going to wear an SCBA, I would venture to guess that we would see a reduction in Line of Duty Deaths because of Heart Attack and Stroke.  Having a minimum fitness standard of any sort that we expect people to meet would help us start building a culture of fitness in the Fire Service.

The work of Barbara Ainsworth on Metabolic Work shows us that Firefighters expend metabolic energy at the same level as Navy SEAL Combat Swimmers, and professional boxers.  We wrap ourselves up in turnout gear and SCBA and perform a combat mission every time we enter a burning building. While I would love to see everyone of us reach an elite level of fitness, I also think we have to do a reasonable task analysis to define what that level must be at a minimum level.  The CPAT has done a reasonable job of setting that standard. 

What we need to do is work on eliminating the culture of mediocrity that pervades firehouses.


Aristotle said, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit."  Are you making a habit of excellence? Are you thinking every day about how to improve yourself as a firefighter?  How to help the team?  That's what we are talking about when we say someone is a good Brother or Sister.  There are far too many people who worry about themselves first in this world, and we have our share of them in the fire service.  Folks who will talk long and hard about how they are owed consideration, respect, or deference for a host of reasons: rank, time-in-grade, seniority.

I've noticed an interesting thing in my travels, those folks who make excellence a habit in their lives don't demand respect of others; they don't think they are owed anything.  They demand much of them self, but when it comes time to go to work they earn the respect of their co-workers, junior or senior, their leaders, and their subordinates by being great at what they do.  So, are you cultivating excellence as a habit?  If you haven't, it isn't too late.  It's a new year. 

Step up to the plate: work out, so you are more likely to go home when your shift is over; drive like a responsible human being and wear your seat belt; wear your SCBA - I speak from the experience of seeing cancer first hand it sucks - we are killing far more Brothers and Sisters from occupational cancer than we are in flashovers and collapses; Train every day. 

It's a new year.  Make it your resolution to be a Fire Service Warrior.  Be Ready.




The Problem With Free Speech

Abraham Lincoln supposedly once said, "It is better to remain silent an be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."

The line of duty death of Ed Stringer and Corey Ankum has triggered much discussion.  The central question has come back to "should they have been in that building?"  I've spoken my mind already in my post, "We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident".   The issue though has raised a host of opinions. 

The blog-o-sphere has been alive with heated rhetoric and some foolish statements.  I am sure that ten years from now when I go back and read some of what I wrote at the start of this new year I will find foolish errors.  That's okay.  The joy of this country is that we get to make fools of ourselves... it's one of our inalienable rights.  I had some problems with my host site this morning and I lost about 7 posts, including the one I posted last night.  A good friend emailed me the blog and I re-read it as I was putting it back in.  I was just as guilty of over reacting as some of the folks I was inditing for their words.  Hello Kettle....

I do think there are some points I want to pull out of that post though.

On Christmas Day John Murphy posted "Another Abandoned Building Takes More Firefighter Lives" on Fire Engineering's Forums.  He compared homeless people to rats, "Here is a fact –homeless scatter like rats when the buildings start on fire meeting their own primal need of survival."  Robert Avsec posted a blog on Fire Chief magazine's forums some days later in which he said that the Chicago Fire Department had behaved wrongly in entering the building on East 75th Street.  I can't quote the man because after getting dozens of livid comments (including one from me) Fire Chief pulled the posting from their site.

Today though I see that Janet Wilmoth, Editor of Fire Chief, posted a commentary on the 6th of January regarding the editorial decision to pull Mr. Avsec's piece because, "It's Too Soon For Hard Questions In Chicago." In her Editorial comment Ms. Wilmoth says, "...who hears about fires in an abandoned building and doesn’t wonder about the rest of the story? We all do, but who decides whether vagrants are worth looking for in a burning building?"



I jumped on Ms. Wilmoth's comment as a statement that she was implying that vagrants, that the homeless, might not be worth searching for.  As I read the comment again I don't think I am too far off.  If that wasn't Ms. Wilmoth's intent it was a poorly written sentence.  I seriously doubt that Ms. Wilmoth would have had  questioned if we should be searching for people because of their race, gender, religion, or because of a handicap. 

That's the trouble with words.  There are so many inferences that can be drawn from a vague or imprecise statement.  I called out the vagaries in the 16 Life Safety Initiatives here. We must strive to give precision to our words, strive to be explicit in our meanings, and strive to be clear in our meanings.  I've put my foot in my mouth before, and I expect that the day will come when I have the taste of shoe leather on my palate again.  Until then, thanks for all the comments, emails, and visits. 

Friday, January 7, 2011

Manifestos Seem So Unabomber....

I don't have much desire to live in a cave or a small hut on the side of a mountain. I like hotels with a nice concierge, free wi-fi, and a bar with real wood paneling and nice 18 year old whiskeys.  I say this to make it clear I have not set out to write a manifesto.  I think that some folks have felt that I'm trying to keep firefighting rooted in the past without a sense of today's realities.  Sorry kids, you've missed the point.

I mentioned earlier today that David S. took some exceptions to my post about Culture.  He raised a point, "... I'm not sure why you are opposed to initiatives that have the intent to make firefighting safer for the firefighter."  It's a point I want to take the time to answer.


I think that the fire service does need to be proactive in dealing with firefighter deaths, and more importantly fireground injuries.  We hurt more firefighters on the fireground in one year than the US Military had wounded-in-action from October 2001 through September 2008.  That is a far more sobering statistic than our Line of Duty Death numbers.


If we are going to begin changing a culture trend in the fire service it is the culture of mediocrity that pervades so many firehouses.  I've seen it so many times.  Firefighters who can only be classified as being "in-shape" if "egg-like" is a shape.  Men and women who cannot wait to don a Fire Department T-Shirt, Hat, and Belt-Buckle and walk around hoping people will notice, but are scared s&^#less when they are confronted with a burning building.  Officers who hold their rank because of elections (a horrible popularity contest far too many times).  All of these factors (and more) contribute to a culture where mediocrity is the accepted standard.


Firefighting is a Combat Position.  My feeling is that the points in the 16 Life Safety Initiatives  are critical based on the assumption that we have mediocre firefighters. They are vague statements.
6 - "Develop and implement national medical and physical fitness standards that are equally applicable to all firefighters, based on the duties they are expected to perform."

That sounds great, but what does it tell you?  Nothing.  How about this: Firefighters must have the physical capacity to maintain a metabolic work load of 12 METS for 40 minutes without showing signs of cardiac compromise.  All firefighters will meet the standards of the Candidate Physical Ability Test annually.  Those numbers are based on two things, 1) the studies of the metabolic effort of firefighting and 2) the USFA Rehab guidelines.  The CPAT has been acknowledged by the IAFC and the IAFF as a reasonable predictor of the physical capacity to perform the tasks of a firefighter.  This information is not some kind of hidden mystery, it's available to anyone who wants to be a student of this trade.

If you don't want to be a mediocre firefighter then you will strive to be a warrior.  You will train, you will be fit, and you will do everything possible to excel.  You will own this job.

Here is the Ethos I would like to see us adopt. 
1)  Fire Service Warriors accept the duty to stand between their neighbors and unrestrained fire.
2)  Fire Service Warriors acknowledge the dangers of their vocation and do everything possible to minimize those dangers unless it violates #1.
3) Fire Service Warriors believe that all human life has value and will do everything possible to save a human life.
4) Fire Service Warriors know that buildings do not spontaneously combust; if we aren't 100% sure the building is vacant WE SEARCH.
5) Fire Service Warriors acknowledge that to reduce the risk of Cardiac Compromise they will maintain an elite level of fitness.
6) Fire Service Warriors wear seat belts, helmet straps, SCBA, and all PPE.
7) Fire Service Warriors train EVERYDAY.
8) Fire Service Warriors own their responsibility to their Brothers and Sisters. 
9) Fire Service Warriors honor our fallen by learning everything possible from their deaths and from the injuries and near misses of our compatriots.
10) Fire Service Warriors acknowledge the reputation of the fire service was earned by those who came before us, often at the cost of their lives, and strive to never tarnish that reputation.

Like the teachings of the Greek and Roman Stoics I don't see these as commandments, fixed forever without change, but as living ideas.  I may be the guy who has "coined" there term Fire Service Warrior but this is a living concept.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

New Page

So, with all the people screaming that we are too aggressive in the fire service, I decided to create a sub page here where I can post information about why we search.  When people ask, "Why do they go in there," it will be a forum for that information.  I don't want to simply post newspaper articles and links though.  If you rescue someone from a burning building during a search, or one of your Brothers or Sisters does, email me a little bit about the fire and how they made the grab and I will post it on the "Why We Search" page.  I will edit for basic use of the English language.  Please don't share Department Names or Firefighter Names unless you have the permission to do so.  If you send me the info I assume you have permission.  Let's see if we can create a forum to show folks exactly why we search. 

Please email any stories you want to share to thefireservicewarrior@gmail.com with the subject heading "Why We Search".  Cheers.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Quit Telling Me to Change My Culture

We will now bring you a diatribe from our frustrated author:
 
I am sick and tired of hearing that the fire service needs to change our culture.  It's what "Everyone Goes Home" is about, it's in the 16 life safety inititives, and hords of folks come out an comment when ever there is a LODD that we need to "Change the Culture of the Fire Service." 

If the culture they are talking about is the one filled with out-of-shape men and women who have signed on because they want to carry a badge and a pager, and wear shirts that say something like, "I fight what you fear," while driving 63mph on a county road to get to a call, I agree.  That is rarely what they are talking about.  What they say is that we need to avoid things like, "Duty to Die Syndrome" and use "Victim Survivability Profiling" to determine if people can be alive before WE commit to the inside.

&^%$ me, are we serious?  Firefighting is a combat position.  If you don't want to go into combat you don't join the military.  If you don't want to risk YOUR life in a burning building don't join the fire service.  For the love of the memory of every firefighter who has perished in the line of duty please STOP advocating risk adverse policies and ideas in the name of safety. 

If you want to be safe acknowldge that this job places the same physical strain on us as Navy SEALS are expected to cope with (12 METS during both firefighter and combat swimming operations).  Train like a professional going into harms way! 

If we want to truly reduce fireground injuries and fatalities let's start training our people to where they are physically incapable of making mistakes in the basic skills.  "Amateurs train until they get it right; professionals train until they can't get it wrong."  You know what happens when throwing a 24' two-stage ladder by yourself becomes instinctive? You can use your brain to worry about maintaining Situational Awareness and Sizing-Up the building.  You know what happens when you have drilled on SCBA emergency procedures a 1000 times? When you have a problem you don't freak out and enter the cascading series of failure that comes with a run-away Sympathetic Nervous System reaction.

Let's quit tip-toeing around the facts,  If YOU are unwilling to train until you can't get it wrong, maintain a level of fitness that with help you excel on the fireground, AND risk yourself because those neighbors we serve need US to do it... THEN LEAVE. There are other ways to lend a helping hand.  Volunteer with the Red Cross, help out at a Hospital, participate in a clothing drive, but please, for &^$# sake get out of the fire service.

Own this job.  Own your responsibility to your neighbors.  Own your responsibility to your brothers and sisters.

We now resume our regular programing.