Today brings a new video post, but it is also Memorial Day. I think that we should each take a few moments and think about the sacrifices of those men and women who serve in the Military accept in order to help preserve our freedoms. Their trade is never glamorous and often fraught with danger. For those of us who aspire to be Fire Service Warriors we can sympathize, so we remember them and their sacrifice.
Oh, and I would recommend this Memorial Day that you do something to support our veterans.
Some great organizations that can use your support are:
The Wounded Warrior Project
The Special Operations Warrior Foundation
The Lone Survivor Foundation
And if you want to buy some sweet shirts that support the cause of veterans visit Ryan and Mike over at Forged Clothing. I wear their shirts in every video blog episode and a portion of their sales go to support military charities. They are doing a great job and deserve our support.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Fire Service Warrior Fitness
Firefighters are industrial athletes. Our athletic ability directly relates to their success or failure at accomplishing our job. Fire Service Warriors recognize this fact without question and strive to reach their maximal potential. This is not a revelation, but a statement of fact that I feel must be acknowledged before any discussion of improving our Fitness can move forward. If you dispute my thesis, then I would suggest you examine the NFPA and USFA data on firefighter Line of Duty Deaths and Injuries and focus on the incidents of cardiac compromise and musculoskeletal injuries that occur every year.
It should be obvious by 2011 that being physically fit is a prerequisite and mandatory maintenance skill for a firefighter who seeks to maximize his or her capacity to perform on the fireground as well as ensure the longevity of their career. My observation is that despite the obviousness of this requirement far too many of our members have a blatant disregard for their fitness (and at times even wellness). I could spend a decade researching and writing about “Why” this is so, but I’m not going to. I believe in Occam’s Razor (the simplest solution to a hypothesis is the most likely): Firefighters are human beings and human beings have an deep rooted ability to accept the status quo if the alternative requires hard work. In other words without an internal drive to excellence or an external motivator (like corporate culture or public ridicule) most people will expend the minimal amount of effort to get by. This is not a value judgment; it is a statement of fact. Without acknowledging that we all have within us the ability to avoid that which is difficult I think we are deceiving ourselves. Given that I am not going to spend any time on “Why” people avoid hard physical work I can jump into what I think is the important question. How do Fire Service Warriors maximize their physical capacity?
The simplistic answer is that we develop our physical capacity through exercise. What is exercise though? If we look to the dictionary there are several definitions presented, but the most on target is that exercise is, “bodily exertion for the sake of developing and maintaining physical fitness.”[1] So, what then is physical fitness? Well, the same dictionary source just cited has no definition for physical fitness. The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports defines physical fitness as, “A set of attributes that people have or achieve relating to their ability to perform physical activity.”[2] By that definition I have a measure of fitness if I am in fact alive. I can be morbidly obese, paralyzed, or suffer from a host of other limitations, but because my heart is beating (a physical activity) I have some level of physical fitness. Does that strike you as a precise definition of being “physically fit”?
I think that the most precise definition I have found to date is that of the CrossFit™ community. According to Greg Glassman, founder of CrossFit, fitness is, “increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains.”[3] I think that as Fire Service Warriors this definition makes a lot of sense. We are expected to perform all of the ten physical skills that the founders of Dynamx medicine balls spelled out (and are a cornerstone of the CrossFit method): cardio respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, speed, power, accuracy, agility, balance, and coordination. We have to be able to apply these skills under time sensitive, high stress, potentially life threatening situations. These are the modal capacities in question. Additionally we have to be able to perform these skills for an undefined period of time; we do not know how long the emergency will last. All of this brings me to the core point of this post.
How do we achieve a level of physical capacity that will improve our ability to thrive on the modern fireground? Simple answer: through effective and challenging physical training that continually causes our bodies and our minds to adapt to ever increasing stresses. Is that going to be easy? No. Can we achieve it? You bet we will.
Right here at fireservicewarrior.com we are going to begin posting a fitness program that I call Fire Service Warrior Fitness, or as I post it on twitter FSWFitness.
What is FSWFitness?
FSWFitness is a programming model that is based on the foundations of the CrossFit methods I learned through using CrossFit and when I became a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer coupled with strength training programs I have found useful, and a dose of firefighting “sport specific” tasks. I write the programming and then do it as my programming BEFORE it will be posted on the website. This allows me to make sure the programming is realistic yet challenging.
It must be said that this program is not affiliated with CrossFit. We use their open source methods and exercises as a reference and resource and full credit is given to Coach Glassman and the CorssFit Team.
FSWFitness starts with the belief that when you are on duty you have a responsibility to advance your fitness but ultimately that you have to be READY to go if the bell rings. That means you should not be working out to a maximal capacity on duty. In our program your duty days are dedicated to a good warm-up, working on skills that will advance your fitness, and mobility work. One thing that firefighters tend to neglect is a solid stretching/flexibility/mobility component to their workouts. The facts are indisputable: Flexibility reduces injury potential, speeds recovery, and increases the longevity of the athlete to perform his or her sport. It is during your off duty time that you will work on making larger increases in your Strength, Stamina, and Work Capacity. Our program is based on those firefighters who work a 24-hour shift followed by 48-hours off. We offer up suggestions to modify the program for other shift options. When we post our work outs we will do so three days worth of programming at a time and identify which work outs are scheduled for which days.
Ultimately FSWFitness is our attempt to share with you as a resource what the Fire Service Warrior Team is doing to improve OUR fitness and capacity. This program may not be right for your goals. You could get hurt doing this improperly (or properly if you are being stupid). Caveat Emptor – Let the Buyer beware. We offer no warranty and assume no liability if you hurt yourself through attempting to use our program.
FSWFitness is a programming model that is based on the foundations of the CrossFit methods I learned through using CrossFit and when I became a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer coupled with strength training programs I have found useful, and a dose of firefighting “sport specific” tasks. I write the programming and then do it as my programming BEFORE it will be posted on the website. This allows me to make sure the programming is realistic yet challenging.
It must be said that this program is not affiliated with CrossFit. We use their open source methods and exercises as a reference and resource and full credit is given to Coach Glassman and the CorssFit Team.
FSWFitness starts with the belief that when you are on duty you have a responsibility to advance your fitness but ultimately that you have to be READY to go if the bell rings. That means you should not be working out to a maximal capacity on duty. In our program your duty days are dedicated to a good warm-up, working on skills that will advance your fitness, and mobility work. One thing that firefighters tend to neglect is a solid stretching/flexibility/mobility component to their workouts. The facts are indisputable: Flexibility reduces injury potential, speeds recovery, and increases the longevity of the athlete to perform his or her sport. It is during your off duty time that you will work on making larger increases in your Strength, Stamina, and Work Capacity. Our program is based on those firefighters who work a 24-hour shift followed by 48-hours off. We offer up suggestions to modify the program for other shift options. When we post our work outs we will do so three days worth of programming at a time and identify which work outs are scheduled for which days.
Ultimately FSWFitness is our attempt to share with you as a resource what the Fire Service Warrior Team is doing to improve OUR fitness and capacity. This program may not be right for your goals. You could get hurt doing this improperly (or properly if you are being stupid). Caveat Emptor – Let the Buyer beware. We offer no warranty and assume no liability if you hurt yourself through attempting to use our program.
When Do We Start?
Beginning June 1st, 2011 we will be posting our program here on the website. You can expect to find three days worth of programming posted each day along with suggestions for reference material to learn certain skills and suggestions to modify the schedule based on various shift schedules. We cannot custom tailor the program to every conceivable work schedule out there, so we assume that you will always keep in mind your DUTY TO ACT and restrain yourself from being too intense on duty.
Beginning June 1st, 2011 we will be posting our program here on the website. You can expect to find three days worth of programming posted each day along with suggestions for reference material to learn certain skills and suggestions to modify the schedule based on various shift schedules. We cannot custom tailor the program to every conceivable work schedule out there, so we assume that you will always keep in mind your DUTY TO ACT and restrain yourself from being too intense on duty.
Can I Jump Right In?
The FSWFitness program is designed for an individual who has a solid understanding of functional movements, experience with power lifting and Olympic weightlifting styles, and a capacity to perform bodyweight exercises. In general we would recommend that you have six months of experience with doing workouts from Crossfit.com, SEALFit.com, or a similar program, under the guidance of a coach. That being said, if you are intelligent in your implementation of our programming model, learn the movements before attempting to perform them under load, and ramp up your physical fitness prior to engaging in higher intensity bouts of training you can do so. You are a full grown adult and responsible for your choices and actions.
Be a student of your own body and your own fitness and make sure you are doing things properly. Well executed technique should be your primary objective.
The FSWFitness program is designed for an individual who has a solid understanding of functional movements, experience with power lifting and Olympic weightlifting styles, and a capacity to perform bodyweight exercises. In general we would recommend that you have six months of experience with doing workouts from Crossfit.com, SEALFit.com, or a similar program, under the guidance of a coach. That being said, if you are intelligent in your implementation of our programming model, learn the movements before attempting to perform them under load, and ramp up your physical fitness prior to engaging in higher intensity bouts of training you can do so. You are a full grown adult and responsible for your choices and actions.
Be a student of your own body and your own fitness and make sure you are doing things properly. Well executed technique should be your primary objective.
Why Don’t You Tell Me How Much Weight To Lift?
Strength is a very individual capacity. In designing this program we make no assumptions about your current experience with strength training or your capacity to move heavy loads. If you have a background in lifting you will incorporate this programming model in with the knowledge of what your 5, 3, and 1 repetition maximum (5RM, 3RM, 1RM) lifts are. If you do not have a lifting background and don’t already have this data recorded then we recommend that you start off by spending six months following a novice lifting program like Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength Basic Barbell Training (with Lon Kilgore). You can visit Coach Rip’s http://startingstrength.com/index.php for some good info on his program and order his books. Power lifting and Olympic lifting demand good form and technique if you are going to progress and not injure yourself. A couple of good sources for Olympic lifting are Coach Mike Burgener ‘s http://www.mikesgym.org/index.php and Coach Greg Everett’s http://www.cathletics.com/. There are a tremendous number of resources out there to learn these skills. We are not your coach, we are simply offering up for your use the program that we use for our fitness.
Strength is a very individual capacity. In designing this program we make no assumptions about your current experience with strength training or your capacity to move heavy loads. If you have a background in lifting you will incorporate this programming model in with the knowledge of what your 5, 3, and 1 repetition maximum (5RM, 3RM, 1RM) lifts are. If you do not have a lifting background and don’t already have this data recorded then we recommend that you start off by spending six months following a novice lifting program like Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength Basic Barbell Training (with Lon Kilgore). You can visit Coach Rip’s http://startingstrength.com/index.php for some good info on his program and order his books. Power lifting and Olympic lifting demand good form and technique if you are going to progress and not injure yourself. A couple of good sources for Olympic lifting are Coach Mike Burgener ‘s http://www.mikesgym.org/index.php and Coach Greg Everett’s http://www.cathletics.com/. There are a tremendous number of resources out there to learn these skills. We are not your coach, we are simply offering up for your use the program that we use for our fitness.
Can I Mix FSWFitness Work Outs In With Other Programming?
You are a full grown adult with free will; you can do anything you want. Educate yourself, know your goals, and make the choice for yourself. I am not your mother.
You are a full grown adult with free will; you can do anything you want. Educate yourself, know your goals, and make the choice for yourself. I am not your mother.
There Is A Lot of Volume On The First “Off Day”, Why?
Firefighting challenges our capacity across all of the previously mentioned ten general physical skills. Additionally we often have to perform for periods of time up to 40 minutes without a significant rest or rehabilitation period. Our model is designed to push harder on your first day off shift to improve the capacity to function in that 40 minute window that NFPA 1500 allows for before formal rehab. During the Strength component of the day you should rest as needed between lifts. You are performing sets across (you add weight to the bar each time) and looking to “find” your 5 or 3 rep max. You last rep of your last set should be “almost” impossible to complete. Take a no more than a ten minute rest between the first and second components (this is based on the self-rehabilitation criteria published by NFPA) during which you hydrate.
We schedule it when we do to allow the maximal recovery time before you return to duty. That being said if you could not execute our hardest day two or three times in a day you need to ask yourself, “Would I be able to fight two or three fires in a day?” Our model provides a true “rest” day once every six days, however two additional days you are working at sub-maximal capacity. Your on-duty days are essentially active rest days that focus on warming up and mobility. There really is no such thing as “over training” there is just being under rested. If you are not making progress then you likely need more sleep, more food, or both.
Firefighting challenges our capacity across all of the previously mentioned ten general physical skills. Additionally we often have to perform for periods of time up to 40 minutes without a significant rest or rehabilitation period. Our model is designed to push harder on your first day off shift to improve the capacity to function in that 40 minute window that NFPA 1500 allows for before formal rehab. During the Strength component of the day you should rest as needed between lifts. You are performing sets across (you add weight to the bar each time) and looking to “find” your 5 or 3 rep max. You last rep of your last set should be “almost” impossible to complete. Take a no more than a ten minute rest between the first and second components (this is based on the self-rehabilitation criteria published by NFPA) during which you hydrate.
We schedule it when we do to allow the maximal recovery time before you return to duty. That being said if you could not execute our hardest day two or three times in a day you need to ask yourself, “Would I be able to fight two or three fires in a day?” Our model provides a true “rest” day once every six days, however two additional days you are working at sub-maximal capacity. Your on-duty days are essentially active rest days that focus on warming up and mobility. There really is no such thing as “over training” there is just being under rested. If you are not making progress then you likely need more sleep, more food, or both.
How Much Sleep Should I Get?
As much as possible. People slept nine or more hours a night even as recently as the early 1900’s. With the invention and proliferation of the electric light we have conquered the night and screwed ourselves up ever sense. At a minimum try and sleep seven to eight hours a night. Your body needs the sleep to recover from both the stress of training and the effects of day to day stress. I write pretty extensively about sleep deprivation and sleep debt in The Combat Position: Achieving Firefighter Readiness. Sleep deprivation increases your risks of heart disease and cancer, the same two conditions that are killing hundreds of firefighters a year. Lights Out, by T.S. Wiley is a reference for those who want to understand the way sleep has changed.
As much as possible. People slept nine or more hours a night even as recently as the early 1900’s. With the invention and proliferation of the electric light we have conquered the night and screwed ourselves up ever sense. At a minimum try and sleep seven to eight hours a night. Your body needs the sleep to recover from both the stress of training and the effects of day to day stress. I write pretty extensively about sleep deprivation and sleep debt in The Combat Position: Achieving Firefighter Readiness. Sleep deprivation increases your risks of heart disease and cancer, the same two conditions that are killing hundreds of firefighters a year. Lights Out, by T.S. Wiley is a reference for those who want to understand the way sleep has changed.
You Say I’m Supposed To Do “Mobility” Every Day, What Do I Do?
We have already mentioned that increased flexibility improves performance, recovery, and longevity. As such we write into the program 10 to 15 minutes of mobility/flexibility/stretching work after every work out. This is vital to improving your physical resiliency and should be of benefit in reducing your injury risk both on and off duty. I recommend you visit http://www.mobilitywod.com and follow along from Day 1 of their programming. It is comprehensive and instructive. That being said any stretching routine that works to improve your overall flexibility, head-to-toe, will be of benefit. Yoga is a particularly effective means of improving flexibility. Find a system that works for you.
We have already mentioned that increased flexibility improves performance, recovery, and longevity. As such we write into the program 10 to 15 minutes of mobility/flexibility/stretching work after every work out. This is vital to improving your physical resiliency and should be of benefit in reducing your injury risk both on and off duty. I recommend you visit http://www.mobilitywod.com and follow along from Day 1 of their programming. It is comprehensive and instructive. That being said any stretching routine that works to improve your overall flexibility, head-to-toe, will be of benefit. Yoga is a particularly effective means of improving flexibility. Find a system that works for you.
What Should I Eat?
The old adage “You are what you eat,” is absolutely accurate. If you eat foods that are pro-inflammatory, increase insulin response, or lead to metabolic derangement then you are going to see negative outcomes. Nutrition is the foundation of health and performance. I use a Paleolithic (Paleo) Diet that tries to mimic the way 2 million years of human evolution adapted homo-sapiens to fuel themselves. The basic prescription is to eat REAL FOOD. If you cannot eat all the ingredients in your meal in their natural state you are not eating real food. This means avoiding all grains, most legumes, and most dairy. Think about a loaf of bread, you cannot eat the flour that is the majority component without mixing it with five or six other things to make it palatable. If you simply shoveled a cup of flour in your mouth you are going to vomit. That’s because your body sees this as poison.
I am not a nutritionist but I have done my research and have seen the changes in my performance from making the switch to eating Meat and Vegetables, some Fruit, moderate consumption of Nuts and Seeds, and avoiding processed Sugars roughly 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time I will gladly have pizza, ice cream, alcohol, Cadbury Cream Eggs, and all sorts of delicious yet not particularly healthy options. I agree with what Coach Mark Divine says over at his SEALFit.com site, “Life is too short to be perfect.”
I would recommend you do your research. Go read Robb Wolf’s The Paleo Solution, and check out his website http://robbwolf.com/. Visit Loren Cordain’s http://thepaleodiet.com/ and his books The Paleo Diet and The Paleo Diet for Athletes. Find Gary Taube’s book Good Calories Bad Calories and you will get a very good sense of what you should be eating. My rule is that if didn’t have a soul and you can’t eat it right off the vine/tree/plant be very aware of what you are using to fuel yourself; for example potatoes, yams, and the like are edible carbohydrates that you need to “prepare” by peeling and cooking to eat so even these should be consumed in moderation. You will be burning a lot of energy, eat what you need to perform.
Oh, and drink plenty of water.
The old adage “You are what you eat,” is absolutely accurate. If you eat foods that are pro-inflammatory, increase insulin response, or lead to metabolic derangement then you are going to see negative outcomes. Nutrition is the foundation of health and performance. I use a Paleolithic (Paleo) Diet that tries to mimic the way 2 million years of human evolution adapted homo-sapiens to fuel themselves. The basic prescription is to eat REAL FOOD. If you cannot eat all the ingredients in your meal in their natural state you are not eating real food. This means avoiding all grains, most legumes, and most dairy. Think about a loaf of bread, you cannot eat the flour that is the majority component without mixing it with five or six other things to make it palatable. If you simply shoveled a cup of flour in your mouth you are going to vomit. That’s because your body sees this as poison.
I am not a nutritionist but I have done my research and have seen the changes in my performance from making the switch to eating Meat and Vegetables, some Fruit, moderate consumption of Nuts and Seeds, and avoiding processed Sugars roughly 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time I will gladly have pizza, ice cream, alcohol, Cadbury Cream Eggs, and all sorts of delicious yet not particularly healthy options. I agree with what Coach Mark Divine says over at his SEALFit.com site, “Life is too short to be perfect.”
I would recommend you do your research. Go read Robb Wolf’s The Paleo Solution, and check out his website http://robbwolf.com/. Visit Loren Cordain’s http://thepaleodiet.com/ and his books The Paleo Diet and The Paleo Diet for Athletes. Find Gary Taube’s book Good Calories Bad Calories and you will get a very good sense of what you should be eating. My rule is that if didn’t have a soul and you can’t eat it right off the vine/tree/plant be very aware of what you are using to fuel yourself; for example potatoes, yams, and the like are edible carbohydrates that you need to “prepare” by peeling and cooking to eat so even these should be consumed in moderation. You will be burning a lot of energy, eat what you need to perform.
Oh, and drink plenty of water.
What Should I Expect This Program To Do For Me?
You should expect this program to improve your fireground performance, reduce your risk of injury (reduce people, not eliminate), and improve your ability to enjoy your retirement by maintaining a level of fitness that will help you avoid dying young. That being said this program is not designed to make you a competitive weightlifter, runner, rower, swimmer, gymnast or anything else. We have a sport as Fire Service Warriors and that is Fire Fighting. This program should help you advance your fitness and your fireground performance.
You should expect this program to improve your fireground performance, reduce your risk of injury (reduce people, not eliminate), and improve your ability to enjoy your retirement by maintaining a level of fitness that will help you avoid dying young. That being said this program is not designed to make you a competitive weightlifter, runner, rower, swimmer, gymnast or anything else. We have a sport as Fire Service Warriors and that is Fire Fighting. This program should help you advance your fitness and your fireground performance.
How Do I Know It’s Working?
I keep a very detailed log of my sleep, fitness, and diet. I record the number of hours I sleep a night, what I am doing for fitness training each day, and what I am eating and when. I do not weigh and measure my food, usually, and I never worry about calories. What I do track is food quality and use that to measure my 80/20 rule compliance with eating good meals. You can only measure your progress if you are keeping track of the data: how much weight did you move, how fast did you complete the work out, how many times a day did you eat clean? You can post your results in the comments of each day’s work out at well and share them with us. Part of being a Fire Service Warrior is being accountable to one another.
I keep a very detailed log of my sleep, fitness, and diet. I record the number of hours I sleep a night, what I am doing for fitness training each day, and what I am eating and when. I do not weigh and measure my food, usually, and I never worry about calories. What I do track is food quality and use that to measure my 80/20 rule compliance with eating good meals. You can only measure your progress if you are keeping track of the data: how much weight did you move, how fast did you complete the work out, how many times a day did you eat clean? You can post your results in the comments of each day’s work out at well and share them with us. Part of being a Fire Service Warrior is being accountable to one another.
So, that is the biggest new project we are pushing out. There are other programs in the works that we will be deploying over the course of the summer but I really believe that it is only though improving our fitness across the board that we can make any measurable change in Firefighter Injuries and Line of Duty Deaths. Oh, and I don’t honestly care if you decide to follow this program or not. All I can do is put the best information out there I can and encourage you to be better than you are today. If you have a technique or skill you think we should add to the program send me an email thefireservicewarrior@gmail.com and we will try it out. For each of you who think that you are in “good enough” physical shape I would say this: ask yourself if your family would be able to stand over your coffin at your wake and say, “Well, there is no way he could have been in better shape.” If they can’t, then you aren’t there yet.
Let us know how the programming is working for you once we roll it out. Cheers.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
The Combat Ready Company Officer – Player and a Coach
By: Brian Brush
With the roll out of the Fire Service Warrior fitness program and the presentation of our belief that firefighters are industrial athletes I see an opportunity to make some connections.
A professional football team follows a general preparation plan for competition. They start with a preseason program of strength and conditioning; they study of general strategies of offense, defense, and special teams, and do countless drills in practice. This program then becomes more refined as the season approaches and further focused upon the start of the season to specific prep for each week’s opponent. The focused week planning is what I want to draw on since it best reflects our profession and our continuous season.
The Company Officer is both a player and a coach therefore he or she must both prepare and plan. In the week prior to a game the head coach is hitting it hard. Players will be practicing and conducting workouts, the head coach is also spending extra hours pouring over game films, reworking play books, and planning specific strategies to counter the talents and exploit weaknesses of the opponent. I think that this is an excellent model of planning for the company officer and can provide you a quick example.
In my firehouse my assignment is not fixed; I rotate between the engine and the truck. We work a 48 on 96 off schedule. The 48 is called a set and the 96 a four day. I will work 6 sets on the engine then 6 sets on the truck which is roughly a month. So as an example, it is my last set for my rotation on the engine. In the morning I will go on four day to return to start my month on the truck. I want to apply that head coach planning to my preparation for the change in assignment.
Take a good look at the rosters and the match-ups:
- Take your staffing and match it to your expectations on scene. Preassignments are not always so cut and dry. The true talents of an individual may be more important than what seat they are in.
Study the films:
- There is no shortage of video today, gain experience from others. Watch each video from different angles of thought or duty, take notes, develop plans and ideas then share.
- Flat roof training review- A short video I made based on the flat roof portion of my ventilation class paired with an idea for a flat roof prop and plan for a drill - http://youtu.be/OXmoRLOfoBk
- 7,9,8 Cut video- A real time representation of proper flat roof cut procedure and saw handling technique - http://youtu.be/rIBMAURz4h0
- Helmet camera footage of a peaked ventilation operation on an actual incident. If you aren’t getting these experiences first hand this might be the next best thing -http://youtu.be/NniLmq3sIp0
Prepare and review the playbook:- The 40 yard line with 2 minutes left is too late for planning and the fireground is even less forgiving. Get your plan on paper then put it in practice, this is a two step process. You must test your plan with your people before you will know if it works.
Alright now it is game time and I am heading in to work to start my shift on the truck. I got my mind prepared for truck company roles and responsibilities. I have my line up set with the best people in the best spots. Once we are done with our truck check we can sit down and discuss some assignments maybe even watch a few videos as a crew, then we are going to do a few drills before lunch. Eventually the time will come where this model is tested and because of your preparation you will be successful and start chalking up the wins. Will the guys give you a hard time because you think you are Lieutenant Ditka? No, because this is just a thought process and a planning model. No one but you needs to know what your approach is they just need to see it through on game day.
©2011 Brian Brush (Text and Images) - All rights reserved
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
What Are You Thinking?
We have talked about the importance of being Mindful on the fireground and in our preparation for the challenges we face. To me, being mindful is the culminating point that allows us to truly engage in Four Dimensional Firefighting. Mindfulness is the ability to bring a state of perpetual calm, a state of Serenity, on when you are actively engaged in combat. Mindfulness can be thought of as a single pointed focus on our fireground mission to improve our operations and increase our ability. We cannot simply jump into a state of mindfulness though. We have to begin by laying a foundation of emotional resiliency and developing a capacity for self awareness.
Self Awareness is a critical skill for our Fire Service Warriors to develop if they are going to thrive. In our trade there are many situations we can be witness to, or a participant in that can cause us to experiance acute stress reactions. The fact of the matter is we often find ourselves picking up the shattered pieces of the lives of our fellow human beings. This can cause the acute stress reaction we discussed before, or it can strike us on a much deeper level and manifest as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
PTSD is a diagnosable condition according the the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). There are multiple critera that must be met to be diagnoised with PTSD. The Department of Veternan's Affairs has a page with information you can review here.
I think it is worth us spending a few minutes thinking about the stressors we experiance and developing a mental and emotion resilincey in light of the recent suicide of Lieutenant John A. Garcia (ret.) of the FDNY. Lt. Garcia was a Company officer at the Deutsche Bank Fire in 2007 where Firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino died in the line of duty. Lt. Garcia was their officer that day. One can only imagine what emotions and feelings Lieutenant Garcia must have had in the wake of such a terrible day. The New York Times covered the Lieutenant's funeral in a piece published on May 20th.
Suicide is a taboo subject that is rarely discussed in our firehouses. The fact of the matter is it occurs, from large cities to small villages. In 2010 the Phoenix Fire Department had four suicides in seven months. I remember in the late 1990's a firefighter from a neighboring department committed suicide by immolating himself, in the town he worked in, on his shift day. The brothers who responded were the men he worked with every day. They had to treat his burns as he lay dying the the back of the very Ambulance he often worked on. The FDNY, the Chicago Fire Department, and countless other departments have seen suicides of active and retired members. Suicide is not the act of an emotionally healthy and resilient person: it is an act of desperation and hopelessness.
We cannot eliminate our brothers and sisters from being witness to the tragedies of the neighbors protect; our sworn duty requires us to be there. What we must do is help our brothers and sister by offering them strategies to develop resiliency, performing an after action review of our responses to allow for discussion before an issue begins to fester, and watch one another for signs of acute or post traumatic stress and have the moral courage to offer the floundering member a lifeline.
There a many more qualified then I am to develop specific strategies to aid in these matters. However I do believe that one of the core reasons to use the Fire Service Warrior Ethos is that it gives our members a defined set of guideposts that if discussed and reinforced through application MAY help develop mental and emotional resiliency. Also, I cannot say enough that for me a grounding in the Stoic School of philosophy has helped tremendously. Remember the words of Epictetus, "It is not the thing itself, but the view we take of it which disturbs us." We do get to chose if we will be weighed down by the emotionally difficult events we are witness to, but our ability to chose is related to our practice of resiliency skills.
Take care of your brother and sister warriors; offer them your support, encouragement, and the tools you have mastered to cope with the challenges we face. If you think a fellow firefighter might be having trouble dealing with an acute or chronic stress condition GET THEM HELP! Remember, "Fire Service Warriors acknowledge their responsibility to their Brothers and Sisters." They may not like it if you bring it to the attention of the Company Officer, Department Chief, or the Employee Assistance Program that they are short tempered, having trouble sleeping, drinking too much, irritable, or any other symptom that you think indicates they are having trouble coping, but getting them help now just may save their lives.
As an aside I find it appalling that we do not track PTSD related suicides as Line Of Duty Deaths. The United States Fire Administration will classify the death of an 86 year-old Fire Captain from a Heart Attack as being in the line of duty, but the suicide of an active member isn't? Why? Is it because there is a stigma associated with psychological emergencies that we don't attach to medical emergencies? I think that is a likely reason.
I don't know how many people have read Malcom Gladwell's book Tipping Point, but in it he examines the rate of teen suicide in Micronesia. One of the things that he found was that once the first teen suicide occurred and was publicized under a given set of circumstances it set off a wave of teen suicides in the small Pacific Island nation. Is it possible that the Phoenix suicides occurred for similar reasons? It's worth considering.
As long as our patterns for mental toughness are derived from the models of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood we are setting our members up for failure. If you want to hold up a man as an example of what courage and resiliency in the face of terrible adversary is have your members read up on the experiences of Vice Admiral James Stockdale as a POW during the Vietnam war in the essays Stockdale on Stocism I and II.
I also think it is worth sharing again the words William Henley wrote in 1875 in his poem "Invictus"
Out of the night that covers me
Black as the pit from pole to pole
I thank whatever Gods may be
for my unconquerable soul
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade
And Yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid
It matters not how straight the gait
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate
I am the Captain of my soul.
Self Awareness is a critical skill for our Fire Service Warriors to develop if they are going to thrive. In our trade there are many situations we can be witness to, or a participant in that can cause us to experiance acute stress reactions. The fact of the matter is we often find ourselves picking up the shattered pieces of the lives of our fellow human beings. This can cause the acute stress reaction we discussed before, or it can strike us on a much deeper level and manifest as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
PTSD is a diagnosable condition according the the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). There are multiple critera that must be met to be diagnoised with PTSD. The Department of Veternan's Affairs has a page with information you can review here.
I think it is worth us spending a few minutes thinking about the stressors we experiance and developing a mental and emotion resilincey in light of the recent suicide of Lieutenant John A. Garcia (ret.) of the FDNY. Lt. Garcia was a Company officer at the Deutsche Bank Fire in 2007 where Firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino died in the line of duty. Lt. Garcia was their officer that day. One can only imagine what emotions and feelings Lieutenant Garcia must have had in the wake of such a terrible day. The New York Times covered the Lieutenant's funeral in a piece published on May 20th.
Suicide is a taboo subject that is rarely discussed in our firehouses. The fact of the matter is it occurs, from large cities to small villages. In 2010 the Phoenix Fire Department had four suicides in seven months. I remember in the late 1990's a firefighter from a neighboring department committed suicide by immolating himself, in the town he worked in, on his shift day. The brothers who responded were the men he worked with every day. They had to treat his burns as he lay dying the the back of the very Ambulance he often worked on. The FDNY, the Chicago Fire Department, and countless other departments have seen suicides of active and retired members. Suicide is not the act of an emotionally healthy and resilient person: it is an act of desperation and hopelessness.
We cannot eliminate our brothers and sisters from being witness to the tragedies of the neighbors protect; our sworn duty requires us to be there. What we must do is help our brothers and sister by offering them strategies to develop resiliency, performing an after action review of our responses to allow for discussion before an issue begins to fester, and watch one another for signs of acute or post traumatic stress and have the moral courage to offer the floundering member a lifeline.
There a many more qualified then I am to develop specific strategies to aid in these matters. However I do believe that one of the core reasons to use the Fire Service Warrior Ethos is that it gives our members a defined set of guideposts that if discussed and reinforced through application MAY help develop mental and emotional resiliency. Also, I cannot say enough that for me a grounding in the Stoic School of philosophy has helped tremendously. Remember the words of Epictetus, "It is not the thing itself, but the view we take of it which disturbs us." We do get to chose if we will be weighed down by the emotionally difficult events we are witness to, but our ability to chose is related to our practice of resiliency skills.
Take care of your brother and sister warriors; offer them your support, encouragement, and the tools you have mastered to cope with the challenges we face. If you think a fellow firefighter might be having trouble dealing with an acute or chronic stress condition GET THEM HELP! Remember, "Fire Service Warriors acknowledge their responsibility to their Brothers and Sisters." They may not like it if you bring it to the attention of the Company Officer, Department Chief, or the Employee Assistance Program that they are short tempered, having trouble sleeping, drinking too much, irritable, or any other symptom that you think indicates they are having trouble coping, but getting them help now just may save their lives.
As an aside I find it appalling that we do not track PTSD related suicides as Line Of Duty Deaths. The United States Fire Administration will classify the death of an 86 year-old Fire Captain from a Heart Attack as being in the line of duty, but the suicide of an active member isn't? Why? Is it because there is a stigma associated with psychological emergencies that we don't attach to medical emergencies? I think that is a likely reason.
I don't know how many people have read Malcom Gladwell's book Tipping Point, but in it he examines the rate of teen suicide in Micronesia. One of the things that he found was that once the first teen suicide occurred and was publicized under a given set of circumstances it set off a wave of teen suicides in the small Pacific Island nation. Is it possible that the Phoenix suicides occurred for similar reasons? It's worth considering.
As long as our patterns for mental toughness are derived from the models of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood we are setting our members up for failure. If you want to hold up a man as an example of what courage and resiliency in the face of terrible adversary is have your members read up on the experiences of Vice Admiral James Stockdale as a POW during the Vietnam war in the essays Stockdale on Stocism I and II.
I also think it is worth sharing again the words William Henley wrote in 1875 in his poem "Invictus"
Out of the night that covers me
Black as the pit from pole to pole
I thank whatever Gods may be
for my unconquerable soul
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade
And Yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid
It matters not how straight the gait
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate
I am the Captain of my soul.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Coming Soon To A Blog Near You!
We have this week's video and then some details.
On Friday I will be posting a description of how we are going to be implementing our new Fitness program here at Fire Service Warrior. We are calling it Fire Service Warrior Fitness, or FSWFitness. Currently Brian Brush and I are doing the program as our fitness program. Coming in June we are going to be sharing the program with you.
On Friday I will be posting a description of how we are going to be implementing our new Fitness program here at Fire Service Warrior. We are calling it Fire Service Warrior Fitness, or FSWFitness. Currently Brian Brush and I are doing the program as our fitness program. Coming in June we are going to be sharing the program with you.
Friday, May 20, 2011
A New Face at the Fire Service Warrior
I have mentioned that the Fire Service Warrior website is going to be moving in some new directions. We are going to be expanding the content that we deliver. One of the ways that is going to happen is through the addition of some new voices speaking about their use of the Fire Service Warrior Concept. The first of our new contributors will be Brian Brush.
Some of you probably rememeber the video I posted a few weeks ago titled, "A Message to the Recruits." If not, you should watch it before we move forward.
Brian is a Company Officer and Instructor from the beautiful state of Colorado. Brian is a Lieutenant in the Denver Metropolitan area for a department that serves 110 square miles, and nearly 300,000 residents. The district operates 15 stations with 340 uniformed members and responds to an average of 24,000 calls for service annually. In his 9th year with this department he has served time in Engine, Truck and the Department’s Rescue Company as both a firefighter and Lieutenant.
Another thing you might have noticed was that I pulled down the advertisements from the right side of the blog. We did not see any financial gain from those, and I felt they became clutter that took away from the message. Ultimately I produce this content with the intention of stimulating thought, discussion and hopefully reducing firefighter injuries and line of duty deaths through encouraging a single pointed focus on being Fire Service Warriors.
Now, I want to invite YOU to contribute to the discussion as well! Please use the comments section to share your thoughts with us. I would prefer that folks sign their name to their comments, but that's your choice. That being said anonymous comments that are vitriolic stand a chance of being deleted.
Over the course of the next two weeks we are going to be rolling out additional content and looking for your feedback. Keep checking the website and please keep referring folks to what we are doing here. Cheers.
Some of you probably rememeber the video I posted a few weeks ago titled, "A Message to the Recruits." If not, you should watch it before we move forward.
Brian is a Company Officer and Instructor from the beautiful state of Colorado. Brian is a Lieutenant in the Denver Metropolitan area for a department that serves 110 square miles, and nearly 300,000 residents. The district operates 15 stations with 340 uniformed members and responds to an average of 24,000 calls for service annually. In his 9th year with this department he has served time in Engine, Truck and the Department’s Rescue Company as both a firefighter and Lieutenant. Brian is going to be writing for us with his interpretation of what it takes to be a Fire Service Warrior. Brian brings a lot to the table and I think his voice will be a very useful one to have contributing to the conversation. Starting on Thursday May 26th. With the addition of Brian to the team we will be regularly sharing content four days a week.
Another thing you might have noticed was that I pulled down the advertisements from the right side of the blog. We did not see any financial gain from those, and I felt they became clutter that took away from the message. Ultimately I produce this content with the intention of stimulating thought, discussion and hopefully reducing firefighter injuries and line of duty deaths through encouraging a single pointed focus on being Fire Service Warriors.
Now, I want to invite YOU to contribute to the discussion as well! Please use the comments section to share your thoughts with us. I would prefer that folks sign their name to their comments, but that's your choice. That being said anonymous comments that are vitriolic stand a chance of being deleted.
Over the course of the next two weeks we are going to be rolling out additional content and looking for your feedback. Keep checking the website and please keep referring folks to what we are doing here. Cheers.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Tactical Thoughts - Waiting for the Engine
This is a pretty good video I found. The video starts before the apparatus arrive on scene and allows us to take note of the "Big Three" of size up: Building Construction, Fire Location, and Fire Development. Watch the video and then let's discuss.
So, what's your size up?
My inital radio report would be: Two story frame garden apartment, 200x50, fire on the top floor, looks like it's getting into the attic. Now, I can't see the whole building so I am guessing more or less at the 200, but based on what I'm seeing on the right side of the frame I am expecting that there is as much building again on the left. 50 feet may be generous on the depth, but for sure I need one length to get front to back so that's one of those "close enough for government work," sort of estimates. This maybe a lightweight building. Without having seen the building built I have to assume it may be fully or partially lightweight (Fully to me mean floors and roof system, partially means likely just the roof).
This is an interesting video because it shows us what situations can be like if we have folks respond to the scene in Personal Vehicles. You have Firefighters waiting to go to work until apparatus are there. So what can you do while you are waiting to get water?
With a partner you can ascend the interior stairs and assess conditions in the stairwell. IF the involved apartment door is closed you may be able to make a quick check on the apartment across the hall to ensure it is clear. It should be noted that is a tactic that potentially may result in you being caught off by fire if the door to the involved apartment fails. If you elect to check the apartment across the hall without a line on the fire floor do it as though it was a Vent Enter Search operation: Get the door closed to the apartment as soon as you enter to give yourself an area of safe refuge. If you are going to make that search before the Engine gets there it should be done with an experienced crew who can adequately judge conditions and who have full PPE including SCBA. Tactically that is a choice that is a very high risk evolution and the risk/benefit analysis has to be in the forefront.
Evacuating the adjoining apartments that are not served by the stairwell leading to the fire floor should be a priority. While there is likely double 5/8" drywall separating the units there is a very high likelihood of a common attic here. We can see how as the fire progresses that smoke and heat push through out the attic space toward the "D" side (the right side of the frame). We need to get up to the fire floor and get the ceiling opened immediately with the advancement of the hoseline. OPEN THE HALLWAY CEILING AND MAKE SURE THE FIRE IS NOT ABOVE YOUR HEAD ALREADY.
While I am not a huge proponent of the Transitional Attack, IF I pulled up here with a three person Engine Company (or less) and IF I made sure the door to the involved apartment was closed and IF there were no reports of a victim in the involved apartment I would consider knocking this down with a 30 second deck gun/monitor stream while the nozzle team was leading out. I think one of the problems with the transitional attack is that we end up with a lot of steam conversion and expansion that reduces the survivability of victims who may be in the path of that steam. The "pushing fire" concern is less important to me because if we are limiting ourselves to a 30 second flow of water I will not entrain much air.
All in all I think this fire was handled well. Once there was an Engine on scene water was on the fire quickly, ladders were thrown, and it seems from the angle I viewed that the situational was handled with a relative calm. Yes, I noted several folks not making full use of their PPE and I assume they were counseled by their supervisors.
So, what's your size up?
My inital radio report would be: Two story frame garden apartment, 200x50, fire on the top floor, looks like it's getting into the attic. Now, I can't see the whole building so I am guessing more or less at the 200, but based on what I'm seeing on the right side of the frame I am expecting that there is as much building again on the left. 50 feet may be generous on the depth, but for sure I need one length to get front to back so that's one of those "close enough for government work," sort of estimates. This maybe a lightweight building. Without having seen the building built I have to assume it may be fully or partially lightweight (Fully to me mean floors and roof system, partially means likely just the roof).
This is an interesting video because it shows us what situations can be like if we have folks respond to the scene in Personal Vehicles. You have Firefighters waiting to go to work until apparatus are there. So what can you do while you are waiting to get water?
With a partner you can ascend the interior stairs and assess conditions in the stairwell. IF the involved apartment door is closed you may be able to make a quick check on the apartment across the hall to ensure it is clear. It should be noted that is a tactic that potentially may result in you being caught off by fire if the door to the involved apartment fails. If you elect to check the apartment across the hall without a line on the fire floor do it as though it was a Vent Enter Search operation: Get the door closed to the apartment as soon as you enter to give yourself an area of safe refuge. If you are going to make that search before the Engine gets there it should be done with an experienced crew who can adequately judge conditions and who have full PPE including SCBA. Tactically that is a choice that is a very high risk evolution and the risk/benefit analysis has to be in the forefront.
Evacuating the adjoining apartments that are not served by the stairwell leading to the fire floor should be a priority. While there is likely double 5/8" drywall separating the units there is a very high likelihood of a common attic here. We can see how as the fire progresses that smoke and heat push through out the attic space toward the "D" side (the right side of the frame). We need to get up to the fire floor and get the ceiling opened immediately with the advancement of the hoseline. OPEN THE HALLWAY CEILING AND MAKE SURE THE FIRE IS NOT ABOVE YOUR HEAD ALREADY.
While I am not a huge proponent of the Transitional Attack, IF I pulled up here with a three person Engine Company (or less) and IF I made sure the door to the involved apartment was closed and IF there were no reports of a victim in the involved apartment I would consider knocking this down with a 30 second deck gun/monitor stream while the nozzle team was leading out. I think one of the problems with the transitional attack is that we end up with a lot of steam conversion and expansion that reduces the survivability of victims who may be in the path of that steam. The "pushing fire" concern is less important to me because if we are limiting ourselves to a 30 second flow of water I will not entrain much air.
All in all I think this fire was handled well. Once there was an Engine on scene water was on the fire quickly, ladders were thrown, and it seems from the angle I viewed that the situational was handled with a relative calm. Yes, I noted several folks not making full use of their PPE and I assume they were counseled by their supervisors.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Cancer Sucks
I shot this video yesterday at the 2011 Walk and Roll Chicago. It's a quick message but I think it's pretty straight forward. Cancer Sucks.
Here are some links for those looking for more information about Cancer. As a caregiver to a Survivor and witness to the effects of Occupational Cancer in friends I can say you need to do your research and be your own advocate. Get plenty of sleep, consider changing to an anti-inflammatory diet (like the Paleo Diet), maintain a functional level of fitness, and make sure you are getting regular physicals.
Firefighter Cancer Support Network
The Livestrong Foundation
The American Cancer Society
Here are some links for those looking for more information about Cancer. As a caregiver to a Survivor and witness to the effects of Occupational Cancer in friends I can say you need to do your research and be your own advocate. Get plenty of sleep, consider changing to an anti-inflammatory diet (like the Paleo Diet), maintain a functional level of fitness, and make sure you are getting regular physicals.
Firefighter Cancer Support Network
The Livestrong Foundation
The American Cancer Society
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tactical Thoughts
I saw this video the other day and it got me thinking.
We talk about tactics a lot in the fire service, but we fall short when it comes to talking about tactical drift. To me that is what is going on here. We get tunnel vision about putting the fire out the way we always have before, through the front door, and get impatience about standing around. So what happens? We commit firefighters to dangerous positions that they don't NEED to be in.
I think this is a great illustration of my point that often times we are lucky rather than good. Two or three fires after this when a chimney collapses and a firefighter is maimed, crippled, or killed the chorus will ring out: "But we've done this before and it was okay!"
Prolonged exposure to risk with out incident leads to a lack of appreciation of risk. In other words we get risk tunnel vision.
I accept that as a Fire Service we will aggressively commit to some very dangerous places in and above the fire area. That is what we exist to do. However we have to also recognize when we are not improving things JUST by putting people inside the building.
I am not going to belabor this post with a bunch of chatter. If we want to get serious about reducing fire fighter injuries and fatalities we need to train incident commanders, company officers, and firefighters to recognize stupid tactics and stop them. Now, to my knowledge no one got hurt at this fire, but I think we can all see the potential was there.
Just a few quick thoughts while I am plugging away at research and writing. Cheers
We talk about tactics a lot in the fire service, but we fall short when it comes to talking about tactical drift. To me that is what is going on here. We get tunnel vision about putting the fire out the way we always have before, through the front door, and get impatience about standing around. So what happens? We commit firefighters to dangerous positions that they don't NEED to be in.
I think this is a great illustration of my point that often times we are lucky rather than good. Two or three fires after this when a chimney collapses and a firefighter is maimed, crippled, or killed the chorus will ring out: "But we've done this before and it was okay!"
Prolonged exposure to risk with out incident leads to a lack of appreciation of risk. In other words we get risk tunnel vision.
I accept that as a Fire Service we will aggressively commit to some very dangerous places in and above the fire area. That is what we exist to do. However we have to also recognize when we are not improving things JUST by putting people inside the building.
I am not going to belabor this post with a bunch of chatter. If we want to get serious about reducing fire fighter injuries and fatalities we need to train incident commanders, company officers, and firefighters to recognize stupid tactics and stop them. Now, to my knowledge no one got hurt at this fire, but I think we can all see the potential was there.
Just a few quick thoughts while I am plugging away at research and writing. Cheers
Monday, May 9, 2011
Wait... A New Video Blog?!?
Yes, after a long couple of weeks of travel and being in the midst of a ton of research I've got a new Video Blog for you all. This week is a fast look at my home gym and what I use to work on my FSWFitness. Hope you enjoy. Cheers.
Oh, and I should note I did misspeak in the video. My garage is just over 400 square feet and I use about 150 square feet of that as for my home gym.
As always please leave comments and keep referring people to the site.
Oh, and I should note I did misspeak in the video. My garage is just over 400 square feet and I use about 150 square feet of that as for my home gym.
As always please leave comments and keep referring people to the site.
Friday, May 6, 2011
These Aren't the Droids You are Looking For....
So you might think, based upon my post from Friday April You Don't Know, What You Don't Know that I was prescient. Two days before the US Navy SEALs engage in a daring, high-risk, mission to capture (or kill) Usama Bin Laden I am posting about how they have back up plans for every possible failure (like a helicopter crashing say) and using them as an example of great mission planning. We will chalk that up to coincidence. The fact of the matter is my hat is off to those men who pulled that mission off.
I have gotten some static from folks who take umbrage with my drawing parallels between the fire service and an elite unit such as the SEALs. I've been told that our job isn't that hard. I've been told that it is unreasonable to hold firefighters to the same standards of fitness and professional education that SEALs are held to. I've been told that I just have a boy-crush on such capable performers.
I suppose the fact of the matter is I do look up to anyone who chooses to commit fully to a mission as arduous, dangerous, and demanding as the members of the military Special Operations Community do. I've had the honor of knowing several current and former members of the: SEALs, Army Special Forces, Force Recon Marines, Navy and Air Force EOD, as well as men who served in the types of Tier 1 units who are assigned missions like the one which happened on Sunday. Over the course of several years I had the honor of supporting exercises that men from those communities participated in, I have taught with them, and shared an adult beverage with them. The thing that always struck me is that they are men who are consummate professionals, humble and quick to point out how they are simply part of a team.
I understand why people want to say that I am just being melodramatic when I draw parallels between what firefighters do and what members of such elite units do. They know they couldn't live up to that standard.
The facts are out there:
We are all human and we all have days where our commitment wavers or the pressure of our lives starts to take over, but that is what Brotherhood is all about. If I lose focus on being prepared, on being Combat Ready, then I hope that my Brothers and Sisters will kick me in the ass to get back in the gym or back on the training ground.
If we are going to quit paying lip service to the reducing fire ground injuries and firefighter fatalities then we need to start making sure we are prepared to THRIVE on the fire ground. We need to get out there and practice what to do when things go wrong.
The time has come for each and everyone of us to own our responsibility to be the best we can be. Everyday is a training day. Everyday is an opportunity to work on improving your physical capacity. Everyday is another day to take a step forward. It doesn't matter if you are in your first year in the fire service, your tenth year in the fire service, or in your thirtieth year in the fire service you can choose today to make the day that you become better than your previous self.
I have gotten some static from folks who take umbrage with my drawing parallels between the fire service and an elite unit such as the SEALs. I've been told that our job isn't that hard. I've been told that it is unreasonable to hold firefighters to the same standards of fitness and professional education that SEALs are held to. I've been told that I just have a boy-crush on such capable performers.
I suppose the fact of the matter is I do look up to anyone who chooses to commit fully to a mission as arduous, dangerous, and demanding as the members of the military Special Operations Community do. I've had the honor of knowing several current and former members of the: SEALs, Army Special Forces, Force Recon Marines, Navy and Air Force EOD, as well as men who served in the types of Tier 1 units who are assigned missions like the one which happened on Sunday. Over the course of several years I had the honor of supporting exercises that men from those communities participated in, I have taught with them, and shared an adult beverage with them. The thing that always struck me is that they are men who are consummate professionals, humble and quick to point out how they are simply part of a team.
I understand why people want to say that I am just being melodramatic when I draw parallels between what firefighters do and what members of such elite units do. They know they couldn't live up to that standard.
The facts are out there:
- Firefighters expend metabolic energy at the same level as Navy SEALS and professional boxers. (See Chapter 2 in The Combat Position for all the details)
- Firefighters operate in an environment where the UNKNOWN is an ever present threat.
- Firefighters operate in zero visibility environments, with limited knowledge, under circumstances that engage our sympathetic nervous system, and must PERFORM in a thoughtful manner there.
We are all human and we all have days where our commitment wavers or the pressure of our lives starts to take over, but that is what Brotherhood is all about. If I lose focus on being prepared, on being Combat Ready, then I hope that my Brothers and Sisters will kick me in the ass to get back in the gym or back on the training ground.
If we are going to quit paying lip service to the reducing fire ground injuries and firefighter fatalities then we need to start making sure we are prepared to THRIVE on the fire ground. We need to get out there and practice what to do when things go wrong.
- What is plan B when fire conditions are worsening and you cannot reach command on the radio?
- What will you do if you are searching a bedroom on the floor above the fire and return to the hallway and your partner isn't there?
- What will you when you arrive on scene for the automatic alarm at the high rise and fire is pushing out of two windows on the 13th floor?
The time has come for each and everyone of us to own our responsibility to be the best we can be. Everyday is a training day. Everyday is an opportunity to work on improving your physical capacity. Everyday is another day to take a step forward. It doesn't matter if you are in your first year in the fire service, your tenth year in the fire service, or in your thirtieth year in the fire service you can choose today to make the day that you become better than your previous self.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Making the Turn - TONIGHT!
Just a reminder tonight PJ Norwood and I will be hosting our first Episode of "Making the Turn" on BlogTalkRadio. You can listen to the show here http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fireengineeringtalkradio/2011/05/04/episode-15-making-the-turn
Please share this link with folks!
PJ and I will be talking with Diane Feldman from Fire Engineering about what it takes to become a writer for Fire Engineering and a presenter at FDIC plus talking about why we have decided to "Make The Turn". Call in at (760) 454-8852 between 7:30pm and 9pm Eastern (4:30pm and 6pm Pacific) to join in on the conversation!
Cheers
Please share this link with folks!
PJ and I will be talking with Diane Feldman from Fire Engineering about what it takes to become a writer for Fire Engineering and a presenter at FDIC plus talking about why we have decided to "Make The Turn". Call in at (760) 454-8852 between 7:30pm and 9pm Eastern (4:30pm and 6pm Pacific) to join in on the conversation!
Cheers
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
When You Care to Send the Very Best
So, like much of the world I tuned in Sunday night to see the President's announcement that Usama Bin Laden had been located and killed by the US Military. I watched the news coverage yesterday without any surprise to hear that the Tier 1 Navy SEAL Special Mission Unit assigned to the Joint Special Operations Command was tasked with the mission. God Bless the men who raise their hand to do such important, difficult, and dangerous work, and God Bless their families, who put up with their loved ones being deployed or training far more then they are at home.
I was going to post a new video yesterday, but I'll be honest I felt like the world news that was developing was more worthwhile then what I would have shared. For today I would like to just remind everyone that PJ Norwood and I will be hosting "Making The Turn" tomorrow night on BlogTalkRadio for Fire Engineering. Tune in at 7:30 Eastern/4:30 Pacific and call in to talk with us or our special guest Diane Feldman, Managing Editor of Fire Engineering and the lady who makes FDIC happen, if you want to find out how to start writing for Fire Engineering or presenting at FDIC.
Hope to hear from you tomorrow. God Bless the Troops.
I was going to post a new video yesterday, but I'll be honest I felt like the world news that was developing was more worthwhile then what I would have shared. For today I would like to just remind everyone that PJ Norwood and I will be hosting "Making The Turn" tomorrow night on BlogTalkRadio for Fire Engineering. Tune in at 7:30 Eastern/4:30 Pacific and call in to talk with us or our special guest Diane Feldman, Managing Editor of Fire Engineering and the lady who makes FDIC happen, if you want to find out how to start writing for Fire Engineering or presenting at FDIC.
Hope to hear from you tomorrow. God Bless the Troops.
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