All In

It's been a few weeks since we have had a chance to post anything. A busy holiday schedule didn't leave much time for anything extra. Between work, Christmas, New Years, birthdays, parties, and sickness, something's just had to fall behind. Now we are well into the new year and its time to look at things with fresh eyes.

Being that it is a new year it's time to take a close look and reevaluate your role in your department. Are you in for the long haul or the quick trip around the block? I have known guys that are just in it to have the title of firefighter and a t-shirt with the departments name on it, and the guys that only wants to make a run if its a house fire. That's all fine and dandy, but what about the MVC's, brush fires, investigations, and special events? Those are part of the job as well, right? These are the individuals that usually want to stir the most shit as well.

What about training? It's part of the job too, the most important part. Lets say you have a guy the that shows up to every training session and every class offered but you never see him on the foreground. Or the guy that makes every run but never seen him at a training session or class. ( yes we have training requirements but you all know how that plays out in a volly dept) are either one of these guys doing your department any good? Simply put, no! The guy training and not on scene is useless. He has the skills but is not helping the team out one bit by not being there side by side with them. The guy making the runs but not training is useless as well. Sure he is a warm body with a heartbeat and a pair of hands, but without the training is a liability and a safety hazard to everyone on scene.

Coming from a volunteer agency I understand that not every training or every run can be made, but coming from a fire service home growing up I understand that a commitment was made when I signed up for the job, not a pick and choose what I want when I want commitment, but a do what you have to do because you said you would commitment. That is what's owed to your department and the  citizens in which you protect.

So what do we do? Easy, up hold your end of the deal and encourage the rest of your department, shift, company, or whatever to do the same. We all have to hold each other accountable. As an officer, I have to do better at getting my guys in gear an making sure they are ready when the tones drop, but they have to make sure I'm ready as well. You can't swim in the pool standing on the edge, you have to jump in and get wet. The same applies to this job, you have to go all in or go home.


Until next time,
Stay Safe