Reflection
“Speak the truth, even if your voice shakes.”
These words caught my eye in a recent blog post, one of a few which struck me deeply in the past 24 hours, stirring a period of serious reflection. Reflection on myself, my ideas, my actions, and my writing. Reflection on this site and ELAFF as a whole. It has been nearly one year since I moved the ELAFF movement to this standalone site. I used to hesitate to call it a “blog”, as I tried to steer away from the personal posts commonly associated with that term. This was due in part to the anonymous nature of the posts, but it was also an attempt to maintain the universal, ambiguous nature of the topics which any agency or individual could relate to. As you well know, the anonymity is no more. So, the occasional “personal” post can be expected…and this is the first. Stay with me, though. I might stumble on something of use to you.
The removal of the “anonymous” barrier brought a question to my mind. If he isn’t the mythical “Fire God”, who hand-carves door chocks out of oak trees using his Leatherman multi-tool, then who IS Lt. Lemon? Who AM I? I found that it was much easier to answer the inverse question. Who am I NOT?
I am not anyone special. I am not an expert. I am not an instructor, trainer, teacher, nor professor. I am not a philosopher. I am not the definitive voice of reason on all or any topics.
Who am I? I am a guy with a keyboard and an interest in stringing words together into sentences. That’s all any of us(bloggers/writers) are. I am simply sharing opinions and ideas, not undebatable facts. So, how does this relate to you?
This serves as a simple reminder to take everything with a grain of salt. Don’t automatically believe anything you read online or see on t.v. This is not a training site, but a forum for discussion. Read critically and question the material presented. If you disagree, feel free to rebut with your own opinion. If you agree, add your own thoughts to the discussion. I never fully cover any subject which I write on and there is always room to elaborate. I’m sure most other fire service writers would ask that you do the same and I am striving to become more involved in the posts which influence me.
My status as a member of this forum, rather than a teacher, affects me even more. This site isn’t really about spreading my ideas, but more about gathering the ideas of others. ELAFF has allowed me to network with firemen from beyond the county, state, and regional boundaries which usually inhibit growth in the fire service. It exposes me to varying ideas, tactics, theories, and equipment which I might have missed if I remained isolated within the comfort of my home department.
Some don’t realize the potential of these differing ideas and tactics. They immediately jump to bash and scrutinize others for their differences, falsely perceived to be mistakes. They react with the same fear as the townspeople to Frankenstein’s monster. Frankenstein’s “turtleshell” wearing, fireground sprinting, roof cutting monster. However, they are not fearful of the literal differences which they see, but of the theoretical change which those ideas could bring to their department. Oh, “change”. That double-edged sword that we’re all SO scared of..even positive change(a.k.a IMPROVEMENT). Perhaps what scares us most about improvement is that , in order to improve, we must expose our weaknesses. Admitting the need for improvement is admitting that you are doing something wrong or, at the least, not as well as you potentially could.
I try to take a different approach to these “differences”. I’m intrigued by them. I see them as a chance to learn, grow, and improve…and that’s a good thing. Obviously, new tactics must be evaluated, just like online articles. Will it be useful in OUR first due? If not, can we modify it until it IS useful? In this same manner, we should also evaluate our CURRENT tactics, ideas, and equipment to see if there’s a need for improvement.
This is the benefit of the site, and the network it provides, for me. A chance to discover new ideas and re-evaluate my current ones. I get more out of this experience than any of the readers will…and that’s the point. This is an experiment in self-improvement. The cycle of discovery, evaluation, and improvement is both humbling and enlightening. Expanding my knowledge, while shrinking my personal pride.
As much as I enjoy the satire of ELAFF’s roots, I require more accountability in my material. I long wrote as “Lt. Lemon”. Since the “Big Reveal” I’ve simply added my first name, in parentheses, clinging to that alter-ego. However, it’s time to separate that persona from myself and set it on the back-burner. I’m Pete Sulzer…this is my “blog”…and these are my words. Thanks for reading them.
-Pete Sulzer (Lt. Lemon)
I was driven to write this after reading a number of articles, namely the following:
Fully Involved – “Stay Hungry”
Engine Co. 22 – “Culture of Self-Improvement”
Go read them now…
Share:
Weekend Update – 4/14/12
Weekend Update time again…here’s what made the ELAFF FB page this week, in the order of posting:
DC Fireman Needs Your Votes
Alex Capece of RaisingLadders.com is a DC Fireman who is in the running to be a sponsored cyclist/brand rep for Foundry Cycles. He needs votes to make it as a finalist. If you feel like supporting a firefighter/athlete, click this link, find the Northeast section, and vote for Alex. You will need to log in using Facebook. Don’t worry, this is just to keep people from voting more than once.
Here’s the link, one more time: http://foundrycycles.com/rideforfoundry/#northeast
Here’s another link to Alex’s blog: http://raisingladders.com/
Here’s a post by Alex about this contest: http://raisingladders.com/2012/03/ride-report-repeat-raisingladders-on-foundry-cycles/
Another Danger of Texting While Walking
“We fight what you fear”…sometimes…
Working the Job posted the following quote from Fireman Ryan Cox:
“We fight what you fear. Until it scares us. Then it becomes a “Close Call.”
This was related to the following video, which made the blog-rounds over the week:
The Fire Critic posted about it HERE, and a decent discussion ensued. The video included the words “Close Call” in the title and the question was, “Is this really a close call?” After hearing responses from many ELAFF followers, the consensus seems to be, no. As a matter of fact, nearly everyone agreed that this is standard truck work. When you cut a hole in the roof, fire comes out…that’s the point of CUTTING THE HOLE. Let the heat OUT.
Ken Scofield (@KenScofield) used the Twitter hashtag #ventedroofsaresupposedtoletheatout. I tried unsuccessfully to make that a “trending” topic. If you’re on Twitter, shoot that one out when you get the chance.
This vent crew earned extra points by venting from the “stick”, therefore avoiding nearly all chance of falling through (as one follower pointed out, there is ALWAYS a chance). The only possibly unsafe action was retracting the aerial while the crew was at the tip. However, the operator may have been communicating with the crew via intercom, so I won’t pick this one apart. I honestly think the “close call” was added by the videographer, who may not have realized what was going on.
The bottom line on this one is: when you vent the roof, fire coming out is a good thing. Don’t be alarmed or surprised, DON’T call for a handline and spray water in on it…consider your objective complete and get off the roof.
(The same goes for when fire is blowing out the window while an interior crew is pushing in on it. This is a GOOD thing, beneficial to the attack crew, DO NOT spray water through the window, no matter how excited you are…you will only make the attack crew’s job MORE DIFFICULT. More on that in an upcoming post…)
If We Listen to the Stories…
Beneath the Helmet posted a video that you should watch, along with a post that you should read…here’s an excerpt:
“…When you exercise to get and stay fit on- and off-duty…
When you eat, drink, and sleep right…
When you train above and beyond the requirements…
When you make the right decisions on the fireground…
…do it for the brothers that can’t get back on the rig, like the ones we lost in Philadelphia and Tennessee. But do it also for yourself, for your coworkers, for the entire brotherhood, and for the family and friends who want to see you live long and well…”
Read the rest and watch the video here:http://beneaththehelmet.com/post/20989777759/if-we-listen-to-the-stories-or-read-them-about
“Beaching” the Rescue in DC
The FB page “Beaching the Front Lawn” posted these photos of DC Rescue 3 clearing the road for the companies with a more limited deployment range.
This is My Ladder
Brian Brush discusses balance points, lazy halyards, fly-in ladder placement, and one man throws in a new Fire Service Warrior post.
Great tips and interesting points to consider.
Here’s the link: http://www.fireservicewarrior.com/2012/04/this-is-my-ladder/
Deep Survival
A reflection on survival instincts by The Hose Jockey.
“We may push ourselves that much deeper in the building because we’ve done it before, we may say ohhh we got this, we just had the same fire last week. Meanwhile the new guy is thinking, WTF, I scared but this guy knows what the hell he is doing. Then he forms that same bookmark in the same dumb ass spot as the senior man has. I think you see where I’m going with this. As a service we have to assert some leadership to realize the way we have always, isn’t always the best. Maybe our bookmarks are on the wrong page, maybe they are in the last chapter, as we all have seen 100’s of times each year. “
Do you have the right “bookmarks”, and more importantly, what “bookmarks” are you setting for the next generation?
Here’s the link: http://hosejockey.blogspot.com/2012/04/deep-survival-part-1.html
I Got Bronchitis…and Auto-tune!
This video popped up over the week:
An Auto-tuned remix popped up last night:
1,500 “likes”
Last night, the ELAFF FB page reached 1,500 “likes”. LET’S GIVE SOME STUFF AWAY!
…
Oh, right…already did that…
Thanks for liking, reading, and following.
On that note, I noticed that Fire Service Warrior now has less “likes” than ELAFF. The FSW crew is too humble and focused to ever ask for likes. They aren’t concerned with the social media popularity contest. They simply produce high-quality content for the fire service audience.
I know that many of their readers don’t use Facebook, and I’m sure that they receive more hits than ELAFF, but it seems like the universe is off-balance if FSW has less “likes” than ELAFF. My ramblings and re-postings are mediocre at best. The FSW team puts out great content, at a constant pace, on every topic…from keeping the right mindset, to training tips (like the article above), to a daily workout regimen.
Take the time to check out Fire Service Warrior (and “like” them) and read through their posts…you won’t be disappointed.
Here’s the website: http://www.fireservicewarrior.com/
Here’s the FB page: http://www.facebook.com/FireServiceWarrior
That’s all for today.
– Lt. Lemon (Pete)
Share:
Weekend Update – 4/7/12
It’s time for another Weekend Update(still looking for a better name for these posts)…two weeks in a row, I’m on a roll.
NC Bridge to be Named for Asheville Captain
“A COMMITTEE OF THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT of Transportation has voted this morning (Wednesday) to overrule a policy and recommend that a highway bridge be named in honor of Ashville Fire Captain Jeffrey Bowen who died tragically last June while fighting a fire in a mid-rise office building.” – from FireGeezer.com
The Reality behind the “Reality” Photo
A viral photo began making the rounds of social media this week. Much like the “What Do You Make?” status, it promoted an exaggerated sense of bravado by adding a cliché “Motivational Poster” scheme. Many questioned the photo’s source, and P.J. Norwood posted the truth behind it. Jason Jefferies subsequently wrote about it HERE.
It’s All In the Details
Jonah Smith of The Hose Jockey posted about an on scene video. He avoids the vortex of futile tactical debates and focuses on something we can all agree on. Use your chin strap, SCBA waist belt, and hood properly. They are there for a reason, and those little details could make a huge difference when things go wrong.
“So please my plea to all of you fix these issues if you see them, because the last thing I want to see is someone get hurt because of something they could easily fix on their own. Control all the things you can all of the time, and have a plan for those things you can’t control. Be safe out there.”
That’s all that made it on the ELAFF FB page this week, but there are plenty of other great sites to check out. Click the links on the right sidebar and check them out.
Stay safe!
– Lt. Lemon (Pete)
Share:
Weekend Update 3/31/12
The weekend update was a posting format I tried when the ELAFF blog started. It was a weekly post recapping the links posted on the ELAFF FB page, along with other content. In order to boost the posting rate on the blog, and to keep the “Leather-freaks” engaged in the discussion, I’ve decided to give a hearty attempt at reviving the Weekend Update.
*If anyone has an idea for a better name for these posts (preferably more fire-related) leave a comment.*
Gore FD is in need of a tanker
Rhett Fleitz posted on FireCritic.com about the Gore (VA) VFD, which is in need of a tanker. The tanker they relied on for rural water supply was totaled in a wreck, in which one of their firefighters was tragically killed in the line of duty.
“If your department is selling or willing to donate your tanker truck to the Gore community, please contact Assistant Chief Kevin Yost at Fire Station 14. The phone number to contact is (540) 858-2811. If you prefer email, contact the editor of VAFireNews.com at editor@vafirenews.com and I will forward the message. “
Urban Firefighter Magazine released Issue 7
Urban Firefighter Magazine released the long-awaited 7th Issue of their online publication. It is filled with great articles, written and presented in a more modern fashion than other trade publications, and it’s only available online (but that means that it’s FREE).
Video Demonstrates the Dangers of “Home Response”
This video (from Long Island, NY) surfaced, showing the dangers associated with “home response”. For those unfamiliar with the term, that’s when volunteer/paid-on call/reserve/etc. firefighters respond from home/work to the station before responding apparatus.
French Company Makes Fire Safety “Fashionable”
I stumbled upon a French company that is making fire safety “fashionable”, and perhaps more common. Fire Design sells fire extinguishers in various designer colors and designs. They also sell smoke detectors, kits with detectors AND an extinguisher in a gift box, and belts, bags, and phone cases made from recycled fire hose. The site says they have distributors in NYC and Hollywood, but you will have to email them in French to locate the exact stores. A neat idea to get life-saving products in more homes.
We’re Closer to Giving Away a Phenix Leather Helmet
In December, I announced that ELAFF had started a Bucket Brigade to raise money for the National Firefighters Endowment. Part of leading a Bucket Brigade is the opportunity to receive a Phenix leather helmet upon raising $1000. I didn’t feel right collecting a helmet that the ELAFF leather-freaks “paid for” (plus I own a leather), so I decided to give it away. Every $1 donated is an entry into the drawing. $100 = 100 entries. Here’s a direct link to the donation page. The fund drive recently received a big boost when 4Factor donated $1 from every product they’ve recently sold. They also have each customer’s information to be entered in the drawing for the helmet. Who is 4Factor?
4Factor
4Factor is an up-start business project involving Captain Chaos (Matt Ritter) and Steven Sweatt of The Daily Hydrant (also an ELAFF local). They started with Lemon Wedge-inspired “Thin Red Line” wedges and are slowly adding new products. They are very customer oriented and dedicated to helping the fire service. They are committed to donating a portion of ALL sales to different fire service charities.
Check them out and tell them that Lt. Lemon sent you!
ELAFF Contest Prizes Arrive
The ELAFF contest prizes have shipped and have started to be delivered. Check out the “Da’ Travels of Da’ Lemon Wedge” photo album on the ELAFF FB page for photos as prizes arrive…two are up, so far.
The Hose Jockey and the Abilene Paradox
The Hose Jockey posted about the Abilene Paradox:
“It is where everyone agrees to do something out of fear of being different even though no one in the group agrees with it. To put it in firefighter terms, its where you assume everyone wants to do something, but in reality no one wants any part of it, but for whatever reason everyone agrees to do it.”
Great post, check it out.
Close Call Video in Michigan
Statter911.com had a news post on a close call in Dearborn, Michigan. The video below shows as a roof crew operating at a structure fire nearly goes through the roof. Many things to learn from this one. Be sure to watch and discuss this with your crew. Internet critiquing/quarterbacking is what it is, but the folks on your shift are the one’s who you could potentially be with in this situation. Share it with THEM.
http://www.wxyz.com/video/videoplayer.swf?dppversion=18327
ELAFF Facebook Page and Blog Integration
I’ve integrated the ELAFFHQ.com blog into the ELAFF Facebook page. You now have the option of reading posts, sharing posts, and subscribing to the blog…ALL on Facebook. Click the link here, or the “Networked Blogs” tab on the ELAFF Facebook page.
…and finally, a Local post
When the Excessive Leather Accessories for Firefighters Facebook Page first started, I used to post regular messages regarding ELAFF Locals (b-days, accomplishments, etc.). However, I stopped this practice when I realized that it could compromise my anonymity. Well, that doesn’t matter anymore…
Today, ELAFF Local Travis Flinchum is getting hitched, big ears and all. Congratulations, Brother! See you this evening…TIME to PARTY!
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading.
-Lt. Lemon (Pete)
Share:
Being Prepared
I recently had the pleasure of sitting through a wonderful, city-mandated, OSHA compliant safety class. I’m not going to discuss the frivolity of teaching identical blanket courses to every city employee (including chainsaw safety to receptionists). In fact, this post has nothing to do with that class, directly. Rather, it stems from a side comment by the instructor.
He started speaking on the subject of recognizing trends in workplace injuries and acting to prevent them. He mentioned another municipality which had recognized a trend in fire service injuries during training, mostly heart-related problems to be more specific. Some of these incidents occurred at their department, however most occurred at other agencies. This led the municipality’s administrators and safety gurus (as far as I know this was done above the fire department level) to investigate the cause of these incidents. Their investigation led them to determine that many of the cardiac and respiratory issues, which resulted in treatment and/or hospitalization, occurred while training in full turnouts, and that the extra stress from training in full gear was a direct cause of these injuries.
Fair enough. Donning full PPE brings added weight, restricted movement, and limited vision. Its hindrance IS stressful if you aren’t used to wearing it and working in it. So, naturally, the safety gurus brainstormed how they could decrease employee injuries due to the stresses of TRAINING. Their answer was simple. Stop wearing full gear while training, unless absolutely necessary. That’s right. Training in turnouts is stressful, so we shouldn’t do it.
Now, it doesn’t take an expert to realize that this is ridiculous, but I’m going to break it down anyway. The stress and anxiety of working in full gear, whether during training or on the fireground, is mostly due to our being unaccustomed to working in such conditions. Our brains don’t like it when our senses are restricted. The limited movement, vision, and hearing cause anxiety on their own, which elevates pulse and respiratory rates. Add in the sheer physical exertion of WORKING in full gear, and we’re putting a decent strain on our hearts in training alone. Training without gear on will most definitely alleviate the occurrence of training injuries, but it won’t do a thing to help us remain calm while working in full gear. When we do don that gear on the fireground, the stress, the anxiety, and the panic will still be there and it will be elevated because of an even lower frequency of training. The difference is that on the fireground things are real (increasing stress), lives are in danger (increasing stress), and there is no pause button when a Brother falls out because he hasn’t worked in his gear since the last fire. The only impact this policy will have is to move those injuries from the training ground to the fireground.
What needs to be done? I don’t know any members of this department, but PT is always a good idea. If your body is weak, make it stronger. If your body is strong…make it stronger. Secondly, instead of doing less training in full gear, try doing it MORE often. The only way to reduce the anxiety of wearing gear is to become accustomed to it, as though it is the only clothing you ever wear. The more often you suit up and move around, the stronger your mind and body get. Once you take care of the minor stresses of wearing and working in gear (which really shouldn’t be an issue if you are off probation), take it to the next level.
That is the famous “Impact This” video from Ric Jorge, aka Glass Guy. Here’s a link to a longer, but un-embeddable, Facebook video of the training exercise “Impact This…AGAIN!” Watch it, then keep reading.
Intense, but the only way to be prepared for a stressful event (disorientation, collapse, low air, etc.) is to work through it during training. Mind you, the “Impact This” scenario is not one to simply jump in to for your next training. That drill was preceded by hours of lectures on stress-management techniques, followed by hands on training, slowly progressing to the full-blown drill in the video. The drill involved a lot of preparation, and that is what our entire profession is about…being prepared.
Prepared for the worst, prepared for the struggles, prepared for the circumstances that we’ve never encountered before, so that we may overcome, do our job, and survive.
– Lt. Lemon (Pete)
Share:
Prideful Ownership
The term “Pride and Ownership” isn’t new to the fire service. Hopefully, most ELAFF readers are familiar with it and understand its importance to successful company operations. Chief Rick Lasky runs the most comprehensive program on “P&O”, with a lecture program, a book, a blog, and an internet webcast show. These are all great programs, and you can find more info on them by clicking here. Recently, Rhett Fleitz (The Fire Critic) attended one of Chief Lasky’s seminars, and was spurred to write his own blog series on the topic (link to all posts here). He did a great job of explaining “P&O” as he understands it, and I decided to take the time to write a quick post from my point of view. Maybe other sites will join in and compile a number of posts on the subject, as they did with “Brotherhood”.
I’m going to try to make this one short and sweet. I know that we’ve gained a lot of new followers recently, and they may not be accustomed to my occasional “novel-length” posts, as Captain Chaos would say. I’ll simply break down those two words and their meaning to me.
PRIDE
Pride is a fickle beast. It can obviously be a great tool for company development, or Chief Lasky wouldn’t talk about it, but it can also be the downfall of an individual’s career. It should be noted that we are not really talking about “individual pride” here. Individual pride, or pride in oneself, is fine in limited amounts, but it can be toxic if over-applied. Too much individual pride will eventually cause us to put ourselves ahead of everything else. Ahead of our Brothers. Ahead of our company. Ahead of the civilians we serve. This can be seriously detrimental to the firehouse atmosphere. Be proud of your accomplishments, but never let that pride lead you to abandon your Brothers. So, what type of pride are we looking for?
The pride which “P&O” refers to is bigger than the individual level. We are talking about “company pride”, “departmental pride”, and “fire service pride”. We need to have pride in the bigger picture. If we have pride in our company, then we will be willing to go the extra mile to improve our company (or department). What if your company is the slow, outlying runt of the department? Perfect! What if your department is small, underfunded, and poorly motivated? Perfect! You have the perfect opportunity to display the effects of company pride. Start by leading the example yourself. Take some extra time to do some short drills/P.T., clean and fix up forgotten tools or repair a worn and broken area in the firehouse (every ‘house older than 1 year has SOMETHING broken). If you are a full-timer, do this after normal work hours, while the others are watching t.v. If you are a volunteer, do it on a night when there is no regular training and you aren’t assigned to a duty shift. You may be alone at first. You may attract remarks questioning the purpose of your actions. Hopefully, others will eventually join in. Once you build “company pride”, it becomes a nearly unstoppable force. Each shift wants to contribute more than the others, each company wants to work harder than their neighbor, each department wants to be the best, and we ALL want to make the fire service function better and more efficiently.
Jason Jefferies at Working the Job posted THIS article, which includes an email from a retiring Charlotte (NC) fireman. What is one of the things that stands out to me in this post? He doesn’t just refer to himself as “a fireman”, he repeatedly calls himself a “Charlotte fireman”. He doesn’t just hold pride in our profession; he has pride in his department. Officers and senior firemen, this is for you. Company pride is the key to your crews working harder, training more, and ENJOYING the job at YOUR department. Make sure that your crews aren’t simply “proud to be firefighters”. They should be “proud to be (insert your dept. here) firefighters”. This is huge for retention problems in both the paid AND vollie worlds. If your members are simply “firefighters”, they will have no problem leaving for another department if morale gets bleak in your ‘house. However, if they are proud to be “(insert dept. name) firefighters”, they will be hard pressed to leave under any circumstance. Chiefs and administrators, let your personnel build pride in their department. If they see a need for improving a piece of front-line equipment, let them do it. They know when something isn’t working, they use that equipment…you don’t. Their lives depend on the proper function of that equipment…yours doesn’t. Let them make the department their own. If they want to build tables and other firehouse items, encourage it. If they decide to start an impromptu drill, *GASP*, WITHOUT an officer…let them roll with it. Stop the micro-management, it stunts department growth, quells company pride, and buries morale in a grave of dissolved motivation.
OWNERSHIP
“Ownership” picks up where the “pride” leaves off. Once there is a fair amount of company pride developed, we begin to OWN our company. This means taking everything that happens to the company “to heart”. If something happens to the company, it happens to you. If a tool is dirty or broken, it is YOUR fault because that is YOUR tool. This doesn’t mean that those tools don’t belong to your Brothers, they should feel the same. If something isn’t right, you fix it. Take things personally. Don’t just be a member/employee of your department, make that department YOUR OWN. If every member makes that personal commitment to the company, there will be a dramatic improvement around the ‘house. This all goes back to “company pride”.
With that, I’ll end this post. Feel free to leave a comment, and don’t forget to “share” this post using the buttons below.
We have some big news coming up in the next month or so. Stay tuned and stay safe, “leather-freaks”.
Lt. Lemon
Share:
It takes experience to Master it…..
A few nights ago, I was watching one of my favorite movies in a series of movies: Red Dragon. You may be familiar with them, the fictional tales of the infamous Dr. Hannibal Lector, Will Graham and Clarice Starling. Most of you may familier with “Silence of the Lambs”, but there are several books and movies that go along with that particular movie in the series. During the movie, a certain scene stood out to me. It’s funny how a single line, or event witnessed, during the normal course of any day can suddenly bring about an idea completely out of the ball park of whats actually going on at the moment! The scene was when the main character Will Graham is visiting Dr. Lector in a bunker with an oval track in it for which he is allowed to “exercise”. The exercise consists of being chained and shackled to the inner part of the circle and Lector is allowed to Walk. The history between the two is a rough one, as it is Will who caught and arrested Lector, but not before Lector brings Will to the precipice of death with a Stiletto knife. Investigator Graham is trying to get Hannibal to assist him in catching another serial killer, who’s first killing went astray from what he had planned. He had to murder a man in a sudden rush of panic, because the man caught the killer in his home. Upon Grahams critique of the sloppy, ill planned murder, Lector asks Will if he himself has “never felt a sudden rush of panic?” after which, Lector lunges at Will. Due to his shackles and chain, Lector is stopped short, like a dog at the end of its rope mere inches away from Graham. Will retreats a bit, as fear grasped him. “Yeah, that’s the fear we talked about” Lector reply’s, amused at his own display, “It takes experience to master it.”
Our own Lt. Lemon talked about fear recently, and our need to master it in order to do our Job. And to accept it, use it, rather than brag on our t-shirts about how we have none of it. The line in the movie got my wheels turning. He is completely right. Hannibals little quote there, got me thinking on fear, and the experience it takes to master it. What kind of experience must we have, before we become masters of it? How much experience does it take? I thought about it for a few days before trying to write about it. I wondered to myself, If I am a master of my own fear. How would I know it? Are their different kinds of fear? I don’t know, as I’ve said before, I wont pretend to have all the answers, but lets talk about it together. I’ll give you some of my thoughts on it, and please be my guest and let me know what you think on the subject.
Fear in theory, from a firefighter perspective, should start on day 1. There should be a little bit, not much, when you walk into the firehouse. It should be mixed with anticipation, and maybe a little anxiety. “Will these guys accept me?” “will I get a call today?” “What the hell have I gotten myself into?” There should be a bit of all this when the pager, or bell, goes off for the first time. There should most certainly be a pang of fear crawl up your spine when you turn onto the street of your first fire, and see the tale tale glow coming from down the way, or you see the column of thick black smoke rising above the tree tops. Of course there are all sorts of emotions and feelings going on during these times, but intermixed in all these is Fear. Un-knowing to you, you have been learning to master it from the first time you ever saw a fire truck. You saw them going down the road, on the way to the un-known. Or maybe you met them at the station, patiently waiting on what’s to come today…. maybe tomorrow…. maybe thirty seconds from now. You saw them, knowing or learning about what they do, what they may be called upon to do at a moments notice and see no fear. Fire fighters. If you told someone off the street ” hey, sometime today your going to come face to mask with death and its going to be up to you to conquer his grip. The grip may be light today, it might be tight. But today, you will meet him.” Now assuming you’re a prophet, and not some lunatic grabbing people on the street and speaking on imminent demise and death, and this person believed you…. The fear would stay with them all day. Hell it would stay with them all week! But here these people are, goofing off, reading a book, cooking supper…. here they are standing with no fear in the face of what could happen today. It truly does inspire a bit of confidence. Now here you are, standing with them. They relieve your fear with a joke, or maybe a first day pep-talk telling you what they expect from you. All these little things, have already started helping you tame that fear. Standing along with these guys…. they have been doing this for a long time…..its gonna be ok. Little things, bit by bit by itty bitty bit start to tame that fear.
Training, from day one, assists you in the mastery of fear. Learning to tie certain knots, advancing hose lines, live burns. Riding down narrow streets at a speed you never even thought about doing in a CAR, none the less a 45,000 pound big red truck, But your driver is doing it with the ease of a casual sunday stroll. EMT training, looking at pictures and hearing stories of what others have done and experienced, and all other sorts of training all get you prepared for whats next. Slowly, one call at a time, seeing things, smelling and hearing things all in their own way help you in your quest of fear mastery. Whether your realizing it or not, it all builds up over time. Some fire fighters are lucky, they volunteer in a busy district, or get assigned a hopping territory right from the get-go. Some never see no more than a couple hundred calls a year, and there are those in-between who work their way into the busy areas. Each call, every job, every ride to the grocery store (if you get that damn nose out of your smart phone and pay attention), can teach you more and more about your job, your territory. Every aspect of what we do can be a learning moment if you let it. The more you learn, train, and pay attention to details, the more you master that fear.
Everyone is different though. The mastery of one fear for a firefighter may take many more experiences (or less) for another firefighter to achieve the same level of mastery. You will come to learn it on your own, and pay attention! Fear is something that’s more than an object to learn to go over like an obstacle in a confidence course. That fear, although mastered it may be, will always be there. It’s what heightens your awareness when you step out on a four lane highway. It touches you on the shoulder when you feel an amount of heat in a room that you’ve never felt before. It reminds you it is there when you ride a suicide attempt. It heightens your senses, and will melt away the iron in your fists when it is necessary. Un-checked, fear will lead to panic and a complete shut-down of all but your fight or flight instincts. A mastery of it, and it becomes a friend. A colleague that whispers in your ear when its time to go, when its time to fight, when its time to pay attention to what you’re doing. A two-edged sword that will cut the snot out of you when you swing it the wrong way, and the snot out of whom ever is in its path.
What do you think? I’m sure someone out there is ready to stand up and say, Hey Cap! I aint skeered! No fires gonna get me! Well, Brother, that’s good. Just don’t be on my line when the smoke hits the floor, and the little bit of light in the room left goes out. Because if the shiver of fear dont crawl up your back and whisper in your ear…. then consider the fire your own Dr. Lector. He’s there in the dark. His stiletto is sharp….. and waiting.
“So you were hurt not by a fault in your perception, or your instincts…. But because you failed to act on them until it was too late…..”
Dr. Hannibal Lector
Ta,Ta for now….. Stay safe, and ride hard
Capt. Chaos
Share:
Whats that your saying, Brother?
When you think about brotherhood, what comes to mind? Do you think about firefighting, and the brotherhood built on living together, laughing, crying and fighting fire together? Do you think about those in the armed forces, fighting, bleeding and dying together? Do you think of police officers, upholding the laws of the land together, and keeping society from falling into a caveman state of lawlessness? Do you think of team sports, striving to be the best and winning the title or big ring together? There are many forms of Brotherhood. All of which are bonds forged in different fires, struggles, and triumphs. Bonds are strengthened, and bonds are broken. Brothers and sisters come and go, for one reason or another. I’ve been contemplating something over the past few weeks as I have hit a bit of a writer’s block in my postings. I was not sure how I wanted to approach what I want to talk about, and to be frank, I’m writing this now still a little un-sure. So I will begin, with this: How can we make Brotherhood better?
Again, I am going to be frank. If you don’t like a little rough language, stop reading right here. As always, I don’t hold back what I say, because it’s how I feel. It’s what I am passionate about. And I’ve been considering what I’m about to talk about, and whether or not I’m going to be able to stick with it. I don’t want to be a hypocrite, something I hate. But its something I want to try my absolute best at, and I want you the reader, to try with me. Every morning, with a cup of coffee in one hand, and some type of breakfast in the other, I sit and listen. I talk too, but I like to sit and listen. And it’s not just around the kitchen table, its in the bay, it’s during training, it’s here and there. At some point in the day, SOMEONE is the topic of conversation. And you know what topic im talking about. Who is saying what, who’s done this, who’s a shit head. Lets be honest with ourselves, its like a damn sewing circle sometimes. Sometimes, that one person drives us absolutely crazy. Their personality clashes with yours like a freaking meteor crashing to earth, and were talking wrath of God crash too. Maybe you think their lazy, maybe you think they love the taste of the chief’s sweet ass on their lips. The reasons are as long as the reasons people get out of the service. I did a little research on the topic of “talking shit” about other people, and finally found what I was looking for. A Brotherhood that don’t talk shit.
I don’t know much about freemasons. I know it’s a pretty old secretive society. But you don’t hear much about what goes on there, and what their rules are. But I did find some stuff on the Internet that was very helpful in what I wanted to get across. I completely lost my reference, though, I remember what I read of it. The passage in one of their many books had to do with not talking about another Mason in a manner that you wouldn’t speak to that mason directly to his face. Furthermore, if you cannot speak to a mason in a way that isnt in a reasonably courteous manner, then do not speak to that mason at all. In a way, it’s the ol’ Golden rule on treating people like you would have them treat you, but its taken to another level. If you can’t speak of someone well, then keep your mouth shut. This is a rule of Masonry that is taken very seriously, and punished harshly if broken. It continued on to explain how the state of society today is due to everyone speaking in a manner unfit for creatures of God. Now you may already be thinking of people you don’t like, people you talk about on a regular basis, and think to yourself “I’m not going to quit talking about this guy, because the fire service would be better without them”. I’m not asking you to stop talking about people, at least not at this second, I’m asking you to think about this: How much better would our brotherhood be if we could be better human beings toward each other.
But what about the people you’ve spoken about in the past Capt. Chaos? What about the Bung holes who take up seats on trucks with sorry asses?!? I’m not saying this rule is going to change that. More like, make a better approach to how you speak to, or of, someone. In a brotherhood where a rule like this is the norm…. Silence is Damning. Now think of that person you think is a waste of your precious air. Another firefighter walks up and says, what do you think about that guy over there, the one that’s always sleeping? Instead of your normal, F*$U THAT F&*I#KER IN THE F(*#$ F(@#*$ F(@*#(*@#$(*@#$ F!……F!, you politely look at the person speaking to you, and say nothing. In fact, after they are sure you have heard the question they asked you, politely change the subject. See? Silence is Damning. When everyone around you can find nothing good of you to say…. perhaps, just perhaps it’s not them….. its you. Remember part of the rule, if you can’t speak to them in a manner befitting the brotherhood, you shouldnt talk to someone at all? If this person approaches you and wishes to have a conversation and you can not find a way to speak to them politely…. then don’t. Turn and walk away. Hows that for a shot in the arm on how the guys think of you? They can’t even find a way to speak to you? Again: is it you?
After thinking about this for a long while, I decided not to be hypocritical and post this, without giving it a try. Luckily, thus far, I’ve not had to outright ignore anymore….. yet. But I do have someone in mind, I wont talk about him. But that has not stopped everyone else, and when the topic has come up, I’ve remained silent. No one has really noticed….. you know what…. .I just thought of someone else…. HA! Anyways, no ones noticed me abstaining from keeping the conversation going, but I honestly think they may eventually catch on. It takes…. Jeez it takes A LOT…. to get ME to not look at things positively. Even if I remain silent on your abilities, knowledge and commitment to the fire service, I’ll find something good about you. I WILL find something good in you, even if it kills me. But I’m digressing here….
What do you think? Do you think you can accept Capt. Chaos’ challenge to you? Hell, make it a new years resolution. Tell everyone you know, at the house, at work, what ever where ever, to read this blog. Make an honest to goodness attempt to STOP talking badly of others. If you can’t speak well of someone, change the conversation all together. People will catch on…. it might take some time, but they will catch on. As for me, I’ve actually enjoyed to experiment. I’ve been Frank to people, but I’ve been frank with a little bit of conservatism. Im not going to tell someone out right that I think you’re a lazy stain on the mattress, but I may Frankly bring up the subject that I think we need to do something about the stain on the mattress you have become. Ive not had to worry about speaking to someone I don’t want to…. I just don’t. They pass me by, get the grumpy coffee, and leave. I don’t have to say good morning, because I don’t care if they have a good morning, because people like you just bring MY morning down. Well…. It’s an Idea anyways. Please, be my guest and give it a try. Tell me what you think about it…. better yet, give it a try to tell me how it’s worked for you!
Stay tuned in guys, we’ve been cooking up some ideas here at the HQ, and trust me…. TRUST me, you’re not going to want to miss out!
As always, Ride Hard, and keep your front to the fire!
-Capt. Chaos
Share:
Fear
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear.” – Mark Twain
The above quote is one of meaning to those in our profession, as it is to all who put themselves in harm’s way for the sake of others. We call ourselves “the bravest”, evoking the image of courageous lads riding steam engines to extinguish blazes, as our predecessors once did. We plaster our “fearlessness” on our cars, helmets, and t-shirts. We advertise it to the world. Was this the case with those men over 100 years ago? Did they call themselves “brave”, or did their actions cause the public to bestow that title upon them? Were they more concerned with simply “doing the job”, rather than getting the glory? I’d like to believe so, but can we say the same for ourselves today?
For the most part, yes. There is still a large group of the fire service working for the right reasons. Those who remember that WE are here for THEM, the civilians, the public whom we SERVE. Those who remember that THEY are expecting us to rescue them. THEY are expecting us to put out the fire. THEY expect us to GO INSIDE. THEY expect us to be ready. Those with the right mindset ARE ready, but the right mindset does not require one to be fearless. In fact, the “fearless” mindset is as foolish as the “no entry” mindset.
It is time to correct the tired, old “We fight what you fear” cliché. The proper saying should be, “We fight what you fear, but we fear it, too.” Yes, firefighters FEAR fire, and why shouldn’t we? It is a fearsome element. Fire kills, has killed, and will continue to kill…and THAT is exactly why we must master OUR fear and continue to ENTER BUILDINGS for interior attack and search. As long as there is a chance of a life hazard, we owe it to the citizens, whom we SERVE, to make the interior attack and search. That is our JOB. Any random citizen can stand in the front yard and spray water through a window, Statter911.com provides a plethora of videos demonstrating this. The “green line jockeys” have even begun to gather “helmet-cam” style point-of-view footage. Imagine if your municipality began distributing 1 3/4″ lines to strategic hydrant locations in your response area. Teams of citizens could replace many “yard attack” departments. However, those average citizens likely will not go inside. That is the benefit that a good department brings to the table. We don’t just put the fire out and save the foundation. We come in to look for you, even if we don’t have a report of an occupant. We go in to put the fire out, and stop the damage before things burn to the ground. Obviously, there is some risk management to be considered and, at times, a defensive operation is required, but I don’t believe it should go nearly as far as some would like. But, back to the fear.
As I stated, we FEAR fire. If you’ve never felt a little twinge of fear as you make the push towards the fire room, then you: A) have never made an interior attack, B)are clinically insane, or C) just didn’t recognize it AS fear. You see, though firefighters and civilians both fear fire, there is a difference between the nature of our fears.
Normal, sane civilians fear fire in the most natural way. Fear through panic. They see fire or smoke, recognize the threat to their life, and react instinctively. Their brains shut down into the most primitive state. Their sole function becomes staying alive. Most flee for safety. This is good. It means less work for us, and most importantly…survivors, if they manage to escape the structure. If they don’t escape, we know that they will be near windows, behind doorways, or headed down hallways towards egress points. Others will simply hide, their brains conflicted to the point of freezing. This is also useful, as it gives us an idea of where a victim might hide. Under beds, in closets, in bathtubs. Knowing how possible victims might react can be invaluable to us, and there are many resources where you can read more on this subject. The fear-through-panic mindset is most evident in multiple occupant situations. We rarely hear of family members finding each other BEFORE exiting the structure. Part of this is because WE teach them to exit first. The other reasoning behind this may be that, in a fury of self-preservation, they completely forget about the other residents. They focus on getting out, and only upon exiting do they remember, as their brains restart, that there were others inside. Perhaps this is why we see more incidents where occupants re-entered to make a rescue, rather than finding the other victim in the first place. Or, perhaps they simply follow the escape plan and hope that everyone else does the same. Maybe it is a bit of both.
Firefighters, on the other hand, cannot afford to panic. We are trained early on to face our fear, master it, and use it to master the fire. We have a fear through respect. We know the destructive power of fire. We’ve seen it since the academy. Because of this knowledge, we train harder. We learn the behavior of fire and we study the effects of applying water to it. We learn how to defeat it, and to find those who cannot. We train on it…over, and over, and over…while we weed out those who will not. We master our fear…and master our ability to defeat its cause. This is why we feel excited when we conquer the beast, because we have, in turn, conquered our fear. It isn’t that we aren’t scared of the beast, it’s that we recognize and respect what will happen if we don’t overcome our fear and do our job. We know what will happen if we don’t make the search efficiently. We realize the outcome of not aggressively extinguishing the blaze.
We are not aggressive out of fearlessness and insanity. We simply realize that we serve a purpose greater than “saving the foundation”. We owe it to the public to perform to our full potential. It is what THEY expect…and what WE should deliver.
– Lt. Lemon
Share:
Product Review: Westsider Front Holder
I know it’s been a while, and I hate to disappoint you, but this is not a revolutionary, inflammatory rant on the slackers of the fire service. This is a simple, benign, and unbiased product review. Before I delve into this new territory for ELAFF, I’d like to post a quick disclaimer on our reviews. The products we review are sent to us, free of charge, by the manufacturer. We may, or may not, be allowed to keep these products after the review is published. We will be as open as possible about the circumstances of each review, but rest assured that we will receive NO compensation for anything written about a product…other than possibly keeping the sample. We will be open and honest about our opinions of the product, be they positive or negative. That’s the short-hand version of it, so on with the review.
Retail Price – $29.99
Info from the owner – “Homemade Diamond plate shield\front holder. I made these holders to fit Cairns New Yorker, Sam Houston. 1000, 1010 and 1044. I have not drilled the holes in the side to attach to the helmet so they will fit all helmets listed. These holders have been Laser Cut and bent professionally . They are cut from .063 plate of aluminum diamond plate.”
Review
The Westsider Front Holder is a replacement for the eagle/beaver/solid piece of easily bent metal which holds the leather front/shield on a traditional helmet. They are made by Jonathan Nixon, a firefighter with the Charlotte, NC Fire Department. As stated above, the front is made of aluminum diamond plate. There seems to be a huge number of “diamond plate fans” in the fire service, just as there are leather-freaks. I, for one, am not one of those fans. I simply don’t like flashy “bling” on my helmet, however this review isn’t about my cosmetic preferences, so I showed the front around ELAFF HQ. There were plenty of “oohs” and “ahhs”, and “how do I get one” was asked multiple times. I took this as a sign that firefighters would want one of these on their helmet and began the mounting process. The front comes without pre-drilled holes, so it can be easily mounted on most traditional helmets. It is DESIGNED to be mounted on a Cairns N5A, N6A, 1000, 1010, or 1044. I was planning on being rough with my sample, so I mounted it on an old Ben Franklin I (that’s the good model, not the new Ben II Plus thermo-plastic one). This helmet was a little shorter than the front holder was designed for, and the leather front was a bit tall, but I managed to get the Westsider secured.
I wore it through on all runs, including a few fires. It also had plenty of drill time, along with a few training fires. It held up just fine, as I would hope.
For the final test, I used the remains of a sprinkler demonstration rig. I decided to punch a few holes in some drywall and bang on the wall studs a few times. Honestly, I wouldn’t expect anyone to punch through a wall using their helmet unless they ABSOLUTELY had to…we carry tools for those tasks. However, I hadn’t yet inflicted any real damage to the Westsider, so I thought I’d give this a try.
The drywall didn’t faze it, but pounding on the studs caused the front flap to lift up. I attribute this to the aforementioned under-sized helmet/over-sized shield issue. If I had been using a smaller shield, or a Cairns helmet, I do NOT believe this would have happened. As for the rest of the Westsider, it didn’t have a dent on it. If you DO manage to dent or deform one of these, you’ll probably want to look at replacing the entire helmet…not just the Westsider. This definitely held up better than the stock front holder, which was bent beyond recognition when I removed it.
With the trial phase complete, I was left with one last idea. Getting rid of that shine. It was easily covered with a liberal coating of “NFPA compliant”, black “rattle-can” paint. You could just as easily use any other color.
There you have it. Whether you are a fan of shiny things, or not, the Westsider Front Holder is a viable option for replacing the worn-out, factory holder on your helmet. The diamond plate is strong and looks great, and can be customized easily to match your style. Maybe Jonathan will even start putting out his own colored versions.
You can find out more, and purchase the Westsider Helmet Front, on their Facebook page.
You may also email Jonathan directly at: jrn1cb5a@email.cpcc.edu
– Lt. Lemon
Excessive Leather Accessories For Firefighters 