Public Perception

We all know that public employees are under scrutiny and getting beat up by the public in the current economic environment.  They see us as lazy and overpaid.  They think our pensions are unfair and that we do nothing but sit around and watch TV all day.  We know this is not a fair judgement of what we do and obviously we want to change that perception.  We know it is our job to get out there on the streets and work to change the public perception of what we do.  Before you go running to the next block party or PR event let me ask you this.... What is your perception of the public?

Why am I asking you this question and why is it important?  Well lets think about it for a second.  We know one of the ways to build a better image of ourselves is to be out in the public and work to garner their support.  This is a sure fire plan right?  Wrong...  I am not telling you that public involvement is a bad idea or that it isn't the right idea but I want you to think about a few things before you do it.  There are a lot of things you need to consider such as the demographics of your response area.  What is the average age, what is the median income, what is the percentage of residential vs commercial properties. The list goes on and on but my point is, just like you review your 1st due area for the types of fires you will have to fight you need to size up your residents before you launch your PR campaign.  Plan your events around those demographics.  Blood pressure checks for seniors are not going to go over very well if you have no seniors in your area you know what I mean?

One last thing I want to touch on is this.  What is your personal attitude towards PR events and what is your perception of the public in your area.  Do you do PR events because you have to or do you get excited about them?  What do you think of the public you serve?  Are they merely patients and residents or do you feel part of the community.  Do you genuinely want to provide a service and help these people or are they just another run?  These are things you need to think about before you go out and do a PR event.  If you go into these events with a negative perception or a negative attitude you may win some people over but your results won't be as good as they could be.  I know that it can get tedious at times going to all the different PR events but we can't let that show when we are out in the public.  Go out there and have fun.  Try to provide PR that is value added.  Look at this not as volunteering your time but rather as an investment into the future of your department.  It truly is an investment.  The more support and allies you can generate the better.  If there is ever a situation were cuts are being considered these allies will come to your aid and help fight for your department.  If they feel you are a part of their community and you have put in the time to build those relationships they will show up and they will show up in droves.  They will stand beside you and fight to protect your department.  Trust me, it works.  We just have to put in the time and effort to build those relationships and let the public know what we are really about.

The Shamrock

Are you ready for a little more fire service history and tradition?  I have already talked about the Maltese Cross.  There is another symbol that is seen quite often in the fire service--the shamrock.  Did you ever wonder why the shamrock is so prevalent in the fire service?  The present day fire service is home to Emerald Societies, the bagpipers and many big city rosters are full of Irish surnames.  Is it a coincidence or is there more to the story?

In 1845 the Great Potato Famine struck Ireland and led to mass immigration of the Irish into America.  During the famine years, nearly a million Irish arrived in America.  As you may know, the Irish settlers were not exactly welcomed to the US.  Many of the settlers were mocked and faced hard times in America.  During this period there were a limited number of unskilled jobs available and many Americans were worried that the Irish immigrants would be willing to work for lower wages and undercut them for jobs.  This led to an increase in anti-Irish sentiment in cities like New York and Boston.  Many employers posted “No Irish Need Apply” signs to keep these unwanted guests from taking American jobs.  The only jobs these Irish immigrants could get were the dirty and dangerous civil service jobs that no one else wanted.  As a result many Irish immigrants became firefighters and police officers.

As the Irish-American presence in the fire service grew, they began to affix images of the shamrock to their apparatus and uniforms as a way to show their Irish pride.  The shamrock also became a subtle message to their fellow Irishmen that the fire service was a place where they would not be discriminated against.  Through the years, the number of Irish-Americans in the fire service continued to grow and the shamrock became another image synonymous with the fire service.  It is not uncommon to see shamrock decals on helmets, trucks or incorporated into company logos.  As I mentioned last month, the Brooklyn Fire Department’s badge was a shamrock up until the Brooklyn and New York Fire Departments merged.

As the Irish population took hold in the fire service, so did the Irish culture and tradition.  Like the shamrock, the bagpipe was another Irish tradition that took root in the fire service culture.  The bagpipes were often played at Celtic weddings and funerals, so naturally this tradition carried over to the fire service.  The pipes and drums are now a staple of many fire service ceremonies and honor guards.

Another group that emerged with the increase in Irish-Americans in the fire service are Emerald Societies.  Emerald Societies are social organizations created to promote the fraternal spirit of firefighters of Irish ancestry.  Emerald Societies typically work to celebrate the Irish heritage and provide a positive influence in the communities where their members serve.

  The fire service provided an opportunity for many of these immigrants to seek work and make a difference.  The different cultures brought many of their cultural traditions with them and they became staples of fire service tradition.  When you see a shamrock on a helmet or the bagpipers perform at a ceremony, take a minute to reflect on where those traditions came from.  Having some Irish heritage in my family tree myself, it makes me proud to know that my brothers before me opened their doors and offered opportunities to the Irish immigrants that could not find work anywhere else.  Carry these traditions forward with pride, and honor those who came before us.

Leadership

Leadership, wow that's is a big broad topic.  I could throw various definitions of leadership at you, but what is the point, if you want the dictionary definition its not hard to find.  Let me give you my definition of leadership.  A leader is someone who is able to motivate others to complete a common goal.  I like this definition because it is simple and to the point.  A leader gets people to get things done.  

Of course with almost anything you have good and bad.  Leadership is no different, you will find good leaders and bad leaders.  You will find leaders that fall anywhere within that spectrum.  So what makes a good leader?  Again, that is a broad question.  You could ask a million people and get a million different answers.  Since I am writing this, I will tell you what I think makes a good leader.  I think a good leader gets people to complete the common goal but by doing that in a way that is neither misguided or manipulative.  A leader should embody the mission and values of the organization they represent.  You have to have continuity from top to bottom.  You could be a great motivator but if you are guiding people on a mission that contradicts that of the organization are you really being a good leader?  I say no.  Leaders need to be strong and confident on the exterior.  You may be scared as hell on the inside but the minute you let that show, your people will pick up on it right away.  A leader needs to be able to think quickly and react to situations as they change.  You can't second guess yourself and you can't hesitate.  As a leader you have to be confident in your decisions and stick to them.  Once you start to second guess yourself the people you are trying to lead will begin to question you.  I also think a good leader needs to be able to take chances.  Let me rephrase that, a good leader needs to be able to take calculated risks.  There are some situations where a clear answer may not be available, a good leader will assess the situation and may need to take a calculated risk to get the job done.  A good leader has to be able to motivate, diffuse tense situations, promote morale among the group.  You should be able to coach and mentor your group as well.  A good leader sees those around him and does not try and hold them back.  They need to recognize the strengths of their people and allow them to utilize those strengths.  You should want those who follow you to succeed and excel, it will only reflect well on you as a leader.

So what makes a bad leader?  Oh wow, I could probably go on on about this topic but I will spare you from that soapbox.  I have been around the block a time or two so I have seen good leaders and bad leaders.  I have worked for my fair share of bad leaders.  Working for a bad leader is beyond frustrating.  The easy definition of a bad leader is to read the last paragraph and just think of the opposite of those traits.  Bad leaders seem to suck the morale out a group.  They can make you feel incompetent and like your opinion doesn't matter.  They seem to stifle your ability at every turn.  Bad leaders tend put their motives in front of those of the group.  Bad leaders "pass the blame and accept the praise!"  This quote is just a play on the leadership axiom "pass the praise and accept the blame" but it really is true.  Bad leaders accept the praise for the groups efforts but seem to do everything than can to avoid the blame if the group fails.  That is not what being a leader is about.

So where am I going with this?  To be honest I have started this paragraph 3 times now and have finally settled on a direction.  I want to describe what I like to see in an informal leader in the fire service.  An informal leader is the leader in the company that is not promoted to a leadership position.  Those are your formal leaders that are promoted to leadership positions such as Lieutenant, Captain and Chief.  An informal leader is not promoted but has earned the respect of the crew and helps promote the mission of the formal leader.  A good informal leader starts by leading by example.  They get out there and get the job done and follow the policies and guidelines of the department.  They do things thoroughly and do things right.  They set the example for the crew.    A good informal leader also needs to be a vocal leader to an extent.  They don't necessarily bark orders or verbally direct the crew but they need to be able to speak up when needed.  If they see something happening that does not fit the mission they need to speak up.  If there are questions or concerns amongst the crew they speak up.  If they have built the trust of their crew they can become that crew's voice if need be.  As an informal leader you need to have the guts to speak up.  You may have to call someone out if they are slacking or if their behavior is inappropriate.  Its a tough thing to do but as a leader there will be times you have to make the tough decision.  People may not like it but if you speak up in the right way and do what is best for the crew, people will respect that.  

Leadership is a must have quality in the fire service.  We are a para-military organization so rank structure is key and people will be formally placed in a leadership role.  These people are key to the success of the department but an informal leader can have an even bigger impact on the department.  If you have good informal leaders amongst the crews you will have a successful department.  They will set the tone for the crews.  They will lead by example and they will speak up when needed.  They take the rookies under their wings and make sure they have the knowledge to be successful.  Even if your department has good formal leaders they may still struggle without the presence of a good informal leader.  If you have good formal leaders and good informal leaders together they will make your department great.  Their teamwork will make crews that much better.  It is certainly a winning combination.

 

 

 

Why are you a firefighter?

In my last post I told you the reasons why I am a firefighter.  Now, let me ask you why you are a firefighter.  What called you to this profession.  What drives your passion for being a firefighter.  Lets take that one step further, do you have a passion for this job?  Are you in this job for the right reasons.

Let me step up on my soap box for a second if I may.  Nothing frustrates me more than seeing someone in this job for the wrong reasons.  They are typically pretty easy to spot.  They are the ones that have more lights on their personal vehicle than we have on our trucks. They wear the t-shirts with the cheesy cliches.  Typically they are a walking billboard that says "Look at me!! I'm a firefighter!!!"  Not all of the folks that fit this description are in this job for the wrong reasons.  Some people like that stuff and that is fine for them but I wonder if they realize that whether they mean to or not their actions influence the public perception of the fire service as a whole.  The people I am describing are the ones that want to be noticed and want people to think they are cool because they are a firefighter.  They want to be seen in the firefighter t-shirt and be seen riding around in a fire truck.  Their reason for being a firefighter is for their own personal glory.  They are not in the fire service to help the public in which we serve.  These people drive me nuts.  From my experience they don't take the job seriously.  They don't want to train or do the "grunt" work.  They want to look cool and they want the glory without putting in the work.  These people have no idea about the tradition of the fire department and what being a fire fighter truly means.  They typically have no pride in their department or their job, they are there for selfish reasons.  

So why are these people bad.  Well they can certainly give your department a negative image if you are not careful.  People see them speeding to the fire station or to calls, running red lights and swerving through traffic.  The public sees this and assumes that all firefighters are like this.  Its not a good image for firefighters.  They can also be a liability on the fire ground.  Never mind the fact they drove erratically to get to the call, you also haven't seen them at training for the past 3 months.  Is that the person you want going in on the line with you?  Do you want to depend them to pull you out of a burning building should something happen to you?  I certainly don't.  I want my partner to be the guy who has been at training and who has taken the time to hone his skills and become the best they can be.  I want to be surrounded by firefighters who have pride in their job, their department and their community.  They want to provide the best possible service to the public that they can, after all that is why we are here.

I am not trying to be "holier than thou" here but I care about the fire service and those that worked so hard before me to make this the greatest job in the world.  I am just a regular Joe who takes pride in his job and loves the fire service.  I don't want to villainize these people but I don't want to make excuses for them either.  Some of them may not know anything different, that just might be the culture of their department.  I have a couple of challenges for you.  First of all, take a look at yourself and ask yourself why are you here.  Why are you a firefighter?  Are you here for the right reasons?  Second, if you have these types of people on your department... do something about it.  I am not saying treat them poorly or run them out.  Instead, I want you to challenge them, teach them the traditions of the fire service.  Lead by example.  Show them how to be a firefighter for the right reasons.  Help them become the type of fire fighter your department needs.  It may take weeks, months or years but if you truly care about your department it will be worth it.

Why We Fight

The title of this post comes from the title of an episode of Band of Brothers with the same title.  In that episode Easy Company has advanced into Germany and they discover a concentration camp for the first time.  The episode is aptly named because Easy Company gets to see first hand some of the terrible things the Nazis have done and why the rest of the world is fighting to stop them.  The moment they discover the concentration camp, those soldiers truly realize the reason they have been fighting all that time.  So how does this apply to firefighting?  Well I have had several moments where I realized why I truly am a firefighter and why I feel I am called to do this job.

So why am I a firefighter?  There are several reasons that draw me to this job.  The money is certainly not one of those reasons.  I get paid well for what I do but this job is never going to make me rich.  I had a fairly lucrative job in the private sector and I took a fairly significant pay cut to become a professional firefighter.  I wasn't happy sitting behind a desk day in and day out after about 10 years of trying to find my calling I realized that a healthy paycheck did not make up for all the frustrations I had in those jobs.  So, I took a chance and decided to pursue the job I love.  After a couple years of applying and testing for every job I could I was lucky enough to land a full time firefighting job.  There has not been a day I haven't been excited about going to work since.

What is it about this job that many of us love?  First of all, the job changes every day.  Certainly there are routines we get into and tasks we do every shift but every day is a little bit different and you start the shift not quite knowing what the day will hold.  I love being able to work with my hands and work with people.  I get to spend a lot of my day outside and not cooped up in an office.  But the two major reasons for my love of this job is getting to help people and being able to be part of the fire service family.

For as long as I can remember I have wanted to make a difference in people's life.  In high school I was a life guard.  My intent going into college to be a doctor so that I could help people.  Throughout college my career path changed and I ended up going into the business field.  The entire time I was in the business field there was still that desire to help people.  I wanted to get involved with the fire service as a volunteer but I continually found myself either working too many hours to volunteer at a fire department or living in a city that did not offer volunteer opportunities.  Once I got the opportunity to join the fire service I jumped at it.  Through that opportunity I was able to make an impact in people's lives.  Typically when someone calls 911 they are having their worst day.  We as firefighters have the opportunity to come in and do what ever we can to help them.  Whether it is fighting a fire, responding to a car accident or providing EMS care we can make a difference for those folks.  To be honest there is not really one call that sticks out that solidified my love for this job.  I have run hundreds of calls since I got started and each one has had an impact in one way or another.  I have been to fires where families have lost everything and codes where the patient didn't make it and each time it breaks my heart.  Something inside me knows that we can't save them all and each loss drives me to do better the next time.  With each call I run I have the opportunity to make a difference in someone's life.  It can be as minor as bandaging a cut or as major as a working structure fire or CPR in progress.  Whether the call is minor or major I treat them the same and do my best to help those people in need.  I get to see tangible results of the impact I made.  In the business field often times I really didn't get to see the fruits of my labor and often times it seemed that my hard work only resulted in more money in some big wig's pocket.  I will take the former over the latter any day.

The final reason for my love for the fire department is the fire service family itself.  The fire service is truly a large family.  Its called the brotherhood for a reason.  We are brothers and sisters and have to trust one another unconditionally.  In my full time job I work a 24 hour shift every third day so I literally spend 1/3 of my life with the guys I work with.  We live together in the firehouse for 24 hours at a time.  For that 24 hours these guys are my family.  They have my back and I have theirs.  We eat meals together, we hang out together in the evenings during our down time.  There are good days and bad days.  Guys get frustrated with each other and at times we have to diffuse situations just like any family would.  Outside of the firehouse we are still family.  Often times our families get together and spend time.  We help each other out.  If one of our brothers needs help painting his house, we show up with pain brush in hand.  If they need help moving, we show up with our trucks.  We have each other's backs whether we are at work or whether we are at home.  Its been that way for a hundred years and it will be that way for a hundred more.  Lets take it one step further, I have heard stories of union brothers traveling across the country for a family emergency and union brothers from another state who have never met this individual in their life show up at the airport to meet this guy and take him in like they have known him their whole life.  They provide transportation, shelter and do whatever they can to help a fellow firefighter out.  Each fire department is a family and those small families make up the entire fire service family as a whole.  It is truly amazing to see what people will do to help one another simply because we work in the same profession.  You don't tend to see that out of people who work in other industries.  That doesn't mean those people are bad, they just don't have that universal connection like we do in the fire service.

Saving a house, extricating someone from a car accident, helping someone who is having a heart attack... these are the reasons "Why We Fight."  We don't do it for the glory or the recognition, we do it because we love this job and we love helping people.  I love my job and I truly feel blessed to be able to call myself a firefighter.  I get the opportunity to live my dream every third day and I take great pride in that.  I truly have the best job in the world. 

History and Traditions

This past summer I had the chance to attend a class called “Pride and Ownership” taught by Chief Rick Lasky of Lewisville, Texas.  I am sure many of you have heard of it and if you get the chance, I recommend attending.  It’s a great class centered on building pride and tradition in your department.  The history and tradition of the fire service is one of the greatest assets of this job and Chief Lasky talks a great deal about these aspects of the fire service during this class.

As members of the fire service family it is our responsibility to take what we have learned and pass it on the next generation.  We have the ability to take a look back at all the great and tragic events that have happened over the past years and learn from them.  If we don’t pass the information along, who will?  10 years ago, the FDNY lost nearly 4400 combined years of service when the towers came down.  So much knowledge and information was lost on that day.  This post will be focused on a piece of history and tradition of the fire service.  Many of us wear the Maltese cross on our uniforms every day but do we know the meaning and history behind it?

The Maltese cross is named after the island of Malta which was the home of the Knights of St John.  The Knights of St John wore the Cross of Calvary (later to be known as the Maltese cross) on their armor so they could recognize one another during battle.  How does this tie into the fire service?  During the crusades it was not uncommon for armies to use fire as a weapon.  The Knights of St John were known for risking their own lives to save another knight or extinguish a fire.  They were also known as Hospitallers because they were known for their care of the sick and wounded.  The Knights of St John are considered by most as the first firefighters.  Combining the fact that they took great care of the sick and wounded and with the great pride and honor they took in their work, the Maltese cross became a very fitting symbol for the fire service.  I am sure that many of you have heard this story before.  It is widely known throughout the fire where the Maltese cross originated but let me take it a step further.  Who was the first fire department to use the Maltese cross as their symbol?  The FDNY adopted the Maltese cross in 1865.  In 1882 Brooklyn changed their badges from a four-leaf clover to the Maltese cross.  We will talk about the four-leaf clover and its ties to the fire service in greater detail in a future installment. 

It is important to understand the history and tradition of the fire service.  Think of this quote by Charles Williams “In order to move forward into the future, you need to know where you’ve been.”  He couldn’t have said it any better.  This is our fire service and our fire department and it is up to us move it forward into the future.  In order to do so we need to know where we came from and the history behind why we do the things we do.  When someone asks you why we wear the Maltese cross or why we strike the 4 5’s at a funeral it is not acceptable to reply “because that’s what we have always done.”  I love the history and tradition of the fire service.  They are a couple of the characteristics of this job that makes it so great.  We are the shepherds of this fire department and ultimately we will determine its path in the future, but to truly guide this department forward, we have to embrace our history and tradition and take it with us.   Part of our job as a firefighter is take what we have learned and pass it on to the next guy. 

Stay safe!!