Volunteer; No Experience OR Training Required!

Note: I wasn’t going to post a blog until after FDIC, but then I watched BC Michael Walker’s address on livestream and it really struck a chord. He spoke to the very essence of what it is to call yourself “fireman”, the strong bond between firefighters and what our communities expect when they call us.

Now and again, Firegeezer ( http://firegeezer.com/) comes up with an article that makes you go, “Hmmm”.

Such is the case with an article written by FireHat. (http://firegeezer.com/2013/04/22/should-fire-training-be-banned-a-commentary/ )

A state senate bill being pushed by Glenn Hegar would eliminate training requirements for volunteer firefighters in Texas. (http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/Text.aspx?LegSess=82R&Bill=SB766)

Mediocrity is over populated by underachievers. It is a culture spawned by Pass/Fail or everyone gets a trophy. We can’t celebrate success, because those who are unsuccessful will feel badly, which is why some schools will have multiple valedictorians. I’m from the old school, where there was ONE valedictorian and if you came in second, you were the salutatorian. Boo hoo!

The fire service is the last place where we need kinder/gentler attitudes. I’m sorry, but “just good enough” just isn’t good enough. As I said in an earlier blog; you don’t do it until you get it right. You do it until you can’t get it wrong.

It is true that I joined the volunteer fire service where I live, so I could help when there was an emergency and I knew in order to do that, I had to learn how to do it through training. I learned early on that I could be of no use in an emergency, if I got hurt in the process. It is absolutely true that you train as if your life depended on it, because it does.

In our state, training is built around the schedule of the full time fire departments. That means that it is held during the week at our state’s fire academy, so unless you have lots of vacation time that you want to burn, you are stuck with on-line classes or hoping for weekend classes, where if you don’t get the required minimum class size, the class is cancelled.

We took steps many years ago and sent two firefighters to school to be certified instructors. They can do all of our training in-house, but if we want to get our firefighters certified, we have to send them to a certified class taught by IFSI instructors and then take the OSFM exam. But, I digress.

Hegar’s SB 766 is being supported by Texas State Firemen’s and Fire Marshals’ Association (http://www.sffma.org/) and the Harris County Firefighters Association of Texas (http://www.hcffa.org/). The Texas Commission on Fire Protection (http://www.tcfp.texas.gov/reports/DeptSize.asp) regulates fire departments in Texas in accordance with state statutes. The section of the state statutes affected by SB 766 is italicized and reads:

SUBCHAPTER D. VOLUNTEER FIRE FIGHTERS AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS

§ 419.071. Voluntary Certification Program for Volunteer Fire Fighters and Fire Departments

(a) The commission shall develop a voluntary certification program for volunteer fire fighters and volunteer fire departments. The program must include the same components and requirements as the certification program established under Subchapter B. The certification program for volunteer fire fighters and volunteer fire departments may take into account the different circumstances of volunteer fire fighters in establishing deadlines for completion of various components or requirements of the program.

(b) A certificate for a given type and level of certification that is issued under the certification program established under this section is equivalent to a certificate for the same type and level issued under Subchapter B. The certificate is subject to the same issuance and renewal requirements as a certificate issued under Subchapter B, and a certificate holder may be disciplined and regulated in the same manner 82 as provided by Subchapter B.

(c) A volunteer fire fighter, volunteer fire department, or facility that provides training to volunteer fire fighters is not required to participate in any component of the commission's program under this chapter. A volunteer fire fighter, volunteer fire department, or facility that provides training to volunteer fire fighters may on request participate in one or more components of the program under this subchapter as appropriate. The volunteer fire department with which a volunteer fire fighter is affiliated may, but is not required to, pay the certificate fee for a volunteer fire fighter certified under this subchapter.

(d) At least 30 days before the expiration of a volunteer fire fighter's certificate, the commission shall send written notice of the impending certificate expiration to the last known address of the fire fighter according to the records of the commission.

§ 419.072. Obtaining Paid Employment as Fire Fighter

(a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Subchapter B, a fire department may appoint as fire protection personnel a volunteer fire fighter or former volunteer fire fighter who is certified by the commission under this subchapter. On receiving the appointment from the employing fire department, the person is considered to be certified fire protection personnel.

(b) In this section, "fire department" has the meaning assigned by Section 419.021.

§ 419.073. Individual Certificate Holder; Certificate Renewal

(a) A volunteer fire fighter certified under this subchapter may continue to hold and renew the certificate without regard to whether the person continues to be affiliated with a volunteer fire department.

(b) A former volunteer fire fighter who is no longer affiliated with a volunteer fire department may renew an unexpired certificate before the expiration of the certificate by:

(1) submitting evidence satisfactory to the commission of completion of any required professional education; and

(2) paying to the commission the required renewal fee.

(c) If a person's certificate has been expired for 30 days or less, the person may renew the certificate by:

(1) submitting evidence satisfactory to the commission of completion of any required professional education; and

(2) paying to the commission the required renewal fee and a fee that is one-half of the certification fee for the certificate.

(d) If a person's certificate has been expired for longer than 30 days but less than one year, the person may renew the certificate by:

(1) submitting evidence satisfactory to the commission of completion of any required professional education; and

(2) paying to the commission all unpaid renewal fees and a fee that is equal to the certification fee.

(e) If a person's certificate has been expired for one year or longer, the person may not renew the certificate.

(f) The commission shall establish by rule the requirements evidence must meet to be considered satisfactory for the purpose of complying with this section.

(g) Notwithstanding any other law, the commission may by rule establish a procedure to recertify a person if:

(1) the person's certification has lapsed because of the person's good faith clerical error, including the person's failure to submit fees in a timely manner; or

(3) the person's certification has lapsed as a result of termination of the person's employment and the person has been restored to employment as a result of a

disciplinary procedure.

As of 4/23/2013, the TCFP showed 28,233 appointed personnel in regulated departments with 3,135 certificate holders. What confounds me is that, if you take Houston (3838), Dallas (1820), San Antonio (1625), Austin (1098), Fort Worth (880) and El Paso (854), their total is 10,115 firefighters. If full time firefighters are required to be certified and to re-certify, then why are there only 3,135 certificate holders in the entire state of Texas? In addition, the SFFMA claims that 77% of the state’s firefighters are volunteers. So; are there many “unregulated” fire departments in Texas or are the number of volunteer firefighters over stated? I’m asking, because I don’t know.

The state of the volunteer fire service isn’t any different for Texas than it is in the other 49 contiguous states. Recruitment and retention remains a top concern of every volunteer fire department, but easing training and education requirements for firefighter’s flies in the face of Everyone Goes Home® (http://www.everyonegoeshome.com/), the Life Safety Initiatives (http://www.lifesafetyinitiatives.com/), NFPA 1001, Dept. of Labor laws (OSHA), the ISO rating system and common sense. Nationally, we have seen yearly firefighter fatalities below 100 since 2009. I can think of two reasons as to why fatalities have dropped: (1) better training and education and (2) health and wellness initiatives.

State senator Hegar needs to understand that a volunteer firefighter is unlike any other volunteer in a community. Name me one other type of volunteer that takes a solemn oath to serve and to protect their community, knowing that they may risk their life in order to do so.

It is clear that Hegar wants volunteer firefighters treated differently than career firefighters, with regards to training, but Fire doesn’t know the difference! He may believe he has good intentions, but I see nothing but bad consequences.

When a citizen needs help, will they be satisfied with service from a department full of good intentions or will they want a department that is trained to mitigate their incident?

What State senator Glenn Hegar should be doing is finding ways to deliver more and better training to his volunteer firefighters and crafting laws through the Texas Commission on Fire Protection that will make training and education more accessible. , Then, you wouldn’t be worrying about the negative financial impact of your bill. Instead; the certification and re-certification fees would dramatically increase. Perhaps then, you could even offer the training free of charge.

TCSS.

The opinions and views expressed are those of the article’s author, Art Goodrich, who also writes as ChiefReason. They do not reflect the opinions and views of www.fireengineering.com, Fire Engineering Magazine, PennWell Corporation or his dog, Chopper. All articles by the author are protected under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella and cannot be reproduced in any form without expressed permission.

Who Fits the Profile?

Are you at your strongest when others may be at their weakest?

Do you study your enemy to find its weaknesses?

Do you practice your fighting skills until you can’t get them wrong?

Do you come from generations of warriors or is it simply in your blood?

Have you taken the sacred oath that will place you among the elite?

Are you willing to risk your life for what you believe?

Do you fit the profile?

If you do, then you are a firefighter and more specific to this article; a volunteer firefighter.

I was preparing to write a blog on the continuing events in Boston, but that was interrupted so the Chief and I could finish a close-out report for a grant.

While we were at the fire station working on the report, we had the TV on to Fox News. The coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing was interrupted by reports that there had been a massive explosion  at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas (population 2800) near Waco, Texas. More bad news on top of what’s already a very bad week for our country.

Upon hearing some of the demographic information, it had me thinking that many rural, volunteer fire departments would fit that description. This is taken from the city of West, TX website:
“The West Volunteer Fire Department was established in 1894 as the West Hose Company #1. The first equipment for West Hose Co. #1 was a Hose Reel drawn by a rope tied to a volunteer’s saddle horn. In the late 1890s the equipment was upgraded to a fire wagon drawn by a black stallion. By the turn of the century a two horse “Modern Seagraves” Fire Carriage was purchased.  In 1915 the first motorized apparatus was purchased – a Cadillac Hose Truck with a 40 gallon chemical tank. The first “pumper” for the Fire Dept was a 1925 Reo with a 500 gpm (gallons per minute) pump. In 1929 a Ford Model A was added to the Fire Dept. fleet.

The fire department was originally stationed in the historic city hall, then the city garages, and  finally was moved to its current location in 2003. The current firehouse was paid for by the work of the all volunteer fire department through fundraisers such as the Annual West Fire Dept. BBQ Cook-off held in March. The volunteers raised half of the funds  to build the fire house and the other half was paid for by the City of West.

The fire department currently relies on pagers for its 33 firemen, but also still depends on the loud sirens throughout the City.  City of West is rated at a Class 5 through ISO.

Fire Alarm Warnings
1 blow	Small Fire (Out of town)
2 blows	Fire Drill or meeting
3 blows	Major Structure Fire
4 blows	Use of JAWS
9 blows	Sever Storm Warning (Tornado)”

I will not be commenting on the West, Texas incident. However; my thoughts and prayers go out to them.

The town where I grew up is a rural community of 2800. It has a farmers’ coop, ethanol plant and a couple of industrial plants. So, there is a lot of fertilizer and anhydrous there. It is a tight-knit community with mostly local people working in town. Their fire department is all-volunteer and they have fundraisers every year to raise money for equipment. Sound familiar?

As I said; the all-volunteer West Fire Department could be the face of many rural, volunteer fire departments throughout this country. And the volunteer firefighters who populate their fire departments might very well fit my profile.

Are you at your strongest when others may be at their weakest?

In other words: are we strong enough-both physically and mentally-to mitigate an incident that has caused someone else to feel weak and vulnerable?

We are called for help for any number of reasons; some of them are downright confounding. We don’t tell the caller (or Dispatch) to call someone else. We figure that there is SOMETHING that we can do. Squirrel in the chimney? We got it. Someone locked their keys in the car? Did you know that you can call this number and they can unlock it from there? Something is chirping and you can’t find it? Your smoke alarm needs new batteries. And every now and then, there will be a fire. We have to be ready-physically and mentally. We cannot grow lazy and complacent just because we don’t have a high volume of calls.

Do you study your enemy to find its weaknesses?

Fire is the enemy, but that definition has been expanded to include a building that is under fireload (Brannigan). To know about fire progression, you have to know about building construction, building materials, reading smoke, wind velocity, doing a full 360 upon arrival and watching for changes in conditions are just a few of the considerations. To get to know the enemy better; it is here that you train like you fight and then fight like you train. Burn buildings/containers are a good starting point, but acquired structures for live-fire training is where you will get real world, hands-on experience. If you are not having a half-dozen structural fire calls a day, then you need live training to learn and to improve. There is valuable experience to be gained.

Do you practice your fighting skills until you can’t get them wrong?

This is critical, because the only thing that can take the place of low call volume is more training. I know that it gets tedious to keep donning and doffing the SCBA, but how else are you going to cut down the clock? Seconds count when you get to the scene, you have fire showing and a frantic parent telling you that her kids are still inside. Keep in mind “kids” might also mean “pets”.

So; you have to learn the skills until you can do them blind-folded, in your sleep and with your gloves on. And after you learn how to do that, then you are going to learn to throw a 24-footer by yourself. No; you’re not a truckie yet.

Do you come from generations of warriors or is it simply in your blood?

We know that the fire service has a long history of tradition. In many families, firefighters in those families can be traced back several generations. Some might even try to tell you that, when the caveman invented Fire, his Cro-Magnon grandpa was there to put it out! Regardless; everyone has their reasons for joining a volunteer fire department. It’s true that in the early days, it was more of a social organization in many communities, but because of liabilities and just the sheer nastiness of some of the hazards associated with fire suppression, it has become necessary to learn skills at a professional level.

Have you taken the sacred oath that will place you among the elite?

No; this isn’t where Gomer and Otis are deputized by Sheriff Andy. This is where you honest-to-God raise your right hand and state that you will serve and protect the life and property in your community to the best of your ability and knowing that you risk your life to do so. Remember that firefighting is not a hobby, a boy’s night out or “fun”. It is serious, dangerous and there are no do-overs. You will want to know BEFORE the Moment of Truth whether or not you have the heart for it.

Are you willing to risk your life for what you believe?

This isn’t a hypothetical or theoretical question. We have seen the many ways that firefighters can die. “Willing to risk your life” doesn’t mean that you are “willing to die”. Know the difference, but also know that it can happen on the way to training, at training or after training. It can happen enroot to the scene, at the scene or after the scene. Firefighters have been taken from us while they slept. We have seen catastrophic failures of equipment. We have seen sudden changes in conditions that have resulted in multiple firefighter deaths. Everyone has to give the Grim Reaper its proper respect by training and responding at the highest level of professionalism.

Our time on this Earth is short. Spending time to help others in their time of need is of the highest calling. We should want to train to provide the best care that we can, instead of re-hashing arguments over YouTube videos.

Respect the fallen by saving the questions and by extending your thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by the loss. Reports will come and we will honor the fallen by learning from them.

In doing so, we remember them by never forgetting their sacrifice.

TCSS.

The opinions and views expressed are those of the article’s author, Art Goodrich, who also writes as ChiefReason. They do not reflect the opinions and views of www.fireengineering.com, Fire Engineering Magazine, PennWell Corporation or his dog, Chopper. All articles by the author are protected under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella and cannot be reproduced in any form without expressed permission.

What Are Your Plans For 2012?

2012 is just around the corner.

If you haven't already made plans for the new year, then you'd better start now.

I am speaking to volunteer fire departments.

Have you made plans to recruit, then retain new members?

There are people in your communities who are sitting on the fence. They want to get involved in their community in some way. Do you know who they are and have you reached out to them?

The days of having potential members walk through the door to proclaim that they want to join appear to be over. What is your plan to go out into your community and actively recruit new members?

What is your plan to keep the older members interested and active?

If you have a department where the older guys step back and watch, then you are a department that is operating no where near full strength. Remember that "complacency kills".

Are you sure that you are an organization that others WANT to join?

Do you have leaders that command and control and follow chain of command? If so, is it so transparent as to be non-existent? An absence of leadership is not transparency of leadership.

Does your community know what you do? If they don't, then how do you expect to fund your fire department?

Do you contact the local press when you have scheduled events, such as training, fundraisers or open houses? A picture accompanied by a thousand words is priceless.

Do you take advantage of nearby training facilities? Are your training officers meeting/exceeding expectations or are they just repeating last year's training schedule?

The majority of communities in this nation rely on volunteers to deliver their fire protection. It is more important than ever to know the buildings in your community and to have pre-plans. If you don't know; small departments do not get a "pass" if they are engaged in tasks that are covered under the national standards.

If you have SOGs, then it is time to review and to update them. If you don't have SOGs, then you need to start writing them. If you ever get questioned on your response protocols, such as in a court of law; your answer had better not be "we don't have SOGs".

Is your equipment up to date? Do you have the equipment for the services that you provide? If not, then why not?

There are no excuses if you haven't been reviewing your tax base or applying for grants. You have to remember that NFPA standards, NIOSH and OSHA  standards will be cited in the aforementioned court of law. And if your equipment is not up to standards, then money that you would use to purchase or upgrade will instead go towards paying a hefty fine!

Career departments are being decimated by budget cuts. Lack of manpower is reaching the "danger zone". Volunteer departments may have to constrict as well, if the taxpayers believe that they are already paying enough.

And when I say “constrict”, I mean partnering with a nearby department and eliminating redundancy of services. For instance; if your department doesn’t have a full complement of trench rescue tools, then consider establishing an area-wide rescue team. Pool your tools and stow them in a trailer at the department that is central to your response area. At the very least, know who has what and call for their assistance when need be. Know your strengths as well as your limitations.

Communities will not be inclined to increase funding, if you do nothing more than to show up and keep exposures wet while the structure on fire collapses into the basement. Fire investigators get very testy when you leave them with nothing to investigate.

That takes me right back to having SOGs that includes automatic mutual aid. You might have to give up your "fiefdom" and get a department nearest to the call rolling first. You have to remember that lives and property are at stake. Don't jeopardize either simply because it is in your fire district and it's "your" call.

If you are already a good department, then plan to get better.

From there you can achieve excellence and THAT will draw new members and it will remind the older guys of the reason that they joined in the first place.

Plan to break out in 2012.

The opinions and views expressed are those of the article’s author, Art Goodrich, who also writes as ChiefReason. They do not reflect the opinions and views of www.fireengineering.com, Fire Engineering Magazine, PennWell Corporation or his dog, Chopper. All articles by the author are protected by federal copyright and cannot be reproduced in any form without expressed permission.

If We Can Find bin Laden, Then Why Can’t We…

Like most other red, white and blue-blooded Americans, I savored the news that Osama bin Laden had been found and shot dead by a U.S. SEALs Team.

Blogger Sidebar: Has anyone else noticed that the mainstream media has been spelling “Osama” with a “U” instead of an “O”? I think you know why.

I have no doubt that bin Laden is dead. I have no reason to question the validity of our President’s claim. Therefore; I need no other “verification”, but I would view the “official” photos of a dead bin Laden, if given the opportunity.

Let Cindy Sheehan and the other nut jobs perpetuate the conspiracy theories. The rest of us should briefly rejoice and then get back to keeping our guard up and supporting our government and our troops, as we continue our war on terrorism.

But, I have to wonder; if we can find bin Laden, then why can’t we find common ground at the center of a myriad of issues?

When you think of all of the information that was processed; all of the planning required and all of the practice needed to drop our men on the “head of a pin” at precisely the right moment, in order to confront and kill bin Laden, then fixing our federal government doesn’t seem like such an arduous task.

I am sure that the members of our SEALs Team came from different social, ethnic, religious or even political backgrounds, but all of that was compartmentalized, so that they could focus on the plan/the mission.

Imagine what would happen if our military-though, at the mercy of bureaucrats for funding-behaved like our federal government behaves: nothing would get done, each would be blaming the other and we would be the laughingstock to the rest of the world.

But, fear not; our nation’s fire service isn’t far behind with their inability to find common ground on important issues as well.

We can find bin Laden, but our fire service can’t find agreement on what the top issues are.

First and foremost; I believe some of the separation is due in part to the number of trade magazines, editors, writers, bloggers and the many different agendas that are being saturated by very personal opinions.

Yes; that includes me. I don’t pretend to be an Everyman. My opinions are mine and I don’t necessarily look for agreement; I look for “diversity in opinion”.

The trades and their websites all run the same top stories (competition is brutal for who gets the story up FIRST), videos and pictures, but the similarities stop there. From website layout to cash layout; they become very different, in terms of content.

I believe that the nation’s fire service organizations are driven by the opinions of the people who populate the various committees, in much the same way that Congress operates.

In other words; our special interests group (national fire service) is being influenced by special interests groups that drive us further away from common ground and a general consensus.

The priorities identified at the national level often miss the smaller targets of local fire departments. I will use residential sprinklers as an example.

I think that it’s a great idea and a worthy project to push for a nation-wide initiative, but why would a small department struggling to keep fuel in their 30 year-old fire engine that is housed in their dilapidated, mold-infested, asbestos-lined fire station even SEE sprinklers as a blip on their radar screens?

Everyone Goes Home®?

Well, some in the fire service believes that some won’t. Some believe that firefighting, by its very nature, requires us to accept that firefighters will die in the performance of the job, so the program is a lie and a failure. I don’t believe that, but unfortunately others do. They embrace the notion that there is acceptable risk and acceptable deaths, because “that is what we do”.

We can find bin Laden, but we can’t find agreement on when to do a primary search and when it is too dangerous to do so. We can’t agree on what abandoned/vacant, tenable/untenable or even what “risk a lot to save a lot; risk little to save little” means anymore. The measure of success or failure is not that someone has been seriously injured or killed, but rather, how much risk was your department willing to take; regardless of outcome? And anything less is considered an exercise in “yard breathing”. The problem as I see it is that many of us who have worked some tough scenes won’t accept or understand someone else reacting differently to a similar set of circumstances. We are expecting the new breed to be JUST LIKE US and we are disappointed when they aren’t. They don’t have the heart or at least the same heart as we do. We want THEM to look in the mirror and see US.

We can find bin Laden, but some firefighters can’t find enough common sense to drive to an incident scene in a careful, safe manner. Whether it’s in a personal vehicle (POV) or apparatus, we still have some who believe that getting there as fast as they can without due regard is acceptable. And we can’t agree on the “honors” paid to that firefighter, who dies while recklessly putting the public at risk, because there is this twisted notion that the driving public should ALWAYS yield to the big, red fire truck! Remember that last year, a firefighter returning from a fire school was drag racing with another car and caused a wreck in which an innocent motorist and the driver that was drag racing were killed. The firefighter was given LODD status. Shameful. Yeah; some of us don’t agree on that either.

We can find bin Laden, but we can’t find agreement on reducing LODDs and especially deaths from heart attacks. We want to believe that they are caused from the thermal pounding that we take at a fire.

Yes; that would account for maybe 2% of the LODD heart attacks, but that doesn’t explain the other 98% that have an undetected, congenital heart problem, because we can’t agree that pre-employment or yearly physicals thereafter should be required (again; see “fueling 30 year-old fire engine); or high blood pressure that goes untreated; or obesity to borderline morbid to morbid obesity, because of poor diet choices and eating habits, coupled with a sedentary life-style. We can’t agree on healthy diets, because of the many different diet plans that are pushed by big, corporate money.

We can find bin Laden, but we can’t find unity of career and volunteer.

That leads to disagreements on what constitutes professionalism and builds, then nurtures, mutual respect. We argue about “purity of heart” and other “why we do what we do” issues. We can’t even find common ground on common issues, such as 360 size up or ventilation or nozzle types.

We can find bin Laden, but we can’t find objective and open-minded thought on the state of our local economies and our pension systems. In the minds of the public sector employees, their wage and benefits package has been a matter of public record, but in the minds of their taxpayers, the details have been buried in the language of their union contract and out of the public eye.

It’s one thing to read that a city employee will make a salary of X and the rest of the employee benefits package, including pension, is described in ambiguous terms. Employee will receive medical, dental and vision coverage and city will contribute to employee pension does not tell you what that costs.

So; we can find bin Laden, but we can’t find two people who agree on what is fair for public employees during an economic downturn or local fiscal crisis. The divide between career and volunteer firefighters gets wider, because cities start talking about replacing career with volunteer or paid on call personnel. In cities with career departments, the unions representing the career firefighters will unleash a torrent of public relations tools to bolster the needs for a career department.

Ironically, there is no talk of replacing street and sanitation workers or police with volunteers; only the fire department. Appeals from the career guys will go out to their volunteer “brothers”, who were, moments earlier, “scabs” to resist being used in this manner-a scare tactic pitting “brother against brother”.

Yep; we can find bin Laden, but finding unity among the factions in our fire service will remain elusive for now.

But, if we want to continue to draw comparisons between the military and the fire service, then we need to adopt philosophy, in addition to the strengthening programs.

That way; firefighters with very diverse backgrounds will come together and work with the same plans to accomplish each mission.

That’s how I see it, anyway.

TCSS.

The opinions and views expressed are those of the article’s author, Art Goodrich, who also writes as ChiefReason. They do not reflect the opinions and views of www.fireengineering.com, Fire Engineering Magazine, PennWell Corporation or my dog, Chopper. This article is protected by federal copyright laws and cannot be re-produced in any form.