Top Dog is a Low Life

[elishua]

Anybody else out there have problems with their officers? I swear my captain has it in for me. I'd love to tell him where to do go but I think I'd be the one to take the trip. Can anyone tell me how to make it through the next month? If I don't get hired by then I'm requesting a shift change.:( :confused: :D

[NJFFSA16]

Originally posted by elishua
Can anyone tell me how to make it through the next month?

That's a tall order, based on what little information you have provided. How about some details of the problem?

[CaptainGonzo]

Take a good hard look at yourself.

Are you a whiny crybaby who questions everything?

Do you manage to "skate out" when there's work to be done?

Are your brother and sister firefighters "carrying" you? If not, you are not doing your fair share of the work.

The job of a fire officer isn't to make sure everyone is "happy".. it's to make sure the job gets done.

Your company officers can't please everybody. That's a fact. Get over it.

The only people that a fire officer has to please are those in
the ranks above.

The "firehouse buck of responsibility" gets passed upwards through the chain of command, hit's the Chief's office and then turns to crap. Crap flows downhill until it hits it's lowest level. If that's you, consider it the fertilizer of a great learning experience. It's a fact of life...get over it.

The most important thing that an officer has to do is make sure he /she ends the duty tour with the same number of firefighters as he/she started with.

You may choose not have a personal relatonships with your brother and sister firefighters, but you are expected to maintain a professional one.

Okay: rant mode off now!

[pete892]

Gonzo said it all.

Stay safe,

Pete

[sassy1]

To everyone who wonders what just got said--let me provide a little info and personal thought for the day....
FIRST: I know both the complaintant and the officer complained about, so to be fair I will be honest(and Elishua you know how I feel anyway).
The person making the post DOES in fact work very hard. She runs circles around most of the members of her shift--who I have watched suddenly make an excuse of a "report" that needs to be written when it's time to do the work. Oddly enough I noticed those mysterious reports never get written anyway. I have also watched time and again the person posting bite her tongue in an effort to maintain the order and professional atmosphere that should be prevelant in the department at ALL times( she is NOT a whiner). However, I have seen her co-workers constantly over look her and work around her as if she does not exist until it is convenient to them( i.e. when they want some one to do the "crap" jobs).
Now on the flip side of the coin, I will point out that the "family atmosphere that is in the fire service, is just that-with all it's unique and diverse personalities. Sometimes it is hard to find the way they all can fit together under one roof. Elishua-Your captain does have a personality conflict with you--but for reasons I feel you will not understand, because you have been so hurt that you have hardened yourself to hearing an alternate idea. I truly believe that there is some predjudice, but not as much as you feel, and that he takes his responsibility of you like a father does of his daughter. You two are so much alike ( YES, YOU ARE!!) that you clash.
Finally I want you to know Elishua, that I don't fit here any more than the next person, but I make this fit me. I am myself, I do not try to mask my feelings, I do not try to be "one of the guys", I'm not. I'm a lady,and I make them treat me as such and at the same time I work just as hard they do, or you. My shift is different from yours, much the same as one family is to the next. In the end however, it is a matter of self-evaluation. We all must look at ourselves and look out for each other. We must treat each other with respect and dignity. To do so to those whom you feel may not be deserving of it is the true test of our humanity--do we rise above self rightiousness, no matter how slight it may be?!
;) Remember--you don't have to like the people you work with, when you go home at the end of the day, you go alone.:)

[FlyingKiwi]

Sassy.

THAT is one of the best pieces I have read in a while.

Elishua.

READ it nine or ten times, then read it again, especially the last 2 lines.

[sassy1]

:) Thankyou- but remember to be meciful to Elishua, she's like a little sister to me and she truly does try her hardest. I just believe we can all change our views-just turn side ways! ;)

[ChiefReason]

Those new firefighters who believe that they only have to prove themselves in order to be treated like the others is in for a very rude awakening.
You ARE going to be treated differently. And as long as you resist the idea, you will always feel that the older ones have got it in for you.
If you do what you are told, learn what you are taught, keep your mouth shut when not asking questions and give those with more time on the job a measure of respect, then one day and without ceremony, you will be treated like the others.
It will be so seamless, that it may even go unnoticed.
CR

[MIKEYLIKESIT]

I dont know what this kids problem is and I really dont care, but a bugle or two or even five does not automatically mean that an officer "walks on water". I have seen my fair share of "white shirts" who liked to think they were just a little bit better then they really are/were. I have seen gross cases of misconduct that have gotten them fired.(or should have been or even worse) I have seen them duck out at fires. I have seen the personality changes. I have seen the egos. I am hoping to be promoted in the next few years and I know what kind of officer I DONT want to be. It's a mighty big responsibility to be a leader. That is not to say I dont admire and respect most officers. I have been with my Lieutenant for 13 years. I wouldnt want to work with anyone else while I am at my present rank. I am fortunate to "act up" quite a bit (that extra 24 bucks is the REAL reason I love it :rolleyes: )and I know first hand how difficult it can be. It's vitally important that an officer be obeyed, Especially on am emergency scene. It is also vitally imporatant for an officer to to do their job the right way both in the firehouse and on the street.

[CaptainGonzo]

Mikey... another point...

A fire officers job is not to stroke the individual egos of the members of his crew... it's to build a cohesive unit and get the job done. Some egos will be bruised (including the company officer's), but the bruises heal in time.

A good fire officer do everything he/she can to keep his/her personnel safe, will give his personnel the credit when things go well (they make the officer look good), and be prepared to accept the responsibility when they dont.

A firefighters responsibility is to work as part of a cohesive unit to get the job done.

A good firefighter will do everything to keep his/her brothers and sisters safe, accept credit graciously as part of the crew (not suffer fromn the "i" syndrome) and use the experience of when things go wrong as a learning tool.

[MIKEYLIKESIT]

I agree that an officer shouldn't be stroking egos. My reference is to those officers whos egos inflate with each step up the ladder. I have been around long enough to see it. I am also a certfied Fire Officer, soon to be an Officer II. In Illinois thats over 400 hours of school just for the officer courses. I am not attacking officers. I am saying that there ARE times what an officer does and what he SHOULD be doing are not in synch. So to automatically assume the firefighter is always at fault is just not right.

[CaptainGonzo]

Originally posted by MIKEYLIKESIT
I agree that an officer shouldn't be stroking egos. My reference is to those officers whos egos inflate with each step up the ladder. I have been around long enough to see it. I am also a certfied Fire Officer, soon to be an Officer II. In Illinois thats over 400 hours of school just for the officer courses. I am not attacking officers. I am saying that there ARE times what an officer does and what he SHOULD be doing are not in synch. So to automatically assume the firefighter is always at fault is just not right.

I agree 100%. On the other side of the coin, there are the firefighters whose egos are overly inflated by the number of years they have on the job and feel that doing their fair share is beneath them. There are firefighters who love the title of "acting LT" and get it by virtue of seniority, yet can't or won't accept the responsibility and call for another company officer to "come bail them out".

There are these types of firefighters and officers in every firehouse... Mikey, aren't you glad we aren't them? :D

[MIKEYLIKESIT]

You said it Brother.

[ROOKIELZ]

My 2 cents...

I too have had difficulties with my new chief. But I did some long hard thinking and figured I either had to put my love of firefighting first and suffer the Chief's ego,

OR


I could give up firefighting.

I'm still firefighting. I'm not going to let an ego drive me away. I'm tougher than that. Before anyone makes any pronouncements about my interpersonal abilities or skills let me say that this guy had an ego before his promotion. But now his ego is Chief rather than his skills. And that's the truly sad part because he is a great FF. He just can't lead worth P-diddley. Too bad for all of us...:(