Is this a stupid thing to be nervous about?

[zachis4wheeling]

I have not gotten a fulltime fire job.....yet....

And I am not gonna give up until I do....But I am kind of concerned about something a couple of my buddies and I have been thinking about. Is it stupid of me to worry about this? Since there are a lot of older guys retiring now.....guys who got into firefighting back in the 70s, when a lot more structure fires occured is it stupid of me to be worried that my LT.s, Capt.s, and Asst. Chiefs may not have a whole lot of experience simply due to lack of fires in their career?

[BFDNJFF]

:rolleyes: HUH This one is going to be funny......................... ..

[CaptainGonzo]

In a word ...yes, you're being stupid.

[quint1officer]

So you're not even on the job and you're worrying about that? Yes, thats stupid. Worry about interviewing well, after you test well.

[Higby916]

Yes, that is a stupid thing to worry about. Worry about getting on the job.

[RyanEMVFD]

I'd worry about little green men and the world coming to an end first before worrying about my captain or LT.

Get the job, spend a year listening and then worry.

[231Engine]

No man, that's not stupid. I would air my concerns in the interview process and tell them flat out that they do not have enough experience to lead you. :rolleyes:

[FlyingKiwi]

And remember to ask the interviewing board for their resumes prior to you entering the interview as well.

[zachis4wheeling]

thanks guys.....lol.....kinda figured I'd get a response like that.

The thing that made me think about this was something that happened recently on the volly dept. I am on. We recently had one of our officers resign from the dept. and he wrote a letter of resignation and his reason for resigning was among other things; his lack of experience as a firefighter making him nervous about his ability to do his job.

Its not a big thing that's been bugging me, just something thats been goin through my head that last couple days and I wanted to see if you guys could relate to.

[rjtoc2]

Alot of the good fire officers I have worked under got alot of their experience in the "burn, baby, burn" era that you talked about. Experience is a great teacher but it is not the only teacher. Many caveats exist in your assumption... one big one is too ASSUME that these old officers were good firefighters and took the job seriously and learned everything they could during the active parts of their early careers. One can have 30 years of experience OR one (1) year of experience 30 times.

[FlyingKiwi]

his lack of experience as a firefighter making him nervous about his ability to do his job

How the feck did he get to be an Officer then.

Do you guys promote them on how nice, warm and fuzzy they make you feel as a human?

If so, you are in a world of hurt.

[zachis4wheeling]

How the feck did he get to be an Officer then.

Do you guys promote them on how nice, warm and fuzzy they make you feel as a human?

If so, you are in a world of hurt.

Well he was promoted before I was there, but in a nutshell, the department I am on is......to say the least.......old school volunteer. I mean, hell, until about 2 months ago, our Chief among other members smoked during the meetings. About 10-15 years ago, they still kept beer in the hall for the guys. Like I said, old school country boy fighting a fire witha pitchfork type dept. There is ABSOLUTLEY no discipline in our department to speak of. The hall and bay is disgusting. I have pulled everything out before and scrubbed the floor, washed the trucks, took all day, and the guys just let it go right back to the way it was. Its pathetic to call these guys firefighters. We routinely have guys make a call, then don't see them for a month, then they'll pop up at a training or meeting, then they go on vacation for like a month again. I've been on for about 2 years but am still considered a newer guy. They look down on me because I have a lot of schooling done. The reason they dont kick anyone off is because the dept. is so short of guys so Chief won't kick anyone off. I could go on but it's getting late and I gotta go to bed.

[Dickey]

Run.

Run fast.

Don't look back.

Oh, almost forgot. Make sure you get their resumes in hand before you allow them to interview you. They are there for you and only you and you are taking time out of your day to be with them.

C'mon man! Get hired first before you even think of something like this.

[FlyingKiwi]

I could go on but it's getting late and I gotta go to bed.

Ah well, ya just can't beat those 1930 curfews Mama sets.

[zachis4wheeling]

Ah well, ya just can't beat those 1930 curfews Mama sets.

yur telling me....

only thing is, it's 1900 actually right now......she might bump it back up to 1930 if i start makin my bed more and putting my clothes back in my closet.......but I keep forgetting! Silly me.....