I'm a gung ho rookie who is taking all the classes that I can, senior member and officers alike have brought it to my attention that education is good but in no way supplants "real world experience".
So with this in mind myself and other rookies have made it a point to move into homes very close to our stations to be able to be first due on all calls, (major and minor). We are averaging about a seventy to eighty percent response rate for the last two years and basically bumping all the senior ff's and officers off with the exception of a couple of close apparatus operators. They are sitting while we go to fires, medicals, and rescues. Our response matrix is first come, first due! It gets messy sometimes, very competitive!
On the rare occasion that they get to go on a call, they seem very apprehensive about doing things, seems as if their "real world skills" are rusty. And no it is not them being more cautioned, sometimes they have a hard time remembering operational guidelines and where certain appliances and tools are on the apparatus.
I guess I would be more apt to share the apparatus with others but if they are going to preach to me that the only way you become a good firefighter is through "real world experience" and the time and money I spend on my fire science degree does not mean much.
Well then, guess who is going to make sure that they are on the truck every call to get that "real world knowledge", even if it means waiting at the station for a call.
Does anyone else treat education like this at their department?
Does anyone else put the rookies and probies in their place, when that rookie or probie gets an associates degree in fire science, by letting them know that; "The degree is good, but it pales in comparison to real world experience."
I think it's sad that we downgrade education so much in the fire service.
So with this in mind myself and other rookies have made it a point to move into homes very close to our stations to be able to be first due on all calls, (major and minor). We are averaging about a seventy to eighty percent response rate for the last two years and basically bumping all the senior ff's and officers off with the exception of a couple of close apparatus operators. They are sitting while we go to fires, medicals, and rescues. Our response matrix is first come, first due! It gets messy sometimes, very competitive!
On the rare occasion that they get to go on a call, they seem very apprehensive about doing things, seems as if their "real world skills" are rusty. And no it is not them being more cautioned, sometimes they have a hard time remembering operational guidelines and where certain appliances and tools are on the apparatus.
I guess I would be more apt to share the apparatus with others but if they are going to preach to me that the only way you become a good firefighter is through "real world experience" and the time and money I spend on my fire science degree does not mean much.
Well then, guess who is going to make sure that they are on the truck every call to get that "real world knowledge", even if it means waiting at the station for a call.
Does anyone else treat education like this at their department?
Does anyone else put the rookies and probies in their place, when that rookie or probie gets an associates degree in fire science, by letting them know that; "The degree is good, but it pales in comparison to real world experience."
I think it's sad that we downgrade education so much in the fire service.
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