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The Fire Department Today ( IMHO)
(Authors Note: All information is taken from FireRescue magazine, Firehouse magazine, or departmental web pages. Will try to give credit where due, but apologize if I miss one.)
Okay folks, get comfortable, because this is going to be a long post.
First of all, let me tell you where I am coming from. I am a first generation fire buff, and more than that, a firehouse regular. I am a student at University of New Haven, in West Haven, CT. Studying towards a double fire major, arson investigation and fire admin. I have not had the pleasure of volunteering, though hopefully this summer I will fulfill that dream. So I am writing this from basically a third party perspective. Just so you get idea of where I am coming from...
Okay, so here we go. The first item on my list is this; just recently, in FireRescue magazine I believe, I read that departments nationwide are still having trouble with hoses fitting hydrants during mutual aid runs.
Now, what is the problem here? Well, for a long time, each individual town used it's own individual thread sizes on hydrants and corresponding hoses and connectors. This usual meant that companies from outside the city line would not be able to connect to the hydrants, and would therefore be stuck just watching the fire as opposed to helping to put it out.
As you can imagine, this poses quite a problem. Or does it? For in fact, there is a simple, available solution. It is called the National Hose Connection Thread Standards. Basically these were drawn up more than a hundred years ago. Yet we still face the "no connect" problem. Why? Well, as usual in the fire service, change is a hard concept to grasp in the service. Not that I am knocking it, understand, more I am simply trying to understand why, when we have a fix to an obviously annoying problem, we don' implement. Please note especially in the name the part that says "National..Standards." {And as I hit the post button, my e-mail becomes a river of flame.) (Thanks FireRescue, especially Nozzlehead.)
Okay, on to the next gripe.
Let me ask you a question: What would it look like if we continually read stories about hospitals and hospital staff turning out to be murderers? Or security guards always being the ones who are doing the stealing? Or if the military community, whom is charged to protect the people, instead turned on them? We would think that this world was pretty well screwed up, wouldn't we? So let me ask you another question: I wonder what it looks like to the average citizen when they read stories, almost bi-monthly, of fire fighters who are charged with arson. What the heck is going on here folks? We are the ones who swore to protect, to the point of paying the price with our lives, of protecting people from the fiery Animal, and we are the very ones lighting these suckers. Now ,I know that I am probably being extremely dramatic, and accusing a vast majority for the crimes of a few, but I believe my point is valid. I mean, granted, fire fighters know the Beast better than most anyone else, and yes, I will admit to being the type of person that if I don't get to see a good fire every once in a while, I kind of get... annoyed, maybe is the right term? But I would not feel the need to light stuff on fire simply to see the big red go fast in action. I can wait for the next lighting strike, electrical fault, etc.
One must look, then, at what causes these people to be the way they are. One may be that when one joins the fire service, whether they admit it or not, they kind of expect to get to throw water on flames occasionally. Now, if you are in one of those communities that are belatedly fire safe, and don't get to see a lot of workers, I can kind of understand where boredom with medicals may factor in, though again not to the levels that these people are.
Now, another reason that these people may be doing what they are doing is for purely mental or psychological reasons. Some of these people may just have a... thing for fire. Again, this does not excuse them, but at least we know the feeling, right? Any true firefighter, paid or volley, active or retired, who says that they couldn't just watch a campfire for hours is a lyin' POS. (s'cuse the firehouse talk.)
So what are the remedies? Well, to be honest, I'm dry on ideas. I would love to hear what you think. Maybe the answer is to have more live-fire drills. Maybe it is to have a counselor every four-six months come in and review the 'fighters, try to discover if there butter slipped off the toast yet or not. Again, I don't claim to have the answers on that one, but then again, I don’t think that there are any easy answers.
Thirdly; this is going to sound like me simply a petty thing, and it probably is, but how about we get with it as far as colors and signals go? First, colors: Why is it that some departments feel the need to paint their equipment white, others black, puke green, and a variety of other colors? What ever happened to good ol fashioned red? Fire Engine Red. Heck, it's in the name "big RED go fast". Oh well.
More importantly, it is my belief that fire departments should, universally, use the same color of lights on the trucks, meaning that we here in Ma use red, I believe, and in CT, I think they are a blue state. Now, I ask you, does it make sense to you, cause it sure doesn't to me. But then again, I could just be missing something. Always a possibility.
Ok, now here is the core of this particular rant. What is up with departments using different bail out and all clear signs? And also, what about accountability systems? I know that each department has what works for them, and that's cool, but for heavens sakes people, lets at least try to keep it general. Again, this may seem to be a phantom problem, but I would be remiss if I didn't say anything.
Well, that's all I can think of right at the moment, but check back again soon, because I'm sure I'll see something else that will set me off, and be assured, I will bring it up with you good folk here. Keep it safe folks.
- Marc
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Okay folks, get comfortable, because this is going to be a long post.
First of all, let me tell you where I am coming from. I am a first generation fire buff, and more than that, a firehouse regular. I am a student at University of New Haven, in West Haven, CT. Studying towards a double fire major, arson investigation and fire admin. I have not had the pleasure of volunteering, though hopefully this summer I will fulfill that dream. So I am writing this from basically a third party perspective. Just so you get idea of where I am coming from...
Okay, so here we go. The first item on my list is this; just recently, in FireRescue magazine I believe, I read that departments nationwide are still having trouble with hoses fitting hydrants during mutual aid runs.
Now, what is the problem here? Well, for a long time, each individual town used it's own individual thread sizes on hydrants and corresponding hoses and connectors. This usual meant that companies from outside the city line would not be able to connect to the hydrants, and would therefore be stuck just watching the fire as opposed to helping to put it out.
As you can imagine, this poses quite a problem. Or does it? For in fact, there is a simple, available solution. It is called the National Hose Connection Thread Standards. Basically these were drawn up more than a hundred years ago. Yet we still face the "no connect" problem. Why? Well, as usual in the fire service, change is a hard concept to grasp in the service. Not that I am knocking it, understand, more I am simply trying to understand why, when we have a fix to an obviously annoying problem, we don' implement. Please note especially in the name the part that says "National..Standards." {And as I hit the post button, my e-mail becomes a river of flame.) (Thanks FireRescue, especially Nozzlehead.)
Okay, on to the next gripe.
Let me ask you a question: What would it look like if we continually read stories about hospitals and hospital staff turning out to be murderers? Or security guards always being the ones who are doing the stealing? Or if the military community, whom is charged to protect the people, instead turned on them? We would think that this world was pretty well screwed up, wouldn't we? So let me ask you another question: I wonder what it looks like to the average citizen when they read stories, almost bi-monthly, of fire fighters who are charged with arson. What the heck is going on here folks? We are the ones who swore to protect, to the point of paying the price with our lives, of protecting people from the fiery Animal, and we are the very ones lighting these suckers. Now ,I know that I am probably being extremely dramatic, and accusing a vast majority for the crimes of a few, but I believe my point is valid. I mean, granted, fire fighters know the Beast better than most anyone else, and yes, I will admit to being the type of person that if I don't get to see a good fire every once in a while, I kind of get... annoyed, maybe is the right term? But I would not feel the need to light stuff on fire simply to see the big red go fast in action. I can wait for the next lighting strike, electrical fault, etc.
One must look, then, at what causes these people to be the way they are. One may be that when one joins the fire service, whether they admit it or not, they kind of expect to get to throw water on flames occasionally. Now, if you are in one of those communities that are belatedly fire safe, and don't get to see a lot of workers, I can kind of understand where boredom with medicals may factor in, though again not to the levels that these people are.
Now, another reason that these people may be doing what they are doing is for purely mental or psychological reasons. Some of these people may just have a... thing for fire. Again, this does not excuse them, but at least we know the feeling, right? Any true firefighter, paid or volley, active or retired, who says that they couldn't just watch a campfire for hours is a lyin' POS. (s'cuse the firehouse talk.)
So what are the remedies? Well, to be honest, I'm dry on ideas. I would love to hear what you think. Maybe the answer is to have more live-fire drills. Maybe it is to have a counselor every four-six months come in and review the 'fighters, try to discover if there butter slipped off the toast yet or not. Again, I don't claim to have the answers on that one, but then again, I don’t think that there are any easy answers.
Thirdly; this is going to sound like me simply a petty thing, and it probably is, but how about we get with it as far as colors and signals go? First, colors: Why is it that some departments feel the need to paint their equipment white, others black, puke green, and a variety of other colors? What ever happened to good ol fashioned red? Fire Engine Red. Heck, it's in the name "big RED go fast". Oh well.
More importantly, it is my belief that fire departments should, universally, use the same color of lights on the trucks, meaning that we here in Ma use red, I believe, and in CT, I think they are a blue state. Now, I ask you, does it make sense to you, cause it sure doesn't to me. But then again, I could just be missing something. Always a possibility.
Ok, now here is the core of this particular rant. What is up with departments using different bail out and all clear signs? And also, what about accountability systems? I know that each department has what works for them, and that's cool, but for heavens sakes people, lets at least try to keep it general. Again, this may seem to be a phantom problem, but I would be remiss if I didn't say anything.
Well, that's all I can think of right at the moment, but check back again soon, because I'm sure I'll see something else that will set me off, and be assured, I will bring it up with you good folk here. Keep it safe folks.
- Marc
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