95 Lives.....

[FFTrainer]

As the headline on the Firehouse Main Page states, 95 Firefighters lost their lives in 2000.

Do you think that maybe we can realize that preventing these LODD's should be a little more important to us than bickering amongst ourselves over Career vs. Volunteer, Yellow vs. Red Apparatus, Juniors Leaving school and so on....

For any of you who do juvenile fire prevention training or Drunk Driving mock accidents, etc for high school teens, take a minute to think about this one.

When the reporter comes to interview you about your program, how many of you say "If we only save one life, then we have made a difference for the positive!" Why is it that we can't seem to apply this to our own?? Wouldn't it be great if we prevented just one of those LODD's in `00 and one less family had to say goodbye to a husband, a son, a daughter, a wife.... I think you get my point!

It gets kind of scarey and frustrating visiting these forums sometimes when you can see post about jokes, etc go on and on with 20 or 30 replies, but you can go down to a forum like Safety and Survival and a topic can sit for days without ever being replied to. I realize there has to be a balance of humor and light stuff mixed in with the otherwise stressful job we do each shift, but that's exactly it -- a balance! Not to be harsh, but are the jokes really all that important to you when s##t goes bad in a working SFD and you have to bail?? Maybe it would have been a little more meaningful if you put some effort into absorbing some tactics from some fellow FF's in the firematic posts vs. the humorous, off-color stuff.

Just my two cents! I'm sure their will be oppositions and support, but then again that's the nature of these forums. Maybe it's a little late for New Year's Resolutions, but maybe we can rethink some of ours while it's still January and make saving each other a little higher priority in '01. I challenge each of you to step up and do your part. Maybe, just maybe, together we can reduce that number so that when January, 2002 rolls in, we can be proud to know that not only did we save civilian lives and property, but we saved ourselves.

Our profession is founded on working together. Let's work together on this one in 2001 and get that number down!!

Stay safe!

[Engine 101]

I must agree who cares if your firetruck is rdd yellow pink, As long as it gets you there, We forget about a bigger concern arguing over something so silly, We lost 95 family members this year, Way way way to many, So far in 01 we've had two those are the ones that we have heard of, We need to sit and look at ehat happend at each incident and see what we can learn from it so we can take steps towards preventing another such tragedy such as Worcester, We learn from our mistakes and failures, Look at your last fire look at what you could do better and see how you can improve upon that , I gurantee you a little improvement will help, Also what else is there that we can do to help prevent another tragic year like 2000?, Let's all put aside our diffirences and put our heads togther and see what we can do to make our job safer, For us and for those thinking of joining our family

Engine 101
AOL screen Name ra51

[ttjjss]

Well, heres some therory from me,
its called complacancy, just like we talk about the civilians saying, "it will never happen to me" we as firefighters, not just paid or vollies, but everyone, get to much tunnel vision, whether its resonding to a call or thinking about losing our lives, like the saying goes, "anyone whos sane and with any sense will be running out and away from the fire, while the firefighter, will run head on into the fire or situation with blinders on " call it bravery, insanity, stupidity or whatever, we are a breed apart when it comes to doing this. We all need to look at every call , no matter how critical or routine it may seem, as the call that could kill us, we all get the superman syndrome, the "it will never happen to me "
mindset, and it makes some of us pay for it every year, yes, some of the lodd are from accidents, and some are bound to happen every year, yes it is part of "the game" BUT
we need to all play the game better, the lodd rate for heart attacks is worrysome to me, especially the age of some of them, lots of us arent the muscled up he-man types, but we all need to stay in much better shape,
i do believe that the lack of true respect and fear of what we are doing ,leads to many lodd, (complacency) Along with everyone from the highest cheif to the newest rookie, getting the "it will never happen to me" syndrome, "it will never happen to my guys, on my watch". it can and will get us, and lots of the time it is our own fault,
" We have faced the enemy , and that enemy is ourselves !"
we all need to have not only the 95 that we lost last year, but every firefighter we have ever lost , on our minds , all the time, and say," yes, it could happen to me, but i am going to do everything in my power and then some, to see that it doesnt."
One life lost is too many.
Captain Tyler Sitzer
Weiner Vol. Fire & Rescue Dept.
Weiner, AR
Anywhere-Anytime !

[FireRebel]

Amen FFTrainer! I agree wholeheartedly with you, God Bless and everyone stay safe in the year '01......

[Firelover]

To tell you the truth, that's probably the best thing that has ever been posted here. I'm a 3 year vollie, and I have basically no idea what can be done to protect myself. Don't get me wrong, my department has offered a lot of fire supression, and all that other good stuff. Now I will be going to a training this weekend for personal safety. I can't wait. I think that you should start a topic on how to cover your *** and your partners as well.

Just my thoughts.


------------------
Joel

If you sent us to HELL, WE'D PUT IT OUT!!

[Engine 101]

Reading the article that was posted on firehouse.com, It said that one of the leading causes of death is stress, This is a job where we do tend to put alot of stress on our bodys and it really does take a toll on you, Staying fit Is a must in this job but is it enough to help prevent stress, I do admit that those who respond in personal vehicles need to be carefull, There is always the ignorant moron out on the road who thinks they can beat you or just doesn't want to pull over, That's why there is a need to extra carefull, Wear your seatbelts

I wish there was someway we could predict when a building is going to collapse that way we won't have to send crews inside if it looks unsafe then don't go in,
Some have died responding to calls from the station For somereason people who don't pull over think that we're just using our lights and siren as an excuse to get to the store faster and think I'm npt pulling over we'll get there at the same time, But what they don't realize is that we're responding to an emergency, We've had PD units roll behind us and pull over those who don't pull to the right when we go by, But auto deaths can be greatly minized if we take a few seconds to buckle up, SEATBELTS SAVE LIVES, Riding with a neighboring FD one time, Here we stress to little kids to wear there seatbelts in the car, But yet what I notice none of the giys were wearing there seatbelts, That is not a good example, Us telling kids to wear there seatbelts when we don't, And there is always the toruch happy idiot who lights a buidling on fire and we lose a bro or sis fighting that fire, Well let's look at what happend at that fire, Was there something that could of been done before hand to prevent that, That's is what we do after every fire the IC looks at what went on the scene reviewing the good and the bad, Seeing what areas we can improve on SAFETY is our GOAL,

[FF McDonald]

One of the leading cause of firefighter fatality is Heart Attack. When are we going to realize that we are fighting a battle- and our enemy is the fire... And unless we prepare ourselves mentally (training/education) and physically (physical strength/cardiovascular fitness) we are going to lose more firefighters in this battle.

When are we going to realize just how dangerous a profession we are involved in? I realize that many in this line of work are true heros, and go above and beyond the call every day- and as a consequence; may not return to the station at the conclusion of an incident, because they have given their all- and died in the line of duty. That is a reality of this job.

But we can prepare ourselves for the rigors that are placed upon us - by exercise, and proper diet.

I know I am taking a long hard look at myself. And correcting a long neglected problem- my fitness.

Take a look at some of your fellow firefighters. You may be saving their lives- by urging them to change their lifestyle. Are there members of your FD that you know you would have trouble dragging out if they 'went down' in a fire??

I think we all need to take a look....



------------------
Marc

"In Omnia Paratus"

-- The opinions presented here are my own; and are not those of any organization that I belong to, or work for.

[ThickSmoke3]

Last year 95 lives where lost in the fire service. So far this year 12 firefighters and 2 medical. Training is one thing, but health is another. Seven of the deaths this this year where due to health. I'm not saying that every firefighter is not healthy, but due to the nature of active and stress there is a chance that your health is over looked. Now I'm not fitness freak, but there is room for improvement. So to all firefighters be safe and careful every time you put on your gear because your life and someone elses depend on it.

[This message has been edited by ThickSmoke3 (edited 02-17-2001).]