Maintaining composure and a professional attitude are key to keeping the public’s trust
I was at hot yoga with my husband the other day…just hear me out, it applies to188金博网网址多少, I promise. I have had multiple injuries. I’m middle aged. Things hurt. It’s 104° in the room. I am uncomfortable to say the least, but I push through—safely of course. After class my husband said: “You looked good, like it was so easy. Peaceful even.” I told him it wasn’t easy. I was shaking. I even had to slow down once because I got a little dizzy. He said he never would have known. My face looked peaceful and I looked confident and sure. I told him I learned how to keep my face and body under control in the fire department. I had to “suck it up, buttercup.” There’s no way I was going to “break” in a瑜伽class now. I was making a joke, but he didn’t think it was funny. He said people shouldn’t have to hide how they feel physically. I disagreed. There are reasons firefighters need to have physical and emotional composure in stressful situations; ultimately, this is called professionalism.
在进行进一步之前，我想清楚一些事情：我并不是在任何方式暗示人们隐藏或划分自己的感受，以至于mental healthissues result.精神健康在公共安全中，是一个严重的问题，不应轻易解决这个问题。消防员and potential firefighters should recognize this job will take a mental and physical toll and always take advantage of the resources available to build resilience and receive care as needed. There is no shame in asking for help or in accepting help when someone recognizes you may need it. I am also not suggesting that people work while injured, do not report injuries or pain, or “suffer in silence.” All injuries need to be reported. Health conditions need to be treated. Healing can be inconvenient and it can take time. Follow the proper administrative guidelines to keep yourself safe and healthy and see your primary care physician regularly. And wash your个人防护设备（PPE）呢
Do We Need to Have it All Together?
重要的是要向公众展示消防员基于“增大化现实”技术e capable of responsibly caring for them and their property. They need to believe we know what we are doing—hopefully we do know what we are doing—but if we look nervous or are very unsure, they will not have confidence in our abilities. We could be experts in the field, in peak physical condition, but if we show up to a house to extinguish a fire and are hesitant about what to do and the citizens see this, they will not believe we can solve their problem. They will not feel safe with us. How do we make them feel safe? By confidently making the best decisions we can based on the information we have; remaining physically composed (no shaking, looks of panic or fear, backing away from the work that needs to be done); and then successfully completing the necessary tasks that solve their problem. This is called professionalism.
If you are new to the field or are considering firefighting as a career choice, it is important to recognize the level of trust that the public has in firefighters. Citizens literally run out of their houses and hand us their sick children without saying a word to us first. There is no verification of identity; no verification of skills; they trust and believe we can solve their problem—no matter what it is. We cannot receive that trust, those sick children, with looks of dread, panic, or fear. We cannot run away—even if everything in our bodies is saying: “Please, don’t hand her to me.” Our job is to accept and to perform. We learn to soothe others while we may be raging on the inside. We learn to let our training take over, remain composed, and wait until we are out of sight of the citizens to cut-up, lay down, cry, or eat ice cream.
有时很难等待。当有很多of firefighters on a scene, we can get pretty chatty and the jokes start flying. The family of the deceased person in the house who we just didCPR上没有笑。这种行为不是专业的。从结构大火中出来，扔掉所有的装备，然后在公众的全景中躺在背上，除非您处于医疗紧急情况，也不是专业的。这可能正是您在热房里经过几个气瓶后的感觉，但是在您完全脱落之前，请采取额外的步骤前往康复区 - 脱掉您的装备。这是一种更专业的方法。
我如何学习镇定？
Some people are naturally gifted with composure. Maybe they learned it at home. Maybe they were born naturally calm and confident. Good for them! They can focus their energies on improving in other areas. Most of us will learn how to improve our composure and professionalism in the fire academy, on incident scenes, and in the station.
消防学院188博金宝体育1使学生处于压力很大的情况下，教他们如何控制自己。是的，这是关于学习技能的，但是可以在身体压力很大的环境之外学习一些技能。消防学院的现场火灾，五月天的意识和类似的实践发展教学，他们比他们想象的要强大，并且比他们想象的要多。188博金宝体育1这些演变可以同时建立信心并耗尽您。When faced with similar situations after academy graduation, such as performing overhaul in an IDLH environment for an extended time, firefighters can rely on their training and not give in to the first wave of “I’m done,” because they know they have more to give.
消防员在火灾现场学习镇定和专业精神。这可以通过反复试验发生。它可以通过与公民互动并找出效果良好，什么不能进行。以这种方式学习需要洞察力。但是，大多数消防员都有兴趣以最佳的能力为社区服务，因此他们关注事件场景中发生的事情，并且他们的专业水平随着时间的推移而有所改善。镇定和专业精神也可以作为部门或车站文化的一部分学习。其他所有人在场景上的行为如何？好坏，您可能会以相同的方式行事。对于所有消防员对公众的指挥处还是每个人都在做自己的事，对一系列指挥链是否有很高的期望？在一个每个人都在平静和专业工作的事件中展示统一战线的能力是专业精神的最强表现。
如果您正在考虑这一职业或不熟悉消防服务，请不要低估与公众互动中专业精神和镇定的力量。作为消防员，我们已经赢得了他们的信任。保持它是我们的责任。
Mandy George是切萨皮克（VA）消防局的退休中尉。她拥有紧急和灾难管理硕士学位，专业写作硕士学位以及紧急医疗服务副学士学位。她还是全国注册的护理人员（NRP）和弗吉尼亚紧急医疗服务（VAOEMS）教育协调员。
FIRE SERVICE 101
Introduction to the Fire Academy: Hoselines, Water Supply, and Academy Graduation
Introduction to the Fire Academy: Confined Space, Vehicle Extrication, and Live Burns
