保持一个积极的态度

When I went to the fire academy in 1999, we were told that firefighting was a dangerous career and line-of-duty deaths happen every year. Is training the problem, or could it be the lack of care for the job itself? If a lack of quality training is the issue, then do something about it. Attending fire conferences is a great way to expand your knowledge by learning from other firefighters and to get to know firefighters from other departments across the country. If your department has a professional developmental track, take advantage of it. As junior firefighters, you need to be committed to the job 100 percent and stay that way.

As a fire service, we all need to get the “all-in attitude” Firefighter Mark von Appen, Palo Alto (CA) Fire Department, speaks about. Training is the key to success. When everyone is prepared to work and have fun, this is the greatest job. We have the chance to make life-saving decisions; we, from the fire chief down to the probie, have to take that seriously.

Today’s firefighters are coming to the stations filled with technology and do not know how training should be done outside of the fire academy. When we sit down and complete fire training on a computer, we fail to train the new firefighters in the basic and advanced skills. Once we take new firefighters out to train, they think they know everything and are unwilling to listen to senior firefighters who have been through hell and back. This type of attitude will create negativity among firefighters, which will not end well during a fire. Respect in both directions within the chain of command is a large factor in firehouses running smoothly. Chiefs need to remember that those running the calls day in and day out need to be reassured that someone has their back and supports them. We all have bad days, but the good days need to outweigh the bad ones. Every member of the fire service is responsible for how the service is viewed.