埃里克·J·汉金斯（Eric J. Hankins）
韦伯斯特的在线词典是指缺乏良好判断力或容易利用的傻瓜。尽管我不喜欢与韦伯斯特先生争论，但我知道很多傻瓜都相反。实际上，我认为傻瓜是当今消防部门中最好的人。
The FOOLS, or the Fraternal Order Of Leatherheads Society, is a firefighting organization that was started back in the mid-’90s by a group of Florida Firefighters. The organization focuses on the training and pride in the fire service. Today, this international organization has a membership of roughly 11,000 firefighters representing over five different countries. The mission of the five “Founding FOOLS” was to attempt to preserve the rich traditions of the fire service, such as training, remembering fallen brothers and sisters, being proud of the job, and passing information on to the next generation of firefighters. By preserving these traditions, the FOOLS have helped return some of the luster back to the fire service.
我于2002年加入了傻瓜，对成员之间的友情感到惊讶。无论您是一个大城市消防员还是六个月的志愿者都没关系，出于相同的原因，您都在那里：学习，教书和分享信息。没有自我。只有一种自豪感使您想为您的部门，公司和社区做更多的事情。
傻瓜多年来一直是全国大型消防训练活动的关键参与者。FDIC和其他消防会议的许多首席讲师都是傻瓜。许多当地傻瓜章节每年几次都有自己的培训课程。
不幸的是，人们对傻瓜的意义存在一些误解。有人说傻瓜只是一个社交团体或“好男孩”俱乐部。我在这里告诉你，事实并不远。当地媒体有时试图将傻瓜绑定到消防部门的“丑闻”中，并将该团体与做出不良选择的人相关。I am not saying that there haven’t been FOOLS that may have made poor choices, but being a FOOL had nothing to do with these choices.如果有的话，我希望成为傻瓜会阻止人们做出错误的选择。
有些人还认为傻瓜是反管理的，但这是错误的。我们很荣幸能成为该组织的成员。一些非常有影响力的首席官是成员。
The FOOLS is not a political group, nor do we get involved in union or management issues. However, we do proudly participate in and sponsor charitable events, such as Relay for Life, St. Baldrick’s, and Hero to Hero. One constant in the fire service is that always give back and do more for our communities than almost any other professional organization. The fire service has always been a pillar of the community, and the FOOLS organization strives to maintain this tradition.
The FOOLS do a lot of great things for the fire service, many of which may never get noticed. That’s okay; we don’t do it for the recognition; we do it for a sense of pride and “doing the right thing”. Our members are proud members of the fire service and we are proud of that.
我鼓励您对傻瓜进行一些研究。也许您自己对小组有误解。也许您已经是会员了。无论哪种方式，感谢您成为这项出色的消防服务的成员。我希望这篇文章对傻瓜的全部内容有所启发。
有关傻瓜的更多信息，请访问我们的网站www.foolsinternational.com
埃里克·J·汉金斯（Eric J. Hankins）是尤巴市消防局（CA）消防局和愚人国际执行副总裁的队长。您可以通过电子邮件联系Eric副主席@foolsinternational.com
