By Anthony Kastros
We love to talk about aggressive tactics in this job. The debates drone on about which is the better method for tasks ranging from ventilation (vertical or positive pressure?) to fire attack (interior or indirect?). I hope the silent masses realize that there is a time and a place for many tactics and that limiting yourself is not practical given the differences firefighters face throughout America. We are all confronted by vastly different factors throughout the country-among them are construction type, structure size, fire load, occupancy, life hazards, water systems, weather, terrain, and population density. Perhaps the most dramatically different factors are staffing and resource levels. Obviously, one size does not fit all!
How often have you heard that firefighters hate change? It’s true that other industries allegedly study our inability to conform and change. We are that good at not changing. As I travel the country, I encounter pockets of tactical prominence and regions that proudly declare, “We always/never do ____.” This is ridiculous. The truth is that these entrenched ways of thinking are often based on fear; lack of knowledge; and, most often, lack of training. Tactical myths start to emerge and, like the Loch Ness Monster, start to take on a life of their own in which generations of firefighters pass on fears, and tactical “never” statements become the mantra of the department.
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