There was about a foot or so of snow on the ground when we got to the house where the fire was reported. The lieutenant wheeled the engine into the driveway and we observed some light smoke coming out of the second story on the 'D' side of what turned out to be a multi-family residence.

As acting officer, I assembled the crew in front of the engine and decided to take a quick look before stretching a line through the snow. We entered through the front door and I took a peek up the stairs off to our right. Thick black smoke was slowly climbing its way down the steps towards us.

We went on air, masked up and headed up the narrow stairs. I held the thermal imager (TIC) while Jack carried the hook, Dave had the irons and Zack, a 19-year old kid just a month off probation, carried the water can over his shoulder.

When we got to the top of the stairs I put my face to the floor and couldn't see anything, visibility was zero. I took a look with the TIC to try and figure out what we were dealing with. The smoke was thick but it wasn't really pushing very hard. The thermal imager showed about the same density of white evenly distributed all around us although we detected little heat with our other senses.

We just knelt there for a few seconds, pausing to look, listen and feel for clues as to where the fire might be. Although we couldn't really tell what type of space we were in, a hallway or a living room or somewhere else, a second scan with the TIC gave me a hunch that the fire was directly in front of us. I gave a follow-up report to the IC over the radio and instructed Zack to open up the can on the ceiling and directly in front of us. What "bounced back" would give us an indication of whether or not we were getting water on the fire.

He pulled the pin, squeezed the trigger and gave it a short blast of pressurized F-500 suppressant. We could tell by the sound that we hit our target but that there was more to get. I knew the back-up line was coming up the stairs but it's always the fire you can't see that worries you the most.

I grabbed Zack by the shoulders and guided him towards where we thought the fire was as he didn't have the advantage of the thermal imager like I did, so he couldn't see anything in front of him. Sure enough, as we got almost right on top of it we could finally see open flame flickering up from the floor in front of us; and at what would be our waist line if we were standing up; and at the ceiling. I told Jack to take the window on the 'D' side behind him as Zack put water on the fire we could see. Jack and Dave then moved up along side us and vented the window on the 'Charlie' side of the house, releasing some of the smoke that had been plaguing our visibility.

It wasn't long before the fire was out and the smoke started to lift. As the room cleared, we could finally see that we were in a laundry area at the end of hall opposite the staircase. Our hearts dropped for a moment as we looked at some of the laundry that included t-shirts with our fire department name on them. Where were we, we wondered out loud? We soon discovered that one of our other young lieutenants had moved out of his parents' house and was living in this second floor apartment above his girlfriend's grandmother.

Fortunately, everyone had gotten out, no one was hurt and we minimized the damage by using the can instead of opening a line. It was a gut call based on experience and what we had in front of us, but it worked. We cleared the room of everything we could and salvaged all of the laundry that wasn't burned and did a little bit of overhaul on the ceiling before another crew took over to mop up.

Taking a breather in the cold air outside, another firefighter looked down at my feet and asked me: "How are those new boots you're trying out?" He was referring to the Black Diamond X2 Fire Boots I'd received as part of a test-drive just before they went on the market a few months ago.

I answered him with, "To be honest with you, I forgot I was wearing them."

The Black Diamond X2's are by far the most comfortable fire boot I've ever warn in my 30 years in the fire service. They're not the lightest but they feel light. Although they do — to say that they fit like a glove would not only be cliche' but just plain weird — unless you had really long toes and there were cutouts in the boot for each toe. LOL

I have flat, wide feet with arches that tear like a bed sheet when you're trying to make a make-shift cravat. That's probably the result of an incident that occurred around age 12 when I fell out of the cherry tree in our front yard (No, I wasn't raking leaves). I fell about 15 feet or so, and stuck the landing, so to speak. Then I bent my knees. You do the math.

Amazingly, I never broke a bone. I just drove my ankle down through my heel and everything else in my foot. I spent about two weeks shuffling around the floor in hockey shin guards before I could get up on crutches. That was fun. NOT!

The physical therapist tried to train me to walk on crutches but said that neither of my feet could touch the ground. Try that for yourself and let me know how that works out for you.

The best way I can describe my X2s is that they're built like an armored tank — with all the comforts of a luxury limousine. The high arch support is just what the doctor ordered for my maligned feet. The cool looking disc on the outside of the boot is not just a branded logo, it's actually an ankle guard — which came in handy as we were crawling up the stairs just like they taught us in the fire academy, with our feet to the outside of the stair stringers — the strongest point in case the stairs fail underneath you. As firefighters spend a lot of time contorted into strange positions, I can't tell you how many times I would have liked to have had an ankle guard on my other fire boots.

The boot shaft itself is a combination of Kevlar and leather but what makes this boot cool is the front face. The shin guard/tibia protector makes the X2 look like something Batman, The Terminator or Captain America would wear. But it's there for more than just show. It proved to be worth it's weight in gold as we crawled up the stairs and down the narrow hallway on our hands and knees. The ankle area feels like it's custom fitted to the heel of my foot and their exclusive Calf-Fit system at the top back of the boot allows the boot to stretch when you're putting it on but at the same time, fit like that glove I was referring to earlier when you're walking in them.

"The best way I can describe my Black Diamond X2s is that they're built like an armored tank — with all the comforts of a luxury limousine."

I think my favorite feature is the fact that there's no boot straps to pull them up by. That is, their pull-on system is built in-to the boot, not the traditional external straps that hang above or over the edge of the boot. You know what straps I mean, the ones that your pants get caught up on as you're trying to put your foot in the boot, forcing your pantleg to ride up uncomfortably for the entire duration of the call.

I've never written a product review before but overall I have to say that I'm very pleased with my new Black Diamond X2s. They're rugged and rugged looking, comfortable and form fitting. In fact, they're so cool and futuristic looking that I'm tempted to wear them on the outside of my bunker pants, but that too would just be weird!

So the next time you're crawling down a hallway on your hands and knees with zero visibility, try a pair of Black Diamond X2 boots on for size. And I recommend you take Zack with you also. He's young, but he's looking, listening and learning to be a good fireman too.

I'll be at FDIC this week and so will the Black Diamond Girls in Booth# 1000. Just like the boots, they're worth checking out too. Look us both up while you're there.

Stay safe. Train often.

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Box 191 stands as a memorial to the five Buffalo Firefighters who were killed in a propane explosion on December 27, 1983

A year ago I wrote an article titled “A December to Remember” to remind us of our obligation to be better story tellers, for prosperity’s sake — and for safety’s sake. Earlier today, Chicago and the rest of the fire service buried the first of two firefighters killed in the line of duty on the 100th anniversary of the Chicago Stockyard Fire that killed 21 firefighters.

Given recent events and all the heartache they’ve brought, I’m not sure that December is a month to remember but instead, it’s one we’d like to forget.

Last night I had the privilege of joining some 50 firefighters and civilians as they stood in the cold at the corner of Grosvenor and North Division Streets in the City of Buffalo to remember an event that claimed the lives of five of Buffalo’s bravest. Surrounded by those drawn to the small memorial erected at the site, Division Chief Don McFeeley stood in the center of the intersection and retold the story of that fateful night when a propane tank exploded inside a warehouse — shattering windows, throwing debris and burning buildings across twelve city blocks.

Two civilians were also killed in the explosion that tossed and crushed the first responding Engines 1 and 32, and Ladder 5 like they were Tonka toys. He told how fate spared the crew of Ladder 2 responding from downtown as they got hung up on snowbank as they turned a corner a few blocks from the scene. Rescue 1 and Engine 3 inadvertently turned down a wrong street a block away from the blast, saving their crews from almost certain death.

Standing next to Chief McFeeley was Chief (Ret.) Jack Supple, whose brother Harvey was the first chief on location. We were standing in the exact spot in the street where Harvey was standing when he radioed for a second alarm assignment after being impaled by a piece of debris sticking out of his neck, causing a near fatal wound.

The year was 1983 and some of the firefighters present at the brief and informal ceremony last night were not even born, let alone in the fire department when the explosion happened. I was 19 at the time but remember it like it was yesterday.

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to interview one of the firefighters who was there that fateful night. Pat Coghlan was a lieutenant on Engine 33 which responded on the fourth alarm. He recounted that experience and the deep impact it left on him on my Firefighter Storytellers radio show broadcast live from the Buffalo Fire Historical Museum. A young firefighter named Mike Lombardo was on his crew that night. Mike went on to be commissioner of the Buffalo Fire Department and just retired as a battalion chief earlier this month. Mike wrote a firsthand account of the incident titled: The Explosion for Firehouse.com in 2002.

Pat Coghlan was there at the ceremony last night as he has been every year since the explosion, along with his family and widows of the slain firefighters. It was an honor to honor those fallen brothers in front of alarm box 191 — flanked by flowers, flags and a marker reminding us that we have an obligation to remember that Buffalo Firefighters Michael Austin, Michael Catanzaro, Matthew Colpoys, James Lickfield and Anthony Waskielewicz answered their last alarm at that spot.

At exactly 8:23pm last evening, a Buffalo Fire Department dispatcher transmitted Box 191: “Twenty-seven years ago on this date, December 27th 1983, at 20:23 hours, five of our brothers responded to their last alarm. We invite all members of the department and all those monitoring this announcement to observe a moment of silence in their memory, and in the memory of all who have died in the line of duty.”

Despite these darkest days, the brotherhood of the fire service perseveres stronger than ever as we look forward with hope for the brighter days that only a new year can bring.

Links in this post:

• A December to Remember - http://tigerschmittendorf.com/2009/12/03/a-december-to-remember/#
• Run-to-the-Curb: Pat Coghlan – http://runtothecurb.wordpress.com/2010/12/08/fire-nerd-pat-coghlan/
• Firefighter Storytellers Radio Show with Pat Coghlan – http://www.firefighternetcast.com/2010/12/christmas-characters-firefighter-storytellers-128/
• Firefighter Storytellers – Show video courtesy of the Erie County Fire Blotter – http://eriecountyfireblotter.com/?p=4837
• The Explosion: Firsthand account by Buffalo Fire Dept. Chief (Ret.) Mike Lombardo at Firehouse.com – http://www.firehouse.com/news/line-duty-deaths/explosion
• Photos and video from last night’s memorial service – Courtesy of Jim Herr Sr. of the Erie County Fire Blotter – http://eriecountyfireblotter.com/?p=5029&show=gallery
• WIVB-TV – Firefighters remember N. Division St. explosion-12/28/10 – http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/buffalo/Firefighters-remember-North-Division-Street-explosion
• WIVB-TV Archive – 2009 Story on Fallen Firefighters -http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/local/News4_Archive_Division_Street_explosion_20090825
• WIVB-TV Archived Video from the night of the explosion -http://www.wivb.com/dpp/search/Darkest_day_of_firefighting_in_Buffalo_20090825
• Box 191:  Excellent article by Christopher Naum at The Company Officer – http://thecompanyofficer.com/2010/12/27/buffalo-box-191-north-division-december-27-1983/
• Remembering 5 Buffalo Firefighters Killed 27 Years Ago Today: Fire-Rescue Magazine article on FirefighterNation.com – http://www.firefighternation.com/profiles/blogs/remembering-5-buffalo

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My Three-Part Risk Management Plan: Alex, Laurie and Kathleen

Despite the fact that I wrote this piece for Fire-Rescue Magazine last year, I’m pretty sure its content is still relevant as we ponder recent and not so recent events during Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/usfa-reminds-you-that….

As I stated in comments to another blog by John Mitchell (www.firedaily.com) titled: “The Charleston 43″ (http://www.firefighternation.com/profiles/blogs/the-charleston-43) — if we don’t make these incidents personal to us, incidents like these have the unique ability to quickly become personal for us.

Thus, I present for your review, a re-post of “Make It Personal” http://tigerschmittendorf.com/2009/09/07/make-it-personal/

Let me know what you think of the piece and what you’re doing to make Safety Week 2010 personal for you.

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That’s what I overheard a certain young fire officer tell a probie recently.

“If you’re worried about getting cancer — you probably shouldn’t be a firefighter!”

I didn’t miss-hear or mis-understand him, nor did I take his comment out of context. That’s exactly what he said.

I nearly blew my cork. What an immature, ignorant, reckless thing to say.

Here’s all I have to say to him: “This one’s for you.”

THE FOLLOWING IS A MUST READ ARTICLE – DON’T SKIP IT.
IF YOU’VE EVER THOUGHT ABOUT TAKING YOUR MASK OFF, EVEN JUST FOR A SECOND, WHILE THERE IS STILL SMOKE OR FUMES PRESENT — THINK AGAIN!  READ, PRINT, POST AND DISTRIBUTE THIS ARTICLE
TO EVERY FIREFIGHTER YOU KNOW.

“We Danced With The Devil: One Firefighter’s Cancer Chronicles”

Editor’s Note: If you can stomach reading this gut-wrenching story, you might like to read:

• Make It Personal!
• Clean the Litterbox

Stay safe. Train often.

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I’m not big on forwarding for the sake of forwarding; or just regurgitating information in an effort to build traffic to a web site.

However, my good friend Billy Goldfeder sent out a broadcast yesterday that deserves sharing. His efforts were followed up by a newsletter distribution from the USFA Coffee Break that highlighted similar events.

These stories and Billy’s comments remind us of our obligation to be better story tellers, for prosperity’s sake — and for safety’s sake. It also reminds us that we have an obligation to those we love, those who are making the real sacrifices every time we leave home to go do what we love. Those we are obligated to do everything in our mind and power to go home to after every call.

May we never forget all those lost in these Decembers to Remember.

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This is from today’s USFA Coffee Break eNewsletter:

Tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary of the cold storage warehouse fire in Worcester, Massachusetts, where six firefighters died searching for reported victims.

In honor of the Worcester firefighters, and all other men and women who have lost their lives in the line of duty, the National Fire Academy today offers a new Coffee Break Training special feature: Coffee Break Training – Special Blend.  Throughout the year, on the anniversary of multiple firefighter fatality events, we will publish a special Coffee Break Training to recognize their sacrifices and provide tips to prevent a reoccurence of the tragedy.

So tomorrow, to honor those six firefighters, why not take the tips from this Special Blend and make some improvements in your community that will make all first responders safer?  The Special Blend can be found at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/coffee-break/sb_2009_1203.pdf 

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And here’s an excerpt from Billy’s e-mail reminding us to remember all of our brothers lost in Decembers past. Maybe because one of these events happened in my own home town is the reason I feel compelled to share these stories.

Each December, there are some very significant dates for the fire service, worthy of note and well worth discussion with Firefighters-especially your younger ones. For example, every Firefighter should well familiar with the multi LODD loss in Buffalo (NY) when 5 BFD Ladder 5 Firefighters (and 2 civilians) were killed in a propane explosion in December 1983. And that’s just one example.

(TIGER: I can remember that night like it was yesterday. I was in my sister’s apartment in North Buffalo, probably 3 miles or better from the blast site, when it shook the house. I remember making a smart-alec comment about stuff falling off the walls, but it wasn’t for quite a while that we learned what caused that uncommon disruption.)

As we now approach December 2009, we remember that 10 YEARS AGO (December of 1999), there were also 2 very significant multi-LODD fires that we must remember.

The first is the Worcester Cold Storage fire that occurred on December 3, 1999. The second, discussed below, is the loss of 3 Firefighters in Keokuk, Iowa.

 Read all the info at: http://firefighterclosecalls.com/fullstory.php?97100

The above information-and plenty from many other resources and websites as well-provides each of us with an opportunity to share:

-so younger Firefighters understand our history.

-so we all are reminded of the losses.

-so we learn from the lessons learned.

-and so we can honor the WFD and KFD members who gave their lives in the Line of Duty.

Take Care-BE CAREFUL.

PLEASE READ AND PRINT OFF ALL OF THE ABOVE TO POST IN THE FIREHOUSE & PASS IT ON (Also available on our home page with photos)

BillyG

The Secret List 12-1-09 / 0001 Hours

www.FireFighterCloseCalls.com

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HEADLINE: Johnson City to Explore Adding Volunteer Firefighters http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20091116/NEWS01/911160345/1112/Johnson-City-to-explore-adding-volunteer-firefighters

Is it just me or are two worlds colliding here?

At the same time many volunteer fire departments struggle to maintain their ranks, their career counterparts are being stripped to the bone in both manpower and operating budget by their community’s and our country’s fiscal crisis.

This is not the first article I’ve read recently with a recurring theme — career fire departments reverting (or in some cases, converting for the first time) to combination departments.

We have many communities in our county, currently supported by all-volunteer fire departments, where a part or full time staffed career fire department would be simply unaffordable. They would have to go without fire protection if it weren’t for the dedication of their volunteers.

Unfortunately, it seems that several communities with pre-existing career fire departments are coming to the same realization: fire protection is a much needed but costly service to maintain properly.

What’s the solution? I’m not sure but I have some ideas.

I do know that it will take a lot of creativity, imagination, and willingness to adapt to overcome the staffing challenges that virtually every community faces — regardless if emergency services are provided by volunteer or paid personnel. The need for employing the “3 Cs” has probably never been greater: Coordination, Communication and Cooperation.

I’ve said before that there are only two types of fire departments today: Those who have a staffing shortage — and those who are about to.

The only remaining question is: Whaddayou gonna do about it?

Let me know how I can help.

PS – Did you ever notice that you never read headlines threatening to lay off, furlow or have rolling blackouts of garbagemen, administrators, parks and recreation workers, etc.? What’s wrong with this picture?

I have nothing against any of these people as they provide a very important service as well. And some would argue that garbage pickup affects public health – and I can agree to a certain extent – but why is it that the first thing they try to slash and burn is public safety?

Furthermore, why is it that many volunteer fire departments have to beg, borrow and essentially steal to underwrite the cost of their operations instead of being adequately supported by the communities they serve – despite already providing their labor for free?

When was the last time the police department held a bake sale to put another police car or officer on the street? Has the highway department ever had to hold a chicken barbeque to get a plow repaired?

Some days I just don’t get it. I guess this is one of those days.

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This article is one in a series of toolkits focusing on recruitment, retention, fire service marketing and leadership.

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Are you SAFER than you were last year?

That is, did you submit a grant application under the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) “Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response” program for recruitment and retention?

If you didn’t, you missed out on a great opportunity to better your fire department, or in our case, the entire volunteer fire service in our region.

Here’s the good news. You get another chance. DHS just announced that the application period for the 2009 SAFER grants opens November 16, 2009.

The deadline for filing completed applications will be December 18, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. EST.  As in previous years, the automated applications will be accessible from the Web site for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program at www.firegrantsupport.com/safer.

BIG MONEY – NO WHAMMIES!

The FY2009 SAFER program has approximately $210 million available for grants and the program guidance will hopefully be posted in the near future on the program’s Web site.

Last year I helped secure almost $1 million dollars in SAFER grants for local fire departments including a whopping $498,800 to fund recruitment efforts for our county chiefs association over the next two years.

The goal of our grant was to create the tools and resources necessary to make our fire departments successful in the fight for the volunteer fire service to survive and succeed.

It’s our estimation that there are two kinds of fire departments in our county: those who are experiencing an R&R problem – and those who are about to.

Thus, it only makes sense that a SAFER grant application be submitted that has a regional impact rather than multiple individual grants that create the environment for duplication and redundancy and inconsistent messaging. A county-based recruitment program promotes a unified front to the public, government, and the business community.

TRAVEL GUIDE:

If this year’s guidance is anything like last year’s, as you navigate the SAFER guidance document it clearly identified volunteer memberships with high turnover rates and high call volumes and populations served as grant priorities.

Having a recruitment plan that includes a coordinator and a solid marketing program; and projects that offer continuity and sustainability have a better chance of being successful. Projects that have a regional impact in lieu of a one dog–one bone like application improve your odds of winning.

The greatest thing about the SAFER grant is the flexibility in the allowable expenditures, which have included: Reimbursement for attending required basic training; marketing costs for recruiting; physical examinations; explorer and/or mentoring programs; staffing needs assessment; disability insurance; tuition assistance; length of service awards and other retirement benefits; and costs for administering the grant program respectively.

The guidance also spells out what’s not allowable. Historically cash awards for participation in activities other than those directly linked to operational services (responding to incidents, attending training, providing operational stand-by services) are not allowed.

It’s my belief that retention benefits = recruitment benefits. Inasmuch as different people join for different reasons, they stay committed for different reasons too.

Just as all emergencies start and end locally; so do the specific recruitment and retention challenges and applicable solutions of any given volunteer fire department. They need to be addressed accordingly.

SUSTAINABILITY:

One big challenge lies in the fact that the performance period for this grant is just four years.

Ultimately, SAFER Grants should be used as “seed funding” to reach the level of success that will serve as the justification for local funding in the years following the end of the grant performance period.

SHAKING THE DICE – MAYBE NEXT YEAR KID:

If you don’t apply this year, don’t worry. Providing the federal government sticks to its promise to fund the program – there’s always next year.

Personally, I’m not a betting man but given our current economic climate, I wouldn’t wait. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of this “free money” program to perpetuate the volunteer fire service in America.

I’ll ask again: Are you SAFER? If you file an application this year or have done so in the past, I’d love to hear about it. Maybe we can feature your fire department in a future success story. If not, will you be SAFER next year? Start planning now for tomorrow’s success.

For a comprehensive offering of R&R resources, visit my blog at www.tigerschmittendorf.com. Click or call if you’re looking for ideas or want to volunteer your own. I’d love to hear your experiences.

Let me know how I can help.

Until next time… “Stay safe. Train often.”

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Note: Recruitment slogans, programs or themes described herein may be the copyrighted intellectual property of the author or other parties. Please contact the author before reprinting or using such content.

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Firefighters must start living the Life Safety Initiatives for us to see an impact on LODDs.

The following article is a reprint from the June-2009 edition of Fire-Rescue magazine. It is also a companion piece to my blog titled: Clean the Litterbox.

I recently attended a seminar on preparation for line-of-duty deaths and firefighter funerals. If you’ve ever read one of my blogs here or at FirefighterNation.com, you know that I have very strong feelings about firefighter deaths.

But, for the first time, the subject really hit home with me. While it’s important to plan that stuff, if we really think about it, doesn’t the need for proper funeral planning only further acknowledge our acceptance of failure in protecting our own from the risks we face? 

Too often we focus more time, energy and attention on those types of activities instead of the things we can do to prevent them. Firefighter safety, like fire prevention itself, is not glamorous. Whether it’s civilian or firefighter lives, it’s easier to take stock of those lost than those saved by implementing effective safety measures.

The 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives (LSIs), available at www.everyonegoeshome.com, are our road map to improved safety practices.

A close review shows us that while several of the concepts must be addressed at a national level, many of the initiatives are personalized calls for effective risk management.

Own It

The first four LSIs  focus on increasing accountability for how we integrate risk management within incident management at every level within our organizations.

THE FIRST FOUR LIFE SAFETY INITIATIVES:

1. Define and advocate the need for a cultural change within the fire service relating to safety, incorporating leadership, management, supervision, accountability and personal responsibility.
2. Enhance the personal and organizational accountability for health and safety throughout the fire service.
3. Focus greater attention on the integration of risk management with incident management at all levels, including strategic, tactical and planning responsibilities.
4. All firefighters must be empowered to stop unsafe practices.

Note: For the complete list of the 16 Life Safety Initiatives,
go to www.everyonegoeshome.com/initiatives.html.

They address the need for a health and safety culture change within the fire service.

Our culture is built from our values, beliefs, mindset, attitudes, actions and behaviors. But I question whether the LSIs personalize the solutions enough for us to embrace them-or whether the deciding factor for real behavioral change will come from the wake-up call of a personal near miss or the sting of losing someone dear to us. What will be the catalyst for change for you, for me, for us?

The solution lies in how we apply these safety initiatives. Like anything else we do in the fire service, changing our culture, especially when it comes to safety, is challenging at best. It requires courage from the top down and the bottom up, simultaneously.

Personal responsibility is the key at every level of the fire service safety chain. It all starts with each of us. Management can market the safety concepts to us, but those messages are lost if we don’t make them our own.

Conduct a Safety Assessment

Changing our culture requires a personal commitment to safety at every level of the fire service. Management can market the safety concepts to us, but those messages are lost if we don’t live them in all of our actions, every day.

Like any other form of “advertising,” we need to surround ourselves with safety messages to constantly reinforce their meaning. Posters, postcards to your members, business cards, e-mails, videos and hands-on training are all ways to get the safety message across to your firefighters, subliminally or through “in your face” marketing techniques.

But are they enough?

To make the LSIs more than hollow rhetoric, we must pause and examine all of our practices and identify opportunities to improve the level of safety at which they are performed.

A great time to get started is during this year’s Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week, scheduled for June 14-20 (the event formerly known as the Firefighter Stand Down). But don’t stop there.

Self-assessment should be a continual process.

Completing a thorough safety analysis doesn’t require reams of forms, slide rules or a degree in rocket science. Whether we realize it or not, we hold safety briefings almost every time we get together, often around the kitchen table or sitting on the tailboard as we dissect the last run or the actions of another fire company. We just need to be honest about our own unsafe acts and support each other to correct them.

Initiative No. 4 tells us that firefighters must be empowered to stop unsafe acts. That empowerment doesn’t come just from leadership; it comes from each other. Once in a while we need to drop the tough exterior and allow each other to speak freely about what scares the stuffing out of us on the fireground.

It’s not enough to just remove the threat of retaliation for speaking out; real success will come when we actually reward those who create positive changes in our safety culture. A popular Homeland Security theme is: “If you see something, say something.” That should be our safety motto, too.

Some might argue that we’re attempting to soften, to sterilize the fire service with all this safety stuff. Nonsense. The ability for any firefighter to throw a figurative or real red flag at an incident scene is still a reactive but effective means of saving lives. That will never change.

Implementing the Initiatives

Once we’ve completed our safety assessment, we need to study the 16 LSIs as a complete organization, not just as part of a class a few firefighters attend and then attempt to disseminate across the team with varied results. There are so many tools and resources available, including a variety of Web sites and other sources, that there should be no excuse for not incorporating a different safety theme into every training session and every teachable moment.

Our attitude toward safety is the only thing that stands between “It hasn’t happened to us” and “It hasn’t happened to us yet.”

Armed with a plan (the 16 initiatives), a list of opportunities (safety assessment) and the knowledge to act (training), we can now go about the business of changing our safety culture. The best place to start is with the low-hanging fruit. Small victories add up quickly and build lasting momentum. Nothing breeds success like success itself.

Some examples:

• You don’t have a mandatory seat belt use policy? Google it and get one. E-mail me and I’ll send you one. Tweak it to be your own. Train on it. Implement it and after a month of 100 percent compliance, reward your firefighters and let them pick the next safety challenge to tackle.
• Still running hot to cold calls? Still bullying your way through intersections with a 20-ton piece of apparatus and an oversized air horn hoping that the sheer sound pressure will push oncoming traffic out of your path? Get a grip. Get a response and intersection policy in place. Not sure where to start? Here’s a real simple one that even I can remember: Stop, look, listen. Then proceed … slowly. Every time.
• And then there’s firefighter health and fitness. We’re at a higher risk for both heart disease and cancer. How long have we known that? Start with more thorough exams at your annual physicals. Why do we spend years specifying a single piece of fire apparatus and only minutes to choose our medical screeners? Educate your firefighters on how to avoid the risks. Educate their families on what to look for and you’ll never find stronger advocates for any of your safety programs. Is STS (Spare Tire Syndrome) slowing your firefighters down? Initiate a “Biggest Loser” contest like many firehouses have done, and reward your members for coercing their fellow firefighters into the competition. Pay by the pound and offer gift certificates for free fitness center memberships. It doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive.

A Final Word

In this day and age, there’s no shortage of access to information, no lack of available training, no insurmountable barriers to our safety success-only attitudes and excuses.

It takes more imagination than money to understand and embrace the premise of the 16 Life Safety Initiatives. It takes more willingness than it does sheer will.

It just takes the courage to be safe.

Stay safe. Train often.

Download a reprint of “Make It Personal” from Fire-Rescue Magazine. ©2009 www.tigerschmittendorf.com

This article is a companion piece to my blog titled: Clean the Litterbox.

Tiger Schmittendorf is chairman of FASNY’s Recruitment and Retention Committee and serves the County of Erie Department of Emergency Services (Buffalo NY) as Deputy Fire Coordinator. He created a recruitment effort that doubled his own fire department’s membership and helped net 525+ new volunteers countywide. A frequent presenter on the subjects of leadership, incident management, safety, recruitment and retention, he is a Nationally Certified Fire Instructor and has been a firefighter since 1980. Visit his blog at www.tigerschmittendorf.com.

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As I travel around the country talking with other firefighters, a commonly recurring theme of our chat is the future of the volunteer fire service.

The conversation always comes around to the topic of today’s firefighters and the next generation of firefighters. Some “more experienced” firefighters (notice I didn’t use the term older) share that they don’t understand the “kids” coming into the fire service today.

The veterans don’t think today’s recruits share the same values as those who are currently leading us. And they certainly don’t have the same appreciation for the traditions and discipline of the fire service. Community service is not in their blood as it is in ours. Or at least that’s their complaint.

The first question I ask is: Whose fault is that? Have we failed as parents, role models and mentors?

My second question is a more important challenge: Who better? Who better to re-instill the values of the fire service that have made it and America great? Who better to bring back the principles our communities need?

I then ask you: If not us, who?

“Reality Check: Understand them or not, like them or not – they are the future of the fire service. The reality is that there is no other generation from a parallel universe about to swoop down and save the volunteer fire service. They are it. Get over it. Get on with it.”

The fire service was built on the values of pride, honor, loyalty, trustworthiness, integrity and community service. Last time I checked, that’s exactly why the American public trusts nobody, no other profession more than they trust firefighters – nobody.

When I talk about the target audience for new recruits, I typically break it down like this:

1. 14-18 years olds: Explorers and Junior Firefighters – the future of the volunteer fire service. Figure out how to win and keep them and you will keep them forever.
2. 18-25 year olds: Let’s face it; the bull work of what we do is a young person’s job. This demographic has always been and will always be the backbone of the fire service.
3. 25-40 Years old: The lost years. Think about what traditionally happens during this period in a person’s life: marriage, careers, families, home ownership, etc. However, if we can snag them early enough, we just might be able to keep them clinging on as contributing members during this personal and professional growth phase.
4. 40+: This demo includes settled homeowners; their kids are growing to an age of independence; focused on giving back; perhaps even looking for an outlet – or just an excuse to get out of the house.

Depending on what or who you read, it’s estimated that the current generation, Generation Y, is at this moment between 14 and 27 years old.

Call them Gen Y; Millenials; WebGens; NextGens; Generation Whine; Baby Busters; Nexters; Echo Boomers or whatever you like.

Understand them or not, like them or not – they are the future of the fire service. The reality is that there is no other generation from a parallel universe about to swoop down and save the volunteer fire service. They are it. Get over it. Get on with it.

According to Dr. Renee Downey-Hart’s matrix of generation gaps, never before have four generations been in the workplace at the same time. From traditionalists born after the turn of the century, to Baby Boomers and Generation X, and now Gen Y – these four generations create both challenges and opportunities for organizations looking to recruit and retain them.

Dr. Downey-Hart’s presentation emphasizes the importance of building “bench strength” as many Traditionalists and Baby Boomers, and even some Gen Xers are about to step out of the workplace.

Some could argue that their pending retirements are an opportunity for them to get involved in volunteering. Realistically though, they’re probably not going to be the interior firefighters we need to adequately staff our apparatus. That’s not to say that there isn’t plenty for them to do on and behind the scene.

Thus, we need to embrace Gen Yers as our future. To understand them we need to get to know them better. To know them, we need to surround ourselves with them.

Here’s what I understand of them from my limited research with people a lot smarter than I am (which doesn’t take much.)

They are often characterized as a self-entitled bunch of slackers who don’t want to pay their dues – not exactly the model we’ve promoted in the fire service for the last couple of hundred years.

I refer to them as the I-Generation or the Jackass Generation. “I” is for Individual because they often ask “What’s in it for me.” But they’re also independent thinkers who have been taught to collaborate and work in teams (Hey, maybe we could learn something from these punks.)

I use the term Jackass Generation only because of the TV show they watch with the title of the same name. Their risk-taker mentality is proliferated by modern media. We just need to figure out how to harness their youthful energy and teach them the living benefits of calculated risk management – and the “death benefits” associated with miscalculating those risks.

They are also an untapped powerhouse of potential. They are future oriented, tech savvy, multi-tasking young adults who are ready to contribute NOW! Their apparent restlessness is tempered with their ability to remain optimistic in difficult times, a trait that could come in handy given our current financial climate.

They are the most socially engaged generation since the 1960s. Don’t think so? Did you happen to pay attention to how President Obama got elected? Still don’t think so? Count up all the friends you have and then ask a GenYer how many friends they have on Facebook or MySpace. Forget it, save yourself the trouble and embarassment.

What troubles those of us who used to be card-carrying members of the 18-25 year old demographic (my card expired) is that they don’t engage with society the way we do. We do it face-to-face, by calling on the phone or by “popping in” on each other.

They engage themselves on-line. They can tap out a message on their cell phones faster than you can change the station with your TV remote.

Looking for the fountain of youth for your fire department? Try Google, Yahoo, Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. That’s where you’ll find today’s recruits. They know more about what their friends are doing than two cops on an overnight stake-out. They are always in touch, always communicating — just not the way we’re accustomed to or comfortable with. Nonetheless, if they’re not coming to us, we need to go to where they are to get their attention.

I’m reading a book titled “Managing Generation Y” by Dr. Carolyn A. Martin and Bruce Tulgan. The book was written eight years ago but its observations still ring true today. They refer to GenYers as the most education focused generation in history, leading a new wave of volunteerism.

Does anyone else smell opportunity? They embrace socio-economic, environmental and community problems. Our challenge is to help them understand why ours is a cause worth taking up.

So how do we get them away from the X-Box long enough to respond to the box alarm? Lucky for us, Dr. Downey-Hart states that they highly value meaningful development opportunities and they’re full of fresh insight on how best to reach their peers. This might be tough to swallow, but they have the answers. Ask them how to best recruit each other and their friends.

I’m experimenting with that concept right now as part of a $500k SAFER grant project to recruit and retain volunteer firefighters. Acknowledging very early on that “we’re too old” and the need to surround ourselves with GenYers, we’ve created a team of 20 people under the age of 30 to help chart the future of the fire service in our county. This focus group of firefighters will provide us with the insight we need to choose the right messaging, media and mediums to reach their peers. They’re in charge and we’re putting our trust and faith in them.

Dr. Downey-Hart tells us the good news is that they trust people over 30 and welcome the chance to partner with older, more experienced colleagues and bosses (mentors) and intergenerational teamwork carries particular promise in tough times. Combining the tech savvy and fresh insight of Generation Y with the experience and perspective of the older generations can be especially fruitful.

They are ripe for the picking. Behind their “I don’t appear to care” attitude, they are actually starved for strong leadership, mentors and role models. A recent study by Deloitte Consultants suggests that we redesign our rewards systems to encourage the rapid development of GenY talent and at the same time create new incentives for seasoned veterans to act as mentors to these young adults.

Frankly, I don’t claim to fully understand them. And honestly, there are days when I’m not sure I want to, despite “owning” two of them myself. (Kathleen is 20 and Alex is 16). But even I can figure out that we need to embrace them as the future of the fire service.

I’ve said before that the survival and success of the volunteer fire service depends on our ability to create more opportunities – for more people – to volunteer less time.

GenYers have lots of time on their hands if we offer them the right opportunities to quench their thirst for satisfying training and teamwork. What we don’t have is a lot of time for us to figure out what makes them tick.

We know what the challenge is. The only remaining question is: What are you going to do about it?

Here’s a couple of videos to help you figure them out:

A vision of K-12 Students today

A vision of students today

And this one, especially for instructors:  Pay Attention!

Seems this is a popular topic. Here’s a link to a similar article written by Brian Ward: Talkin’ bout my generation

Download the Reprint of: From X-Box to the Box Alarm

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For a comprehensive offering of R&R resources, visit my blog at www.tigerschmittendorf.com. Click or call if you’re looking for ideas or want to volunteer your own. I’d love to hear your experiences.

Let me know how I can help.

Until next time… “Stay safe. Train often.”

Editor’s Note: Recruitment slogans, programs or themes described herein may be the copyrighted intellectual property of the author or other parties. Please contact the author before reprinting or using such content.

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Tiger Schmittendorf is chairman of FASNY’s Recruitment and Retention Committee and serves the County of Erie Department of Emergency Services (Buffalo NY) as Deputy Fire Coordinator. He created a recruitment effort that doubled his own fire department’s membership and helped net 525+ new volunteers countywide. He is a Nationally Certified Fire Instructor and has been a firefighter since 1980. Visit his blog at www.tigerschmittendorf.com.

Tiger Schmittendorf will join Ret. Phoenix Chief Alan Brunacini and J. Gordon Routely in a fire service roundtable discussion at the FASNY Convention in Niagara Falls, NY on Thursday-August 20, 2009.

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My family is motivation for much of what I do in the fire service. Alex, Laurie and Kathleen (l-r)

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