Growing Pains

So I have been with my volly dept. for almost 10 years and I think it may be time to move on. When I started my dept. there were no people under 40 and very little training. Firefighters would fight wildfires in blue jeans without fire shelters and the was no red card or pack test. On the structure end we had no firefighters able to pack up and preform interior searches. I remember on my first car fire being told that my s.c.b.a. was not needed and spending the next day sick from the toxic smoke.

That was then. Now everyone has to have the wildfire training and line personel the pack test. S.C.B.A.'s are worn even for overhaul and many more members have been trained to the FF1 standard. I personally worked my way up to the rank of Deputy Chief but then it all changed. We started to have poor response to training and calls and lost many of are younger members. The overall feel of the dept. is now a social club and there seems to be no pride in what we do. I was pushing the dept. to become more professional but was told that they are only vollys and it's to much to ask.

I therefore quit as the Deputy and went back to being a Engine Capt. Since then I have felt a rift grow between me and my dept. I know of many volly dept. that are very professional so I don't by into the "there only vollys" statement yet they dept. dosen't seem to want to change. What should I do? My first thought was change the way my dept. thinks but after ten years that dosen't seem to work. My next thought is it's time to move on. Have I out grown my dept.? I love the fire service and plan to work in the field till I can't do it anymore but I currently feel stuck.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Bob Allard on January 5, 2011 at 2:41pm

See what you can on the legal side and get with the town,city or district and see what can and can not be done, go to another FD in your area and see what they do and don't do, your company must be getting money fromthe town or city for operating cost, check around and ask, maybe not your members but find others, Do some home work and then present it to your company officers(fire and non-fire officers).

Let me know what happenss.

Bob Allard

Permalink Reply by mostafa on January 5, 2011 at 6:01pm

Alikodm prosperity as traditional fire is the way to a better future
To protect firefighters from fatigue and injuries and deaths
I considered the deal to put out forest fires without fire trucks and firefighters
The new innovation and ykhamdha yhaasr forest fire
And I'm ready for dialogue

Permalink Reply by Aaron Mandel on January 6, 2011 at 10:48am

Hey Bob,
Thanks a lot for the advice. I have talked to are board of directors as we are a special district and they seem content with the way things are. As far as presenting it to the company officers I have a few times when I was Deputy Chief and now that I'm a Engine Capt. The response is always "there only vollys." I'm told that I'm asking to much of them and pushing them to hard. Last spring on a fire I had to handle a safety violation and was told that I was wronge for correcting the behavior. Granted I did yell and that was wronge but it was a safety issue. When I was with the Feds getting screamed at was the norm if it was about safety but because there vollys we have to treat them with kid gloves? Bull, I think this is a disservice to my crew.

Permalink Reply by Aaron Mandel on January 6, 2011 at 10:53am

Thanks for all the responses. I guess my core issue is my dept. is happy the way it is and I'm not. I want to work in a dept. were pride in what we do and drive to be as professional as possible is the norm not the exception. I have tried to change my dept. but you can only lead the horse to water. The horse has to want to drink. Since my dept. dosen't want to change, should I move on or stay put?

Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on January 7, 2011 at 1:57pm

Follow your gut

Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on January 24, 2011 at 6:27pm

Aaron - ya making any progress on your evaluation of the situation?

Permalink Reply by Aaron Mandel on January 25, 2011 at 10:17am

Hey all,
So I've come to the conclusion that my dept. won't change but after so many years I can't leave now. They may not be the most professional dept. in the world but they do try and I really love my town. Not being there to help my town is a thought I can't handle. To deal with my need for a more professional work enviroment I'm going to try and go back to work with the feds as a seasonal engine boss. This will give me the chance to work on a engine in the summer and then be a volly with my home dept. when I'm here. The other option seemed to be moving to another dept. but that might also mean me having to sell my place here and move. I'm happy living here even if there are no women and nothing to do and I don't think I could afford to move. Thanks everyone for the imput and the forum to voice my thoughts. Sometimes just writing in down helps to figure things out. Thanks again

Permalink Reply by Aaron Mandel on January 30, 2011 at 10:43am

So I was down at the community college the other day to re-new my emt and help a friend get enrolled for EMT-B. We were walking to the campus book store when I commented on how I needed to go back to school to chase all the skirt walking around. This started a two day on and off conversation that has lead me to look at going back to school. It's scary for me to think about school again at 32 but my friend is 50 and isn't afraid. My thought is that if I start looking for grants now I could be back in school in fall. My goal would be to improve my teaching skills and start teaching fire course on the community college level. I'm already a Wildfire Instructor and I have had the IFSTA fire service instuctor course. Does anyone know about college grants and what it takes to teach Fire course were you live? I want to be able to teach nationaly but I don't know if there is such a cert.

Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on January 30, 2011 at 5:01pm

Look in the main forum discussions of this website - there have been a bunch of discussion this matter which may help you get some monies. To start look up "Free College" and "Scholarships for Firefighters" - then there are a bunch more - but you can do your own research ;-)

On a personal note. I did not START college (bachelors) until I was age 27... and here I am a few years later about to graduate with my doctorate. At age 25, I had maxed out my pay grade because of my education. My bosses would give me more tasks, but not more pay, because I lacked the formal degrees on my resume. So in doing research about the jobs I want - by adding a degree or two - I can double or triple or quadruple my pay grade / yearly salary - and I have many more options to find and keep jobs that I love anywhere in the world.

SO YOU SHOULD TOTALLY DO IT !!!

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER !! More knowledge gives you more job opportunities in more fields.

I researched jobs and found a few that I wanted 5 years down the road and then found out what they required for education which helped lead my forward academic trajectory.

NO ONE IS EVER TOO OLD TO LEARN AND GET ANOTHER DEGREE - if it heads you in a direction that you want to go - towards a goal you want - then march head long in that direction...

Don't let your age sway you. In many ways being an older student makes school much more interesting and much easier, since you will already have the professional structure internally needed to complete assignments and stay focused on your goal.

AND I HAVE BECOME THE MASTER OF HOMEWORK - SO I WILL HELP YOU ANY WAY I CAN !!! IT WOULD BE MY HONOR !!!

I got the highest written entrance exam score out of anyone who entered my school... and the highest score on my written final comprehensive exams at the end of my degree classwork in my department... so I am becoming quite the writing ace if you need any help proof reading or picking topics, etc. etc. I am not bragging, I am just saying I have worked hard and am willing to share the benefits of that work - and learning how to move more quickly within the academic world.

Two of my favorite sayings help motivate me

"The ONLY way to eat an elephant is ONE BITE at a time!"

and

"The ONLY way to get across the Grand Canyon is in ONE BIG JUMP - certain goals in life can not be obtained by making a series of small steps!"

______________________________________________

On a second note - you can apply to teach at a Community College - as an expert in your field - already without a degree.

Permalink Reply by Aaron Mandel on February 19, 2011 at 1:11pm

So just to update you all I have found a job in Mi. This should last till the fall when I hope to go back to school. I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for the support and insight that has helped me move forward so I don't feel stuck. I hope to find a volly dept. to join while in Mi. so I can stay up on my skills and keep moving forward.

Permalink Reply by Chris Weber on February 22, 2011 at 4:24pm

Man do I know what you're going through.It seems to come and go in cycles.Right now it's safe to say we are in one of the down cycles ourselves.Just keep keeping on.It will get better.It does get SUPER frustrating at times but just hang in there.

Permalink Reply by Izzy ( J. Bade) on February 22, 2011 at 7:09pm