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Do you think a 18 or 19 year should be the chief of a volunteer fire dept.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Justin Buck on
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no its true there is a nearby dept. that has a young chief
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Permalink Reply by firechief911 on
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how long has he been there be ready for the outfall or should i say fallout
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lol can he bring his daddy
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lol
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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on
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Joe:
I had almost forgotten that thread.
So, with your help, I have lifted something from THAT discussion that applies HERE.
Bold italics for emphasis:
The point that is going to be made over and over again is NOT that you have alot of certified training, but how much EXPERIENCE that an officer has. In my mind, I only need two questions answered when I have appointed an officer: 1) Can he/she keep their team from getting into trouble and 2) if they can't, can they get them OUT of trouble? Do you think it goes much deeper than that, then consider this: when you reach that level where someone can look at you and know without hesitation that you can lead them, protect them and will risk everything to get them out of trouble, then you have arrived in the fire service.
There is a "father/son" culture that exists in the volunteer fire service, which says that older men (dads) don't do well taking orders from younger ones (sons), regardless of certifications. The career path isn't structured in such a way. Following chain of command isn't an option. If you haven't figured it out by the time you come out of academy, then you won't be a firefighter.
Part of being a good leader is being a good listener and respecting who is saying it. You can dismiss an idea as good or bad without breaking a person's morale.
I will close with this: do you know everything in the book or which book to look it up in?
An old smoke eater told me: FIRE is measured in degrees; FIREFIGHTERS are not! They are measured in WEIGHT; pulling their's AND your's.
Look Listen Learn.
And I will leave it at that.
TCSS.
Art
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Permalink Reply by BillySFCVFD on
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He shouldn't be at a local watering hole he should be at home with his wife and kids. Oops, I mean babysitting his little bro and sis.
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Permalink Reply by Damon Dyer on
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What are you saying Ray ?
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Just starting .
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damon u know the dept. im talking about
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Permalink Reply by PAUL IVEY on
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Im 21 years old and a I just got promoted to our 3rd Lt. spot and sometimes i wonder if the stuff goes south and im the one in charge if i have enough of experience after 4 years to make the right calls. But if the Chiefs appionted me to that position then i think I must be showing them something. But as a 18-19 year old as a chief im sorry but i have to laugh at that. I have a 50 year old on my department and it is like pulling teeth to get him to listen to me on the fire scene. But all I can say is good luck and I hope all turns out safely.
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Permalink Reply by John on
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Nope not enough expirence, that doesn't mean they cannot be excellent firefighters though.
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