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Advice for New Line Officers, and Experienced Officers
Many of us on this site are new officers or experienced officers. As a new officer I (along with others here) are always looking to learn from our senior/experienced officers. I also know that the experienced officers are always looking to improve.
I would like to know what your two tips are for a new company officer.
Then I want two tips for the experienced officer.
I would like to know what your two tips are for a new company officer.
Then I want two tips for the experienced officer.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Leland Lavender on
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Be the best you can be... As a company officer you've proven that the red you wear on your helmet represents the Valor,the sacrifice, the "blood".
Be the best you can be, because when your the officer, you will be teaching those beneath you to be the best they can be so they can then on keep the cycle going.
Invest in all the knowledge you can, because the lack there of means your life and others... 60,000 - 70,000 might be a lot of money, but that still is a very small price for your life and the others you lead.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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The rules for being a good company officer are simple young grasshopper...
Here's my "Captain Busy's Fire Company Officer's Top 10 Rules"...
1. Don't tell the cook how to cook.
2. Don't tell the driver how to drive.
3. If it can't be delegated, don't do it.
4. Lead, follow or get out of the way.
5. Be decisive.
6. Keep your word.
7. Have a plan and stick to it.
8. Always put your crew before you.
9. It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice...
10. Be fair and remember, there is always two sides to a story, so NEVER jump to conclusions.
and, the most important thing of all to be a great company officer?
Don't ever lose your sense of humor!
Happy Holidays!
CBz
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Permalink Reply by DUST on
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Capt.,
I'm looking at your rules now on the wall across from me in our training room cause I printed them and put them up there. Good stuff!
-D
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Permalink Reply by Tiger Schmittendorf on
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Whether a new or experienced officer, the rules never change:
You have an obligation to the families of your firefighters to do everything in your power to return their loved ones to them after every call or every shift.
Your challenge is to motivate and train your firefighters enough that their families want them to return to you for every call or every shift.
Stay safe. Train often.
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Permalink Reply by Al "Top" Styles on
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Congrats on being made...... Couple of tips for ya from an "ol salty" and few books you need to read to help you along the way.
Tips
1. Stay calm, use what god gave you.....your brain think than act.
2. Treat your crew as you want to be treated,it goes a long way...... Be a boss but a boss everyone wants to work for...
Reading
1. Building construction by Francis Brannigan
2. Pride and Ownership by Rick Lasky
3. B Shifter by Nick Brunicini
Again congrats on riding the seat. Glad to see you take a step to ask for a bit of help... Just remember in that rig you are the the most responcible person in there....if it goes bad you will get the heat.... Train yourself, train your crew and oh yeah train some more. Good luck.
Topper
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Permalink Reply by Michael McGee on
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lead by example allways think of the guy your over as you before you was an officer. always remember its someone elses emergency we are just there to fix it. also chief gave me this advice one time we cant help whats allready been burnt our objective is to stop it when we get there.
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Permalink Reply by Peter Eaton on
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Keep it simple, stay calm
Additional reading: Alan V. Brunacini. ... "Fire Command" To quote my chief -"This is the way it should be done."
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Peter,
Great book as well.... Another good Alan book is Customer Service
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Permalink Reply by Roger Neal on
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New company officer:
1. Rememeber that the fire station is not a place for "this Bud's for you" inotherwords, be a supervisor not a buddy. You are going to piss off folks when you make a decision. That's what you get the big bucks for.
2. Enforce the written policies and support the Chief. If you don't agree with a policy, work withing the system to make changes.
3. Be willing to learn from the more experienced members. You are not expected to know everything.
4. Give credit to others
Experienced Officers:
1. Find a new company officer to mentor and share your mistakes so that the new officer doesn't repeat them.
2. Support your Chief, and don't bad mouth those above you. You wouldn't tollerate it from your subordinates, so don't do what you won't tollerate.
3. Make everyday a training day, for both you and your company. Keep learning.
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Permalink Reply by Capt.Alex Arnold on
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In the wise words of my grandfather, "Becoming an officer is easy, getting men (and women) to follow and trust you is the real work!"
Communicating your expectations is key. Not only is it important for you to clearly communicate yours; but make sure that you know the expectations of your crew upon you. That is sometimes more important than your own expectations.
Be safe and learn something new everyday.
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Permalink Reply by Kevin Murphy on
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It is great that you are reaching out in this way. The only items I could add to the above wisdom is to learn to maintain a balance of what the department needs, the crew needs, and what you need. Remember, you are the person who will be held accountable for everything; safety, the call, the inspections, the training, the performance. So you lead and do what needs to be done to best accomplish the needs of all. You will not be able to do it all so learn to recognize the most important items, i.e. safety, customer service, and hold your ground.
Big mistakes are usually the result of many little mistakes adding up to produce larger mistakes. So, if you notice a number of small things going wrong in your operation, slow down, re-evaluate your current plan, and modify as neccessary. Lastly, read the articles in the fire industry journals (magazines). This will keep you current and mainstream on issues, Tactics and Strategy, and allow you to make better decisions on the fire ground.
Pray to God everyday for wisdom, guidance, your safety, and that of your crew and department. That might be a few more than two, sorry.
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Permalink Reply by Brennan on
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Thanks for the great posts guys! I have enjoyed reading everyone of them. I will work on all the tips, and I will also share the tips you guys have posted on here.
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