What Exactly Is A 'Routine' Fire?

I would like to pose this question to the nation because if you have an answer I believe you may have a problem. When we start believing that we can truly dominate a fire scene and manage what ever is delt to us we end up joining the secret list. If you run many fires or just a few each needs to be treated as the challenge that it is not "routine."

What is you opinion on this?

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Permalink Reply by Paul Secker on July 28, 2010 at 3:31pm

I agree capcityff......the more you do something the better you get at it. Certain fireground activities become second nature, and you have the resources to assign certain firefighters to vent, search and rescue, etc. On a volunteer fire department, particularly a smaller one, you're often forced to prioritize and multi-task at every call.

I apologize if I sounded hypersensitive about the career/vollie thing. Several members of one of my departments went on to be career guys in the same town. Regardless, I consider us all brothers!

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Permalink Reply by WestPhilly on July 28, 2010 at 5:08pm

Art,

If one is at a routine fire that gets "FUBAR", then it's not a routine fire. (Unless FUBAR typically happens at one's fires).

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Permalink Reply by Márcio Teixeira on July 28, 2010 at 5:09pm

I have an opinion .... we should not be afraid of fire, but we must respect it

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Permalink Reply by 55 TRUCK on July 29, 2010 at 1:19am

I know this is a bit off the subject.. I started out as a Vol. with my home twone dept after I got out of the Army. Then I got hired on in the city. I and many paid guys across thee country started out as Vol. in there local fire dept. And just like myself, many of them continue to Volunyeer in the comunities they live in. In fact I know one Vol dept where a large majority of there firefighters were off duty city firemen who lived in the communitie.
Routine is all about percesption & experience.
At the Vol. dept you might be sitting at the Station drinking a cup of joe and say." If we get a fire today.." At the city fire house the Officer on the Truck looks across the kitchen table over his coffee & says" When we get a fire today.."

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Permalink Reply by Roy Walker on July 29, 2010 at 7:57am

Lets look at it this way, remember when you first started to run a power saw and you were so nervous that you would cut off a finger that you always kept the guard on and watched where the fingers were. Now watch some of the more experienced carpenters throw them around like they were immune to the blades and the look on their faces when they take a few digits off. Sometimes experience can be a poor teacher, if it leads to complacency.