Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by lutan1 on March 19, 2008 at 3:04pm

Hey there Robert- you're spot on about stress and I'm happy to keep this discussion on this thread if others want to talk about stress and coping mechanisms.

However, please don't spam the boards promoting your product (As it appears you are doing looking at your profile and replies to other threads) or I will delete the message and block you from this group.

Permalink Reply by Robert J. Haig on March 19, 2008 at 4:53pm

Gotcha will change my book pic and put my old face in my profile

Permalink Reply by lutan1 on March 19, 2008 at 5:02pm

Robert, the issue is not the book pic- it's the fact that you're promoting poeple to go to your website where you are selling a servicce or product. That's spamming.

If on the other hand, if you want to share your thoughts on stress and coping mechnaisms, etc on this forum, then go for it! It's an importnant topic, particularly around road accidents and the trauma involved. However, I ask (As do the site administrators) that you keep the topic focussed on this FREE website and the topic being discussed.

I have passed this onto WebChief to review.

Permalink Reply by Robert J. Haig on March 19, 2008 at 5:11pm

Yes you are correct. My participation will be done without referal to my web site. I am trying to change the picture on my profile but am having trouble. Got a good shot of me when I was young and in action at a fire. How can I change my profile pic?

Permalink Reply by Stacy Banderinko on March 25, 2008 at 6:28pm

one of the ways we cope and manage is debrief. i know every company does it, but we all do it differently. after every significant call, as soon as we clean our equipment, we sit down and talk. we talk about what happened and if there was anything we could have done differently. we use this time to make sure everyone's okay and to make sure we're all on the same page. it's important because we are a little busier than a lot of the services in the area, and we are very close within our department. we've had some bad shit happen in our area in the past month, so on our regular training night a few weeks ago, we sat down and just talked. no active training, no gear, just us. we lost a firefighter very close to our department (not in it), so we mainly focused on safety and the importance of accountability on a scene. it's really hard to keep things bottled up inside you, so the best thing to do is talk to someone in your department.

Permalink Reply by Robert J. Haig on March 25, 2008 at 8:22pm

I am not active anymore but talking about your fires or other incidents is important.The stress of having a man trapped can be paralyzing to those on the scene. This does not happen often and for some never in a career. Talking and training helps prepare for that time when instant action is required. When you come off that rig you must ready.Every fire should be reviewed by your crew. Blame for mistakes should not be levied. A focus on improvement and what could we have done better should be the only topic covered. Losing a running mate is unacceptable but the nature of our profession makes that occurance a danger that at times is unavoidable.

Permalink Reply by Stacy Banderinko on April 2, 2008 at 2:01am

I wholeheartedly agree with you, and that's the only question Chief ever asks us. "What could we have done differently?"