This is the next couple of pages in the New members House book. I have also included the cover of the book. Enjoy

Welcome to your new home.

Get ready to serve with PRIDE!

Here are the rules and the expectations!

Station 31

The little things matter

I would like to start this section by saying like in any relationship, and in any house, the little things matter. It is up to you and how you deal with the little things that determine how life goes. My grandfather once said, “What is a big deal? It is where all of the little things accumulate until it becomes big.” That is oh so very true. Learn to curtail things before they become big.

I have, in my time here seen things that I feel are little, escalate to big because they were not addressed, or properly addressed when it was “little”. Remember, that is what we do here. We mitigate a situation to bring change and stability to it. By practicing this in non-emergency situations it is easier to do in those emergency events also.

Later on I will discuss some of the “un-written rules” that we have here in the house. Many of these things are common sense. But it would amaze you sometimes to how uncommon that can be. Don’t let the simple little things detour us from having the best House in the district, county, and region.

When out in the community remember that you are a representative of this agency and this house. Saying that, your time is your time and I as the Captain of this house don’t mind what you do with it. I do have an expectation of setting a good moral and ethical example in our community. You want to go out to the bar and tie a few on, by all means do so, but do not due so in fire department uniforms. Also, you have to get home, you better not be behind the wheel.

This brings up another issue that I would like to address here so that it shouldn’t have to be addressed later, attire. I understand that we are volunteers; this is the most important aspect of this department. But just because we are volunteers does not mean we can respond in our “Weekend Work” attire. I do not want to see a response to a call with you wearing cut off shorts and a tube top (especially the guys ;)) I know that the pager can go off at any time, but…. If you are in your dirty grubbies you probably shouldn’t be contacting a sick patient. I do expect that you will respond in a professional manner, this includes your attire.

I would suggest too you that if you think that this may be an issue for you because of your job or personal issues, please come and talk to me. I will do my best to assist you with this. This is not only an issue of professionalism and appearance, but it is also a matter of personal safety, yours and the patient. So please keep this in mind when responding to an emergency call and trainings.

Set the standard and lead by following that standard. We have standards here that are expected to be followed. If these standards are used and followed then many unnecessary problems are averted. These little things tend not to get bigger when they are addressed. Always remember that the little things do matter!

Around the House

This is a very busy house. The House of 31 runs to just about every call in the district. Along with the typical responses our house is very busy as far has community involvement. This house gets a lot of traffic for different events for community organizations. It is not the job of the community members to come in here and clean up after us before they use these facilities. They should clean up after themselves though. If they do not, we'll then clean it up.

I expect this house to stay clean. There is no one on the pay roll or the volunteer roster that is here to clean up after you. Even if your mother was on the roster it is not her job to clean up after you here. This is not asking a lot of you. Just pick up after yourself.

To kind of help you along, here are a few things for you to be cognitive on.

· Bathroom- If you use it and leave behind “racing stripes” then luckily there is a brush next to each toilet, use it. If there is no toilet paper, replace it, same with paper towels.

· The meeting room- If the floor needs sweeping/vacuuming then make sure it gets done. The broom is in the bay and the vacuum is in the men’s bathroom. Be sure to empty the vacuum when you get done using it. Don’t leave your stuff lying around the meeting room. If it is lying around and I don’t know who or where it belongs, I will “file” it. Wi-Fi is available here. It is password protected. If you want to use your Wi-Fi capable device let me or the Chief know.

· The Apparatus Bays – Keep your gear picked up and stowed away. I do not want to come in and find your gear strewn all over the place. If it is, you may find that you need to explain to me and the equipment officer why you need to have it re-issued. Keep your gear clean! We have laundry facilities available here. If you have never washed gear before then get with someone to help you. I do not wash your gear. If you can’t take care of it I will pull it and give it to someone who can.

· Apparatus- This is a whole section on its own. For this particular section though I want to talk about, in-service. If you roll on a call with an apparatus you need to help get it ready for service again. We work as a team on a scene; we need to do it in the house also. The quicker we all work together to get things in ready use, the quicker we can go home at 3 in the morning. Do your part.