"Word of Mouth" from Firefighter Behavior

In fire departments our most influential training opportunities are not necessarily the yearly recertifications or the latest seminars but the working fire. Our trade is a hands on service where the majority of learning is done by doing. We go to fires; we stretch hoselines; we search rooms; we open up the roof. And if we happen to not do any of those items on the last alarm, we certainly hear about it from those who did. Studies in occupational folklife reveal that the information workers share with one another, regardless of how uniform it may or may not be, has a great impact in teaching others. FDIC is over with and if you were fortunate to have been sent by your department, or paid out of your own pocket, you had plenty of opportunites to bring back something more tangible than Ray McCormack's speech. Let's face it, while it was a good speech and is the talk of the town, at the end of the day you'll do what your department says and the other guy will do what his department says.

When you came back to work, or to your duty night, were you able to tell the guys and gals more than who you hung out with? There were 22 H.O.T. Evolutions offered, 38 workshops and 168 classroom sessions scheduled. Budgets are tight; what did you bring back to the ones who couldn't attend?

What important information are you passing on to the members riding across from you?