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Interior/ Exterior Firefighters
Just a question do you think there should be exterior and interior firefighters? In my opinion i do.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Cole on
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I guess you could say then that THIS is one of those examples of what ' the difference' is. You either do the job or you are on the outside looking in.
AFTER becoming certified, whatever that may be in any particular department, you are either a trained firefighter, or you are pedestrian. Period.
I would imagine smaller departments with few resources don't have the ability to seperate innies from outies.
It's really about those WITH ability, and those WITHOUT it.
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Permalink Reply by WestPhilly on
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Surely having someone who is willing to do something is better than having someone who is willing to do nothing.
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Permalink Reply by capt4021 on
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Yes. For example we have a guy in our department that is missing half his arm. However that doesn't slow him down and he has no problem packing up and going on, But back on the topic if he felt he could not go inside then he would be great to have outside doing an updated 360 to command running the air fill station or humping hose. Another example we have guys in our department that have bad knees from years of crawling around dark smoke fill hallways that can be outside ventman. Not to mention if you have probies or people still in training that were able to make a truck they will be valued assetts on the fireground for examples giving earlier. And for the people that are claustrophobic in a space where they can't see but are masters with a chainsaw on a roof so be it. But I know i don't want someone behind or in front of me thats gonna freak out 10 ft inside a door. No offense to the career people on here but you guys have to remember there are also combi and volly departments on here that post as well. So not every post on here is directly related to career departments.
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Permalink Reply by Tom Wheland on
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Very well put Chief.
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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No offense to the career people on here but you guys have to remember there are also combi and volly departments on here that post as well. So not every post on here is directly related to career departments.
Nobody on here is even remotely suggesting that every post is related to a career dept. This whole thread started out as an OPINION about having exterior firefighters. As such I stated my OPINION and firmly believe there should be absolutely no distinction of an exterior nor interior FF, either you can perform all the duties required of a firefighter or you can't. I firmly understand there are volly and combo depts out there that do things different, however, I could care less how they operate and it is not going to change my opinion. Even when I was a volly, there was no distinction of an interior or exterior firefighter. To me it makes much more sense to have people on scene ready and qualified to do the job asked of them, whether it is to go in or do outside ops.
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I don't understand the objection to "exterior only" firefighters. A department is only as good as the members of the community make it. If they are willing to volunteer their services - but only up to a point - you can't exactly wave a magic wand and turn them into complete firefighters, can you?
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Permalink Reply by Brandon on
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ok this is how i see it, i have been doing this since 1998 at the young age of 15, there is no definition of interior vs exterior, that would be throwing in and making another argument just like the paid vs volunteer thing, its not anything as alot of you have said and its true you have guys that dont go in for what ever reason or what have you they are a huge asset no matter what it is, a Firefighter is a Firefighter period end of story, there are diff roles in the serivce and they are there for a reason to get the job done and everyone goe home and help your community...
the only diff there is and should be tittled about is when your trainning and then titled interior exterior as my dept is, here in columbia you are an exterior FF only and identified by helmet color until you get your FF1 then you can go interior...
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Permalink Reply by Spanner 122 on
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No, there shouldn't be. You should be trained to do the entire job and be able to do the entire job.
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Permalink Reply by R Griffin on
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We have exterior on red leather fronts of those who are new to the department and has never certified to the state requirements yet. The reason is for responding to mutual aid the IC will not expect him or her to enter. It still comes down to the IC to know and decide if and when to enter..... BE SAFE!!!
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Spanner,
Somebody made a crack about Canadian football on one of the threads. No matter what anyone says - wasn't me!
As for this subject, you do realize we're talking about volunteer firefighters? My point being, if the volunteers are only willing to do the exterior portion of the job, do you turn them away?
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Permalink Reply by Alan Shaw on
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No one ever said that people who can’t wear a SCBA or crawl into a fire are not smart or talented, but they are not firefighters.
Telling prospective members that they can come in and do half the job is no way to make up for a lack of members who do the full job. That is nothing more than shortchanging all involved.
If your FAST/RIT is just standing around, then they are not being utilized to their full potential. I suggest they read Chief Sendelbach’s article on The Safety Engine Concept. You scene is not as safe as it could be for the interior firefighters who now, because of the remainder of your force being exterior, have no back up. As for the Exterior only guys, the O.V. position is most definitely an interior position, at least on an aggressive truck company. I can’t see someone making a grab without going inside, unless the victim is on the front lawn and already out of harm’s way.
I could not agree with Ron more. If we as volunteers are going to insist on being treated the same as our career counterparts, then we better begin acting the same way, otherwise we are lying to ourselves and our residents. Yes there is allot of exterior work to do at a fire, but that along with the interior work can be accomplished by fully trained firefighters. To say that showing up with only exterior firefighters is the Chief’s fault for not training them, is the exact opposite of recruiting and expecting only exterior work of our members.
We should require, not encourage, our member to become certified. Would you rather go to a Doctor that was encouraged to go to medical school or one who was required to go?
While I cannot speak for the career side of the fire service, I can and often do share my opinion of the volunteer side that I proudly serve on, It is every bit as offensive to me as a fully trained and certified volunteer as I assume it would be to a career firefighter that some people think they can do this half way. When I post, it is mostly directed towards the fire service in general but definitely due to my personal experience, more applicable to the volunteer side.
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As for this subject, you do realize we're talking about volunteer firefighters? My point being, if the volunteers are only willing to do the exterior portion of the job, do you turn them away?
Actually the question was asked do you think there should be exterior and interior firefighters? While not addressing volunteers specifically, it is still a question and a matter of opinion. I have yet to see some career FF state they are exterior only because that is bull.
My opinion has not, nor will it change on this matter, you may feel it is OK to have exterior only FF's, but that is your opinion. Now I have not applied to many volunteer depts, but those I did all had along with the application the requirements to do the job and what is expected of a volunteer. Every volly dept I been at sent you through training. See a nice thing, here in WI, in order to even be a volunteer FF, you have to be absolute minimum Entry Level FF certified. Entry level is just a little less time than FF1 and once entry level certified you can be expected to do any job on the fireground, even interior. If the person reads the expectations of the FF and feels they can't do them for whatever reason, then they shouldn't be looking to get on.
Why is it we have minimum standards for EMT's and police officers? How many cops, PT, auxillary, whatever do you see saying they will only do say traffic control only....despite a possible felon in the area and the cops need backup? Just because I want to be a cop, but only want to do traffic stops, should I really be a cop? Should I be turned away from the police force if I'm willing to volunteer my time doing traffic control?
EMT's..I have yet to see one saying they will only do trauma care, because they don't want to treat a heart attack or do EKG's etc. We see people becoming EMT's, but they still go through a training and are expected to do the job, why shouldn't standards be held for FF's?
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