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Hazing or paying the dues?
This is very likely to piss of the old timers, but I want to start talking about it, in hopes that our industry can find what it really needs and dispense with what is either outdated or does not work. I found this advice on a fire website today, and while some of the items are great advice, others really smack of hazing and a lack of teamwork. I am going to publish the original in black and my thoughts on it in parentheses. I would like to see what kind of discussion this prompts to find out where the industry is. If everyone thinks all of these are all OK then I will shut up, but I think some of these do nothing but create an environment of hostility between rookies and old timers.
Advice for the Rookie Firefighter!
1) Nobody cares how you did it at the Academy, or at your last job. You have not done anything here yet. (You should care how it was done at the academy. If the Academy isn’t teaching real world, then change it, and if the Academy isn’t preparing rookies for what they will find on the job it is up to you to either change the academy or the rookie.)
2) We don’t need to know your name. Your name will be probie, new guy, newbie or rookie until we say otherwise. (Rookies deserve no less respect than the citizens we serve, in fact, most deserve a bit more, simply because they care enough to be in the fire house. Use their names.)
3) Don’t walk around the station calling everybody Sir. That is reserved for Officers and your Dad.
4) Remember: your mom, wife or girlfriends do not work here. Pick up after yourself.
5) Stay off of the cell phone.
6) When sitting around the kitchen table, listen but don’t speak unless spoken to. You will learn a lot more that way. (A good way to learn, but a bad way to teach. Rookies might learn much if they were encouraged to ask questions.)
7) If you don’t know how to use a tool or a piece of equipment, you better tell somebody. Ask to be taught how to use it.)
8) There is no such thing as dumb questions, only dumb answers. Ask questions that pertain to your job.
9) Don’t wait to be told to do something. (But don’t punish rookies for not knowing exactly what needs to be done at every minute, either, they look to you for guidance, so guide them.)
10) If a senior Firefighter is up doing something, you need to be up and doing something. (Ask what you might help with, and don't just do that and then sit down. Old timers, don't just sit around watching the rookie work, either!)
11) We eat together. If you bring food from home bring enough for everyone.
12) At meal time you should be the last one sitting down to eat and the first one getting up to clean the dishes. (This is true, but a good company officer will make sure his personnel eat first. This is good leadership.)
13) There should never be any dirty dishes in the sink, full garbage cans in the station, or dirty trucks in the bay. That is what you are there for. Know your role. (All these are true, but should not be the responsibility of the rookie alone. The crew is a team, and rookies get the wrong idea if they are the only ones doing the shit jobs in the station.)
14) The most important tool in the firehouse for a rookie is a mop. Learn how to use one. (The most important tool in a fire house is the senior personnel, who can teach you better than the academy, learning how to work with them is paramount. Mops are important too, but the whole crew needs to know how they are used, and needs to show that they are willing to use them.)
15) If you don’t know how to cook, learn!
16) Don’t sit down until you are told to.
17) If you have nothing to do, find something to clean.
18) If the coffee pot is empty make a fresh pot. (Nothing annoys me more than waste, and a pot of coffee sitting for countless hours burning dry is not helpful. Ask if anyone wants more coffee before you make some that will only sit.)
19) Riding backwards on a Fire truck is a privilege. (Riding forwards is a PUNISHMENT!! So never become an officer.)
20) You have two hands make sure you bring two tools with you when you get off of the truck.
21) When on the Fireground, don’t take off your gear until told.
22) You were given PPE, wear all of it. (It is the responsibility of the old timers to set the example! This rule often apples to the veterans more than the rookies! Rookies are taught to wear all PPE in the academy, and haven’t had years of bad habits to get lazy about it. Very rarely do we read stories of rookies getting injured due to incomplete PPE, more often, it seems to be the veterans.)
23) Don’t lay your tools, gear or equipment down. (EXCEPT in their proper locations on the truck.)
24) If there is a voluntary training available, sign up for it. If there is a fundraiser, sign up for it. If a Firefighter needs a swap, step up and do it for him. If you are invited some where by other firefighters show up.
25) Try before you pry.
26) If you are afraid, that is ok, so were we. If a Firefighter says he is not scared, he is probably lying.
27) Your hands and your eyes are the most important. Always protect them.
28) All downed wires are LIVE.
29) The guy with the most soot on his face saw the least amount of fire.
30) Every firefighter carries a knife.
31) Whatever is said, seen or heard in a Firehouse needs to stay in the Firehouse. (Assuming what is said or done is legal and in the best interest of the department.)
32) Know where you are going before you leave the Firehouse.
33) If you break, lose or damage something, tell someone.
34) Nobody will see you do something good but everybody will see you screw something up.
35) Learn how to read a map.
36) This is not just a job. It is a Brotherhood. Learn what that means.
37) Respect is earned, not given out. (Respect should be given out until the individual has shown he or she is not worthy of it.)
38) Have Pride. You are now in the best Profession in the world. Act like it!!
39) Work hard to prove yourself. That is how you become accepted into the fold.
40) Don’t complain about doing your job. Nobody wants to hear it.
I would like to hear what folks have to say about it. Like I said, I know some of you out there will say that this is the way we’ve always done it, and in your departments you are probably right, but is it the best way to do things? Is this the best example we can offer rookies.
When I started in the fire service in 1991, I was welcomed into my department with a very positive attitude. I was treated like a valued member of the team from the first day, and expected to perform to the best of my training and ability from the start. I stood with a mop in my hand right next to my Lieutenants and Captains as we kept the station as a team. If anything the rookies had to do extra training rather than extra work around the station, and personally, I would rather have well trained rookies on my rig than good floor moppers. I know this is the exception rather than the rule, but I think it serves the goal of our industry better than the “way we’ve always done it.”
What do you all think?
Advice for the Rookie Firefighter!
1) Nobody cares how you did it at the Academy, or at your last job. You have not done anything here yet. (You should care how it was done at the academy. If the Academy isn’t teaching real world, then change it, and if the Academy isn’t preparing rookies for what they will find on the job it is up to you to either change the academy or the rookie.)
2) We don’t need to know your name. Your name will be probie, new guy, newbie or rookie until we say otherwise. (Rookies deserve no less respect than the citizens we serve, in fact, most deserve a bit more, simply because they care enough to be in the fire house. Use their names.)
3) Don’t walk around the station calling everybody Sir. That is reserved for Officers and your Dad.
4) Remember: your mom, wife or girlfriends do not work here. Pick up after yourself.
5) Stay off of the cell phone.
6) When sitting around the kitchen table, listen but don’t speak unless spoken to. You will learn a lot more that way. (A good way to learn, but a bad way to teach. Rookies might learn much if they were encouraged to ask questions.)
7) If you don’t know how to use a tool or a piece of equipment, you better tell somebody. Ask to be taught how to use it.)
8) There is no such thing as dumb questions, only dumb answers. Ask questions that pertain to your job.
9) Don’t wait to be told to do something. (But don’t punish rookies for not knowing exactly what needs to be done at every minute, either, they look to you for guidance, so guide them.)
10) If a senior Firefighter is up doing something, you need to be up and doing something. (Ask what you might help with, and don't just do that and then sit down. Old timers, don't just sit around watching the rookie work, either!)
11) We eat together. If you bring food from home bring enough for everyone.
12) At meal time you should be the last one sitting down to eat and the first one getting up to clean the dishes. (This is true, but a good company officer will make sure his personnel eat first. This is good leadership.)
13) There should never be any dirty dishes in the sink, full garbage cans in the station, or dirty trucks in the bay. That is what you are there for. Know your role. (All these are true, but should not be the responsibility of the rookie alone. The crew is a team, and rookies get the wrong idea if they are the only ones doing the shit jobs in the station.)
14) The most important tool in the firehouse for a rookie is a mop. Learn how to use one. (The most important tool in a fire house is the senior personnel, who can teach you better than the academy, learning how to work with them is paramount. Mops are important too, but the whole crew needs to know how they are used, and needs to show that they are willing to use them.)
15) If you don’t know how to cook, learn!
16) Don’t sit down until you are told to.
17) If you have nothing to do, find something to clean.
18) If the coffee pot is empty make a fresh pot. (Nothing annoys me more than waste, and a pot of coffee sitting for countless hours burning dry is not helpful. Ask if anyone wants more coffee before you make some that will only sit.)
19) Riding backwards on a Fire truck is a privilege. (Riding forwards is a PUNISHMENT!! So never become an officer.)
20) You have two hands make sure you bring two tools with you when you get off of the truck.
21) When on the Fireground, don’t take off your gear until told.
22) You were given PPE, wear all of it. (It is the responsibility of the old timers to set the example! This rule often apples to the veterans more than the rookies! Rookies are taught to wear all PPE in the academy, and haven’t had years of bad habits to get lazy about it. Very rarely do we read stories of rookies getting injured due to incomplete PPE, more often, it seems to be the veterans.)
23) Don’t lay your tools, gear or equipment down. (EXCEPT in their proper locations on the truck.)
24) If there is a voluntary training available, sign up for it. If there is a fundraiser, sign up for it. If a Firefighter needs a swap, step up and do it for him. If you are invited some where by other firefighters show up.
25) Try before you pry.
26) If you are afraid, that is ok, so were we. If a Firefighter says he is not scared, he is probably lying.
27) Your hands and your eyes are the most important. Always protect them.
28) All downed wires are LIVE.
29) The guy with the most soot on his face saw the least amount of fire.
30) Every firefighter carries a knife.
31) Whatever is said, seen or heard in a Firehouse needs to stay in the Firehouse. (Assuming what is said or done is legal and in the best interest of the department.)
32) Know where you are going before you leave the Firehouse.
33) If you break, lose or damage something, tell someone.
34) Nobody will see you do something good but everybody will see you screw something up.
35) Learn how to read a map.
36) This is not just a job. It is a Brotherhood. Learn what that means.
37) Respect is earned, not given out. (Respect should be given out until the individual has shown he or she is not worthy of it.)
38) Have Pride. You are now in the best Profession in the world. Act like it!!
39) Work hard to prove yourself. That is how you become accepted into the fold.
40) Don’t complain about doing your job. Nobody wants to hear it.
I would like to hear what folks have to say about it. Like I said, I know some of you out there will say that this is the way we’ve always done it, and in your departments you are probably right, but is it the best way to do things? Is this the best example we can offer rookies.
When I started in the fire service in 1991, I was welcomed into my department with a very positive attitude. I was treated like a valued member of the team from the first day, and expected to perform to the best of my training and ability from the start. I stood with a mop in my hand right next to my Lieutenants and Captains as we kept the station as a team. If anything the rookies had to do extra training rather than extra work around the station, and personally, I would rather have well trained rookies on my rig than good floor moppers. I know this is the exception rather than the rule, but I think it serves the goal of our industry better than the “way we’ve always done it.”
What do you all think?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jim on
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Respect is given not earned. That being said we use the tasks of cleaning up around the fire hall as a way of weeding out the newbies who want the lights and sirens but not the work. It shows us that have put in our time that they want to be here and are willing to do there part. That doesn't mean the vetrans just sit around watching. They are there helping also. But the newbies are expected to come in early and help clean the bays and take the trash out. Those above me had to do it, I had to do it, and now the newer ones have to do it. The newbies are not treated with disrespect or as lesser firefighters. We are a volunteer department and not fulltime paid so we want personell who are self motivated and this serves as a good tool.
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Permalink Reply by Joel C Kelley on
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This seems like a really good approach, but it also sounds like you have a great way to find good folks to work with you. This is similar to what my first Vol dept did.
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