I'm all about bringing new people in as long as they're here to participate. The more people we have to work with, the better we will be. We are starting to see new members come in, some of them are female. I'm all for female firefighters. With proper training, they can become very valuable assets on the fire ground. Some would be pessimistic about females in the fire station, because of bad incidents in the past, but I tend to end up attracting crazy chicks even when I'm not at the fire station. I doubt it's even because I'm a fireman. I've been looking at my job there and what I actually do. I realize that I'm one of the only ones in my position that will take the initiative to help someone learn something new or conduct training at off times. As an officer, you're looked up to as a leader. The things you do or don't do determine what kind of leader you are. These actions can help or hurt you, you have to decide.
I'm no stranger to being thrown into a situation I've never been in before or having to fight a fire alone. I can remember an evening in Alabama where I used to live. The Fd was dispatched to an abandoned mobile home on fire on the side of a road. Since nobody responded, I decided it was my duty to go take care of it, even though I was supposed to be going to dinner with my mom and fiancé at the time. Since I had not yet been cleared to drive the engine there, I took the brush truck. I figured that if I needed more water or a bigger truck, i could always call for mutual aid. I ultimately put the fire out by myself, but was back out there later that night. I'm pretty sure someone kept setting it. Same department a few weeks later, I responded to a house fire on the engine. Shortly after leaving the station, one of the newer firefighters realized that he was missing his gloves and couldn't make entry. The newly appointed lieutenant quickly chimed in "hope you can pump the truck!", to which he replied no. "Better see If you can borrow some gloves from somebody, cause I'm going in!". Really dude? "I'll pump the truck" I said with some discontent. Everyone else on the engine either didn't know how or didn't want to because they wanted to fight the fire. Jumping into this was in the best interest of the situation. Up until then, I had never pumped a truck on a house fire before. I would quickly get a crash course in pump operation by getting my ass handed to me with levers to pull, gauges to watch, lights to pay attention to, the house to keep an eye on, and my radio to listen to. I got a little overwhelmed, but held it together and after learning some new things, successfully pumped the truck on my first serious incident.
This past weekend, I responded to a forest fire. I decided to respond the engine since I was aware of the area and how long it would take us to get up there. Forest fires in that area can grow quick. It wasn't long after I arrived that I was thrown into command so the other guys could go put out a fire. Okay! Doesn't bother me! It quickly occurred to me that we wouldn't be able to catch this one. Luckily, I had already called for the forestry department. I knew that it would catch a good patch of fuel and take off. I couldn't be more right, because not long after that thought passed through my mind, it did just that. I then began directing units to other areas for structural protection. No houses were lost, no property was lost, and no one got hurt. I would have to say that this incident went well under my command, which surprised me. I must say, with each passing call, I get better at doing the officer side of this.
Sometimes we are given situations that we must direct under pressure. How we react to being under pressure determines factors in leadership. Some people can handle the stress and control, some people can't. These people are usually okay with having little to no responsibility. Your real leaders will rise to the top, even the unrecognized ones. As leaders, we have to be able to recognize upcoming leadership and be a light on their path. These new leaders will be our right hands when we are wearing the white helmet and they will replace us when it's time to put down the bunker gear. These guys and girls are the next generation of firefighters.
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