Last week's Note to Self addressed Stan (Shucks, that ain't nuthin') and Tim (the Topper). I told you that "Stans and Tims fail to realize that the fire service is a small world, and some people have absolutely no problem picking up the phone to verify a tale."

I'm one of those people who will call your bluff, and several of you reading this note are the same way. Specifically, I know one fire chief in particular who will pick up the phone to verify tall tales. How do I know? Because I took the first phone call at the station when he called to do just that.

Seems one of our Stans who had previously been dismissed from the department (for the second time) moved to California and joined a volunteer department there. The call from the fire chief in California went something like this (with names changed, of course):

"Granbury Fire Department, Cook speaking."
"Yeah this is John Doe, chief of the XYZ volunteer fire department in California, and I have a question. What the heck do you teach your firefighters over there?"
"Not sure I understand the question, chief," I replied.

So the chief proceeded to inform me that one of our former "apparatus operator trainers" almost killed a lady that day when he made a right turn in the apparatus without looking to ensure the lane was clear. Stan's excuse was this: "In Granbury, the company officer is responsible for that side of the engine, not the driver. It's the company officer's fault—he should have told me she was there."

I told the chief that we didn't have any former apparatus operator trainers, and I asked for Stan's name. The chief told me, and I explained Stan's real situation with the Granbury VFD. Stan had applied for membership with our department twice, and never made it off probation either time. It was probably less than one year that Stan was with the department.

The chief then told me the rest of Stan's California adventures—some quite amazing stories. I put the chief in touch with our chief, and they had a good conversation about everything Stan claimed to have done during his less than one-year stay at Granbury—worked as an apparatus operator trainer, saved babies, the whole nine yards.

The reality is this: Stan was a chump, and that's putting it nicely. The members of the Granbury VFD and the XYZ department in California had him pegged from the beginning. And if you're a Stan or Tim, the folks working with you have you pegged, too. You're not fooling anybody but yourself. Somebody in your department is going to call your bluff one day, and you'll be run off from doing this thing that you love. When you leave the room, the folks you were just talking to are making up a new tale solely for the reason of seeing if you can and will "Stan/Tim it" (and you've never once let them down).

So, here's my advice: If you're a Stan or a Tim, stop.

If Stan or Tim is subordinate to you, gut it up and talk to them. Tell them that the path they're heading down leads to being an outcast and, ultimately, to trouble. Like it or not, you are responsible for their professional development and handling this is part of it.

Finally, if you're Stan or Tim's peer, simply talk to them. Let them know that you and the rest of their buddies know they're full of it.

FireRescue Technical Editor Scott Cook welcomes reader feedback, and invites you to contribute your notes to his column on firefighter ingenuity and street wisdom. You can reach Scott by e-mail at scott.cook1@sbcglobal.net.