Firefighters battling one another for action have completely lost perspective

Dear Nozzlehead:
The career and volunteer fire departments in our area are a mess. They have been for years, and recent problems have brought the issue to a head. Unfortunately, my department runs many calls with volunteer firefighters, and we are vulnerable to getting caught up in the drama. Fortunately, I've been able to persuade my company officers to keep their crews focused on remaining professional.

Two recent incidents highlight the problem. The first involved a house fire in one volunteer company's first-due area. The second-due company beat them in and got a line in place before the volunteer company could. Pissed off, the volunteers actually started to pull the hoseline out of the house, so the career crew would have to exit and the volunteers could get their line in place and get the fire. A shoving match ensued, and some volunteer firefighters later claimed they were assaulted. The subsequent investigation found the volunteers were at fault.

The second incident was a house fire involving members of my department. The same volunteer company was dispatched as the second-due engine. Our career company was understaffed, with only a driver and an officer (the rest of the crew was on an EMS run). The volunteer and career crews arrived at the incident at about the same time and met at the front door. Our officer ran a hoseline and requested that the volunteer company assist with getting the line in place. A volunteer firefighter told the career officer, "Go *$#! yourself, we have our own hoseline," and shoved him out of the way. As he fell backward, the career officer reached out to grab a volunteer firefighter to prevent himself from falling. Subsequently, the volunteer company claimed the officer assaulted the volunteer firefighter when he reached out to break his fall. An investigation proved once again that the volunteer company was in the wrong and concluded they jeopardize scene safety on a regular basis.

Many serious things are happening in our county between career and volunteer firefighters. Sadly, the county fire chief removed the chief of the volunteer company from operations. The state attorney is considering pressing criminal charges against the volunteer company, including felony charges. Overall, such actions could mean the collapse of the volunteer system here, which would be a shame.

I am frustrated, angry and generally concerned as a professional. It is a mess. Does this sound like any other areas you know of? What is the solution?
              — Mad in Maryland

Dear Mad,
Does this sound like any other area I know of? Hell, yeah! That's how most of the nation's fire service operates! We get dispatched, scream and yell, drive like absolute raving idiots, get there, run over each other's hoses, do all we can to ignore orders, push each other out of the way, punch each other (especially those on the other side), do everything we can to get water on the fire before those other jackasses do — and then if we don't get our way, we push, pull, shove, assault and generally go insane because, after all, it's all about us.

Yes, that's how we do it, and then after that, we head back to the firehouse and smoke as much crack as we can get our hands on, while awaiting the next call so we can do it all over again!

OK, let's get serious for a minute. Actually, let's get serious, period. First of all, I am not accusing anyone of smoking crack — but the actions you describe make many wonder, why would someone who is not on drugs operate like that? Attitude? Ego? Lost perspective? Poor leadership?
 
Clearly, there is a whole lot of forgetting going on here. For a group of people who have made a mantra out of the words "Never forget," we seem to forget a whole lot. We forget why we are here; in other words, why we joined the fire department, paid or volunteer. The answer is simple: to deliver adequately staffed, well-trained, disciplined firefighters to solve the problems of those who dial 911. Simple stuff. But so often, we complicate the whole thing. Sometimes it's because we become part of the problem by getting hurt or killed in avoidable circumstances. And sometimes, it's the things we do without thinking — and while losing perspective — that get us in a jam. The latter applies here.
 
Goofy stuff happens to us when we lose perspective, something all of us have done at one time or another. Like any inappropriate behavior, sometimes the more we do it without being corrected, the more we accept it as our normal behavior. Someone, somewhere forgot to remind the firefighters in your county who are doing all this goofy crack — I mean crap — that they need to stop, now. That's leadership. Easy to spell, hard to do. It sounds as if there are varied levels of leadership in your county, at the volunteer station as well as at the county level, but I must assume the county carries the overall authority. If that's the case, those folks have failed miserably. Sure, the local level is screwed up if the troops are doing the stuff you described, but where are the county folks when this situation needs to be fixed? I doubt this is the first time such fighting has occurred. Where is the leadership? Where are the policies? Where is the discipline? Where is the respect?
 
And what about the volunteer leadership? If they condone the actions of their firefighters, and if they are incapable of being players on the same team, bench 'em. Send 'em home. The volunteer chief needs to make clear what's acceptable and what isn't. Easier said than done? Sure, but that's why the chief is the chief. Someone has to take charge — or give up the helmet and badge. And if the chief or any of the officers on the volunteer or career side of this issue condone the competitive behavior, send everyone home. That sure brings new meaning to the saying "Everyone goes home," doesn't it? Wow, a new T-shirt idea: Firefighters must play nice … or everyone goes home." Riveting.
 
Amazingly, if you do bench the troublemakers, somehow, someway, the calls will be answered. Sometimes, a few must be removed for the good of all. By "all," I mean all personnel who go to fires in your county — paid, poorly paid, not paid, volunteers, whatever. I couldn't care less.

You write that your department runs many calls with volunteer firefighters, and therefore is vulnerable to getting caught up in this mess. I would also assume then, that the career and volunteer firefighters in your county need each other due to staffing and funding restrictions. The way you describe it, when two members of your department were on an EMS call, two of you went to a fire on your engine. Two members on an engine is not an engine company. Maybe the fact that your career department is understaffed will be enough to encourage some of the folks in charge to get this mess straightened out. And what about brotherhood? You've probably heard the term "BMA" (brotherhood, my ass), but actually "BBC" — brotherhood by convenience — might be more appropriate. We are all brothers and sisters when it's convenient; otherwise, watch your back. Sound familiar?
 
This doesn't happen in most, or hardly any other areas of the United States — it's your pride and joy. And you know as well as I do that it's going to have to change one way or the other. The folks involved must clear their heads and realize that you can't always have the first line on the fire, you can't always beat the other companies in and you can't always have it your way. As hokey as it sounds, the term "team player" applies here, big time. Are there tensions between the volunteers and the career firefighters? Odds are, the issue has nothing to do with what's best for the public — instead, it's one of those "it's all about me" issues. Again, this is a matter of lost perspective.

Someone with a big enough set of nozzles needs to step up and fix the situation. Some will say it's not fixable; some may not want it fixed. But without question, change is going to happen, and probably sooner than later, with a few surprises along the way. The volunteers may bring change, if they are organized enough and are able to see their future — what's left of it. The career firefighters may bring change through their union; they are already organized. And since it seems that both "sides" need each other for a variety of reasons, maybe it's time everyone involved works together to fix the problem. It's kind of like realizing you have a drug problem and checking yourself into rehab: The first step is realizing there is a problem and that all involved are a part of that problem.
 
But while all this ego-driven crack — err, I mean crap — is going on, some poor guy's house catches fire, and maybe his family is trapped, and he makes the mistake of calling 911. In a few moments, his yard ends up looking like a WWE team-wrestling match.

Come to think of it, some areas may actually be better off without a fire department.