Freelancing firefighters are just asking to get hurt or killed
Dear Nozzlehead: We recently had a multi-alarm fire in a neighboring fire company's first-due area. My specific company was not dispatched, but a company within our department was. To make a long story short, one of our members responded to check out the fire call. Within 10 minutes of his arrival, this member borrowed some bunker gear that belonged to a former fire chief from a company in our department; the gear did not fit, but he still fought the fire! To make matters worse, this member (who, by the way, has only one year of experience in the department) also borrowed an air pack from another company's apparatus; this pack is made by a different manufacturer than the packs we use. And even worse, there was an evacuation order given due to partial collapse of third floor.
The next day, this member was at our fire station, and he was bragging about how he was on the second line into the building. This set me right off! I am a captain and a 20-year firefighter, and I was in shock. I reamed this guy.
When someone told our fire chief about the incident, he said, "Well, since the former chief gave him the gear, he had permission to be there," and brushed the whole thing off! I am livid. The ex-chief who gave our member the gear was only there to watch the fire himself.
Help me, please. Am I crazy or are my concerns legit?
— Nervous in the Northeast
Dear Nervous,
Yes, you are crazy.
Now, on to your issue. To say you and your fire department have an issue would be an understatement ... but the issue itself is definitely not shocking.
I recently visited a fire chief friend of mine and, while at his department, a call came in for a working house fire. His companies arrived, performed a size up, established all sorts of things we have to establish these days and went to work fighting the fire with multiple handlines and plenty of staffing. It was a tough fire with heavy fire conditions in an old house that had a wide-open area in the center and balloon construction.
While standing with my friend at the command post, we looked over and saw a firefighter on a ladder, clearly wearing the bunker gear of another fire department — a department that had not been dispatched to the alarm. My friend had one of his officers grab this guy and "reel him in."
This guy was from a neighboring fire department and wanted to help. In addition to being a volunteer firefighter in that neighboring fire department, he was also a probationary career firefighter in "the city." And when my friend, the chief, confronted him, the guy looked at him like he was from frickin' Mars! My friend's fire department had 60-plus firefighters at this fire, and this kid was almost appalled that he was not needed to fight the fire. My friend made it clear that, while appreciated, he was not allowed to just "arrive, gear up and play" on this or any of his fires. This kid was actually angry.
ANGRY! Amazing. My friend then said to me, "What can you do with these kids?" in a way that was both a statement and a question.
My response: shoot them on sight.
Here's my idea. Establish the "shooting" sector (hell, with NIMS, there has got to be a sector by that name, or something like it; it has every other possible subject covered). Then assign a weapon (non-lethal — there would be too much paperwork if it was lethal) to a firefighter who would, upon seeing an uninvited firefighter on the fireground, fire a warning shot, and then "de-firefight" that unauthorized firefighter with a shot right on his ass.
Now I know some of you are anti-weapon and all that, but hear me out. This "kid" was trespassing and clearly preparing to get killed. Simply wounding him solves so many problems, and the incident commander (IC) and the primary firefighters can get back to business without worrying about the homeless firefighter. By shooting him, we are actually saving his life! And isn't that what "everyone goes home" means? Sure, his ass will be sore, but he won't get lost, trapped or burned. What a trade off. And his family will thank you for it.
OK, back to your freelancing firefighter. Quite honestly, what your "one-year wonder" firefighter did is essentially a lame attempt at suicide, which could lead to the injury or death of other firefighters who are supposed to be at the scene. It is clear from what you wrote that your department and the companies (at least some of them) do not understand the problem at all.
Your specific company was not dispatched, so this kid had no reason to respond. Where are the policies that make it clear that he had no business to respond? Plus, the fact that he has one year on your fire department makes him a firefighter-in-training. What does that mean? It means that without constant and direct supervision, he is a hazard to himself and those around him at your own fires, not to mention as a visiting fire buff, because he clearly is not a firefighter at that scene.
Borrowing someone's bunker gear? Again, as a senior firefighter would know, for bunker gear to be as effective as possible, it should be custom-fitted to the individual who will be wearing it — and no one else. Using someone else's SCBA? This kid barely has enough training and experience to understand his own fire department's SCBA … forget anyone else's. Again, he is attempting to get himself — and those around him — killed.
We have already established that the discipline at your department is, unfortunately, lacking. However, what about the discipline at the other department? Where was the accountability system? Who was in charge at that fire? Who allowed that kid to "buff" the call, take someone else's gear, grab an SCBA he was not trained to use and go in and play? Are they prepared to answer those questions when something goes wrong? The IC had to know this was going on.
And as far as him bragging about being on the second line into the building, isn't that statement alone a major warning about how poor the situation is and can be? Your chief's comment when he was advised of the incident ("Well, since the former chief gave him the gear, he had permission to be there") explains a lot. Your chief wants to do anything to pass on the responsibility in case something goes wrong; that way, he can't be blamed.
He couldn't be more wrong. He is the chief; he is responsible; he is the bottom line; the buck stops here … yada, yada, yada. You can't pass that stuff off on someone else when you're the chief.
To sum it up, there's an immediate need for clear, written and enforced policies and procedures, as well as an organizational culture of discipline. Why? So the one-year wonder doesn't get hurt or killed, the firefighters around him don't either and the chief doesn't end up wishing he wasn't the chief.
I normally like to end with some witty comment, so here you go: Freelancing by dumb-ass, undisciplined and poorly trained firefighters has killed firefighters and ruined many lives, including the lives of the chiefs involved who, after something goes wrong, simply feel terrible and wish they did things differently. Changing the culture of a fire department isn't easy. Either be prepared to do it, or don't be the chief. How 'bout that?
