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In this week’s The Command Post podcast, hosts Lt. Rom Duckworth and Chief Rob Wylie discuss why six University City, Mo. firefighters were suspended for three months without pay after posing for campaign photos.
“The state law in Missouri says firefighters are allowed to campaign, but not on-duty and not in uniform,” Lt. Duckworth said. “So, there’s a few issues in there. The big fight now is if their turnout gear constitutes as a uniform.”
Lt. Duckworth and Chief Wylie also talk about large-scale incidents involving urban search and rescue (USAR) activities in their frontline tactical tips segment. They interview Lt. Al Basset, a Norwalk (Conn.) firefighter and tech rescue instructor for the Conn. Fire Academy, and Rich Alfes, of Mass. USAR Task Force-1, about FEMA USAR teams.
They also discuss tips for the newly promoted officer in their leadership lessons segment of the podcast.
“If you’re in the fire service long enough, you’re going to reach some level of promotion,” Chief Wylie said. “It comes with a whole new set of responsibilities, tasks and ways of doing things. On the whole, the fire service, I would say, has been piss-poor in preparing our folks for those next steps.”
If you have any topics or items you would like to hear discussed on The Command Post, let us know in the comment section below.
Here are links to some of the articles and other items mentioned on the show:
Campaign photo could cost 6 firefighters their jobs
Firefighters who appeared in campaign photo suspended
Firsthand account: 10 lessons from a massive flood
Chief outlines ‘survival skill’ tips for new company officers at FRI
6 challenges fire officers face in 2014, and their solutions
