A question posted recently on Quora asked, “What differentiates a great firefighter from a good one?” Timothy Casey, a retired firefighter and author, gave his opinion on the topic below. Check it out and add your own thoughts in the comments.
A great firefighter isn’t a creation of education “book knowledge,” they are born with a different set of genes than other men. A gene that allows them to do things that the average person/firefighter just can’t do, they can’t turn off fear but what they can do is channel fear into performance. For a great firefighter, time at a fire slows down, chances and options occur so quickly in their mind that they have time to decide on a course of action that can change the outcome of a fire is nanoseconds.
Great firefighters are not great firefighters on their first day or in their first year. Great firefighters are seasoned veterans that have a vast knowledge of their enemy gained by hand to hand combat with their foe over the course of time. They have a way to read smoke, they smell out different fires, they have seen “it” before and they know what is coming and what can be done.
They know where kids hide, they always have an option, another way to do whatever is at hand and above all they won’t leave their brother or sister behind if need be they will die at your side, they don’t run unless everyone else is out. They have a knack, an innate sense about themselves and fire, they are at home in a fire, they are not rushed, and they are calm and methodical at all times.
They are natural leaders and natural teachers; they share their knowledge freely with those that want to learn. They give up the nozzle to the new guy so they can stand behind them and guide them; they avoid the spotlight and are humble always. They are the guy you want to be with when things get bad.
