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Why the ‘dinosaurs’ of the fire service know more than you think

These are the guys who know how to get the job done; they know the things you don’t yet

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(Photo/US Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Photo/US Bureau of Labor Statistics

By Scott Ziegler

Ever read an article about firefighting that is leaning more toward the old school side of things, and then read the comments?

Seems like every time I do, I read all about how the author is a “dinosaur” and needs to wake up to modern day firefighting. Even some of the comments on my own articles get that. I am so far from being a “dinosaur” that it’s not even funny. I just got started. But let’s say I was, or let’s say that a so-called dinosaur was reading said comments. Is that an insult?

Every time I see a retirement party bulletin posted at the firehouse I look at the name, and I am immediately overcome with slight sadness. Aren’t you? Honestly. I feel as though we are losing so much with each guy. Even the ones I don’t know, or have only met once. It’s like when you lose your grandfather at an early age. There is so much more you wanted to learn from him. You didn’t have enough time. Surely at some point in the future you will wish he was still around to show you how to do something. The only difference is, these guys aren’t dead ... yet.

These are the guys who know how to get the job done. They know the things you don’t yet. They know things that without them you may never actually learn. You see, they started during an era that was much more difficult than the one we live and work in now. Yeah sure, fires burn hotter. But we have better gear. Yea, there are more chemicals now, but again, better gear.

I don’t care how much training you have. Modern tactics this and that. Fire officer this, staff and command that, nozzle mastery 101, new fangled whatchyamacallit 102. They are going to be better at this job than you. Because they had to do it with far less. They had to adapt and overcome much more than we do now. They were probably busier, too!

I’m talking about the guys who have read so much smoke and so many buildings that they see things you aren’t even thinking about way before you ever will. The guys that always seem to know how to fix a situation that isn’t going as planned. When that new modern tactic isn’t working. The guys that know building construction, not because they took or read “Building Construction For The Fire Service,” but because they spent the last 30 years working a leave day job that entailed ... building construction.

The guys who always seem to find the fire first, or make the attic steps before everyone else. The guys who call out a basement fire as soon as you pull up, when you might have thought it was in the second floor. The guys who always seem to have it right. The ones who when you look up in the front seat on your way to a fire, you feel 100 percent confident that you are going to do a good job at this one, because they are leading you.

So why is it that every time I read something regarding old school tactics, I have to read 100 comments from people talking about the writer as if he was fighting fires in the early 1900s? The old “just because it’s how they have always done it, doesn’t mean we should continue to” line. Well, yeah, sometimes we should. Personally I think most of the time we should. At least combine how they did it with something new ... or not. Why fix it if it ain’t broke?

Those guys got this job done without the modern tactics, without the modern tools, and without the modern bullshit. Now I am not saying that all modern stuff is all bad. I’m not saying to stop training on new things. I‘m not saying that you should bust out the hip boots and long coats. Keep doing what you’re doing.

What I am saying is that we should be soaking up every last ounce of knowledge we can get from these guys before they retire. We should be taking advantage of their knowledge of how they did it. And when they leave, we should be inviting them back to the firehouse as often as we can for chow. Listen to their stories. They are far better than yours!

Don’t be so quick to throw some bit of knowledge away because it came from a “dinosaur.” Dinosaur bones teach scientists all kinds of things about the world. At least our dinosaurs are still above ground. Take advantage of them. Be safe. And don’t forget, these guys are normally hard of hearing, so speak loudly ...

Uniform Stories features a variety of contributors. These sources are experts and educators within their profession. Uniform Stories covers an array of subjects like field stories, entertaining anecdotes, and expert opinions.
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