Posted: Dec 20, 2017
to the rescue carl j. haddon
As this year draws to a close, my Sky Miles account shows me that I’ve flown in excess of 97,000 miles in 2017.
I’m proud to say that all of those miles were flown for teaching and emergency response and fire service consulting work all over the world. I share this with you because if you don’t have an opportunity to work with firefighters and first responders in other countries (and even other states that often seem like other countries), it’s hard to understand just how good we have it as American firefighters. Regardless of whether you’re volunteer or career, simply stated, we are blessed—and perhaps a bit ignorant.
One of the best parts of this facet of my job still (after almost 35 years in service) is that I always learn far more from those I’m hired to teach than I could ever offer in any of my classes. A mentor of mine told me that happens because I am “a student of my craft.” Are you a student of your craft, or are you content with just having a job as a firefighter? Either way is fine. However, this article is geared toward those interested in continuing to learn more about our craft and then sharing what we’ve learned with others.
Don’t Have ALL the Answers
One of the many things I have learned as a result of being able to teach (and learn from) firefighters in other countries this year is that the American fire service doesn’t have all of the answers—or certainly not all of the “best” answers. Countries like China and Vietnam have firefighting challenges that range from extremely urban to extremely rural, the likes of which we Americans might not even be able to imagine. By working with firefighters in these countries, I have been able to not only share our American way (which many countries crave to know about) but, in so doing, I’ve been able to see some of the wild innovations and technology that they employ to conquer the challenges that they face. I encourage you to research things like typical firefighting apparatus used in China and Vietnam. Also, check out events like the firefighting trade shows in these countries to see what their versions of FDIC International look like.
1 Many streets in Italy are only wide enough for a single small passenger vehicle. (Photos by author.)
Many of these firefighting challenges are shared by other countries that have histories much, much older than that of ours here in the United States. Imagine architecture and building construction that range from modern day to buildings constructed in the 13th century—all in the same city! It is hard for us to wrap our heads around it. I worked in the cities of Florence, Rome, and Venice, Italy this fall. Italy is a classic example of where firefighters have daily encounters of “old and ancient meet new and modern.” High-rise state-of-the-art hotels sit side by side with buildings and artwork from Michelangelo, Da Vinci, and others. Streets in old Italy have sidewalks that are 24 inches wide and made of irregular cobblestone, and most streets are only wid