Chris Mc Loone

Right before I sat down to write this, my kids were getting home from school, and I asked them to keep it down because I needed to write my editorial.

I jokingly said to them, “I don’t have any ideas yet. Any suggestions?” Almost in unison, Owen and Sean replied, “Make it about me.” But, Ian said, “Make it about us, Dad.” So, I gave them a courtesy chuckle and started back to my desk. But along the way, I suddenly thought, “That’s it!”

I was recently part of a discussion on the topic of training drills involving playing a game of dodgeball while wearing all personal protective equipment (PPE), including self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). We also touched on playing basketball in the same attire. You can check out the discussion here: http://bit.ly/2gR3Jy6. The crux of my position is that I think it’s a creative way to learn about how your PPE allows you to move and how quickly you heat up. But, I chose not to conduct such drills because of the research occurring about the physiological effects on your body from being encapsulated. I questioned whether or not there was more value to dodgeball than crawling around a burn building in terms of discovering how your body and your PPE “behave” under live fire conditions. Ultimately, I am in the minority on this, and I’m comfortable with that. I just don’t want to kill anybody.

Leading isn’t always easy, especially when the decisions you’re making aren’t popular even if they are made for the right reasons. As chief officers and safety officers, we are charged with being stewards of our crews’ safety. As such, decisions made in the name of protecting their safety are indeed making it about us and the right calls.

Making it about us goes beyond this, of course. As I write this, members of the Wilmington (DE) Fire Department are preparing to say goodbye to one their own who passed away as a result of injuries sustained at an intentionally set fire-the third line-of-duty death (LODD) resulting from the fire. As a fire service, we were also saddened to learn about the passing of a firefighter who took his own life. As a collective, we are struggling with increased numbers of heart-related LODDs as well as increased instances of cancer traceable to our jobs and the equipment we trust to protect us.

Making it about us is insisting on decon after a structure fire. It’s about zero tolerance for not washing turnout gear after a working job. It’s about driving under control so you, your officer, and your crew-and, in some cases, crews traveling to the same incident-make it to an incident and back. It’s about sitting on the right hand side and telling the driver to slow down. Making it about us is watching for the signs that someone might be considering taking his life. And, making it about us is having systems in place to help us deal with the fact that we can do everything right and sometimes tragedies still occur.

It’s not just on the fireground where we need to make it about us. When you are specing equipment or a fire apparatus, what decisions are you making for your crew? How many of the “nice to haves” are you going with in lieu of the “need to haves”?

We just came out of the holiday season, and within these pages we’ve seen predictions about the fire industry for 2017. January 1 is a “reboot” moment for many. This year, try to make everything you do about us. Do it for your partner on the line, for the crew you are leading,

KFT Fire Trainers, the world’s largest producer of live fire training props and support equipment, announces the hiring of 40-year fire service veteran Sam Goldwater as their new Vice President.  After a yearlong search for someone who has a pulse on fire service training, Goldwater was chosen for his understanding of training needs for the fire instructor, while having a business savvy to take the company through the next century of operations. His commitment to the firefighter customer is unmatched and will allow KFT to develop products that are not only relevant in a changing fire service environment, but operate safely, are well engineered, easy to maintain, and challenge the firefighter student while meeting the goals of the training officer. 

Goldwater’s hands on experience as a training officer and chief gives him practical knowledge of what drives the firefighter, the needs of the TO, and what a safe training environment truly is. While on staff of the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA), Sam was a member of the NFPA 1403 Committee on Live Fire Training Evolutions and authored IFSTA’s “500 Competencies for Fire Fighter Certification” as his Master’s Thesis in Adult Education at Oklahoma State University. Sam has written articles for Fire Engineering and Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment, has presented at the FDIC, and was the FDIC’s voice for podcasts featuring FDIC exhibitors. Sam started his fire service career in Maryland where he graduated from the University of Maryland and attended the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute. He finished his firefighting career as a Division Chief where, as a federal contractor, he not only responded to some of the largest emergencies in history, he also responded to some of the most complicated industrial fires including the Tunnel 7 Fire in Oregon, The Sacramento Railroad Bridge Fire, and the Feather River Derailment. As Area Command during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Goldwater worked with multiple agencies in the most trying of conditions.

According to Rob Lane, President of KFT, “We will draw on Sam’s broad range of Fire and Business experience to propel KFT forward while meeting the ever changing needs of the fire service and the fire service instructor."

More info: www.kft.firetrainer.com