“Peak performance doesn’t happen by chance. It is achieved through a process that includes making personal decisions and holding oneself accountable.” This was the gist of the message Assistant Chief Derek Alkonis, Los Angeles County (CA) Fire Department, relayed to the audience in his keynote address at this morning’s General Session. Alkonis then proceeded to explain what constitutes ‘peak performance’ and some ways fire service members can prepare themselves to make those quality decisions that will “determine the future effectiveness of their departments.”

“Right now--you and I can decide to be better, to be better learners, to train more effectively, to look for better ways to do everything, to hold ourselves accountable,” Alkonis asserted. “Why continually strive to be better? We do it for the public we serve. All around us, we respond to people in their times of distress and tragedy. They depend on us. They trust us and our decisions. We need to trust our training,” he explained.

This preparation, Alkonis said, involves making the best use of your time and finding ‘real’ solutions for problems in your department. He challenged attendees to begin the process while at FDIC International 2016. “Identify a specific problem; stay focused on finding a solution, and identify an implementation strategy,” he suggested.

He related how he had used this approach at a previous FDIC to facilitate delivering a consistent training message within his department, which is spread out over 2,300 square miles with some stations almost 100 miles apart.

This year at FDIC International 2016, Sam Carbis Solutions Group, LLC, manufacturer of Alco-Lite ladders, is proud to announce three new products.

• DRL Series of Double-End Roof Ladders. These ladders are our traditional pumper-style roof ladder equipped with roof hooks on both ends, making them ideal for roof scenarios whether dealing with a peak or parapet roof system. They are available in 12-, 14-, 16-, and 20-foot lengths.
  
• PWL-06 with Safety Shoes. This ladder is 5’11¼” in length and is equipped with safety shoes on one end and traditional butt spurs on the other end, making it ideal to use on any ground surface. This ladder is designed for easy access to high first-floor windows without having excessive ladder length obstructing the opening. The ladder was also designed to fit into vehicle compartments that are sized for medical backboards.
  
• Online Training Academy. This product offers modules on ground ladder testing and repair to NFPA 1932 standards.

For Sam Carbis Solutions Group, LLC, the most important part of exhibiting at FDIC International is the interaction and feedback that we receive from our customers.

"Every time we attend we are honored to meet the men and women who use our products on a daily basis. We never fail to learn from our customers on ways to continually improve our products to ensure that we continue to offer the safest and most durable ladders on the market," says Sam Carbis's David Williamson.

He continues, "The attendees visiting the exhibit hall gain valuable insight into new products and new technologies on the market that are designed to make their jobs easier and safer."

Williamson concludes, "Attendees are able to meet one on one with the vendors who will have knowledgeable experts at their booths. Most displays at FDIC International allow the attendees to have their hands on the products, giving them a real-world view of how the product can benefit their organization."

Sam Carbis Solutions Group, LLC, would also like to encourage each attendee to take full advantage of the conference. By visiting the vendors, taking advantage of training by some of the best instructors in the fire service, and by networking with your counterparts during the week, each attendee will bring home valuable knowledge to help serve their communities better.

Please be sure to visit us at Booth #5039, and enjoy your week!

www.carbissolutions.com

(800) 948-7750

View some more action from the hands-on training Tuesday at FDIC International 2016.

Video: HOT at FDIC International 2016, Day 1

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Indianapolis, IN (April 20, 2016) - In his welcoming remarks at this morning’s Opening Ceremonies, Fire Engineering Editor in Chief and FDIC Education Director Bobby Halton described a mosaic of the firefighter character that has sustained the fire service’s reputation for courage, honor, and civility. At the same time, Halton alerted the audience to the fact that forces in today’s society can work to undermine firefighter code and honor unless firefighters continue to value and uphold those attributes and practices: “For the fire service of today, it is a time of great discovery and of great debate, a time of tremendous advances and of troubling criticisms,” Halton said.

Character
There are various schools of thought about the origin of character, Halton explained. Some believe character is inherent in us at birth. This may be so; but, still, it is not too late, he asserted, citing the influence of parents and education: “Most agree that with training, with example, with exposure, and with habit, you can create ‘character.’ It is self-evident that how one conducts oneself in manners of honor, courage, and civility is dictated by one’s background and education as a gentleman or a gentlewoman.” The right mentoring, the right examples, and diligence, can help good men and good women to become great firefighters.”

And beyond that, added Halton, “We can imbue firefighters with heroic dreams.” He quoted Benjamin Disraeli: Nurture your minds with great thoughts; to believe in the heroic makes heroes.

This firefighter character, Halton said, should involve devotion to the mission, loyalty to our fellow firefighters, respect for authority, and a desire to reflect the highest moral ideal. That ideal for firefighters, the one that rises above all the other ideals is, "Honor Before All," Honor Ante Omnia:  We will never under any circumstances leave anyone behind. Whether they are rich or poor, they are like us or different from us, they are mentally healthy or mentally ill, whether they contribute to society or live off the generosity of society, we leave no one behind.

High Standard Threatened
Noting that the fire service’s tradition of high standard is ‘continuously threatened,’ he repeated a warning issued almost 20 years ago by Fire Service sage Tom Brennan: We are losing our fire service. It is time to take it back. Although little has been done in response to this prediction, Halton said, it is not too late to act.

The answer to Tom Brennan’s clarion call, Halton said, has been with us since our inception. We are required to do what George Washington has directed us to do: Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God. Raising that standard requires that we embody fairness, exemplify self-control, exhibit sympathy, and embrace duty.

Halton drove home his messages with riveting examples of military men and firefighters who displayed all these virtues under conditions of extreme duress. All involved leaving no one behind, Honor Above All, Honor Ante Omnia.

Mosaic of the Firefighter Character
What constitutes the firefighter character that will “get the fire service back” to where it should always be? Among the components Halton cited are the following:

• Charisma and representing all that is good, honest, and noble. ‘Adapting’ the statement of Kurt Vonnegut that the fire engine is a  stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man, Halton noted that it is the firefighter that is a stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man. Trying to uphold this image leads to tremendous moral and ethical demands, said Halton.

Alluding to Thomas Hobbes’ view of the world as a place where every man is against every man, Halton said fire