Who is your enemy? In the study of conflict, an adversary should be understood.  Adversary is, believe it or not, a better term for your opposition.  While in some cases it may SEEM like constant opposition, there are moments in which your adversary may be able to teach you a lesson. Instead of spending time hating our enemy, we should channel that energy to see if it can make us stronger.  By looking at oursleves from the eyes of an adversary, you can examine weaknesses and vulnerabilities.  Having identified those, you can grow from there.

It takes a strong will, sometimes, to stomach some of what your adversary might say.  But even in their eyes, there is probably a glimmer of truth.  In regard to competing interests, my wife likes to say there are three sides to the story: Person X's story, Person Y's story, and the truth in between.  Your own perspective is sometimes clouded by self-interest, ego, experience, or just pure, raw emotion.  When faced with conflict, the best place to examine for a solution starts in examining your own heart.

I have mentioned before that knowing your enemy has advantages, not just because you might be able to anticipate their actions and reactions, but because by looking at challenges with a different set of eyes, you might see your way toward a peaceful resolution that is win-win for all involved.

Open your mind, listen, and learn.  You can spend all day hating after you get all the facts, but when faced with conflict, the time to make things work is before things get bad, not after they escalate. 

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I have been following with interest the discussion of a National Firefighter Code of Ethics.  The other day I saw that Ken Willette, the Public Fire Protection Division Manager at NFPA, blogged about the one written by the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen's Association this past year.  Being obtuse, like I often am, I had actually never gone to the FirefighterBehavior.com blog although I have seen some of the well-written articles that have come from posts on there.  Nothing like going to the source, huh?  Well, if you haven't done it, you need to go yourself, and when you are through, being the fire service leaders I sense you are, send your people there as well.

But this doesn't stop at the fire service.  In fact, as I have said many times before, there are lessons to be learned from a brotherhood of individuals who, as recently as a decade before, were considered to be the last bastion of integrity, honor, and valor in a society in which those values have been eroding daily.  The ever-decaying values in the fire service are an excellent case study, and many questions can come from how we went from where we were to where we are today.

And I am not suggesting that the entire fire service lacks these ideals; we just have not been very good at removing the elements from our midst who do not embrace those same values.  Well, our profession (and for the uninitiated, this refers to both career and volunteer professionals in the emergency services business) has been challenged by a number of external forces that, to the casual observer, seem to have affected the type of person we are getting to replace those who have gone on to other places.

Emergency response, paid or not, is very much a value-driven occupation.  Just because you show up and put out a fire or lug someone to the hospital, is irrelevant, despite the arguments that we are not customer oriented.  If anything, our business is all about the customer, because frankly, we tell people all the time that we can replace their material objects, but we can't replace the people.  We say this is the reason we rescue first and not salvage first.  But ironically, we have many of the same people saying that we shouldn't consult with our community in the spirit of partnership, or that we know better than they do what they need, or even more cynically, that their observations regarding our service and the way we do it doesn't even matter.

Therefore, there is a profound need to make sure the people we bring in not only have read and signed a memo telling them what our ethics happen to be, but that they LIVE these ethics.  That they BREATHE these ethics.  That they BELIEVE in these ethics and that they are proud to associate with others, a brotherhood of others, who feel the same way.

A while back, I happened upon a rollover in another jurisdiction while off-duty, and stopped to see if they needed any help. The driver was already on the way to the hospital, and the crews were just picking up debris, but I know a lot of firefighters in that jurisdiction, so I was really just chatting before heading on.  In the corner of my eye, I saw a firefighter pick up a phone on the ground.

I don't know about you, but my cell phone wasn't cheap, and they aren't indestructible either.  Plus, even if it is just damaged, you could still get the contacts off of it, etc.  But the firefighter opened up the phone, laughed to himself, and THREW the phone into the damaged car.  Not gently, mind you, but enough that it broke.  Since it wasn't my jurisdiction, but everyone there knew me, I walked over and picked up the now damaged phone, then handed it to a trooper.  I glared at the guy on the way by, but I didn't say anything. But I let him know that this was unacceptable, at least in my department.

I won't say that we don't have any of those types in our organization, but as Capt. Tom and I were saying the other day, the balance has been strongly tipped in favor of the "good guys" for a while now, and we continue to drum our organizational culture into those who don't get it.  But these values don't come naturally to some and frankly, do you even want to take the chance of trying to drag a member to that place, or should we look first for those with the right stuff, and then TEACH them to be a firefighter?

If I were advertising, I would say that if you revel in someone's misfortunes, or if you like the power of being a uniformed public official, or if driving in total disregard of others appeals to you because you have lights and siren, you probably shouldn't apply.  There's nothing at all wrong with chasing the adrenaline, but it certainly needs to be kept in the perspective that you will take on a challenge to help others, not to wish it on people so you can get your fix.

If we really believe in our brotherhood, our profession, as a calling rather than just a job, we need to take a look at who we introduce to the team. So long as we continue to permit those who are among us to soil our ranks because they fill a spot, we will continue to tarnish the image we used to be proud of.  I, for one, prefer that when I go to see my kids at school, they consider firefighters to be worthy of admiration, rather than another person they can't trust.  There's a lot of that going around lately, let's not let it happen to us.

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I fell asleep at my computer last night.

I am working on a project that has pretty much occupied all of my time over the course of the last three shifts. I think, in retrospect, that the reason that I am having to embark on this dreaded project is simply that a great number of people failed to understand that their actions or inaction created a mess that someday would have to be unraveled.

The mess doesn't even go back a short while.  When I say a great number, I am talking about numbers probably nearing a hundred.  Anyone close to this project that knows that I am talking in circles and understands the scope of this project might disagree with me, but I see the failure in my own interface with the situation, and I see the failures in many others who permitted the condition to occur, knowingly or not.

In a microscope, closely examining one piece of the puzzle, you might not even notice the problem exists.  But when you step back and look at the larger picture, you can see it is definitely crooked.  There are warning signs printed all over this and frankly, they were ignored. But they are insignificant when you step back even farther and realize that any problems we face today could have been avoided had individuals assumed some responsibility and did the right thing early on.

One of the principals in this project called out everyone else on the team and with good reason.  I say that because he is absolutely right; the system failed us.  Or to be clear, we failed the system, because it wasn't all to be blamed on the way we manage these situations.  Instead, key stakeholders ignored critical information.  They felt like status quo was acceptable. Or perhaps they felt inadequate to address the most pressing challenges.  I told this individual that while the historical aspect of how we got to this place is important, just to put the picture in perspective, who to blame is irrelevant. The situation is what it is and you can't unring a bell.  We must look forward.

Those of you reading this might assume you know what I am referring to, but I am suggesting to you that you re-read it and ask yourself, "What am I doing that is creating this same situation today?"  Because if you are honest with yourself, there are any number of issues I have to deal with that follow this chain of events and I am sure I am not alone.

I have quoted my father on any number of occasions in this regard, probably the quote that will stick with me for the rest of my life: "Do it right the first time."  Had we addressed the issues when they were small, had we fixed the leak, had we prevented the spark, had we communicated the concerns, if we had done any of these things, would they have corrected the problem before we got to this disaster we now embrace?

Let go of your concerns for a moment and realize that a drop of water contributes to the flood that sweeps away your home.  Everything affects everything else and that ripple becomes a wave, given the right conditions to grow.  Don't be part of the problem; solve the issues before they become a nightmare to untangle. 

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I have to be a little amused at the emergency service types who pride themselves on being "the best at their job", but couldn't figure out how to do something if you were swatting them in the head with the instruction manual.  I have a little rule: if you call me, you'd better have tried to solve the problem yourself first.  I don't have a lot of tolerance for those who throw up their hands at the slightest issue and bemoan their inability to move along.

Ironically, I have heard these very same folks complain when a little old lady calls 9-1-1 because they have fallen out of bed, or have a broken pipe, or their smoke detector is chirping. I have heard it straight from their mouths: "Why do these idiots call us?  What makes them think the fire department is there to solve all their problems?"

It really makes me want to say, "You know, the next time you make a comment about how bad things are, or something is broken and you don't know what to do, or how miserable your existence is because the so-and-so doesn't work, I'm probably just going to tell you to STFU." And most of the time, that's exactly what I say, which doesn't win me a lot of friends.

My daughters are young, but not so young that I can't teach them that helplessness is not an excuse. Its okay for the general population, but if you want to succeed in life, when faced with a problem, solve it. Create a workaround, run it over, beat it with a hammer, but don't just give up and call for help until you absolutely, positively can't move forward without it.

There's nothing wrong with asking for help.  People need help because they lack the resources to solve a problem, be it knowledge, tools, ability, or some other issue.  But when the people who are supposed to be solving problems for others can't figure out how to solve problems on their own without involving the next two levels of command, I have a problem with that.

I read a great article today from the New York Times that was being tweeted by a childhood friend of mine: Average Is Over by Thomas Friedman.  In it there is discussion that in order to be successful in today's new world, being average doesn't cut it.  You had better find a niche or some sort of expertise in something, because frankly, graduating high school and going out into the workforce to be content on an assembly line isn't going to happen, unless of course, you happen to be Chinese and living in a factory dorm.

Our industry, the industry of helping people, is one of those niches that can pay off. Maybe the actual delivery of firefighting can be passed off to the bots, but all the technology in the world isn't going to be able to analyze a problem, take what you brought, and develop a solution using grit, spit and duct tape.

You have an opportunity to be successful because our business is the business of fixing problems.  But if you can't manage to get through your shift because your e-mail is down, or if the entire day is wrecked because the air conditioning is out in the engine, well, you might want to consider a new career as a sheep.  Success comes to people who solve the challenges they are faced with with the resources they have access to.  Those who can't, don't. 

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I didn't know the man, personally, or professionally, really.  I own a few Apple products and I like them, I even love them. But while I recognize Steve Jobs as being an amazing individual, I hadn't really followed his career, or read any articles about him, or anything like that.  But I recognize greatness when I see it and his impact on our world as we know it has been substantial. 

When I listened to some of the testimonials about Steve Jobs this morning, I realize what a loss our generation has experienced, but not probably from the aspect you might think. This individual was truly visionary.  He created from what was a dream, an empire.  He was an inventor, a creator, a manager, a huckster, and summing it all up, a true leader.  He applied his vision to create a reality.  He used his vast array of abilities to translate vision into action.

What impact do you have on the world around you?  You don't have to invent the next best thing to aspire to greatness.  In fact, some of the simplest things you can do will break you out as an inspirational and amazing leader.  By using your skills of motivating others, setting positive examples, working hard, demonstrating integrity, and caring for others, you can be a leader that others flock to.

Charisma goes a long way, but being true to yourself and leading from the heart will carry you the full distance.  It takes real belief in self to achieve greatness.  Do good things for others and be a person of vision and action.  There is a big difference between "support" and "activism".  If you believe in something, make it happen.

God bless you, Steve Jobs.  You made a significant impact on our world throughout your life. We can only hope to achieve a fraction of that kind of effort, but in doing so, we can achieve excellence.  

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Given some of my posts, some of you, I think believe I'm a safety nazi.  That's pretty far from the truth actually.  I'm a true believer; when I got into the business, I did so because I wanted to be involved in it and because my family tradition led me there.  But I'm the kind of guy that if I didn't believe in it, I wouldn't have stuck around.  And the danger and the thrill, personally, did it for me.  What's more, it wasn't enough.

Over the years, however, I matured.  I grew up, which unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on who you speak to) changes things. I had the good fortune to meet movers and shakers in the emergency service world and each of them had a story to tell.  Mostly their story was that while it was fun being at the edge of sanity with some of the heroics we pulled off and the chest full of medals we earned, we never really appreciated the impact that one stupid move could make that would change the world forever.

The events of September 11 really put my priorities into focus.  On that beautiful September day and on into the night, I stood in front of the TV in my living room, oftentimes holding my then-baby daughter, with tears in my eyes when I realized that 343 of my brothers perished in the line of duty.  The effect that this loss has had on our nation is questionable, as today it seems like the public has forgotten that day.  But the scar it left on our job, on our family, is impenetrable.  There are children growing up whose fathers will never hold them or see them graduate or walk them down the aisle.  Or even look on with pride as they too choose to join our brotherhood.  Who won't be there to pin on Lieutenant's bugles at that first promotion.  Each of these 343 individuals had a profound impact on a number of others, and that ripple effect continues outward and outward until millions, even billions in this case, are impacted.

But the tragedy that happened that day is an anomaly, a blip in the statistics of firefighter mortality.  In fact, we can't ever factor in the loss of 343 individuals on that one day in any of the data we analyze because it throws wild swings into the results.  That certainly doesn't decrease their contribution any more.  In fact, it immortalizes it.  Forever that will be a group of people who stand alone.  But the 100 or so firefighters who die in the line of duty each year are considered, in a figure that has decreased over time, but not nearly in proportion to the fires we now fight. Looking at the situation after that day and understanding the effect the loss of those 343 people had on so many, it is obvious that any casual approach to safety results not just in a loss to the immediate individuals involved, but to many others.  Any poor decision causes a ripple that can become a tsunami.  

So on a grand scale, the loss of even ONE firefighter is an unacceptable one and extrapolated out into an average loss of 100 brothers a year affects not just you or your crew, but families and community, and everything else, multiplied 100 times.  And when a significant number of these injuries and deaths occur not from heroic deeds, but from failing to use common sense, I struggle with the argument that our "safety culture is ruining the fire service".  Let's just take the injuries and deaths that HAVE occurred from people putting themselves in harm's way out of the equation, and in looking at casualties that are related to cardiac events and failure to wear seatbelts, we could make a significant impact on sending more brothers home every day than ever before.  

But we CONTINUE to resist changes in our industry that would make that difference.  Why?  Because you safety nazis are sucking the fun out of our job.  Because you are unreasonable in expecting me to maintain appropriate cardiac health to do the job.  Because we resist the notion that there should be a standard for doing the job.  Because it is inconvenient for me to wear my seatbelt.

There is absolutely no argument you can make to me that can reasonably suggest that increasing our safety is a bad idea.  I am a chief officer now.  I joke that my white helmet will likely remain white until I die, because my job is to send you guys in and to make sure that all I sent in comes back out in the same condition.  It's not the fun part of the job, but at some point, I had to grow up and accept my role.  I am no longer the "go to" guy on the scene for a really hairy rescue and even though I understand that, it's never going to escape me.  

A few years ago, I jumped into the water with Capt. Tom from the EMS12Lead blog and we made a rescue.  While he was a Lieutenant at the time, I was a chief.  My chief, when handing me the Meritorious Service Medal (I missed the actual ceremony, Capt. Tom got one too), reminded me that my job was no longer in the water, but on the shore.  He also indicated it would probably be my last medal.  I indicated that if I got another medal it would probably be my last medal because I'd be looking for another job.  He laughed at that.  But it was an awakening.  I realized how right he was.  My job is to keep you guys safe.  You job is to be safe about doing it and to only take risk when the risk is worth it.  Not only will I keep from throwing your body into an unwinnable battle, I ask that you keep from making decisions that require the same.

We lost 343 brother firefighters in one day in New York City.  They, as well as many more firefighters and other public safety professionals who survived, considered their duty to save others from that infernal hell and did so for thousands and thousands of others, and to their credit, we should be thanking them all for their courageous actions.  But this tradition was an act that isn't replicated in all of these line of duty deaths, because in the majority of line of duty deaths, preventable actions or shall I say, more mature and considerate actions, could have saved firefighter lives.  

To put it plainly, the lives we lost were not traded for a single save.  Our "duty above personal risk", while meant to signify that willingness to sacrifice, can also be read that we are devoted to "duty" above "personal risk".  We have a duty, not only to save the lives of endangered victims, but to be there to lead our families, to be there to teach our rookie firefighters, to be there to be a Cub Scout leader or to work in the PTA.  We have a duty to live our lives to the fullest, not to casually throw our lives away without a sane reason.

If the time comes, God forgive me, to throw my life in front of another so that someone may live a full and productive life, I know in my heart what my action will be.  But until then, I refuse to commit my body, or yours, to a decision based on a misguided view of heroism, or because it is what we always believed to be the duty of our calling.

Be safe and if anything, in the name of those who have gone before us, honor their memory by being there for everyone who remains.  And I ask that God bless the civilian departed and their families on this 10th anniversary of their death.  And most of all, God bless and keep our 343 brothers, their families, and the other firefighters who still suffer the effects of the horrible day, both mentally and physically.  We love you and miss you all terribly. 

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Dr. Svensson pointed out in the very beginning that his observation of the situation is as from the perspective of an outsider.  And while he has experience as a firefighter, he also has experience as an educator and a researcher.  So instead of approaching his discussion from a hysterical standpoint, he used a historical standpoint: that facts are facts and frankly, the methods of changing our culture isn’t working.  Sometimes some tough love is necessary, if we are sincere in wanting to bring everyone home in the morning.

Furthermore, at no point in his presentation (and I have listened to it and took copious notes) has he said that the Swedish fire service is better than any other fire service. In fact, he prefaces his presentation by saying that Sweden also has issues and they are not “better”.  But while data can always be manipulated to say what you want it to say, try looking at this objectively:

What gain do we get from having an increase in firefighter fatalities?  It’s not that we encourage firefighters to die, but the trend is there.  Just based on the data Dr. Svensson shared, firefighter fatalities in America have been slightly reduced, but for the most part, have remained steady.  Put that rate, however, in the context of decreasing civilian fatalities and decreasing fire responses, the ratio of firefighter fatalities per civilian fatality has INCREASED.  Likewise, the ratio of firefighter fatalities per fire has also increased.  Dr. Svensson even stated, this was AFTER pulling out the training and station deaths.  The inference is that even with a reduction in call volume, we continue to see a steady stream of firefighter fatalities.  And based on the language used by some of the commenters, the macho and egotistical feedback has been pretty predictable.  Why do we take so much pride in our injury and mortality rates?  Could it be that we are okay with it that way?   

One issue I really found interesting was his discussion of cardiovascular fitness relative to the job.  I have said on number of occasions that I am appalled by the continued reluctance of the fire service to embrace meaningful fitness standards.  At the same time, these issues are relative to the general population: fitness is decreasing, obesity is increasing, and subsequently, cardiovascular issues are also increasing.  In the meanwhile, the job of fighting fire has not changed, in fact, it has grown more challenging, and is compounded via station closures and staff reductions by having less personnel in many communities to now do the job that many were allocated to before.

Fitness requirements support a simple fact: we need to have an acceptable standard of fitness, therefore we need to have more comprehensive medical screening.  The problem is, as Dr. Svensson observed, in the United States, we evaluate ability, not fitness.  This is directly a result of equal opportunity mandates but has an undesired effect.  In an effort to minimize discrimination, we have embraced ability testing to determine whether a person can do the job.  We say, “If you can do the job, you should be allowed to” because we are trying to be more inclusive.  But the tell-tale issue for whether or not a person is going to stroke out on us or have an MI isn't whether they can or can not pull a ceiling or drag a dummy, it is much more insidious than that.  Cardiovascular issues that are killing firefighters aren’t readily apparent.  And I know firefighters that can whip through an abilities test without too much going on, but it doesn't require a physician to take one look at them and say, this guy's a candidate for the Big One.

But honestly, I could go point for point about the presentation and I'm not.  At least not with you all.

I intend to have my personnel listen to the presentation and view the PowerPoints included.  I also intend to ask them to challenge themselves and ask, "Is he right?  Is he wrong?"  And I'm going to trust that my people are going to listen to what is going on and look past the harshness of the message and evaluate it like grown-ups.  There is importance of having knowledge of the past in order to understand the present.  And we have quite a few people who are okay with romanticizing the concept that it is our duty to die in the line of duty for no apparent reason.  It is okay to be maimed for life for no apparent reason. It is okay to shovel a company into a burning building with deteriorating conditions because if we don't, we are pussies.

Well, it is okay only because the “leaders” in our business hype it as the standard as to what should be.  Their mentality is okay for a future of knuckle-draggers, but what if we gave you a finite number of resources and told you that if you screw them up, you don’t get more, so you’d take better care of them?  Or even better, if you are reckless with those resources, you have to pay for them?  Well, how much longer do you think it is going to be before the lawyers realize that incident commanders sending their personnel into a situation with no control, no coordination, or no meaningful mission (other than "searching" an untenable building) are in fact, killing personnel, and liable for wrongful death restitution?  It won't be long, because it is already happening.

The tradition of the fire service I had passed to me from my father, who got it from his father, and got it from his as well has been established that we must do whatever it takes to save lives.  But there is a profound disconnect: Have we in fact created these expectations ourselves?  Maybe this is where we ask the public: What is it you want from us?  If you read any of the civilian comments in these communities where they are struggling with funds, there is a certain amount of "screw the firefighters" being said and not a whole hell of a lot of support.  Perhaps we need to really educate the public and seriously ask them: "If you are expecting us to sacrifice our lives to get you out, there needs to be some relational support.  Otherwise, f*&# off."

If we keep repeating traditions that don’t make sense and cause us unwarranted pain, what does that make us?  Stupid?  I think that's what Dr. Svensson said that some of you all are upset about.  If you had a son who was pledging a fraternity, and the traditional hazing was to get painfully burned over a percentage of his body because hey, that's the tradition, I'd bet you'd tell him he's nuts.  The only tradition I am buying into is that as a firefighter, I am willing to take a risk to save someone if I have the possibility of saving someone.  But we aren't even doing that.  We won't even buckle our seatbelts, and where is the tradition in that?

The most telling part of the presentation came in the discussion on survival training.  While I don't necessarily agree with some of the issues, the real focus was this: Right now we focus on how to get out of problems.  Maybe we need to be re-focusing on how to stay out of trouble to begin with.

They don’t think about safety because it is simply a part of what they do.  It is not a thought, it is ingrained in their culture.  It's not standing outside a house quivering because we are too scared to fight the fire.  It is taking resources, defining the problem, and using the resources wisely and to the best effect to create a solution.  We are letting our egos get in the way of facts. Instead of getting cranked up about what was said, listen to what he is saying. There are other approaches that make sense, yet we continue to ignore them.

I'm not even going to suggest that we should have a safer work environment.  I'm just going to say that instead of pointing at the Swedish guy and being offended at what he said, perhaps we should listen, take what we can from the discussion, and learn.  He used that language for a reason: to make a point.  He isn't over in Sweden right now rubbing his hands gleefully because he has offended the Americans.  He made it clear that as an outsider looking in, he sees a problem and wants us to be aware of it.  However, he is also concerned that we are ignoring the issues based on our emotional reaction to the problem, rather than the rational explanation of how to solve it.  I don't like being called stupid either, but as I have been told before, if the shoe fits, wear it.

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In this case the researchers are using the Green June Beetle, but given the size of the cockroaches (or Palmetto Bugs, as we like to call them in South Carolina) I have seen, we could probably equip them with a hammer drill and let them tunnel the victims back out of the rubble once they find one.

Cyborg insects are low maintenance, can get into very restricted and virtually inaccessible areas, and with these new developments, can be adapted for a number of different tasks.  Some of these cyborg applications could also be used for monitoring hazmats or terrorist attacks, doing pre-entry search and recon for SWAT teams, or spy work.  As far as our use of these creatures, the sky (or the basement) is the limit.

Never lose sight of this constant: Change is inevitable.  It''s how we deal with it that makes the difference. What we know today as the way we do business may be radically different tomorrow.

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Between emotion and other factors, sometimes people make issues out of things they know nothing about, or they fail to consider the facts before they resort to anger.  So I kept that partially in mind when I saw the headline about the Swedish fire service “expert” who spoke at FRI this week.  Obviously, even the headlines suggested a certain amount of anger from individuals in the American fire service about his statements.  

While the headline of the linked article hit me in the gut a little, I was prepared to read something that I would not agree with, nor could ever agree with.  In fact, before I even read the article, I already made up my mind that this guy was some academic who had never actually fought a fire before, and now he was going to tell us what we are doing wrong.  Before making a statement, however, I actually read the article and you know what?  In some of the points he made, he is absolutely right.

I don’t equate the comments he made on RIC (people were making unsafe decisions way before we had to come up with a way to save them from those decisions) as being anything other than his observation.  While it may seem to him that people drive more recklessly since they feel safer in their cars, I think there are a few other factors at play when we suggest that firefighters have more comfort from having a RIC present, so they are comfortable taking more risk.  I think just the understanding of the fact that a two-man or four-man RIC isn't likely going to get you out of a situation keeps me from going down that slippery slope.  But while there are plenty of other things to agree with, those items are debate for another day.  What I wanted to talk about was our reactions to the headline as compared to the level of “emotional intelligence” or commonly known as “EQ” (in contrast to IQ) that most people have and how EQ relates to certain events.

I want to keep this brief, but it really plays out in society as I see rational individuals presented with particular situations and instead of reacting to them rationally, they relate to them emotionally instead, and fail to grasp the true issues in play.  Instead of seeking understanding, they presume their perception of an event to be the “facts” and are reluctant to see the alternative points of view.  Some individuals with higher EQ can be educated, or shown the other views, and then make decisions based on those facts.  Others with a little lower EQ may go grudgingly toward understanding.  Some go kicking and screaming, and some are completely irrational and unwilling to understand.  Obviously, we all score one way or another along that continuum and where we place in there helps us cope with issues that may run counter to our beliefs.

EQ also permits us to temper our behavior and allows us to think before speaking.  We have people who frankly, engage their mouths (or fingers, via the keyboard) before comprehending the ramifications of what it is they are saying.  While the statements they make may have elements of truth, these statements are “their” truth, and should also involve a little thinking about other viewpoints as well before being said.

Those of you who have known me for a long time may be laughing right now.  I admit, I have said my share of things that I have come to regret later.  But as I have gotten older, and hopefully, wiser, I have also brought some life experience and education to the table.  Over the last fifteen years or so I have begun to understand that not only are most issues presented to us with only the surface points showing, there is usually plenty of time to blame and yell later; first I need to dig deeper and get the real story.

I challenge you to read what was said by the expert with an open mind, and ask yourself, is he wrong? Is he right?  But more importantly, ask yourself about your own personal reaction to his statements.  Reluctance to change because a situation is presented differently than the way you think, even in the face of facts that indicate truth, indicate not loyalty or tradition, but stubbornness and ignorance.  Seek first to understand, then to be understood.  Get the facts, sort them out, and THEN make a decision to speak.  It’s a whole lot less stressful for you and others who surround you that way.

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A while back I posted an invitation to anyone who would listen about coming to work here. I don’t know for sure what impact I had on the numbers, but we had hundreds of applications submitted. From there we provided access to written testing locations around the country, because we sincerely are interested in obtaining the best candidates available. Of those who passed the test, invitations were offered to take a firefighter candidate physical fitness assessment and oral interviews, which are being conducted this weekend. The next steps in the process involve the ranking of candidates on a list from which we draw to fill openings for roughly the next 18 months.

Even there the fun doesn’t stop. When we have an opening, we have to justify the need to fill that opening, which in this economy, sometimes is tougher because of our need to remain fiscally responsible to the citizens of the Island. But with an overwhelming desire to maintain our reputation as a world-class resort destination as well as an excellent community in which to live, public safety is responsibly maintained.

There are a few more steps along the way and when we hire you, there are a lot of expectations placed on you in the first year between requirements for National Registry and South Carolina EMT certifications, IFSAC Firefighter 1 and 2, and HAZMAT Operations certifications, and a whole host of others. Not to mention you are expected to be able to work as part of a team, be customer service oriented, and maintain your ability to do the job through physical fitness and mental preparedness.

It’s not a job for everyone and sometimes we lose a few along the way when they wash out. It’s not necessarily a reflection on their ability to do the job, but more so that we have very high expectations of our employees and it just isn’t for everyone.

The overall compensation package is good though, and we have innovative benefits like zero-interest computer loans, tuition reimbursement for degree-seeking individuals, and incentives for obtaining certain educational benchmarks like HAZMAT Technician or BCLS Instructor certifications. We have state-of-the-art fire apparatus and ambulances, having recently replaced the entire fleet, and opportunities for participation in special operations programs, as we host (in partnership with Bluffton Township Fire District) a state-designated regional HAZMAT Response Team as well as a regional US&R response team.

I wish I could be up there to welcome you and to tell you good luck, but I plan on enjoying the weekend with my family at home. We may walk from our home to the beach, or go for a bike ride on the miles of activity trails across the entire Island, or take part in one of the weekend festivals that go on frequently at Shelter Cove Park. This is a tremendous place to work and to live. Good luck and hopefully, if you want to work with us, we can find a way to work together.

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