The Importance Of Accountability In The Fire Service

There are multiple agencies that can work with fire investigators. Each of these can either help with preservation of life, collection of evidence and finding the cause of the fire as well as helping fix any damage made and try to prevent it. Each of the agencies that will be mentioned help out with these.

This initiative emphasizes the importance of individuals holding themselves accountable for their own health, wellness, and safety. Additionally, this message needs to be derived and set forth by the administration of the department who should equally demonstrate the same behavior. A Fire Chief who establishes such expectations are the first in line to demonstrate their own accountability standards through their physical appearance and visible measures. For example, maintaining a healthy image resembling one of physically fit, and maintain and advocate healthy dietary eating habits both on and off the job. RMFD’s current Fire Chief emulates these standards. However, the Assistant Fire Chief and one of the Battalion Chiefs fall short, detouring the unity and strength behind the accountability maintaining a positive image.

There are many areas in the fire service where potential lawsuits and liability can arise; some of these areas include, but are most definitely not limited to negligence, hazing, and not following the fire department’s SOPs/SOGs. As our society has changed, so has its expectations of those in emergency services—while many in the community may think of firefighters as the pinnacle of what an upstanding citizen must look like, there are countless moral and ethical pitfalls that firefighters can fall prey to and diminish the reputation of the fire service.

Suicide rates are on the increase among firefighters. In fact, the rates are beginning to catch up with the rates of law enforcement officers. Some of the same stressors affect both groups and more corporate culture changes are needed to ensure that the best possible assistance is provided to first responders who are feeling so stressed that they experience suicidal ideations.Little boys and girls often dream of becoming firefighters. The Halloween costume with the big red hat has been a perennial favorite for generations now. Every child loves the red trucks, the sirens, and the perception that firefighters are heroes as they save lives, help people, and save property. And they are heroes, selfless heroes who should be celebrated perhaps more

According the agency of the Department of Homeland Security states that motor vehicles crashes are the leading cause of death for an on-line duty fireman. Other significant causes of death are: caught/trapped (10%), fall (5%), collapse (3%), and other (7%). Intentions of firefighters are to make the community safe as possible, but we the people need to think twice before we do anything else when dealing with fire. The other things that it 's a national problem for firefighters is not wearing their seat belts when driving out to an emergency. They are so focused on saving our lives when first it 's supposed to be the opposite, their safety is first, but firemen put their lives at risk.

During the month of October, 2008 we lost another fire fighter in a residential structure fire. The Victim was a 24 Y/O male fire fighter from Alabama who had been a volunteer with the department for two years. The firefighter training seemed to be standard for a new volunteer in the area which he served. As always it is tragic to lose a fire fighter and as always we try to learn from it.

“Who you gonna call? Ghost Busters” (Brillstein & Reitman, 1984). In 1984, a very popular comedy movie “Ghostbusters” hit the big screen and this quote from the movie seemed to stick in everyone’s head. Today, the question that seems to be raised when there is a crisis or emergency situation is “Who you gonna call? The fire department”. In today’s society, the fire service has become the “catchall” for every kind of emergency. Do you agree? Fighting fire is still a big part of the fire service, “in 2015, every twenty-three seconds a fire department was responding to a fire” (NFPA (Ed.), 2015). However, the fire service has evolved from just “putting the wet stuff on the red stuff” mentality, to a profession of highly trained and skilled firefighters. Ever since the discovery of fire there has been a need for methods to manage it if, and when, it gets out of control. Throughout history, to keep up with the changing environment in which we live, civilization and the fire service have made numerous changes. With fewer fires, and more products being manufactured from plastics and other dangerous chemicals, the fire service must be vigilant in developing new methods to keep firefighters safe and justify their job while providing the most efficient service for the citizens.

department on February 5 of 1850 with the formation of Mutual Hook and Ladder station #1.

24). All fire service leaders must confront this topic head on and discuss the issue with their members. Bill Wiegman, a Chief of the Montgomery Township in Pennsylvania, said in a Firehouse news article, “Go beyond the criminal background check to ensure a fire setter isn’t welcome in your ranks, provide a positive mentor, and tell them about the consequences of setting fires (Nicol, 2014). A proactive approach is one of the most important things the fire service can do to bring an end to this issue. With this approach, it should be explained to every recruit that firefighting isn’t as glamorous as it is portrayed in the media and there is a potential for a lot of downtime and boredom.

Firefighters: Their job is to react when exhales are activated in an effort to control and extinguish their feelings. This is accomplished any numbers of way through alcohol or drug use, gambling, shopping, binge eating. We believe the firefighters are keeping us safe somehow however they are actuality obscuring our heart within us.

     After visiting some actual fire departments, I realized as a firefighter you certainly have a lot to be proud of. It’s not your average job and does require quite a bit of organization to stay on top of everything. Everyday you have to be ready and prepared for just about anything that can happen. You never know what kinds

The incidents surrounding the Garland Fire Department (GFD) use of a mayday on September 8, 2013 is nothing new in the fire service. Although the situation did not result in a Line of Duty Death (LODD), it can be considered a “near-miss”. It is important in the fire service to understand the circumstances that took place on that day in order to ensure that we learn from them and ensure the safety of all firefighters going forward.

I truly enjoyed reading the material for this week 's discussion. I found it fascinating to read how these people of passion were so revered as leaders. Something I found difficult while reading the stories of these various leaders was the details of what they did within their respective industries that made them successful. Although I recognize the importance of the details, I found myself continually fanaticizing about how the many different approaches would directly translate to the fire service. Because of the uniqueness of the fire service as an industry, I found it easier to relate to themes and concepts rather than the details. 'Strengths Based Leadership ' by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie For example Simon Cooper stated: "people create memories, not things. If we ask guests what color the carpet was in their guest room, they probably won 't know. The real value comes from the ladies and gentlemen (employees) who bring that hotel to life. Ten percent is the platform, but the rest is people. (Rath & Conchie, 2008, p. 43) As I read this I couldn 't help but think of the fact that our customers in the emergency response world (fire service) likely remember more about how we treat them than what uniform we wear or what kind of apparatus we arrive in, so long as we bring true caring and compassion to their bedside. In addition Cooper 's people over platform approach was obvious in this Rath & Conchie description: "then when he talked of the night-and-day difference that a

The greatest threat facing the Modern Fire Service is the rate at which firefighters are dying in the line of duty. Excluding the terrible event of 9/11 that occurred in 2001 that forever changed the dynamics of the emergency response services1, firefighter deaths have averaged around 100 fatalities each year for the since 1990. This unacceptable rate of firefighter deaths has found its way to be a benchmark in the industry. The problem is that the benchmark should be zero firefighter deaths while on duty and every year that there is a fatality is a year that the fire service has failed its members. The number one cause of firefighter related deaths yearly is proven to be medical, stress, or overexertion related fatalities2. All of these causes of firefighter deaths can be avoided with implementation of training and awareness.

Hundreds of people were left stranded in or on their homes or apartments because of rising flood waters. Police and fire departments were unable to reach people for several days because of roads and bridges being flooded. During snow storms, roads often become impassible due to snow and ice. ESS must put the safety of their staff ahead of everyone else if they want to ensure that they will have all the necessary personnel and resources to respond as soon as they are able.