Through the Good & the Sad
When my father and brothers were firefighters in the 1970s, I listened for calls about an injured firefighter on our scanner, hearing the chief called for the chaplain and the chief’s wife to pick up the injured firefighter’s wife.
My mom and I would freeze at each call. With three family members at a fire scene, the risk factor is higher. Thankfully, the department never lost a firefighter, and my two brothers since have retired safely.
I thought of the nature of firefighter families several times this week. I was contacted by an organization looking for someone who could give a talk about being a chief‘s wife. The woman I suggested called me later, and I explained to her that because of her many years of marriage to a prominent chief and her incredible sense of humor, she was my immediate choice for the speaking engagement.
Also, last week I saw on the Internet that two firefighters who had died in a fire allegedly were under the influence of a drugs and/or alcohol. While there was some controversy over whether that information should have been released, I was more interested in the question raised about how the firefighters’ grieving families would deal with this additional information.
And then I received an e-mail from the son of a firefighter who died in the line of duty. “Unfortunately many in our industry shrug off safety issues/measures until an incident happens, which is then too little too late,” he wrote. He was not referring to his father’s death but rather the death of a neighboring firefighter who was ejected and killed from his rig during an accident. That firefighter wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.
“It’s an awful thing to lose a firefighter in one’s department,” he wrote. “It’s even worse to be a family member of a firefighter who does not return from a call. Most in the fire service can, in time, move on; however I can tell you that for the family, it’s something that they never get over.”
Last week the Charleston (S.C.) Fire Department released Phase 1 of the report developed by the fire assessment and review task force. There are approximately 200 recommendations [www.firechief.com] and priorities for their implementation, from immediate to longer range.
How must the families of the Charleston Nine feel about the report? What about the families of other Charleston Fire Department personnel? The grief over losing the nine firefighters and the department changes their deaths have brought must be stressful for everyone, but particularly for the families.
John Milton once wrote, “They also serve who only stand and wait.” You chose your profession, but your spouse or partner chose you. Families share a special bond with the fire service, through the good and the sad.
October 26th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
I was a Boston Firefighter for 32-years and 16 of those years as a District Fire Chief. I had been witness to way too many Firefighter LODDs and their ensuing funerals. The Firefighters who gave up their lives serving the public at great risk and their families were shown awesome honor and reverance. This is the way it should be.
The self-serving person or persons who, without regard for grieving families, made public what was supposed to be confidential, i.e., medical autopsy reports of two deceased American Heroes who had suffered and died doing their job. That heinous act of making those reports public knowledge has opened a Pandora’s box of troubles that will have far reaching impacts on the surviving families, members of the Boston Fire Department and others.
At the conclusion of most funerals of Firefighters who became LODDs a person of rank rings a fire bell and states the name of the deceased Firefighter and says that he or she…”is going home” as the casket is carried down the church aisle to the waiting hearse or pumper.
The two Boston Firefighters who made the supreme sacrifice have gone home. Let them and their families rest…in peace.
Robert M. Winston
Boston District Fire Chief, Retired
Former Pickens County (GA) Fire Chief
October 28th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
Anytime a brother or sister firefighter is killed in the line of-duty it is painful for all members of the fire service especially for the department and the members involved. What is even more painful is when a line-of-duty death could have been prevented by poper management and solid leasderhisp within the fire house. This is written with no disrespect to our brothers in Boston whom gave the ultimate sacrifice.
Gordon Graham states “predectible is preventable.” When a company officer or worse yet a chief officer allows behavior to take place that has no place in the fire house, it is not too difficult to predict what may happen. When we turn a blind eye to our personnel consuming alcohol or doing drugs while on-duty and we do not step up and address it, we have no one but ourselves to blame. Being a company officer or chief officer involves responsibility. If you are not willing to accept the responsibility, don’t take the promotion.
There is only one acceptable line-of-duty death; when you or your crews are doing everything possible to save a viable life. Any other death or injury is unacceptable. When we kill fireighters by not making them buckle up, it’s unacceptable. When we kill ff’s by blowing thorugh intersections without stopping it’s unacceptable. When we kill ff’s by placing them inside of vacant structures where no lives are at stake it’s unacceptable. When we kill ff’s because we didn’t make them use all of their PPE because it’s just a trainng session, it’s unacceptable.
The fire service must step up and realize that people are our greatest asset and treat them as such and at times that means doing what is right even though it may not be popular. Company officers and chief officers have the responsiblity to make sure that they have done everything possible to ensure that everyone goes home at the end of their shift, end of the call or end of the training session. When we as officers enforce the policies and procedures, the rules and regulations, the administraitve and safety directives that are issued, we may just be able to prove that Mr. Graham is indeed correct and not have to worry about any reports or information being “leaked” to any media outlets.
Respectively,
Bob Phillips
Fire Chief
Macomb Township Fire Department
Macomb, MI
October 29th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
Thank you for touching on the subject of “those who wait at home”. In regard to that, Our family has “known the feeling” since 1928, when my late Grandfatjher and my oldest uncle were among the Charter Members of our community’s brand new VFD. Some things don’t change, and today, with my two Grandsons serving as the first of the Fifth generation of our family at the same VFD, Wives and Mothers still worry. As a side note to that; Reportedly, the Lewistown District VFD in Frederick County, Maryland has (or had) a rule that prohibited a Husband and Wife from responding on the same piece of Apparatus. The wisdom in that appears to be that should an accident occur, a child would not be without both parents. Food for thought…………
Ed Woods
Deputy Chief
Glenn Dale, Md. VFD
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