Fire Chief

Firefighters and fire trucks bring out the child in adults. There’s just something about those big red (or yellow or white) fire trucks that draws people like bees to honey.

The Congressional Fire Services Institute couldn’t have come up with a better way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the annual National Fire Services Dinner than to take over the National Mall on Wednesday, April 2, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., to display fire and emergency service personnel and apparatus.

Every department has a story about building or renovating a fire station. One of my favorites is the department that put in a new kitchen during renovation. For some reason, the new kitchen cabinets weren’t wide enough for dinner plates to lie flat in the cabinets, so the plates have to be stored underneath the counters.

Sometimes life forces us to change, even when we’re not ready. Often, it’s gradual. At other times, it comes at us so fast we have to hold on for dear life. And it may happen to us directly or indirectly through heartbreaking events that change the way we see the world.

With five significant opportunities to spring into action, April is shaping up to be a pretty busy month for the fire and emergency service industry.

A couple years ago, my department was awarded a $300,000 Assistance to Firefighters Grant to upgrade our communications equipment. At that time our dispatch center, transmitter and antenna system all were 40 to 50 years old. It was designed to use a dedicated telephone line to carry audio from the dispatch console to the transmitter that was over a mile away on the city’s water tower.

I was surprised to see how quicky the rig became a dot in the distance. I sped up to see just how fast the tanker was going and guessed 60 mph in the straight aways and 50 mph on the curves. I thought, this must be some fire.

“We deserve whatever we can get,” is not a reasonable answer to reasonable remuneration for firefighters. The dangers of the job do not justify additional pay; they demand a well-trained and engaged work force that practices what it preaches.