Going International
My wife, Diana, and I recently returned from a two-week vacation in Norway and Denmark. Whenever we travel, I like to stop and talk shop with firefighters whenever possible. During this trip, we had the opportunity to visit fire stations in Honnigsvag, Trondheim, Geiranger, Bergen and Stavanger. Three of these departments had career firefighters, while two relied solely on volunteers. With the exception of the equipment and apparatus manufacturers, the friendly atmosphere is no different than stopping in at a fire station in Wilmington, Fresno or Wyoming.
There is never a time when I don‘t learn something. For example, at the main station in Stavanger there is a beautifully restored 1935 Pierce open-cab engine sitting in the center bay of the apparatus floor. The engine survived the World War II and along with a post-war truck manufactured by the White Truck Company provided much of the fire protection for the city for close to 30 years. The Pierce remains the pride of the department and it is used for parades and special events. Unfortunately all that remains of the White unit are the front grill and a few photos on display in the department‘s museum.
What these visits prove is that firefighters are part of a “family” that is quickly becoming international. This year, more and more international travelers are visiting the United States on vacation and a good percentage will be firefighters and their families. With very few exceptions wherever we have traveled, we have been warmly welcomed at any fire station and treated not as stranger, but as friends. We need to be prepared to do the same if these guests visit our fire stations. There is value even in this brief international exchange.
Firefighting issues and problems are universal, and hearing a different approach to problem solving may give us some ideas to try in our own department. One such concept is air management. While we have only begun the discussion of how this fits into our accountability system, our Scandinavian and European counterparts have been tracking individual air usage for years. They record the SCBA pressure of every firefighter entering a hazardous environment, and rely on the company officer to keep the accountability sector informed of the lowest crew pressure each time they communicate with their sector officer or incident commander.
Firefighters are firefighters no matter what city, town or village they protect. Keep the welcome mat out for them. They are as eager to learn from us as we should be eager to learn from them. Wherever you go, whether to another country or another part of your state, spend some time with your fellow firefighters. Enjoy the conversation, share your knowledge when it is appropriate, network so you can call upon this expertise again, and take back at least one new idea to try on your own.
Related Topics: Robert Rielage, Management & Administration, Technology, Training, Leadership
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Your article was right on the money. When we travel anywhere, we find that anywhere we go. we are all one big family and are welcomed as such. In some trips to Mexico, I found that while there was a language barrier, there was still an ability to talk shop for some simple things. We should welcome those persons from outside our country with open arms into our house and show them the respect and hospitality that we would recieve from them on their country’s soil. Even the smallest fire department can show an open and welcome house for visitors. What better way to cement future relationships and comraderie.
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