When I think of St. Patrick’s Day and the fire service, many things come to mind. One of those thoughts bubbling up to the surface brings a smile to my face every time. Indulge me with a re-post recognizing the value an experienced veteran with the right approach can bring to all of us, young and old.
With that perspective, I offer up a special note to third-generation firefighter retired Chicago Fire Department Deputy District Chief Eddie Enright who has over 38 years of duty having been assigned to engine, truck, and squad companies after serving his country in Vietnam. As he would say:
“Only 0 more days til St. Patrick’s Day”
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Over the years, I’ve attended a boatload of fire training classes which emphasized leadership, training, and safety. Most were team-taught. A primary instructor would be there periodically, accompanied by a great group of “assisting instructors” who would each bring a certain level of expertise to the specific topic at hand.
There were lesson plans to be followed, objectives to be addressed and met, and the test to prove that learning had occurred. It’s a method of learning quite familiar with firefighters worldwide.
But sometimes, the Fire Gods might truly smile down upon you and bless you.
As you’re sitting in the classroom waiting for the course to begin, you wonder where all the instructors went. Just then, you hear guffaws of laughter just out of sight (probably damn near the coffee and doughnuts). What’s going on?
“Da Chief” is in the building.
Not necessarily the current department chief, but certainly a chief nonetheless.
He’s been around for decades and he’s seen it all. He rose up through the ranks and gained the respect from his peers the old-fashioned way. “Da Chief” earned it.
He knows how to handle the pick-head ax just as well as how to handle the politicians. He knows BS when he sees it and he doesn’t hesitate to call it out.
Just like Underdog, he is humble and loveable. He listens to everyone’s views and becomes E.F. Hutton: When “Da Chief” begins to speak- everyone listens.
Down to earth. Real.
When you are blessed with the presence of this special guy, drop everything you are doing and be near him. Hear what he has to say. Drink it all in.
Not only do you learn from his experience and wisdom, but, more importantly, from the way he relates to those around him. He does not condescend to the rookies; he gives no guff to those with whom he may disagree. He is compassionate and concerned. His smile is contagious and his love of the fire service is completely evident. He fills you with motivation and oozes tradition.
While reading this, do I have you thinking about someone you know that could be like “Da Chief”? If so, make it a point to get him to engage with you and your group. Buy him a beer after class.
It will be the best time you can spend in any fire service training session.
WordPress Tags: IFSI,Enright,leadership,wisdom,motivation,tradition,Chicago,Eddie
You may recall the tragedy in Dunwoody on January 24, 2010 in which Ann Bartlett, 74, died when a fire swept through her home after firefighters responded to her early morning emergency call and left when they couldn’t find a blaze. Five hours later, they responded to a second 911 call from neighbors and found the home fully engulfed. Her body was found in the home’s remains after the fire was extinguished. 
Two of the four officers initially fired are looking to be reinstated. They say they were fired for violating a department guideline in that they failed to establish command during the initial response. They claim they could not establish command because they had no scene yet. 
Stupidity, Buttons, and Balls- Oh, my!
Whilst whistling Mr. Postman, I sit down and open my email, clicking through things to flush into my deleted items folder in a great attempt to stay ahead of the email pile that will surely accumulate. Items that catch my eye are temporarily pardoned for future perusal.
“Fundamentally, I believe that all members of the Saint Paul Fire Department’s uniformed division must share a common bond – a common culture – and a shared base of experience and perspective. We all must be confident in each member’s ability to operate safely and effectively on an incident scene or when representing our department to the public. It shouldn’t matter if we’re assigned to a hazardous materials team, an Advanced Life Support medic rig, or the Chief’s office – all of us should share the core competency and the shared experience of being first – and foremost – a firefighter.” -Chief Tim Butler
Caliber of posts relating to the Fire and/or EMS fields 
According to Comeau, the Chief said it “looked like a comedy act”. It is a comment he still stands by today in 
With all the outcry from the initial story, it began to look like the story had run it’s course. But, the “looked like a comedy act” remark now makes Rubin fair game. It just didn’t have to happen. 
The New Haven 20 Finally Get Their Due
A five alarm fire marks the end of a historic and beloved building in the Massachusetts Berkshires this week. The Egremont Inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, having been around since before the American Revolution. The three-story wood frame structure did not have a sprinkler system. Of course, the cause has not yet been determined. One firefighter suffered minor injuries. 
Seems like a no-brainer. Again.
It had been previously reported that the Forest Service issued a memorandum to Southern California Managers
“Catastrophes Don’t Take Holidays” –Local 2
In my weekly 360 Burn, I usually try to find interesting posts that may not normally pop up on your radar. That’ll have to wait until next time, because with all the talk about Balloon Boy and the suspended firefighter in Pennsylvania, my partners at FireEMSblogs.com have really stepped up and given us some must-reads.
“Treating everyone with a broad brush when it is not indicated is never a good idea. But failing to comply with an order from the leadership who is trying do their job by creating some uniform and objective rules isn’t a good idea either.” So says Mick Mayers in 
If you haven’t heard about his newest giveaway, FireCritic is offering up the new Monopoly Firefighter Edition game with a winner being chosen just in time for the holidays. I’m already getting one for each of our stations for when the guys get sick of the Wii. It’s easy to enter, see 
As I’m hanging there upside down like a piñata, the station draws a call for an explosion and fire. Clowns turn to Olympic sprinters as everyone wigs out and bolts for their spot on the equipment leaving only me and the instructor on the safety line up top.
We’ve all seen it before- it’s a managerial shortcut to a solution for a relatively benign molehill involving one or two guys, but everyone gets a taste of the punishment. It’s a path that leaves the door open for numerous other issues to take root. And it left the administration locked into a position that offered no flexibility, and flexibility would have worked marvelously here.
We’ve become so used to having the spin-meisters do the thinking for us. It’s so much easier to be told what to think and to follow the herd than it is to develop our own views and stand up for them. Stoking the fire with patriotic gasoline, we’re being told this is all about a fire chief denouncing the patriotism of a firefighter.
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