KNOW YOUR DISTRICT
Let's Start With A Story
I had been a Driver for almost three years before I put a letter in for Station 29 on the C-Shift. They had a salty, old school Lieutenant whose reputation was over the top, and I was eager to learn.
On my first shift at the Station, I arrived assuming the crew had me slotted to ride the Rescue (ambulance here in Dallas). This is pretty standard here in Dallas, but I was surprised to see I would be driving the Engine when I looked at the board that morning.
Before too long, the bell hit, and we rolled out on a Medical Emergency. I looked over at LT and asked, "I know it's a left out of the Station, but I'm gonna need some help beyond that."
He looked at me and asked, "How is it that you don't know the district yet?
I was caught a little off guard and replied, "LT, it's my first shift here."
"How long have you known you were coming to my Fire Station?" He said smugly.
"Two weeks," I replied.
"Sounds like plenty of time for you to have learned our district!"
Over The Top... or A Higher Bar?
You might hear that story and start to develop an opinion of my old Lieutenant - if you somehow didn't already know him and already have one. But, I'll tell you that I've never worked for a better Fire Officer than Lieutenant Wilcoxson.
Was his expectation of me knowing the district before my first shift over the top? Maybe.
Or was he teaching me/us that we needed to raise the bar? Absolutely!
If you haven't picked up on it yet, I choose to frame this in the latter.
Know Your District
Rick is going to lay out WHY knowing your district is so important. I want to challenge you to see how we've allowed technology (phones), complacency, and even blaming a new generation of firefighters for allowing the bar (pride and ownership) to fall so low in this area.
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PUMP SCHOOL W/ RICK BREWER
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