Forums Whos Who

[Dave1983]

After reading through many of the recent threads, I find the same theme. The newbies dont know who the Crusty's are, and more importantly, what they are.

I see thread after thread, many on good topics where good, informed banter would have been a benifit to all, disolve into a bash-fest. These normaly involve a newbie who thinks they know what they are talking about, going up against someone like CFI George on the topic of NFPA codes.

My thought is that perhaps if said newbie had a clue about Geaorge and his qualifications, we could "save" a few of these threads.

Now, I know most of us dont like talking about ourselves, but its for the good of the Forums.

Fellow Crust's, your take???

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

I'm game...

26+ years on the job.

Associate's Degree in Public Communications, a credit or 2 shy of an Associate's in Fire Science.

Firefighter: November 1981 to November 1988
Lieutenant: November 1988 to August 2000
Captain: August 2000 to January 2007
Deputy Chief: January 2007 to present.
Pro Board certified Fire Officer 1.

I also work at the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy in the support services division, assisting the instructional staff in teaching recruit, industrial and gas firefighting programs. I worked there from May 1982 to July 1995, and from August 2001 to the present date.

Do I profess to know everything about "da job"? Hell no, and I never will.

Every day on the job is a learning experience. In my career, I have found that there are days when the firehouse runs like a well oiled machine, others, I feel like I am playing Nanny 911 in a daycare center!

My mantra is "everyone goes home". If I tick someone off while making sure that I end the tour with the same number of personnel than I started with, oh well.

My signature says it...

[dmleblanc]

OK, I'll bite....

Volunteer experience: 18 years as a volunteer firefighter:

1989-1992 - Firefighter
1993-2001 -Captain
2002-2004 -Assistant Chief
2005-Present- Chief

Career experience: 11 years as a chemical plant firefighter/EMT

1996-July 2005 -Firefighter/EMT
July 2005-Present -Shift Incident Commander

[mcaldwell]

I thought we did this already...


10 years as a volunteer FF,
10 years Industrial First Aid Attendant, First Responder III.

96-99 as FF
99-01 as Captain
01-05 as Deputy Chief/Training Officer
05-07 as Chief


Career side:

Associates degree in Law Enforcement
Currently finishing 2nd Assoc. Degree in Emergency Management

5 years in Safety Services (Private Fire/Medical/Security Department)
5 years as Safety Services Manager (Emergency Services/Occupational health & Safety/Risk Management)
4 Years as Deputy Regional Emergency Program Coordinator

Serve on Regional Training Development committee, and develop regional emergency exercises (both corporate and public).


I'm a wee lad on the Crust totem pole, so I'm here to listen and learn, help if I can, and have a good laugh once in a while.

[wag11c]

I have a DEGROT in fire science.......a DEGROT shows not what I know but what I know not. This is gonna be a great thread for all those who have multiple intials after their name and can't perform worth a crap on the fireground. Not demeaning education or experience but neither makes someone I would trust with my back or life. I've known many a FF who has little or no education but has multiple life experiences that make him invaluable. That said, go ahead and bash me and tell me all about how wonderful you are. Nice job Dave.

[firenresq77]

I have a DEGROT in fire science.......a DEGROT shows not what I know but what I know not. This is gonna be a great thread for all those who have multiple intials after their name and can't perform worth a crap on the fireground. Not demeaning education or experience but neither makes someone I would trust with my back or life. I've known many a FF who has little or no education but has multiple life experiences that make him invaluable. That said, go ahead and bash me and tell me all about how wonderful you are. Nice job Dave.

HUH????

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

I have a DEGROT in fire science.......a DEGROT shows not what I know but what I know not. This is gonna be a great thread for all those who have multiple intials after their name and can't perform worth a crap on the fireground. Not demeaning education or experience but neither makes someone I would trust with my back or life. I've known many a FF who has little or no education but has multiple life experiences that make him invaluable. That said, go ahead and bash me and tell me all about how wonderful you are. Nice job Dave.

This isn't about who has what after their name or the amount of education or lack thereof. Some of the best firefighters I have had the pleasure of working went to the University of Hard Knocks. They earned their crust the hard way. Some of them paid dearly as cancer took their lives during and after their careers, or injuries shortened them.

Instead of bashing those willing to post their credentials and experience, why don't you do the same?

[MG3610]

I have been hanging around here for a few years. Im not one of the popular folk, but I like to lsten to what alot of you have to offer and also put my 2 cents out there when I feel like I can.

I have 15 years in Fire Service.
I spent 9 years on a slow rural VFD
16 years with a busy volunteer heavy rescue/ems squad
I have 4 years on the job
I have travelled all across the country to training seminars and rescue competitions to learn new stuff.
I teach at the county fire academy
I have a BS in Criminal Justice Admin

I have alot of paper that I worked hard for and 15 years since I stepped into the firehouse as a kid. I have time as a black hat and time with a white front shield, time as a volunteer and time on the job. I expect that I have to prove myself to everyone I work with. I expect everyone I work with to prove themselves to me. If you want to find me at a job, look in the dirtiest places for one of the harder working faces. I Don't quit til its done. I have made mistakes, I will still make mistakes. I learn every day. I pass along my knowledge whenever I can. Being a fireman isnt what I do, its what I am.

[Dave1983]

OK...Then I guess Ill add mine.


24 years of service with two different FDs in a large metro area in Fla. Served as both volunteer and paid, from jumpseat firefighter to company officer with most of my time spent as an engineer. I now serve as the head of our Prevention division. Ive also spent 10 years on the "darkside" as an EMT with the county ambulance service.

I have extensive training and numerous certifications, many in the area of prevention, building construction and investigation. Im working now on my Investigator II and instructor certs. If all goes as planned, it wont be long and Ill hold every fire service cert the state has to offer. Then I can start on the NFA.

Over the years Ive been involved in pretty much every phase of the fire service, from disatster planning to apparatus specifications to communications, among many others.

When it comes to the fire service, I like to think of myself as a sponge. Im always trying to learn, which is why I spend so much time here on the Forums. I dont know everything, and I hope I never do cause then Id get bored.

[Dave1983]

I have a DEGROT in fire science.......a DEGROT shows not what I know but what I know not. This is gonna be a great thread for all those who have multiple intials after their name and can't perform worth a crap on the fireground. Not demeaning education or experience but neither makes someone I would trust with my back or life. I've known many a FF who has little or no education but has multiple life experiences that make him invaluable. That said, go ahead and bash me and tell me all about how wonderful you are. Nice job Dave.

Thanks. Glad you like it.

[oj3205]

Ok, I may not reply alot but like the previous, I come to learn from those who do. Here is me:

Firefighter-1988 to 1999
Captain-1999 to present
Station Fire Prevention Officer 1998 to 2003
EMT (yes I play on the darkside too) 1989 to 2005
Paramedic 2005 to present
EMS coordinator for FD 2006 to present
Slowly working towards A.S. in Fire Science

Large paid on call dept.

[ElectricHoser]

I feel grossly underqualified, but oh well, here we go....

Due to relocations, I have just started with my fourth fire department as a volunteer and paid part-timer (not really a career position).

I have been in since 1993. I have spent most of that time as a volunteer, but have also covered shifts as a part-timer for the career staff when they were short. Depending on the circumstances I have risen up to EMTB or fallen back to FR depending on the level of sevice my agency at the time was charged with providing. I also spent two years as a seasonal wildland firefighter.

In my last agency I rose to up to Training Officer (dear Lord, a white helmet?? I'm definitely not worthy). Now I am a probie, AGAIN. Oh well.

The only initials I have in my sig are for my membership in IACOJ, because I think we can all learn a lot from the guys who - unlike me - have real crust.

[LFD131]

What the hell does spending alot of time posting on an internet forum have to do with being "crusty"? There is a big difference between talking a good game behind a keyboard, and actually doing the job. What the people you work with have to say about you is worth alot more than what you have to say about yourself. Having thousands of posts is not the equivalent of having thousands of fires. I think sometimes the two get confused around here.

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

What the hell does spending alot of time posting on an internet forum have to do with being "crusty"? There is a big difference between talking a good game behind a keyboard, and actually doing the job. What the people you work with have to say about you is worth alot more than what you have to say about yourself. Having thousands of posts is not the equivalent of having thousands of fires. I think sometimes the two get confused around here.

Exactly the reason I a not going to play.

[jccrabby3084]

Well not much time in compared to some:

5 years in the Navy as a firefighter
4 years as Volunteer FF/EMT
3 years as career FF/ Paramedic

started with a bug for the fire service at 14 when I became an Explorer for the same department I'm now paid at. Still serve as an Explorer post advisor for the dept.

Went USN as a Damage Control, had a couple shipboard fires, several flooding, but good experience, nice port calls, lots of beers. Got out and went to school in Madison for fire science. Got on a volunteer department there as a live in intern.
Obtained an A.S. in Fire Protection Technician and all the fire certs.
Went to school for paramedic and was picked up by my department while in school, so they let me finish. (how nice of them).
Member of our Technical Rescue Team.....WI-TF3

[hwoods]

Currently in my 49th year as a Volunteer Fire/Rescue/EMS Person, 22 years as a Chief Officer.

Concurrently 29 Years as a Career Firefighter and Officer.

Current Career Position - Fire Technician, State of Maryland, Forest Service.

Current Volunteer Positions - Deputy Chief, Glenn Dale (PG Co. Md.) VFD -Commissioner, Prince Georges County Fire Commission - Division Chief, Prince Georges County Fire/EMS Department - Committee Chair, 6 Fire Service Organizations.

Current Certifications - National Pro Board: Fire Officer I, II, III, and IV. Instructor I, II, and III. HazMat Tech. FADO. Wildland FF. Course Work Credit from the National Fire Academy about 200 Hours, Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute Training about 1,800 hours. Total Training hours from all sources: 2,400 (approx). Currently 48 credit hours toward a Batchelor's Degree.

Member, Several Technical Rescue Teams.

Numerous Commendations and Awards, Most recent - Maryland State Firemens Association's Colburn Cup for Heroism (Jointly with Volunteer Firefighter Mike Moore) for the sucessful rescue of the driver of a vehicle that left the road and overturned/submerged in an Ice covered pond. (occured a month after my 64th Birthday)

Married to a Swedish Blonde who is the most wonderful woman in the world. (Her Fire Service Credentials are quite impressive in their own right)

And in my spare time............

[Dickey]

Oh balls! Ok, here goes.....

Volunteer FF/EMT for 16 years.

1991-1995 Firefighter
1995-2006 Lieutenant (training officer)
2006-present Captain
1991-present EMT-B
(yes, I play on the darkside too)

Full time FF for almost 4 years at our local airport fire dept.
1994-1996 Firefighter (crash fire rescue)
1996-1998 Chief (don't let that scare you. 4 guys, one P-19 truck and $84,000 budget.)

Full time 911 dispatcher for the City-County, all law enforcement, fire and EMS in Eau Claire County. 18 different agencies on 24 frequencies
1998-present

Former Deputy Sheriff, Eau Claire County Sheriff's Office
1999-2002 Reserve Deputy Sheriff
2002-2006 Reserve Sergeant

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

What the hell does spending alot of time posting on an internet forum have to do with being "crusty"? There is a big difference between talking a good game behind a keyboard, and actually doing the job. What the people you work with have to say about you is worth alot more than what you have to say about yourself. Having thousands of posts is not the equivalent of having thousands of fires. I think sometimes the two get confused around here.

Some of us with the large post numbers have been here since the fledgeling days of firehouse.com. Some of us have had "thousands of fires" in the literal sense over the course of their careers.. for the record, I am not in that category..

We've seen one post wonders, those with permanent tickets to Banned City, those who post utter nonsense, those who have 20 years on ( the 20 being the same year of experience repeated over and over again), those who want to learn and those that do "walk the walk, talk the talk".

I have met many of the people who post here, shared a few meals and brews with them and have spent time in their firehouses. I consider them friends and part of my "extended family".

[ElectricHoser]

What the hell does spending alot of time posting on an internet forum have to do with being "crusty"? There is a big difference between talking a good game behind a keyboard, and actually doing the job. What the people you work with have to say about you is worth alot more than what you have to say about yourself. Having thousands of posts is not the equivalent of having thousands of fires. I think sometimes the two get confused around here.

I don't get the impression that anyone who has responded to the original post has proposed or even implied that their number of posts means jack. That wasn't the original question, and no one has tried to answer it that way. The common tone I've seen in many of the responses is how much we readily acknowledge we don't know. What's the problem with that?

[Dickey]

Awe, that's sweet Gonz.....likewise.

If you look at the date of when they joined the forums under their avitar, you will see who is crusty and who isn't. It makes no difference on the amount of posts they have.