HARRY R. CARTER, Ph.D., MIFireE
For Firehouse.Com
The news from Memphis, Tennessee is very sad indeed. Death struck two brave men from the Memphis Fire Department, as well as a Deputy Sheriff from the Shelby County Sheriff's Department. This is a particularly tragic event, because it just isn't what we expect when we roll out on a reported structure fire. Death by fire, we understand. But being shot by a brother firefighter, that's a bolt from the blue.
However, this event is not unique in our society, or even for the fire service for that matter. We only need look back to August of 1996 for the death of the firefighter who was killed by a driver in Indiana. That firefighter responded to a motor vehicle accident in order to do his duty, and paid with his life at the hands of a gun-wielding civilian.
Who can forget the Jackson, Mississippi tragedy in 1996? It was on April 24, 1996 that a disgruntled firefighter went on a rampage in that city's fire headquarters. In the wake of that depraved individual's bloody path, four fire officers lay dead in their normal workplace.
And now it has happened again. What does this say about the society wherein we live and work? It is a sad commentary indeed.
But think about it. How many of you looked on as the U.S. Postal Service underwent its many tragedies? How many might even have snickered at an inappropriate snippet of humor at their expense? A review of that situation indicates that many supervisors were creating the cause of their own devastation. And the rigid workplace rules enforced by the Postal Service were also part of the problem.
I guess we in the fire service have felt that we are immune to the general problems of society, because of the good works we do. At one time, my greatest personal concern was being killed or injured in a fire at work. Over the course of my career in Newark, I became more concerned with the violence that was taking place around us. I did not like to think about it, but it was an ongoing problem, and it impacted my troops and I.
However, that was the case of an outside problem forcing its way into the fire department. The case in Memphis, as well as the one in Jackson, were caused by people we thought of as our own. These were people with whom we ate, slept, lived and worked. They were our brothers. What went wrong? What do we need to look for?
Does the fact that an individual takes a lot of sick leave tell you something? Are they habitually late? Do they seem to be distant? Each of these means something. Have we been given the training to recognize these things. Individually, or collectively, none of these means that an individual may be predisposed to violence. But it may serve as a warning that an underlying problem does exist.
The pressures of life are far greater than they were in the past. Life is moving at a fast pace, and the pressure to keep up with change is growing ever greater. If you mix the problems we all face with our families, our health, and commitments to the community, you can wind up with seemingly insurmountable problems.
And many times, we as fire department supervisors fail to look closely at what is going on around us. As long as firefighter A is showing up for work and performing at the basic level appropriate to their job description, we think that all is well. We are so busy marching to the beat of our own drummer that we fail to care for the needs of our troops.
There will be those who say that the psychological health of our employees is not our concern. But if not us, who? If we can keep an eye out for the problems, and then point these troubled souls in the direction of the proper assistance, then maybe we can avoid situations like Memphis and Jackson. We have to train our people at all levels to be aware of the signs of potential problems. When I was Chief of Training, every supervisor in the Newark Fire Department went through a program presented by the firm who provided our employee assistance program. On a number of occasions, the skills learned in those seminars headed off problems.
Let me also say a word about those people in positions of high command who grow too distant from the people laboring in the trenches. Be warned that your people are always looking to you for their guidance, whether you believe it or not. What you do and what you say can have a lasting impact on people's perceptions. And for many in society today, their perceptions become the reality that guides them in their lives. If you treat them like dirt, you may be sowing the seeds of your own demise - literally.
I am sure that we will come to learn a great deal more about what happened in Memphis on Wednesday March 8, 2000. And the events leading up to it will become clearly focused in the 20- 20 hindsight of history. And surely that date will be long remembered as a dark day in that proud department's history.
The Memphis Fire Department means a great deal to me. As a young lad in the U.S. Air Force Fire Department, I spent the final days of my service career across the Mississippi River in Blytheville, Arkansas. I was truly blessed on the day I came to know a number of outstanding Memphis fire people. They fanned the spark of my youthful fire service desires into the fire of passion that became my career. Many have retired or gone on to their reward. To those who are left, particularly my dear friend H.J. "Jeff" Pickett, the City's Fire Marshal, I offer my heartfelt prayers for the brave people who died doing their duty. And let us never forget the families who are left behind.
To the rest of us I say quite simply, be kind, be considerate, and come to know the people you work with as people. Here is an arena where the old adage, "… an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure…," can take on life and death dimensions. Take care.. stay safe, and say a prayer for the dearly departed.
Harry R. Carter, Ph.D., MIFireE, is an internationally known municipal
fire protection consultant and contributing editor to Firehouse Magazine. He recently retired as a Battalion Commander with the Newark, New Jersey Fire Department.
His commentary appears regularly on Firehouse.Com. For more commentary and information,
visit Carter's web site at
www.harrycarter.com
Memphis: Commentary