Firefighters and their families wrapped around the Ladder 49 exhibit Friday and Saturday at the the twenty-first annual Firehouse Expo to get signed Ladder 49 movie posters and to catch the action-packed movie trailer.
Ladder 49 actor Kevin Chapman, who plays the character Lt. Frank Mckinny in the upcoming film, joked with firefighters and enthusiastically spent hours signing posters and posing for photos.
Chapman marveled at the pride of the firefighters attending the expo, who wore their department T-shirts and spoke to him of their firehouses. "I understand that, after working with Ladder 49," Chapman said. "Every firefighter I meet says, 'I'm at the busiest company in the city,' and that's great that they take such pride their work and their company," he said.
Chapman, who spent a month living and working with Baltimore firefighters to prepare for his Ladder 49 role, has appeared in other films including Mystic River.
The Firehouse Expo Friday and Saturday also included dozens of professional information programs, such as "Recruitment and Retention in a Volunteer Fire Department."
The session opened with an introduction by Wayne Powell of the USFA and was led by the IAFC Voluneer and Combination Officers Section Chairman and Vice Chairman, Larry Curl and Tim Wall. They championed the efforts of volunteers, saying volunteers of all types save U.S. taxpayers a combined $200 billion annually.
The interactive discussion examined ways to target potential volunteer firefighters and the steps for successful recruitment. One simple suggestion the presenters made was that departments provide a complete job description of their volunteer positions, so that people understand exactly what is required. When asked for a show of hands by those who had already written job descriptions, only a few attendees in the packed room raised their hands.
Also discussed were volunteer retention issues. The presenters said one of the most common reasons volunteer firefighters quit is dictatorial or ineffective leadership, and they recommended doing exit interviews to determine whether people are leaving for personal reasons or if there are issues to be addressed within the department. They ended the presentation with their Golden Rule; "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Another session Friday covered wildland firefighter safety and the wildland urban interface, including the issues that arise when structural firefighters respond to wildfires.
Even on the East Coast, "You could become involved in wildland firefighting at any time," said presenter Robert Winston, former district chief at the Boston Fire Department and a wildland/urban interface specialist. Attendees included several New Jersey firefighters who discussed the complications of providing their crews with both bunker gear and Nomex wildland firefighting gear.
Between 1910 and 2003, 913 firefighters were killed in wildland/urban interface responses, and many of them died under similar circumstances, Winston said. "Firefighters are repeating the same mistakes," he said.
Winston questioned some of the decisions firefighters make at wildfire incidents, saying that when firefighting becomes too goal driven, firefighters lose sight of safety training. "You risk a lot to save a lot," he said. "Do you want to risk your life for a vacant building in the middle of nowhere? I don't think so."
Winston discussed one of his own close calls as well as the death of Novato, California firefighter Steve Rucker who died last year at the Cedar Fire near San Diego, when he was over run by wind-driven fire while trying to protect a threatened house.
After riveting wildfire photos tragic accounts, Winston left attendees with recommendations which included always having multiple, mapped escape routes, and dedicated lookouts who are trained in fire behavior.
In addition to leaving the Firehouse Expo better informed, many attendees left Saturday looking forward to the contests announced at the Ladder 49 booth for a VIP trip to the premiere, a private screening for their fire department and more. Firefighters can enter to win starting August 1st at www.firehouse.com/ladder49. The movie is set to open in theaters October 8th.
