Leadership Lessons: Let’s Be Honest about Our Job Readiness

The last time I checked, the fire service was still a volunteer-based service, whether you receive a paycheck or not. You were not drafted into service, nor are you forced to remain with your organization. With these facts established, we must also realize that there are no guarantees that you will make it to retirement or that you will live a long, healthy life after you hang up your helmet.

I believe that these facts are understood and accepted by most people in the fire service. But the real issue lies with our continued unwillingness to be honest that while we decry city hall for making any budget cuts that would compromise safety, as an industry, we frequently turn a collective blind eye to those who are unfit to do the job, those who are unwilling to do the job, or those who are essentially retired while still on the job. 

Facing facts

A quick review of line-of-duty death (LODD) statistics tells us that heart attacks and strokes continue to be the leading causes of death among our ranks. So why, as a service, would we turn a blind eye to members who do very little or nothing to reduce those identifiable—and controllable—contributing factors? While it is true that there are wellness programs in place in many departments, why are so many of these programs not mandatory and, dare I say, even punitive?

If you are negligent in doing your job, you can (and should) be held to some level of responsibility, but why does the same not hold true if you are negligent in maintaining your physical conditioning and job readiness? The answer is simple: We don’t want to offend people and tell them that they are just as much of a danger to our safety as the burning building we are about to enter. (And before I go further, I do understand that functional fitness does come in many shapes and sizes. However, if your shape or size prevents you from doing all the required aspects of your job, you have a problem that needs to be corrected.)

I recently had a conversation with a student who explained that their organization had mandatory NFPA 1582 annual physicals (yes!) and a “quasi-mandatory” annual physical agility test. I say “quasi” because all members were required to participate in the program, but it was not mandatory to complete the test. Basically, some firefighters would participate in the test by donning their gear, walking to the first stage (hose drag), bend over, touch the hose, and then declare that they are unable to complete the test simply because they knew there would be no repercussions. 

How is this acceptable to the union, to the other members or to the community? Where is their pride and self-respect? How can the fire service be taken seriously if we are hypocrites when it comes to safety? If we allow these things to occur, what moral ground do we have to stand upon when we point fingers at city hall? How, as an industry, do we allow people to train less just because they “proved” they could do the training years prior? Imagine a special operations unit refusing to workout or go to the range to run live-fire drills because they were in shape back in boot camp and have fired guns for years. No need to train—been there done that, right? With this logic, of course some would see no issue with just sitting around, not being functionally fit, or caring about maintaining a high state of readiness (job skills). Sadly, some within the fire service have adopted this mindset.

If you are serious about safety, it has to be an all-in approach, and you have to apply this standard to yourself and to your coworkers at the station; if not, you are just kicking the can down the road as another part of the problem.

It’s about life

Let’s honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice by taking a stand and saying no more, never again. While you may disagree with me for holding you accountable for your fitness and readiness, you have to be alive to do so! The most important save you ever make may be that of your own life or the life of the person sitting next to you in the dayroom.