Filling a leadership role in the fire service can bring many thoughts to one’s mind. You might find yourself fantasizing about leading a fire company down a smoke-filled hallway in a single-family residence or about being in command of a multi-alarm incident at a fully involved commercial structure. However, the fact is, fire service leaders only do that type of thing a small percentage of the time that they are on duty. Most of your time will be spent dealing with people (your crew or otherwise), problems, politics, personalities and more.
Through the years, your career will be filled with a collection of wins, worries and war stories. Each one of these will bring a variety of emotions, actions and results. Some of these situations undoubtedly will cause you to alter plans; others very well might change you for the rest of your life.
In the moment
Wins often are a measure of success. They can happen in various ways, but change is constant. With that in mind, be sure to take time to enjoy the win and the effort that it took to achieve it. I have worked with some great crews over the 30-plus years of my service. I’m thankful that I realized then how special those people and the times that I spent with them were—not years later when we all had moved on and the events were distant memories.
Worries truly can put you to the test. Issues can develop quickly, even when you do what appears to be the right thing for all of the right reasons. I have dealt with unpleasant situations and decisions, worked for supervisors who didn’t care much for me, worked through being suspended a couple of times and suffered through a temporary demotion. With these situations came many disappointments, and some of those disappointments plunged me into some of the darkest days of my life.
Combine such worries with everyday stressors, and your burden might be too heavy to bear alone. The last paragraph of the well-known poem, “Footprints in the Sand,” identifies my situation perfectly: When I couldn’t endure any longer, the good Lord carried me.
These types of experiences continue to contribute toward the development of a better version of me. Such experiences might, in fact, be doing the same for you, but sometimes that isn’t seen until the troubled times ease.
War stories can be entertaining and have meaning. These events share history, identify positive traditions, highlight successes and failures and remember the people who make our profession unforgettable. They also provide the opportunity to teach. Just imagine if those who came before you didn’t share information about the jobs that they had during their career, about the progress that they made during their days in the service and about the times (good and bad) that they enjoyed or pushed through.
Although wins, worries and war stories are common for all of us, I ask you to look at how you respond to each of these categories: Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it.
Don’t coast
Wins can be tremendous but should be approached with humility. There’s no need to flex your muscles when you come out on top, even if it feels good. If you take care of business with grace, you’ll keep getting invited to the party.
Worries are just as important to your development: Don’t discount your sufferings. We’re put through events to further prepare us. You are where you are right now in life for a reason. Use that faith in your journey for a positive, no matter how difficult.
War stories give us the opportunity to teach, prepare and protect those who are under our supervision. If we don’t pass it on, everyone loses. When veteran firefighters fail to share and newer members fail to ask, years of knowledge, skill and ability walk out the door with each retirement. A laugh or a lesson always has its place, so seize the moment.
I encourage you to examine your fire service narrative. Are you doing your part to fulfill the mission of the fire service, or are you just getting by? The path might not always be smooth, and doing what is right might be difficult, but it’s always right. For me, it’s been like a roller coaster, with many twists and turns, highs and lows. Embrace your ride and use it to serve and prepare others for theirs.
Trey Nelms
Trey Nelms has served for 30 years in career and volunteer fire departments in Tennessee in a wide variety of positions. He currently is employed by the Nashville, TN, Fire Department, where he has served since 1994 and has functioned as dispatcher, firefighter, adjunct instructor, captain and district fire chief. Nelms also serves as the assistant chief of operations and training for the Pleasant View, TN, Volunteer Fire Department, where he has volunteered for 18 years. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire administration and is a certified Fire Officer IV, Instructor II and Paramedic. Nelms has instructed at numerous conferences and fire departments across the country.
