A Guest Commentary

This week I am extremely pleased to present a another guest commentary from a friend, co-worker and experienced firefighter who has recently been promoted to a fire officer position. Lt. Jim Puleo, Mansfield FD.

This commentary was received in response to recent comments posted here.

This is exactly the point of this page !

Share information and ideas for the good of the fire service. We won't all always agree, but as true firefighters we know we are all on the same team.

"Another Point of View"

Not to sound like Andy Rooney but,
I was just thinking about the last several months perhaps years of my service; and once again I'm confused.
Recently I have encountered many new oppurtunities, leadership, training even training the trainers. It is not going well.
I'll leave leadership for a different session.

I do however, feel the need to pose this question, Why are we complaining about the present state of affairs,but so resistant to change? I don't mean to sound naive but explain to me the legitimate reasons for resistance to different ideas.

The head first ladder bail killed a well respected member of the fire service. There is no disputing the danger of this tactic; but I find myself wondering, had the first publisized incident of this tactic been the safe evacuation of one or more firefighters; would the uproar be differant? My guess is yes.

While we are on the subject of training, the latest in flashover training has been contraversial. Certainly this laboratory has it's risks, but so too does firefighting. Why all the hullaballoo?

Perhaps it is because we cannot trust the very people we expect to train our new generation.

While I have taken a shot at two of the latest buzz words; I must admit, I at least tried them before I decided on the value to the service.

My final thought for the day will be this, if change is up to leadership, then we as trainers(and leaders) must first be open to change.

Thanks for letting me vent!
Jim Puleo, Lieutenant - Mansfield Fire Department, Mansfield Massachusetts

I think that Jim Raises an excellent point. We as leaders and training officers are always frustrated by our subordinates, not willing to accept change. It might be time to take a long hard look at ourselves in the mirror and examine how much we resist the subtle and not so subtle changes going on around us.

Thanks Jim for you Thoughts!