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Messages - kclary21

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment 5
« on: September 16, 2020, 10:18:31 PM »
My most memorable time of playing in the top left box was the overturned tanker fire in October 2019.  The outcome was amazing with one rescue being made.  The fire was eventually put out and environmental impact was minimalized as much as possible. 

The crews went to work on the rescue immediately and got the driver out.  After that, operations were put in place to put the fire out.  This involved a tanker operation due to no hydrants and a foam operation with the WATP.  This was a very extensive operation that took a lot of time to set up.  Many resources were used on this scene that included mutual aid fire departments, police departments, ODOT, EPA, HAZMAT, the oil company, a cleanup company, and a towing company. 

Something I would have done differently is not flow as much water as we did prior to having the WATP in place.  We used all of the foam we had on scene which just knocked the flames down a little bit.  Then we used water to keep it from flaring up too much.  It kept the flames and heat down, but created a lot of extra runoff. 

The most important thing I learned was to know your resources and train for situations even if they are unlikely.  Training and/ or experience are what you have to rely on when you are in these situations.  Creating stressful situations in training will prepare you for real situations. 

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment 4
« on: June 30, 2019, 06:59:49 PM »
Quote from: dgerspacher on June 06, 2019, 01:15:11 PM
I disagree with this article. It is true that we should be more aware of the toxins that we are exposed to and do everything possible to stay safe. I know I want to milk the hell out of my pension.

I would feel sorry for the department PR guy that would have to tell the citizens of a district that you were not going to fight fire inside structures anymore and you were going to also fine them if they had a fire. Hopefully you will not be asking for a levy anytime soon.

Their is merit behind being aware of time limits on conducting interior firefighting operations. Structures are more lightweight and studies show that collapse times are reducing but this guys statement that we not go in at all is stupid. We have all been on fires that we saved the structure and our customers belongings with a quick knock-down on a room and content fire. Are we  supposed to stand by and wait until it gets big enough to then put out from outside? Anybody who has ever worked with me knows I am more on the conservative side and don't have a gung-ho attitude about running in the front door on everything but this guys ideas are ridiculous.

Imagine putting level A suits on every time we have a fire for overhaul. This guy must have stock in a company that manufactures haz-mat suits.
Good points.  When you deliver that message to your public, that will be the end of your department.  Sometimes you have to go inside just to get to the fire.  That is what keeps little fires from becoming big ones. 

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment 4
« on: June 30, 2019, 06:51:25 PM »
Quote from: jlogsdon on June 19, 2019, 07:19:44 AM
While I do agree that interior will continue to evolve with the goal of safety, I have a hard time even taking this article serious. First of all, anyone can become an expert since there's no real hard line qualifier for doing so. For example, Troy Bonfield has published several articles for Fire Engineering on topics of leadership, trust, morale, etc. This guy is under the impression that we can prevent all  fires by education. His statement "The only way to stop exposing more firefighters to an increased risk of developing cancer–a risk that’s already greater than that of the public we serve–is to stop exposing them to the heat and toxic smoke of interior structural firefighting" is true but not reasonable. The fire service continues to make things safer for firefighters, but there will always be some inherent risk. By his theory, there will be no fire departments, only haz-mat crews to clean up.
This is a double edge sword for us in the fire service. With new presumptive cancer laws for BWC and now more work related cancer claims, this increases cost and liability. This in turn creates the environment of the only safe working condition is in the cold zone. This may create the idea that maybe our jobs aren't necessary.

I agree with your view on this.  If we don't do anything at a fire, why would we be there?  Also, it is a good reminder to think about what you are reading and who the author is.  We don't know anything about them except for the bio they put in with the article. 

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment 4
« on: June 03, 2019, 04:29:12 PM »
From Kent Clary:
I do not agree that interior structural firefighting will go away.  I believe there are many good points in this article, and we have learned a lot about our profession in the last several years, but we will still be putting out fires for many years to come. 
Firefighting has changed, and I believe we are much smarter about things we do, such as performing transitional attacks and having an awareness of cancer.  Buildings and their contents have changed, but so has the way we go about things.  We are not going to make every scene a HAZMAT incident, but we have to be smart and use SCBA and clean ourselves after calls. 
Fire prevention efforts have made an amazing impact on fires through the years.  They happen much less since America Burning was written, but 46 years later, there are still big fires.  I don’t see how we can hold the person who has a fire in their home accountable for this like they are a criminal.  There are also economic and political factors that work against making homes safer. 
The article mentions a rescue as being the only reason to enter a building.  Whether you decide to do interior firefighting, or not, we always have to prioritize a rescue.  However, I believe the old RECEOVS gives you a list of things to take care of, but often recovery is substituted for rescue.  It should not be, but we are trained from day one that life safety is the most important thing, so we confuse pulling a dead body from a fire with making a rescue.  This is another area where the thought process has changed through the years, but we have to remember this, and not blindly make primary search the number one task.  Take away the hazard and the problem goes away. 
We have to take precautions and protect ourselves.  We have to keep learning, reading, and paying attention to current research.  We will not completely eliminate the risks, but we can reduce them. 

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment - 3
« on: December 29, 2018, 02:39:00 PM »
Quote from: Tony on December 06, 2018, 10:50:51 AM
Excuse Meister

Over the years, I've heard the craziest excuses and lies come from grown men!!  I have raised 3 children and haven't heard excuses so elaborate.
I could go into great detail discussing one employee, but I'm only allowed max of 500 words.  In short concerning that grown man, I hope his hands someday grow bigger so he can hold the set of irons (Excuses!!!) .

I will focus on another individual that had an excuse that is definitely at the top of my crazy excuse list.

Engine was called for area coverage to Franklin Fire Station. Crew of 3 traveling routine to the station, around 20:00.  It was dark and began to rain during our response.  After a couple minutes of waiting, I told the driver to turn the windshield wipers on so WE can see.
After using what I call the  " feeling up the dash" method, I finally told him to stop the engine.  His immediate response after stopping the engine was " I'm telling on you, your delaying our response"  I informed him that we have to safely arrive and at this moment we are traveling unsafely.
I then asked him again to turn on the wipers, still feeling up the dash, our jump seat FF attempted to help, I asked him to let the driver figure it out. 
After a minute or so, the driver replied "I don't think this engine was ordered with windshield wipers".
The driver was switched out with my jump seat FF.
At the Franklin Station, I had the FF explain to me why he doesn't know where the wiper switch is.  His reply was " its never been raining during my morning truck checks, so I never gave it any thought).

I didn't allow him the privilege of driving back to CCFD.  I immediately took action and through our Captain, requested that he no longer be the FAO until he knows the engine thoroughly.  That didn't sit well with the FF.  In the end, not only was his knowledge improved, but my confidence in the FF improved.
I used that crazy night as a WOW moment as an officer, its always assumed that a grown man is and should be responsible enough to be the best he can be in this profession. From that point on, random quizzes occurred with other FAO's on various Engine operation  or location of equipment.

Sometimes people make excuses to try to avoid embarrassment.  That often makes a situation worse, but it does happen.  When an employee makes excuses, or commits an error, sometimes we have to ask ourselves as supervisors what we did to contribute to the problem.  If we assume people know things, or can handle situations, we may be setting ourselves up for failure.  Many of the posts on this current topic talk about expectations.  If we do not lay out clear expectations for people, then we can't expect them to know what we want.  In situations where we want or need certain things, it is up to the supervisor to make this clear.  When an employee makes a mistake, while trying to do the right thing, that is okay.  When they do not do what we want them to do because they do not know our expectations, that is our fault.  If an employee is incompetent, that is a different situation, but it still involves expectations.  We are a team, so sometimes we have to start back at the beginning to get team members to where they need to be.  Just like you talked about the FF improving through the effort you put into him.  It is up to us as supervisors to set people up for success.  If they cannot succeed, that is on them, but we need to put the time and effort in so we can say we did our part. 

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment - 3
« on: December 29, 2018, 01:59:32 PM »
Quote from: blykins on December 12, 2018, 11:39:09 AM
Lazy Lump description is very accurate.  Over the years have also learned that an employee that has been determined by others to be lazy, may in fact not be lazy at all. 
My narrative is based on previous employment as a production supervisor building new homes.
New home construction finding general maintenance type of people is hard to find.  We were going thru interviews in search of people experienced in handy man type of work that encompassed having knowledge in various aspects of home building and the ability to make repairs as needed.  At this particular time we needed someone that can do interior trim, cabinets, drywall, labor work etc.  After interviews hired a gentleman that met the objectives we needed based off resume and experience. 

First few weeks everything seemed ok.  He was given list of work that needed done, naturally the task were more labor to see his work ethic,  then getting into more detailed jobs as he proved he wanted to work and seemed competent to do the jobs given.  Over time kept noticing jobs not getting complete they way they should and everything taking longer than should take.  This is know giving the impression he is becoming lazy.  After talking to this employee about his progress it became more evident his experience did not match his resume.  That explained why he seemed to be lazy, but in fact he was trying but did not know how to do certain things. 

Fortunately the number of houses under construction slowed down and I had more time to spend with him and was able to teach him and because he was actually not lazy, he put more effort into learning and made a valuable employee.     

I learned that expectations are different for everyone although the same people have the overall general expectation.     

I like how you describe that experience did not match resume.  This is not uncommon.  Sometimes people pad their resumes, or they may have a lot of training , but not experience.  You dove into the situation and found there was more to it and not just this guy being lazy.  You decided to work with him and not just cut him loose.  It sounds like you made a good decision and gained a good employee through your efforts. 

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment - 3
« on: December 14, 2018, 07:22:50 PM »
A situation I had was with an employee that had a number of issues going on.  There was low motivation and also a lateness issue that was occurring.  After some talks with this employee, I decided to move him and make sure there was a clear set of expectations.  We also found some projects for him to work on that interested him.  This led to him feeling like he got a fresh start.  This sparked an interest in doing things that he was interested in.  He began to take on additional responsibilities that he sought out, and this was beneficial to everyone.  This employee made a huge turn around with a great attitude, and he became a good performer in the organization. 

I know situations do not always work out like this, but a clear set of expectations often makes a difference.  I also do not like to move people around unless there is a reason, and there was a good reason for this move.  We looked at all the parts of this situation, and we put some thought into it, and figured out what could make this better. 

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment 2
« on: September 27, 2018, 08:22:09 PM »
Quote from: blykins on September 08, 2018, 05:11:56 PM
What strategies do you use to manage your time effectively? 
Over the years I have found pocket calendar and not pad have been best way for me to stay organized during the day.  This allows me to look at what needs done and check off what has been done.

What are some of your biggest obstacles to you managing your time effectively?
Helping others with their projects and not continuing to work on my projects.  This happens at home just like it happens at work.  Need to make my morning routine more consistent, makes me feel more productive when my days start the same. 

What can you do to remove some of these obstacles?
Learn to achieve my daily objectives along with helping others.  Beginning my morning with a consistent routine at work and at home will help me not waste valuable time.  Writing daily plans and goals on a pocket sized not pad would be more beneficial than just writing them on an 8.5x11 note pad.

I agree with your ideas.  I use my calendar and my note pad.  That way there is a set of things to complete during the day.  I am a big believer in consistency and routines.  When my day is planned out, no matter what comes up, I can jump back into what I need to work on.  If I can't get to something, then I move it forward to the next shift. 

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment 2
« on: September 27, 2018, 05:47:13 PM »
Quote from: astafford on September 05, 2018, 08:20:13 AM
What strategies do you use to manage your time effectively? 
I have a calendar book that I use to manage my time. I usually list what is needed to be completed on each day. It is the only way that I can visually see what needs to be done and when it is needed to be completed.

What are some of your biggest obstacles to you managing your time effectively? 
I found that unforeseen event usually disrupt my time management.  I have found that when I plan a day to complete certain goals, something will interrupt my time management. I know in this line of work, which will always play a role in time management while working toward a goal.

What can you do to remove some of these obstacles? 
I have limited the amount of goals to complete in a certain time to overcome these obstacles. I have that this leaves room for the unforeseen events throughout a day and giving more time to complete a goal.

I think it is important to limit the amount of goals or tasks that we try to accomplish in a certain amount of time.  When we try to get too much done in a short time frame, we may set ourselves up for failure.  Even with the best plans, we have to be realistic about the amount of times things will take. 

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment 2
« on: August 28, 2018, 08:03:25 AM »
I use these strategies to manage my time, both personally and professionally:  I prioritize tasks based on the necessity and how critical they are to operations or people.  I make sure the most important things come before everything else.   I use my calendar to schedule things at work and at home.  I have a separate work and personal calendar.  I make lists.  I have a daily list and a separate list for long term items.  My daily list may include long term items, but I make one list every day.  If something is not complete, I carry that over to the next day, or I reschedule that task.  I look ahead to forecast and plan.  I get help or delegate items that people can assist me with.  I make sure I have time to take on any task that I accept.  I get assignments like everyone else, but I have to watch how much extra stuff I take on. 

Some obstacles I face in time management, and how I remove them:  I let myself get distracted.  I have to focus and decide how much time to spend on a task.  I will also get up and take a break to get refocused.  My mind will wander, and I won’t get work done.  I can get frustrated when multi-tasking.  I will schedule time in the day to do individual things.  I will set self-imposed deadlines.  I will force myself to eliminate time wasting activities, because I use these to avoid doing what I need to do.  Sometimes, I have to close the door and dedicate time to finishing a specific activity and eliminate all distractions.  I also find that sometimes the best solution is to just go ahead and do something right now, to ensure it is completed. 

As simple as many of these things sound, it can be difficult to manage time to accomplish tasks.  Always being prepared for an emergency call, along with the amount of distractions, whether from people, email, electronic devices, phones, or whatever else, it is important to find a way to manage time effectively. 

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