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Messages - dgerspacher

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment 4
« on: July 03, 2019, 09:20:35 AM »
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 like the way you give Troy his well deserved kudos on being an expert. Dont forget, we have had a long list of "classroom experts" that deserve mention also.  ;

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment 4
« on: June 18, 2019, 12:34:23 PM »
Quote from: Kevin Stevens on June 07, 2019, 09:57:45 AM
I would disagree with the article.
For one, we have been doing education and fire prevention for years now, so that’s nothing new We have also known that the  burning of wood, plastics, furniture, electronics and other building materials releases hazardous substances such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that with proper use of your PPE and SCBA can greatly reduce the risk for exposer. Where we need to get better is after the event with decon, equipment and self and I believe we’ve made great strides in doing so.
Also, listen to the 911 call from the lady in Florida who latterly burned to death because the fire department would not enter the house. I wouldn’t assume that everyone is dead just because you have smoke and fire on your arrival. That’s just asking for trouble.
And last, holding home/business owner accountable for fires is silly, especially when a majority of them are undetermined cause. Good luck with that in court.
Kevin Stevens

The 911 call from the lady in Florida brings up a good point. I am a firm believer in only risking a lot to save savable lives but that audio was a wake up call that human beings do not always follow scientific studies. Listening to the fire in the background I am sure that the house looked unsurvivable long before she had passed.

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment 4
« 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.

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment - 3
« on: December 26, 2018, 10:39:44 AM »
Quote from: jscottCCFD on December 18, 2018, 07:05:42 AM
The Excuse Meister:

We hired a new career FF years ago that came to us from a previous full time position at another area department.  While training and running this new hire through his orientation packet he would make common and expected mistakes of a new hire.  The problem was that every mistake that was made was followed up with a combination of his standard excuses. 1) I did it that way because that's how my old department did it.  2) Flat out denial that a mistake was made. 3) Debating with whomever was training him that the way we were doing things was wrong.  After several conversations with this employee from both peers and supervisors, he was notified that the excuses need to stop and he just needed to own the mistake and learn from it.  After several months of poor performance and consistent excuse making the entire crew sat down together and tried to figure out why this employee had an excuse for every mistake.  We identified two areas that we believe contributed to him making excuses.  This individual was part of the millennial generation and he seemed to feel threatened or made uncomfortable with corrective actions or constructive criticism.  He also seemed embarrassed about making mistakes furthering his need to make excuses.  This employee never changed his excuse making and ended up not making probation.

Those damn millennials! Just joking (mostly) Making mistakes is something we are all guilty of at one time or another. I have also made my fair share of excuses when I have screwed up. Learning from the mistakes is the tricky part. When it comes to training an employee a raw newbie who is willing to listen to criticism is much easier to work with than an experienced one with an excuse for every time they do something wrong. 

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment - 3
« on: December 26, 2018, 09:22:19 AM »
Quote from: NUrban on December 04, 2018, 10:32:33 AM
When I was a station lieutenant I supervised an individual that was an inherently lazy employee.  Laziness was something that extremely irritated me.  I would passively and jokingly comment to the employee about their laziness in hopes they would get the hint.  One day, we were loading supply line after hose testing and this employee was nowhere to be found.  I found the employee talking on his cell phone and I blew up.  I yelled irrationally at the employee.  After my temper tantrum, I found out that the employee was having a small family emergency that they needed to attend to.  Talk about feeling like an ass.

This employee situation was handled inappropriately by me.  I have learned through higher education and experience that supervisors and managers should not have a one size fits all approach to handling personnel problems.  My passive approach may have worked with a different individual; however, it didn’t work with this particular person.  Instead, it led to me acting unprofessional.   In this situation, I should have had a formal coaching approach with this individual.  The employee did perform better after we had a conversation, I apologized for my behavior.  However, it is unknown to me if I breached trust and respect from that employee.

I have been guilty of being to passive in some situations and thinking an individual would get the hint and need to realize some people are not reached that way. It also lead to a build up of stress in me to when I addressed the issue I went overboard on the particular situation due to all the other issues I should have addressed earlier. The best we can do is to try and learn from our mistakes.

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment - 3
« on: December 11, 2018, 09:45:47 AM »
Several years ago I was responsible for an employee with a horrible attitude. They were competent at their duties but only wanted to do something on their terms. The situation was made more difficult as this person had several past supervisors that did nothing about the problem. Everybody complained about this person but nothing was ever done so this employee felt I was just picking on them and did not like them. It was very frustrating and I admit at times I did not handle the issues properly as they were very good at drawing me into arguing with them. No paper trail existed on this person so I was even questioned by my supervisor if I was treating them unfairly.
This situation was difficult because it involved their attitude (especially towards me) and not performance. Poor performance would have been much easier to address and deal with. It was not easy but I stuck to what I felt was right.
It has been several years since I dealt with this issue and to this day this person still "trashes" me as they truly believe I was unfair to them since it seemed no other supervisor had an issue with them.
What I learned most from this is if a problem employee gets passed from supervisor to supervisor they get harder to fix.
 

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment 2
« on: September 30, 2018, 01:53:35 PM »
Quote from: Haggard on September 04, 2018, 08:26:28 AM
What strategies do you use to manage your time effectively?
I use a combination of my calendar and a note pad (to do list).  I check the daily requirements for myself and other's calendars and then write on paper any duties needing completed for that day. Once they are completed I can scratch them of my to do list.

What are some of the biggest obstacles to managing your time effectively ?
Having to deal with the unexpected (at work, runs), once a plan in in place.  Flexibility is the key word for time management in the fire service.

What can you do to remove some of theses obstacles?
Delegation is a great tool to use.  This gets the whole team involved and accomplishes the tasks.

Being flexible is one of the most difficult items I have had to deal with in the fire service.

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment 2
« on: September 30, 2018, 01:51:28 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 also like the feeling of manually crossing an item of my list.

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CCFD Professional Development / Re: Assignment 2
« on: August 31, 2018, 02:38:32 PM »
What strategies do you use to manage your time effectively?
On a daily basis I like to use a hand written list and have it sitting in a place I will see throughout the day. I can mark items off as I complete them and it can be a visual reminder as to what still needs to be done. For long term I keep a master calendar that has both work and personnel items in it.

What are some of the biggest obstacles to managing your time effectively ?
Dealing with things that need to be done but are not necessarily goal related. Both in work and at home.

What can you do to remove some of theses obstacles?
They are not going to go away so you try to prioritize the best you can.   

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