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Brotherhood
Posted On 29 Jun 2013
To use the word BROTHERHOOD [by that we include firefighters both male/female] you must have a complete understanding of the word and all that it represents in the fire service. You see, brotherhood, in my humble opinion, is used way too lightly and without a full understanding of its true meaning.
There are many brotherhoods, but this one is mine! In all of its glory and all of its sadness, the fire service brotherhood is forged in battle. As some have used the word “beast” to describe our enemy, I believe the battles are more than just one “beast”.
Very recently we lost another brother in Baltimore County, MD. Firefighter Gene Kirchner was fatally injured attempting to search above the fire for a known trapped occupant.
Gene for yet unknown reasons got jacked up (in trouble) on the second floor. The brothers that were advancing an attack line to the second floor, heard and reacted to Gene’s PASS device issuing a MAYDAY. The brotherhood abandoned their attack line and found Gene, assessed and removed him. Gene was in cardiac arrest and was resuscitated by other brothers. Unfortunately GOD had other plans for Gene and he succumbed to his injuries after a valiant fight.
As I reflected on the loss of another brother, I realized once again we have a bond that is unbreakable. His colleagues from the Reisterstown Volunteer Fire Company and the Baltimore County Fire Department rose to the occasion as we have done more than I wish to remember.
What a beautiful farewell to a brother!!!
You say, “great that’s what we do!”
I say we don’t do enough!
As I write this article, I am frustrated and angry. We continue to lose good firefighters and what does the BROTHERHOOD do to prevent it from happening again?
NOTHING!
As part of our responsibility to the brotherhood we must make changes. We simply cannot continue to kill and maim brothers and not make adjustments to prevent repeating these disasters. I implore each of you reading this to ask yourself one question, what do I do differently on the fire ground after we lose someone? If your answer is NOTHING, you are not understanding BROTHERHOOD. We must make adjustments and learn from every event!
I will continue to provide my 2 cents on how we get better. For now ponder what BROTHERHOOD means to you!!! Be safe and learn my brothers.
I have to disagree with you being angry. If the tactics used cause the FF to lose his life then training or looking at their tactics might need to be evaluated. Our job is dangerous and we take certain risks. Too much safety can get people killed. Unfortunately our brothers get hurt and die on our glorious job. As brotherhood we stand by each other through the good and bad times. When tragedy strikes our brotherhood comes together and we remember our brothers and we help our other brothers get back up on the rigs. We continue to do our job knowing our back is always covered. We train and we train some more to sharpen our skills and teach our young brothers. I could continue but you get the point.
Timmy,
Thanks for your reply. I think you may have mistook my frustration and anger. Trust me I get the “this job is dangerous” thing. I spent enough time in hospitals and on the injured reserve list :). The point was and is, we can and need to make adjustments based on the lessons of events that have led to loss and injuries to each other. I for one firmly believe there are lessons in every event. The example of the LODD event I mentioned in the article was a preventable incident. There are many mistakes that were made by the victim and by the policy makers that led to this tragic outcome. I hope this helps you understand the point of the article.
Mike