Incident Command System- A Faith Based Perspective Part 3

In Part 2 we talked about Situational Awareness and how the CAN report should be something that we implement in our own lives. Today we continue on this track and talk about that call for help in life and the size up we make.

The Call for Help

When the moment strikes: a child stops breathing, you awake to find your home filled with smoke, you are struck by another vehicle and your are trapped inside your own car, or your loved one suddenly collapses at your side; what do you do?

You call for help.

You don’t wait.

You don’t worry about what others will think.

Your need is immediate, your heart is on your sleeve, your world is falling apart before you so modesty is the last thing you are concerned about. This is a reactive state of mind.

We as firefighters are so well trained to be proactive and function calmly in the face of chaos that I believe it is our own worst enemy when it comes to personal problems. How many firefighters have you heard about that ended up divorced, committed suicide, had a substance abuse problem and the response was “I never knew they had a problem”.

The answer lies within our own profession, we don’t want to call for help, and our pride is our greatest demon.  One of my favorite passages of scripture is Isaiah 65:24.

“Before they call, I will answer. While they are yet speaking, I will hear.”

God stands at the ready and has already laid out your rescue plan. Will you call upon His name?

Size-Up:

As firefighters we address the situation appropriately with our training, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities. We are tenacious and believe that we can take an 1 ¾ line into hell and put it out. This attitude is of arrogance plus ignorance has equated to the loss of lives, marriages, health, and careers. We must practice what we preach at work and at home. We all need help sometimes. We respond to million dollar homes and impoverished communities for the same reason: they need help! Our titles, ego’s, and pride get in the way of asking for help. Do not let your life “burn down around you”, and then call for help at the last moment as the cavalry to arrive at an “un-savable property”. Your conditions, actions, and needs report can be applied to your own situation. You have been given the training, the tools, and the resources to do the job.

Now is when you need the Holy Spirit to fill you, equip you, and comfort you. God’s word promises “I will never leave you nor forsake you-Hebrews 13:5”. Put down your pride and find a brother/sister that you can talk with. I want you to understand the value of fellowship. We are not meant to be alone “It is not good for man to be alone. Genesis “. Our God is a God of comfort, “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God-2 Corinthians 1:3-4.”