It has been four months now since I transitioned back to being
the Fire Chief of a department, and I must say that I am having
a ball! I was having fun at FETN, but I still had that longing
that only the firefighting family can understand. Literally, if
it hadn't been for FETN's support of my US&R activities and
those responses through the years, I'm sure I would have gone
stir crazy!
So far, I've commanded a multitude of incidents including wildland
(from a helicopter vantage-point) to urban flooding as a division
coordinator where Wylie Fire Rescue's personnel (WFR, my department)
rescued 22 people! I've realized that once you get ICS down, it's
like riding a bicycle . . . it comes back to you.
I just finished up a great week with my entire department, where
I was able to use FETN material to do the "Firefighter Mayday"
and go through the NFFF "Sixteen Initiatives". I also
used excerpts of FETN training to emphasize vehicle safety. I
decided that the first hands-on training class from me to my new
department should communicate to them the importance of Firefighter
Safety to me personally, and to set the expectations for our continued
operations. I required every person on our department, whether
paid or part-time, to go through this training, and made it mandatory
for our dispatch personnel as well. Heck, I even went through
the "Entrapenator" myself!
Have you made sure that you are communicating this priority in
your department? In everything we do, we have to demonstrate our
commitment to safety for our crews. Now, being back in the saddle
as Chief of a department, you're going to see if what I've been
saying for the last few years is really the way I conduct my business.
FETN is going to make me better. Not only through the tremendous
training for WFR, but also the fact that all of you will be matching
my "talk" to my "walk"! Accountability is
powerful!
I'll look forward to visiting with you again soon.
GRC
Chief Randy Corbin
Wylie Fire Department
Wylie, Tx
