New Page 1

Greetings everyone, I hope this email finds you well. Well I can honestly say, that after a 6 hour deposition by two attorneys yesterday, a swift kick in the shorts would have been less painful! A lot to go over this week, so let’s get started.

Transfer Bulletin today—for those who don’t know, the dock at Station 40 needs repairing. The 70’ fireboat has to be relocated temporarily to station 38 and with it, its crews. Don’t worry about what to call it as remember all boats are now designated by the station they are responding out of. M38, M39, M40, and M23 (when placed in-service). Thank you to all the crews who had to make the swap.

Outstanding run reports—were down to 3! That has probably never happened in the last two decades! Please keep up the good work.

Sea of Blue—we are full steam ahead. Here’s the latest: Three double stations (1, 4, TBD) along with all the field chiefs vehicles, HazMat and Rehab37 will be in the parade along with the JSO motorcade. We have canceled training for the day and a lottery system of on duty companies will be selected to come march. Other city employees from downtown buildings are going to wear red to show their support for our fallen firefighters and you. Also, flyers are being sent to the high-rise office buildings downtown for their folks to come watch. We are preparing a map to show you where and when to park and how to line up in formation. Also, a map of where the vehicles are to park prior to starting will be distributed. Please make sure to clear your calendar and come be part of something special. Other counties have already committed to come march with you.

New Uniform SOP—I think we stumbled onto something good by releasing an early copy as many of you sent in the mistakes and good suggestions. Maybe this is something to be looked at moving forward. Either way I need to mention that Blackinton does not sell to individuals but Patrick’s can order them for you or you can look on the web for a Blackinton vendor.

As for the ribbons-- The cost of ribbons through Patrick’s is $3.00 + shipping, if you order 10 or more ribbons.
The mounts for the ribbons (numbers, stars, etc.) through Vanguard range from $1.60-$3.40. The shipping cost for the mounts is $6.51, whether you order 1 or 100 mounts. A suggestion is to have one order for all of the mounts, possible by station, to decrease the cost of shipping per person. The ribbon mounting bar costs ranges from $2.00 (for 3 ribbons) up to $9.65 (if you have all 29 ribbons)

Just want to say a huge thank you to Eng. Shawn Hall and Capt. Mike Bilodeau for spearheading this ribbon project!

Upcoming Foam Training—5 years ago, we did department wide foam training sessions to familiarize companies with the different types of foam eductors used by the HazMat Team and the three types of foam applications commonly used in flammable liquid firefights. As soon as the training synopsis is finalized, cluster training will begin. A new foam chart to help simplify NFPA 11 will also be distributed.

New USAR Class—We will begin in-service training of new USAR personnel on Monday October 6th, this will be the first class of a split series with the second group beginning in January. The training will be given one discipline per month for five months per group. There are 40 JFRD members signed up at this time, this is the largest group since the Team began in 2001. The first group is made up entirely of firefighters with the exception of those officers already assigned to the Squads who have their H.M. 160 but still need their USAR series.

New Truck Company Class—the new truck company class will begin sometime after the first of the year(probably January). This training will begin with two days of intensive individual tool use focusing on all of the truck company tools and procedures such as venting roofs with both circular and chain saws, use of hydraulics, air chisels, come-a-longs, etc. (With the in-service RIT training this will give the Engineers and FFs the same 3 days of RIT that the Truck Co Officers have), 40 hour class of breaking and breaching and heavy lifting, 40 hours of extrication Technician. This should bring the total amount of additional training to be assigned to a truck company to around 160 hours.(It takes 320hrs to be on the Tech Team or Squads) Again the FOCUS will be on growing the INDIVIDUAL skill set. Anyone assigned to the trucks who have not received the ladder operations class will receive this also, like the above this training will be done in service so it will take some time to complete.

Company Training—I think it’s safe to say a paradigm shift in the intensity of training is occurring for JFRD. To sum up Chief McCormick’s words: SWEAT not VERBAGE is what makes this department both safer and more professional, you and your crews are building OPERATORS! Amen.

Speaking of RIT—With the latest round of RIT & Bailout training going on I thought this video would hammer home the importance of preparing oneself & others for the (hopefully) rare moment when one would have to self-rescue or be sent in after a brother or sister firefighter. A New Carlisle Chief was killed and another hurt during a commercial building collapse. The surviving firefighter told his story to the local news. It's heartbreaking, because I believe each one of us knows the survivors guilt he expresses but doesn't outright say. I hope every member of the JFRD stays alert & takes the latest round very seriously so we don't have such an incident here locally……Eng. Scott Abell L-30-B

Here is the link and a big thank you to Eng. Abell for sending it to me: http://youtu.be/UyHqgcx55jo

Let see some of the runs you all have gone on this week:

Apt Structure Fire/2nd Alarm/FD19/6100 Arlington Xy/Waters Inlet/TGB1/End
FD32 W3 STRUCTURE FIRE TO A DETACHED GARAGE 2449 WINTERWOOD CIR ..TGB1
FD30 1/2 INCH CUT GAS LINE 1960 WILLESDON DR. TGB5
W3 SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURE FIRE/ FD 10/ THOMPSON & DIGNAN/ TG B1/ ENR
FD44/ W3 APT#79/ VILLAGES OF BAYMEADOWS/ 8000 E BAYMEADOWS CIR/ TGB1/END/JLC
FD28 CUT GAS LINE 8036 HOGAN RD SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENCE..TGB1..TECO NOTIFIED
FD29/ W3/ 13720 MC CORMICK RD/ FAITH BRIDGE CHURCH/ TGB5/END/JLC/
FD29/ W3/ 12488 MASTERS RIDGE DR/ TGB1/END/JLC
Apt Structure Fire/FD33/8375 New Kings Rd/Malabar Apts/Apt 18/W3/TGB1/End/SLC
MCI LVL 1/MVA/FD52/SHINDLER & ARGYLE FOREST/5 PTS/IC E152 ON B-5/END

Time to give some thanks:

I would like to share with you an incident that involved several agencies and the JFRD on 8/14/14. CCR#79588 13325 Skymaster Rd. B shift on base at Cecil Field. The incident was at the Hangar for FedEx. During a rain storm, for whatever reason the fire protection class c foam system for the hangar decided to deploy. No fire in the building, the system just activated. E56B arrived to find the entire hangar and parking lot full of high expansion foam. The "wall of foam" was approximately 40 feet in height, no exaggerating and FRCC was receiving calls that 4 people were in the building and the area and these people were trapped. The team efforts between FRCC and the unit’s operating on scene, allowed us to locate and remove the 4 individuals who were trapped in and outside of the building to safety. That being said, my reason for writing to you is to express to you to please pass on to the folks at the FRCC that worked the incident, that they handled the incident in a very professional manner and facilitated the relaying of information to us on the scene extremely well. Credit needs to be given where credit is due. Please tell all the dispatchers involved that we on the scene appreciated the team effort and the calm actions on the radio. JOB WELL DONE BY ALL INVOLVED!---Capt. Ennis Ladder Co. 31
- Thank you Capt.….you just did.

Now time for the Quote of the WIR.

The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.—Henry A. Kissinger
- The point is we all should be grooming our folks for their next position. There is no better compliment than to see your subordinates grow professionally.

There are three kinds of people: Those who can count and those who can't.—anonymous

Innocent Ignorance

Sometimes, things hit you like a ton of bricks. Tuesday driving home was one of those moments. Occasionally I listen to talk radio and on this day a caller was blaming the woes of society on Congress and the President simply saying where are all the leaders? If we just had more leaders in congress or in the White House all our problems would be solved. Truth is, if we became better leaders in our everyday lives, we could make things better ourselves. But why was the caller looking to someone else? Why couldn’t he look in the mirror for those answers? Think congress can make you a better husband or wife? Help you earn more money or become a better little league coach? Think congress can help you get closer to God? Do you even know what number of congress this group is or who served 10 years ago? I can’t. The only person we can look to, to solve our problems, is ourselves.

JFRD recently and easy to say, long overdue, committed to bringing in a leadership coach and trainer. Like most artists and musicians, he uses different methods to bring out creativity in his work. And songwriters will tell you not every song is a hit. For those who know Hotel California, it started off as a chord progression on a tape of 19 different guitar riffs. Someone in the band heard it and realized its potential. Voila, one of the most recognizable and successful songs in history. Each time I listen to Mr. Rowan speak, there’s different riffs on the tape. Some I already know, some I didn’t, and some that peak my interest like the next great song.

In 1999, I made Lt. with only 5 years on the job. Assigned to E50, we were the busiest engine in the city with over 400 runs per month. I thought I knew everything because I was going on every type of call and for the most part, managing it successfully. It wasn’t until Chief Eddins asked if I would come over to the HazMat team as the captain on Ladder 21 did I realize how little I truly knew; both in hazmat knowledge and leadership. See I thought because I had always scored well on tests, I must know everything there is. It wasn’t until I started taking all these hazmat classes did I realize my innocent ignorance: I didn’t know, what I didn’t know. And for all you captains out there, how strange was it when the other shifts started coming to you with their problems when you first got promoted? I wasn’t prepared for that. Thankfully, I realized my lack of knowledge and never gave up on learning something new. As for the leadership part, I’m still working on that. Some good days, some not so good days. Truth is I continue to learn from many of you about true leadership. If I’ve ever called you and asked for your opinion on an idea or set aside time to talk about problems I’m facing and how to fix it, I’m looking to you for your guidance and leadership whether you know it or not. If I name names, I will simply offend the ones I missed as I can’t possibly remember everyone…but you know who you are. If I just would have read half the books Chief Hooten has suggested…

I’ll end with this: the fire department is a microcosm of society. We have family and friends, folks we know and don’t know, varying political and religious beliefs. We all have problems just like everyone else. I guess my question to you, is who are you looking to, to solve them? There are numerous companies on this job that simply excel because of the caliber of the individuals leading them and the reverse is true as well; Sometimes it’s the crew that shores up the officer and that’s okay too. The point is united we stand, divided we fall, and if everyone is picking up the others slack and moving forward, you’ll have a successful and unbeatable unit. I know change is difficult and the wheels of fire department progress are square. Just think, what if Don Henley never took the time to listen to that tape. What a loss that would have been for millions of fans. Don’t overlook opportunities and please keep a lookout for your own innocent ignorance. Each can be solved by you as we try to take this great fire rescue department to the next level.

Well that’s it for this WIR. I hope everyone has a great weekend and I hope you get to spend it with family and friends. Please continue to have our folks in your thoughts and prayers as few are truly having a tough time. Dare I say this…now that the master bathroom is done… I’m considering starting the other (king’s landing). I’m still recovering from the last remodel trauma so I’m not sure if this is a brain injury talking or what. I’ll keep you in the loop on my next construction train wreck.

As always, we thank you for what you do, why you do it, and for always showing why you are truly the Best Fire Rescue Department in the country!

Very Respectfully,

Kurtis R. Wilson

Chief of Operations

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department