The Handicap Handball Tournament

It was rainy day routine with one of the years largest storms coming through.  Well, Bob had a great idea.  He put together the days handball tournament and it was mandatory that everyone played, no wimp outs.  Bob made it even by placing a handicap on each player.  It wasn’t your ordinary handicap.  Bob had to play wearing a breather on his back, I had to play in full turn-outs, Mike had to play while holding two basketballs, Craig had to play with his right hand tied to his waist, Nick played in socks, Jamie played wearing a crash helmet, and Lee had to wear a face piece.  This made the games interesting and everyone had a good laugh. I lose to Lee in the semi finals.  Wearing full turn-out was just too hot.  I could not capitalize on the fact that Lee had a hard time seeing through the fogged up face piece.

Bob won the whole tournament.  That was good because he set it up.  Here are some pictures.

 

Lee wearing his face piece

Bob playing with a breathing apparatus on his back.

It was a tough game.  Both men playing their best.

The Leader, The Led, The Situation

There are three things that influence how a leader should act.  First the leader.  That may be you.  The leader must recognize his own abilities and how he can use his own personality to his advantage to influence a situation.  Second is the led.  The leader must know who he is leading, their personality and what motivates them.  He must determine what strategies to use to influence the led.  Third is the situation.  No leadership style works in all situations.  There is no magic formula that used in all situations works.  So, the leader must be able to recognize the situation and determine what type of influence they will use.

A leader must know themselves and educate themselves on their followers.  And determine what strategies will work in a certain situation.

Leadership Theories

It is good to know why people act the way they do so that you can influence them to do the right thing.  People at different stages in their career may act differently from others in their careers.

• 15 to 25 years old is Exploratory, they go from job to job trying different careers.
• 25 to 45 is the establishment age.  People in this age group are getting established and advancing in your careers.
• 45 to 65 is the maintenance age.  People are comfortable in their careers and more established.
• 65 –> is the decline age.  Most people have had their careers and are on the decline in their careers.

The Attribution Theory says that a person that has external attribution blames everything on someone else.  It is always someone else’s fault.  Internal attribution says that a person puts blame on themselves.  They take the blame when things go wrong and look inward.

As a leader it helps to know what your subordinates are going through and what struggles they may have.  These are just a couple of theories to familiarize yourself with your subordinates.

Leadership

It has been awhile since I have posted.  It has been a busy time, but I am glad I am back.

I have been studying leadership that last few months.  It is an interesting study.  Leadership can be defined in many different ways and all could be right.  I will give one meaning that works, but it is not the only meaning.

Leadership is the ability to influence people to word together and toward a common goal.

Leaders must build trust so that people will follow.  Remember – Lead people and manage things - Some of the traits a good leader needs to have are:

1. Integrity
2. Knowledge
3. Courage
4. Decisiveness
5. Dependability
6. Initiative
7. Tact
8. Justice
9. Enthusiasm
10. Bearing
11. Endurance
12. Unselfishness
13. Loyalty
14. Judgement

Leadership Principles

1. Take responsibility for your actions of your team.
2. Know yourself and seek self improvement.
3. Set the example.
4. Develop your subordinates.
5. Ensure that the job is understood, then supervise it and carry it through to completion.
6. Know your team and look after their welfare.
7. Set goals you can reach.
8. Make sound timely decisions.
9. Know your job.
10. Teamwork

“The needs of the many, out weigh the needs of the few, or the one.”

The Handball Challenge

Today was a good handball day.  Handball is the staple sport of the Fire Department.  Racquetball is considered a girls sport while handball is what the men play. 

The Challenge came out after lunch when AO throw the gauntlet down and challenge the young rookie, who I have been mentoring on the court.  The game started at four.  Both players had the adrenaline pumping.  My student, 6’5” with long arms that almost reach across the court, came out strong and won the first game handily.  The whole task force was in the stands cheering each hit and each miss.  I think it was more fun for the viewers than the players.

The second game my student was about to finish the match when AO came from behind to win.  Game three was close all the way.  The final score 21 to 20 the rookie over the AO.

It was a fun day for all and the bantering is still flying.

Slow Day

Well, we had one run this morning to an 88 year old female.  She fell as she was getting up and hit her head.  She had a little bump on the back of her head, it wasn’t bad, probably wouldn’t need stitches or anything.  But she did think the year was 1010, then 1910, and finally she got close with 2001.  She did know who the president was, Obama, she said right away.

The rest of the day was quiet – at least run wise.  We had a handball tournament, that was good exercise.  I won two games and then the other guys started getting runs.  Ruined our games.  Oh well, I guess saving lives is more important.

The Stuck Cat

This isn’t the cat.

Every once in a while we get that dreaded call – Cat struck in the tree.  Our usual response is, “How many cat skeletons have you seen in a tree?”  We usually don’t get a great response from that question, but we still have to ask it. 

Today’s cat wasn’t stuck in a tree but in a outside chimney.  The chimney was part of a fireplace that stood about eight feet tall.  A older man with a half Russian accent along with a lisp met us by waiving with a frantic look on his face.  He told us how the cat had been stuck all night and we would have to break a wall down to rescue the cat.  I told him to show me the chimney and we will see. 

The chimney was up against the Russian’s make-shift house.  Once again he franticly told us to please break the wall to rescue the cat.  First, I told the firefighters to look inside because I could not here any noise coming from the chimney.  He looked and sure enough no cat.  We dropped a long stick down the chimney and no cat noise came out.  The Russian continued to beg us to break the wall and get the cat out.  I finally said with a stern voice, “we are not going to break the wall and if we need to get into the chimney we will do it on the side facing your  house.” Which meant we would have to damage part of his house.  The Russian didn’t like that.  We looked with our thermal Imaging Camera and still no cat.  The Russian finally conceded that there was not a cat in the chimney.  But it was not easy to convince him.

Death usually comes early

 

First run out of the shoot at 0636.  I had just walked in to the front office to start my morning routine of paperwork and timekeeping.

The alarm came in -  a con home.  The nurses probably were making their morning rounds when they discovered our patient.  The run- a 86 year old male, “not breathing at all,” were the comments.  “That is not usually a good thing,” I stated to the guys.  His breathing was through a stoma and it was labored.  He looked pale and unresponsive.  The paramedics went to work, trying to start an I.V., get vitals, and assess his heart.  Soon dark blood started oozing from his mouth, I had to walk out and get some fresh air.  I was wishing they would just load him in the Rescue and get him to a hospital.  My wish came true and they loaded him and off they went.  Latter, I found out that his heart stopped during the transport to the hospital.  I think he his better off now.

No Hits, No Runs, No Errors

Wow, east L.A. sleeps today.  It has not happened in a long time since I have worked a full shift and not gone on one run.  We did go out and drilled in the morning.  We talked about roof operations and brush fire fighting.  Its a young crew here at Fire Station 12 and they have a lot to learn.

The reason it is a young crew I found out is because of the Captain II that normally works here.  He has run all the experienced firefighters out.  It was said that on his first day here he called all the firefighters in the front office and told them he had an open door policy.  If they had any problems or needed to talk to him he would listen and then tell them how he wanted it done.  It was his way and his way only.  Not a real good way to win the trust of your crew.  This is a good lessen in leadership.  Don’t make you crew hate you before you get started.

The Sinking Boat

Just when you think you have seen it all you go on a call for something you have never seen before.  I was pooled out to Fire Station 38 the other day which is located in San Pedro near the harbor.  About 5:45 in the morning the alarm comes in “Task Force 38 respond to the sinking boat.”  My first thought is what do you do for a sinking boat.  What will I say in my size-up when I get on scene. 

We arrived on scene and all I could think of to tell OCD is “OCD from Truck 38 can you check the call back, we find nothing.”  That was not exactly true.  While I was saying that I noticed the firefighters walking with someone who was going to show them the sinking boat.  So, I hurried and caught up with them.  Sure enough there was a boat in one of the slips that had its bow starting to submerge.  I asked the A/O, so what do you guys do for a sinking boat?  While I was talking the boat suddenly sank the rest of the way.  I just stood on the dock watching the windshield of the boat hoping I would not see a hand or face float by.

I checked with the neighbors who lived on the boat on either side to see if they had seen the owner – this was like a trailer part on water.  They had not.  I watched some more.  Finally I felt that we did all we could do, which wasn’t much, so we left.  In the back of my mind I prayed that no one was in the boat.  I never heard from anyone, so it must of been O.K.

One time an engine company responded to a traffic accident.  They extricated the driver and transported him to the hospital.  Two days later when the driver woke up he asked how his mother was doing, because she was in the seat next to him.  The call went out to find the mother.  Finally they call the tow yard where the car had been towed and asked the workers to go out and look at the car.  Sure enough they found his mother.  This was not a good day for the fire department.

What not to do

As we were driving in the rig today, we were discussing various fire and emergencies we have been on.  Then the conversation turned to “What not to do at an incident.”  We started to make a list of all the stupid things we have seen firemen do.  Here is a list of some of them. 

• Don’t put your head in the ventilation hole while the other firefighter is swinging his axe.
• Don’t open a door without a glove that has been exposed to fire for the last 20 minutes.
• Don’t open a dry chemical extinguisher on the rescue workers and paramedics when they are trying to extricate a patient.
• Don’t squirt the rescuers with the protection line while trying to extricate a victim.
• Don’t throw a bucket of water on a grease fire.
• Don’t close all the windows when you are trying to evacuate all the smoke.
• Don’t trip over your axe.
• Don’t trip over your hose.
• Don’t forget to straighten the wheels of the gurney before removing it from then RA.
• Make sure the apparatus is all the way out of quarters before closing the doors.
• Don’t go short when cooking dinner.

 

 

WHO TALKS MORE

 

I am pooled out to Fire Station 38 in the Harbor today and I have a female Captain I working with me.  I have know her from years before when she was a firefighter/paramedic.  Now she is studying for Captain II and she wouldn’t stop talking about it.  I asked her if she new roof operations and ventilation procedures and she when on for a half hour about putting together a study guide and that her dad worked in construction.  My mind wondered a little and when she stopped talking for a second I had a brain fart and asked another question, “do you have your opening statement down.”  She went on for another half hour. 

Latter that day the Light Force gets a grass fire response.  We find about a 1/4 acre smoldering, not much really.  But E49 in responding in the area on reported grass, it turns out it is the same incident as the one I am on.  I realize that I am going to need them for water so I try to contact the captain on the radio and he doesn’t answer me.  I then contact OCD and ask if they knew the status of E49, he finally answers me, but he was not real clear on what he is doing.  The next thing I notice, E49 is pulling up to our grass fire.  That was good, but it would have been nice to know ahead of time what was going on.

So, I have a female Captain I who can’t stop talking and a male captain from E49 that won’t respond to my questions.  What do you think is the reason for that?

A Night at The Grove

 

It is always a good time to go to The Grove and get some Mochas with the guys.  It is usually a warm summer night and The Grove is crowded with shoppers.  This is a good time to do some public relations or just relax and have some coffee.

This night we met some travelers from England.  They wanted their picture taken with us.  Sometimes I think that we are one of the most photographed fire companies in the world.  People traveling from all over the world come to The Grove and there we are, having mochas.  I want to make it clear that we don’t get mochas everyday, this is something we do once in a while, for a special occasion.  Today, was Robles’ last shift, so he wanted to buy mochas for the guys.

FIRST DAY AT THE NEW FIRE STATION

 

First day, wow, we got a new firefighter!  The old guy, by old I mean that he had 10 years on the job, left and went to a slower station.  That was a good move for him.  Back to the new firefighter, I think we traded up, because the new guy is 5’ 6” and the old guy was 5”5”, I think.  They are both small. 

We took the new guy out and did a ladder pipe operation to see how he would do.  He did alright, but I think he is going to need some work.  We called him to the front office and sat him down and told him what we expected and that he had to have a good attitude.  Attitude is 90 percent of the job.  With a good attitude you can be taught and will want to learn.  We told him what we wanted from him and we will see if it happens.

Oh yea, it was my birthday yesterday, so I bought dinner for all the guys.  Crutchfield cooked it, but I bought it.

TRADITIONS

There are many types of traditions on the fire department.   Some traditions are meant to teach each other the things that our mothers couldn’t.  Like putting away your clothes.  One way to teach someone to not leave their shirts or other items laying around is to put them in the freezer when we find them.  The other side of the story is that if you can’t find something, look in the freezer, it is probably there.  Sometimes the firefighters like to take it a step further and not only put your shirt in the freezer, but put it in some water so by the time you find it, it is frozen.  This firefighter in the picture is just happy he found is shirt and badge.

LAST SHIFT

If someone wants to become a paramedic, one of the things you need to do for training is to do a 20-shift ride-a-long as a third member on a rescue ambulance. Well, our ride-a-long finished his last shift and the LAFD tradition is that any time it is your last shift at a fire station you have to cook. He volunteered so it didn’t take much coaching.

He cooked yard bird, or you civilians might say – chicken. It wasn’t bad, but when you eat at eight at night, anything will taste good. There is a saying on the fire department, “If it is not that good, then serve it when they are really hungry.” Also, “It doesn’t have to be that good, just make sure there is plenty of it.”

Anyway, there is another tradition at Fire Station 61. On your last shift you must buy mochas. We load up and go over to The Grove and have mochas. It is also a little PR for the families that see us at The Grove and it builds camaraderie And sometimes we just need that.

The Firefighter Family

We are brothers at heart 

 

We are a family.  We go to war together, live together, eat together, sleep together, play together, and fight together.  Today there was a fight.  It was a little uncomfortable, but it happens.  The A/O started in on one of the firefighters and then the firefighter started calling the A/O a baby.  Then it escalated but never went physical.  Sometimes it happens, just like in a real family there are arguments.  When it is all said and done, we love each other – or just stay away from each other.

Firefighting at its best

 

Is this what modern firefighting has become?

Firefighter fatalities

 

I am writing a report for a class I am taking.  The report is on firefighter fatalities.  There is a lot of information on the subject from different sources like FEMA, NIOSH, and the U.S. Fire Administration.  The number one cause of firefighter fatalities is heart attack.  That is why it is so important for firefighters to stay in shape.  Sometimes we get criticized for working out at work, but as you can see, working out is one of the most important things we can do to keep ourselves safe.

The number two cause of firefighter fatalities is trauma.  That is another story for another time.

ANOTHER POOL DAY

Here I am at FS105’s again. This time I have my A/O Lou with me, so it is a little more like home. Nothing much happened today. Lets see, we killed a rattle snake by chopping off its head. Did you know that a rattle snake can bite you up to two hours after chopping its head off? We buried its head on the side of a hill. Oh, the snake was only about 18” long. But the little old lady was trapped in her house and could not leave.

We also rescued a baby from a car. Like many times before, mom got out of her car and let her two-year-old son play with the keys. You can guess what happened, the child pressed the door lock and we were called to save the day. All in a day's work.

I took off last shift and good thing I did. Lou was working and while responding to a structure fire, the tillerman tillered into a parked car. You have to call the Chief and PD out for a full investigation. Not to mention the paperwork that is involved. Oh well, good thing I was not there.

POOL DAY

The City is trying to save money in every way possible. First they stop hiring, then they shut down companies - I think they are trying to balance the budget on the backs of the Fire Department. Now, you can’t just close a company, because it would be politically bad, so, they brown out companies. This gives the illusion that the companies are open because the apparatus is still in quarters and one company is still responding. This is my segment to be in the pool. That means I go where the vacancy is. Today, it is in the west end of the Valley, FS105.

Let me tell you about our first and only run so far. It was an elevator call. Someone was stuck in a elevator at the Medical Center. The only thing is I am thinking it is an Automatic Alarm. Yah, I should have read the printout, and I did, but I got Automatic Alarm on my brain. So, the guys go in and I am sitting on the rig waiting for a size-up. I hear nothing. I am waiting and wondering why nobody is saying anything to me about what they find. I finally looked down at the printout and see that it says elevator. I felt like an idiot.

I got off the rig fast and caught up with the guys and acted like I knew exactly what I was doing. I guess next time I should pay more attention to the printout. It never fails that I screw up when I am pooled out to another fire station. That’s why I don’t like being pooled.

Grandpa

Hey everyone, I am a grandpa again. This time I had the privilege to be in the delivery room and assist by counting to ten to let Natalia know how long to push. It is amazing to watch a child come into the world; what a miracle from God.

It seems to be better being a grandpa. You know what to expect and most important you know what is important and what is not. I am more at ease when things go bad and not so upset when he screws up. I know he is a good boy and it will all be O.K. But, of course, he will need parents that will be strict and teach the discipline. I feel good that is not my job.

Raising a child takes a balance between love and discipline. You can’t do either one too much or you will have trouble. You can’t spank when you are mad. I do believe in spanking, but done properly and with the idea to improve and to teach. Raising a child takes time and discipline on the parents' part. As a parent you must study your child and know what makes him tick.

There is not any such method that is perfect. That is why you must know your child and study him or her to know just how to raise them. No one else can do it.

The Boys

The Organization of a Fire

Firefighting is a mass amount of correcting what went wrong. It does not look organized, but it is: Trucks responding from all directions and firefighters running in different directions; all of this and still the fire goes out. I guess they all go out eventually.

Today was no different. We saw the smoke but could not tell where it was coming from. T29 was first on scene with smoke in the area. We arrived and were assigned the roof and off we went to go to work. You can’t hold these guys back. They were excited and wanted to fight fire. We spotted the truck and off went the engine, where I did not know. They circled the block and by the time they found a spot to gain access, the fire was out. Oh yea, we put the fire out with T29’s hose line. Once again T61 did it all. Also the captain from T29 burned his hand. Oops, but it is a dangerous job.

Back to quarters and wait for the next one.

My first blog

A view from a fireman is my idea of a blog that may be interesting to some people the find what we do as a firefighter interesting. I think it is interesting, challenging and fun. I wanted to share some of the people we deal with and incidents we go on in one of the biggest cities in the world with those that want to follow.

I hope to bring you entertaining stories, so please visit often. You can also visit my website at

http://johnjdurso.com/