Welcome to Fire Officer Trust

Welcome to the Fire Officer Trust Blog.

How We Got Here...

Looking back on my time at my first fire command, as the Company Officer of Engine Company 9 (the busiest Engine Company in the State of New Jersey), with the Jersey City Fire Department; I had a great time as a company officer  I am enjoying my time as a Battalion Chief.  The prevailing theme in my tenure, as a fire officer, and as I see it for the great people that I have had the privilege to work with is TRUST.  You want the people that you work with to trust you.

Some officers think that by the very nature of their office, rank and title that they have the respect and trust of their crew members and subordinates. Nothing could be furthest from the truth or reality.  

As a Fire Officer you should be compelled, I would even venture to say, honor bound to Prepare, Conduct and Maintain yourself in such a way that your subordinates, co-workers, colleagues, cohorts and superiors come to trust you.  Trust your judgment and your position.

This will not come easy for some and, sadly, may not be attained by others. With this blog, it is my fervent hope to have dialogue and examples that highlight the importance of #fireofficertrust .  

It started with some discussion in the classroom.  I was in charge of the Training Academy for the Jersey City Fire Department. I was running a program that we, in our department affectionately and smugly, call, "Captains Camp".  It's a two week program that we developed for newly appointed / promoted Company Officers.  The previous programs served their purpose but did not address a myriad of the concerns that new Company Officers would have to face. 

Like what?? ...I'm glad you asked:  Your shift starts at 0800 hours.  All members are to be in uniform and ready to ride at 0745 hours.  One of your members has not yet arrived and you have no knowledge of her/his whereabouts.  What do you do?  What do you do first?  What will you do to ensure that you make the right decisions in the right sequence? What can you do to avoid ambiguity or poor decisions in the future?

An incident so simple and common; however your handling of it will register trust indicators at every level of your organization.  That's just one of thousands of decisions you will have to make in your career as a Fire Officer or any management position.

 

The dilemma of our testing process, in New Jersey, is that the books that you must study for promotion have little correlation to the S.O.G.'s and S.O.P.'s  of most of our departments. Ergo, you study for the test and then learn how to be an Officer in your respective departments. 

Fighting Fires, mitigating emergencies and serving the public is hard enough.  Managing the resources to accomplish the aforementioned tasks takes leadership and trust.  These two do not come with a promotion ceremony or the pinning of badges.  They come from Fire Officer Trust.

With that said... I hope you will follow us, check back from time to time and contribute to this blog.  It is by the sharing of our experiences we can insure the safety, survival and trust of our beloved profession...

follow on twitter @j_alston  or #fireofficertrust