I am fully aware that there are other services out here like the police & the Red Cross and others that serve the public but this service does so without pay in most cases while risking their lives. This is another one of my letters to help inform the public of the fire fighting services but this time I asked a local County newspaper (The Week Newspaper) to print this in its entirity but they would only except less than 1/2 the words for them to print so here's the whole letter :
The consistent annual national loss of our firefighters and the injuries they sustain so poignantly speak to the sacrifices of the front-line heroes who live and work among us everyday. As a volunteer professional fire photographer for many of the Walworth County Fire Departments, I have been privileged to observe and learn about the reasons that motivate a person to become a firefighter.
The poet, Kalil Kibran once wrote, "Work is love made visible." If ever there were a better definition of a firefighter's work, this is it. We can observe the truth of this quote weekly on the nightly news.
While we know what firefighters do in situations like the ones that occurred on September 11, and during natural disasters and in our communities across the nation, what do they really do most of the time and why do they do it?
First let's set the scene. Very few people know that the U.S. has the worst record in the civilized world for destruction of life and property by fire. Most of these fires do not occur in large buildings or in catastrophic events, but in single-family homes. Fire departments answer around one million calls annually. A fire occurs in the U.S. about every 18 seconds.
The average number of people who die annually in fires in the U.S. is about 3,500. A person dies in a fire in the U.S. every hour. To gain some perspective of the problem, imagine two fully loaded 747 planes crashing in a mid-air collision every month, year in and year out. This has been our average annual record since the 1970's when it was much, much worse. This, of course, does not count the thousands of people who are maimed or horribly disfigured. The destruction of property is annually in the billions. Regardless of the horrific anomaly of September 11, this country continues to have a significant fire problem. We lose about 100 firefighters annually as well. This kind of loss does not occur in countries in Western Europe.
The reasons for this dubious record are topics for another discussion. The key issues revolve around the historical and cultural context of our understanding of how fire safety developed in America. The good news is that things have been improving over the last 15 years. In fact, fighting fires accounts for about two percent of the over 15 various activities of a firefighter today. These functions range from hazardous materials to terrorism to disaster preparedness and emergency management. Add to these a myriad of activities dealing with inspections, code enforcement, public education and prevention. The main portion of a firefighter's day is spent in EMS or emergency medical services. This latter function has become so vital for the simple reason that the firefighter is the first and last responder to any and all emergencies in the U.S., 24 hours a day, regardless of the incident.
Consider this scenario: you are awakened from a dead sleep. As you rush to the scene you receive a quick overview of the emergency you will face. That situation could be as simple as shortness of breath, a multiple car accident or the tallest building in the city that has become a raging inferno with thousands of people in it. You are the one who they call. You are the one who is supposed to know what to do. You are the professional. Do you think that firefighters take the time to consider, "I didn't sign on for this kind of situation?" So what do you do? You do what your values and mission dictate. That mission is the protection of life and property in just that order. Who else is going to do it?
Firefighters protect our citizens' first right as written in the constitution: "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Firefighters protect the first right so we can enjoy the other two. The history of this country is intertwined with firefighters. It is no coincidence that Ben Franklin founded the first fire department in America, the Friendship Fire Co. in Alexandria, VA, or that the first five presidents of the U.S. were volunteer firefighters.
Firefighters love being firefighters. Most firefighters wanted to be firefighters since they were small children. Many of the 1.5 million firefighters in this country are paid firefighters in one jurisdiction and also volunteers in another community close by. The reason for this is because they love what they do so much.
Who are these people? Not so much your blue-collar worker anymore. Many firefighters have college degrees. An individual doesn't become a firefighter by accident. There can easily be as many as 200 applicants for every available position in a metropolitan department. All-night vigils just to apply to take the examination are not unusual. Passing this battery of tests allows one to become a "rookie" (which has its own complex curriculum). After that it's constant training and study for the rest of one's career. The result is an extremely intelligent individual in superb physical condition responsible for our citizens' safety day and night.
The same kind of intelligence and motivation apply to volunteers but these individuals do this for the love of their neighbor & communities. Were it not for the volunteer fire service in our country, the cost of fire protection could not be endured in such communities where it is a necessity – like within Walworth County.
This is no less so for senior fire officers and chiefs. Some of this country's finest leaders are fire chiefs and fire administrators loaded with any number of advanced degrees. Most receive Master's Degrees in Public Administration, Chemistry, Engineering or Education. Being a leader in public safety in a metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Department is every bit as challenging as that of a CEO in private enterprise. This is especially true considering the constant constraint on resources, the microscope of public opinion and the size of the "market" served.
The American public has always loved its firefighters. Some years ago the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press took a poll of how much the public trusts its institutions. The results of the poll indicated that among seven different public and agencies, fire departments ranked second only to one's own family.
So what motivates people like the ones who work so hard to protect us in the performance of their duty every year? Edward Crocker, the Chief of the New York City Fire Department at the turn of the 19th Century, summarized it best when he said: "I have only one desire and that is to be a firefighter. The position may be a lowly one in the eyes of some. But those of us who do the work that firefighters must do consider it to be a noble calling. Our greatest moments come when we save lives. It is under the influence of such thoughts that we are driven to deeds of daring, even of final sacrifice."
There are many heroes in our society besides firefighters. But it is good to know when our loved ones are safe in their homes that there are professionals watching over them day and night: the ones living just down the street at the local firehouse drawn by a noble calling.
I know that the very people who belittle or give the fire departments grief for how they spend their fundraising money will one day be asking for their assistance and because of the fire department’s true dedication these brave individuals, whether they are firefighters or EMT’s, will be there to help that person.
Support your local fire departments when they have their fundraisers. Support them at your city/town/village meetings when they ask for help. They are usually attempting to get funding to get equipment to help save another life or property - which just may be yours one day!
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Things you DIDN'T know about firefighters & the departments they work for.
By: Dennis J. Aitken (Snowhawk)
First let me say that this editorial is my words and not necessarily that of any fire departments or individual firefighters.
Remember my First Amendment - Freedom of Speech!
This may not pertain to your community but it does for many communities that have volunteer fire departments from Minocqua to Lake Geneva - for that matter try any state that has volunteers. Don't believe me? Call your fire department (on their NON-emergency phone line) and ask about some of the facts below.
Being a firefighter can be rewarding and it can be discouraging at the same time. There are people that believe that the firefighter is extremely brave while often the firefighter takes more ridicule than compliments. Some people think that firefighters are brave for running INTO a building while everyone is running out but they are there for a reason and that is to look for a life to save THEN to save the structure.
Did you know…
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there may be only one out of 1000 people that have the strength, desire, integrity, and fortitude to be a firefighter - and stick with it.
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that within many counties most of the firefighters pay for their own schooling, their $1,500.00 turnout gear (fire fighting clothing), their own lights & siren system, their own $100.00 plus for special flashlights to find that life in the dense smoke, their own fuel for their personal vehicles to respond, and more? I have talked to a few firefighters who get around $250.00 -$300.00 per year which doesn't even cover their vehicle fuel.
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that these same individuals that have the guts to run into the blaze to save a life are not even given any health insurance by the departments that they work for?
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the taxes that everyone complains about will be going towards the building that the vehicles are housed in, the vehicles themselves & their repairs.
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that these firefighters are individuals who spends endless hours in training without pay?
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that these firefighters are individuals who sacrifices home life, TV... even tender moments to jump up, get dressed in the middle of the night and run to their car when they hear the tones going off on their pagers?
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that a stranger in your community cares enough to sacrifice their own life for their community?
New equipment is necessary to help save lives or the burning structure or even surrounding structures. You may think that these firefighters want the latest & greatest equipment on the market just to be better than the next department but your wrong. The fact is that they want equipment that is well built and equipment that will help them do their job better or to save another life or to help save a structure. What would happen if the fire department pulls up on your vehicle accident and doesn’t have the proper equipment to pull you from the vehicle or not enough hose to reach your house or your neighbor’s house that is in the back of the lot?
The same people that have the gall to comment about the firefighters that sit around the firehouse doing nothing (they think) sure change their minds when all of a sudden THEY need help and the fire department personnel pulls up to their incident within minutes after they get the call.
The next time you have a few extra dollars to donate, forget about someone else in another country, our government is doing a good enough job at screwing up our country with that project. Worry about your own community that you live in or your own life or your property and donate to your fire department any time of the year. Want to enjoy yourself some time? Go to one of the fire department’s fundraisers and support them that way also. When you make a donation you are not lining the pockets of some politician and you certainly are not giving to the fire department personnel; your giving to an organization that will obviously come knocking at your door to help you one day and hopefully, with enough consistent donations, will have enough equipment to handle the job. Don’t just help out the fire department in the community where you live either. Look at almost any incident and see how many surrounding communities come to the aid in an emergency. There are many fundraisers that have great food and entertainment for the whole family.
Remember that these brave individuals don’t make a salary working at the department.
They are doing this because they feel a need to help you, their community.
If you have any personal comments you don't want to blog you may write directly to me: snowhawk@mia.net
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It's a little brisk this Saturday morning in March in the City of Delavan at Route 43 & Hwy "X" but you could not tell that to these brave men and women from Darien, Delavan, and Sharon Wisconsin fire departments who are learning the art of fire fighting.
Inside their Nomex fire fighter's protective suits, known as turn-out gear, these firefighters can still feel the extreme heat that is devouring the building next to them. Even the firefighters that are 50' away protecting other buildings by dousing them with continuous streams of water can still feel the heat from the monster.
Today it is hard to find people that have the guts enough to do this type of work. It takes a very special kind of individual to go into a building that is burning to save a life or property for someone else, and sometimes they are even volunteering to get into these predicaments.
Fire photography is the act of taking photographs of firefighting operations and the individuals that practice this form of photography are called fire photographers. My name is Dennis Aitken and I am a fire photographer for fire departments within Walworth County with my priority being the Lake Geneva Fire Department. Professional fire photographers are used for training, interdepartmental use, media and sometimes even personal use.
Since fire photography involves being relatively close to incidents that are potentially dangerous, fire photographers need to have special skills and knowledge about emergency incident scenes, operations, health and safety. Additionally, fire photographers are often required to wear the same protective equipment as firefighters do. I met my first fire photographer many years ago out west. He was in full turnout gear and his helmet shield had PHOTOGRAPHER where either Chief or Captain or the Lieutenant shield would be mounted and his name was written across the back of the jacket just like all the rest of the crew. He was also a county wide photographer and did not have a department name on his coat, just the word PHOTOGRAPHER so that he could be easily recognized and sometimes called on at the scene.
To be considered in this field you must first prove that you know the photography end of the business by showing your work to the heads of the departments that you would be working for. This would be for their evaluation. Next is gaining their trust to get into the department's "family” at the station or anywhere near a fire for that matter. This can be done through years of emergency service related organizations and / or organizations like the Emergency Service and Disaster Association (E.S.D.A.) where you go through many of hours of training weekly before even going out on "real" calls. Having any type of medical background is an added benefit in this field and makes your fellow workers feel more confident if an emergency occurs.
In general, fire photographers are not directly employed by fire departments unless it is for a big city. Instead, they provide a specialized photography service, which may involve a fee on a per-hour basis, per-call, or per-photograph basis because their equipment runs into the thousands of dollars not to mention all the gas they go through chasing after each call and let's not forget the turnout gear that has to be purchased by most photographers. Not being a paid firefighter through any particular city means that access to safety perimeters can be an issue. As such, fire photographers usually develop good relationships with their local fire department to improve access to fire scenes. Such access may, at the fire department's discretion, require additional training or other arrangements. I have been part of an organization for some time now that is called the International Organization of Fire Photography (IOFP). A formal fire photographer's certification process is now being drafted by IOFP and this is the certification that I am trying to achieve after all these years of being a photographer. The intent of this certification is to attest that an individual has sufficient training, skills and knowledge in relevant areas (health & safety, firefighting operations, etc.) to operate safely within a safety perimeter on an emergency incident scene.
When people think of the Fire Department many things come to mind but not necessarily digital photography. In going to photograph a new office building being constructed and the kinds of materials being used for potential future reference, or by creating a training video on a new respiratory mask, the Fire Photographer plays a crucial behind-the-scenes role in educating and ultimately saving lives. Digital photography, video, file sharing and presentation have yielded increased accessibility, productivity, and usability of many of today's modern fire departments from small towns and villages to the big cities for visual resources and preservation of history. A PowerPoint presentation can be easily distributed and displayed in the firehouse of images from a three-alarm fire or practice burn for training purposes.
Many Fire Departments have gone digital. From Human Resources pictures that are taken of every uniformed member at each of their 12-15-month physicals, to dramatic documentation of three-alarm fires, to providing PowerPoint presentations on safety for training and education, the Fire Department's Fire Photographer is very busy and is usually well-paid for his/her expertise in their field. The Fire Photographer provides all still, and/or video photographic services for the fire departments and all their administrative needs. With a high demand and a big county to cover, efficiency and productivity are crucial. For this, a multi-talented photographer is faced with multiple tasks and switching to a digital workflow has made all the difference.
Up until January of 2001, all of the photographic work was shot on film then processed and printed in a traditional chemical darkroom. An expensive and slow process, the old photo archives take up many huge file cabinets and, if caught in a flood, could be ruined forever.
The primary goal of the Fire Photographer is photographing for documentation and education. The Fire Photographer produces huge quantities of files that need to be archived and accessed by a number of people for an array of needs. By January 2001, the cost of digital equipment had finally fallen to the point that going digital became a viable alternative for this Fire Photographer.
The long-standing protocol of only photographing firefighters when they first joined the Department can prove to be particularly challenging while searching through old personnel files to locate and then scan the photographic prints of missing firefighters - headshots that have been stapled or taped to personnel files, sometimes fifteen or twenty years ago are not always very helpful for identification purposes in an emergency.
Now a photograph of every firefighter should be had at every 12-15-month physical to keep up-to-date photos of each member and store the high resolution files in a digital personnel database. It is necessity for the image to be captured at the highest resolution possible, and files named properly and stored in the right location.
Fires are unpredictable, dangerous, and warrant immediate emergency response. Firefighters and their officers have their hands full working the fire and don't have time to think about the proper aperture setting on the camera but, on the other hand, the photographer is concentrating on the settings and not even thinking about running into the burning inferno. It is hard to prepare and train individuals for something you can't predict or necessarily control. This is why constant documentation of fires, changing equipment, and department protocol by the Fire Photographer is so important to the operations of all fire departments. All of the still photography, video, and PowerPoint presentations the Fire Photographer produce are key contributions not only for the local fire training academy and but also for keeping veteran firefighters up to date on changing conditions.
I can't show you all the pictures but this will give you a good idea of what a firefighter endures for training for your safety and to help protect your property and the property of others. I purposly did not copyrite these photos so that you can use them for a screen saver program or a wallpaper.
Special thanks to the men & women from the Darien, Delavan, and Sharon fire departments for the respect that they showed me Saturday at their practice, especially Assistant Chief Timothy O'Neill from the Delavan Fire Department.
Snowhawk
