Firefighting and EMS: Pumped Up, Fired Up, Motivated!

By Kenny Thompson

The most basic and rudimentary skill that we possess as firefighters and EMS responders is motivation. In this article, I will discuss how motivation impacts the fire service, specifically response time. Response time begins when your feet head toward the engine, not when the rubber meets the road.

THE SCENARIO

The bell rings. It is 25 minutes prior to shift change and your relief will arrive at any moment. “Engine 1, respond to the senior apartments for the woman who fell.” The first thing that comes to mind is, “Where’s my relief?” Heading toward the apparatus room, it feels like that three o’clock coffee has made its way through the kidneys down to the bladder, and is now searching for a way out; taking a quick bathroom break is definitely in order.

With the bathroom visit out of the way, it’s onward to the engine! This is a “med call” and turnout gear won’t be needed. It’ll be necessary to gather it up and stow it in a safe place on the engine. Once that is accomplished, it’s time to whirl the $500,000 fire engine to life and get underway. Don’t forget to check en route!

The driver’s thought process has come full circle, “Where is my relief?” he asks. “Jimmy Joe has a baseball game tonight and I’m going to be late!” The response is now underway and this particular stretch of highway near the firehouse has a posted speed limit of 40 mph. The apparatus is traveling 35 mph, which seems to be a nice safe speed; however, a strange thought begins to creep into the rider’s head, “This is the slowest I’ve ever seen him drive.”

In the scenario described above, what is taking place? As a reminder, throwing an anchor out in hopes that the ambulance will get to the scene first, leading to cancellation of the engine’s response, isn’t a great plan. Without diminishing the importance of little Jimmy’s game, firefighters need to remember that they are still at work. Living at the firehouse and responding to emergency calls becomes second nature, and it is very easy to forget that the essence of the job is to move with a sense of urgency. Responding to a familiar address, combined with being comfortable in handling emergencies, can desensitize a firefighter and lead to slower response times.

It is important to remember that the calls handled every day are someone’s emergency. Motivation is the key to performance improvement. Problems develop when we lose sight of goals and expectations; we fall into a rut, become complacent, and start to lose appreciation for our career. Take time to reflect back to being on the outside looking in; hoping and praying for a shot at a career in the fire service. Remember the days of calling the personnel office to see if the department was hiring, constantly checking to see where your name was on “the list.” Hopefully this will bring a smile to your face and put a spring in your step. This is not to take away from the hard work that men and woman of the fire service do every day protecting the lives and property of citizens across the country, and around the world: kudos to them and their efforts. This is meant to be motivational and inspire better performance in daily work and to remind folks of their accomplishments. Be proud of what you do, how far you have come, and where you are in your career.

Kenny Thompson is a firefighter/paramedic with the City of Ithaca (NY) Fire Department. He has been involved in emergency services since 1986 and is currently pursuing a degree in nursing.

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