Corey Conrady: The Rural Firefighter
Drummond FD
This article is dedicated to all fire departments -- not just rural -- and the kinds of things we deal with as firefighters who live and serve in the communities we have grown up in.
Personnel or Personal Accountability? Now these are a couple of topics that we should be talking about. Personnel Accountability But what does that look like in our rural departments? In larger cities and towns, command knows how many firefighters are responding, and with what apparatus. They should have a better grasp on the chain of command and personnel accountability. In our rural departments, when we don’t know who is responding, it makes the stakes a lot higher. Who is “in charge”? What are we supposed to do? What if there are no white hats, then what? All valid questions that have run through the minds of young firefighters when they have been the first to the station responding to the call. The answer to those questions is in training, more training, train some more, and keep training. You will never have the answer to every question. But training will give you tools and the ability to ask the question that someone else might have the answer to! I have been on fire scenes where there was not very much “command” presence but everyone knew their job, the task was completed, and very highly organized large scenes where no one knew what was happening! Personnel Accountability begins with you, knowing what you are supposed to do and who to report to! Personal Accountability Sometimes it takes leading from the bottom and being a leader in the position you are in, that is the most important. The Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast (Episodes 12 & 13) talk about Leading Up When You’re Not in Charge. I highly encourage you to check them out today. Let’s say for instance, in my department, two people get into a truck, both just firefighters. The person in the right hand or passenger’s seat is the one in charge. The driver’s responsibility is to drive us to the scene safely and only worry about driving -- not the radio, not the siren, nor the tablet ... driving only! The passenger’s responsibility is to watch his back, to watch out for traffic and to assist the driver in getting us to the scene safely. The siren, radio, navigation, and later the firefighting duties are on them. But what about accountability? Who is accountable to who?
I say it is both. We are both accountable to each other, as every firefighter should be. We check on each other during the course of the event, sometimes simply by yelling “hey you alright?” out the window, and the other person smacking the roof of the truck! It’s not some super sophisticated chain of command, just one firefighter looking out for another! In recent days with the wildfires and the winds that “come sweeping down the plains,” the need for personal accountability is higher than ever. We may be working with others we have never met before, but we are brothers and we are accountable to each other. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation leads an “Everyone Goes Home -- Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives” plan on its web page www.everyonegoeshome.com/16-initiatives that lists 16 attitude initiatives that we as the fire service should strive to implement in our Help is available if you need immediate departments. support in Oklahoma. Contacts include: Number 2 on the plan’s list is Accountability! • Warriors Rest Foundation -- Brett Key at “The fire service can address this attitude 405-252-7489 head-on by implementing strategies for both the organization and the individual to accept • First Responders Against Suicide -responsibility and ensure that accountability Facebook page is available to message is an integral component to creditable health First Responders in Oklahoma and safety programs. Turning a blind eye to • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline -unsafe behaviors should never be an accept800-273-8255 (or go to website for chat) able action. Above all else, the Firefighter Life • National Helpline -- 800-662-HELP (4357) Safety Initiative proposes that every member of a department must accept personal respon• Crisis Text Line -- Text HOME to 741741 sibility for his or her actions, as well as be • OSFA -- 405-424-1452 (will respond with “accounted for” and held accountable by the help within 48 hours) organization.” • Corey Conrady 580-540-0970, call or text me anytime Again, looking out for each other is not • Oklahoma Fire Service Chaplains -Facebook page lists four area contacts In an emergency, contact Pastor Gary Lillie (Hawley Fire) 580-541-5980
just at the scene, it is beyond! Personal accountability also includes being honest about our mental health as emergency personnel who live and work in the communities we serve.
Oklahoma FirefighterMay/June/July 2022 33
