Jacob Fouts's Page

Isn't there a saying......"You volunteer to be here....everything else is mandatory!" ? Doesn't this mean that if you are going to belong to something that you volunteer for, such as the military, yoou have to follow a strict set of guidline? Within reason of course, but shouldn't a department that has a resident program be able to give a little more instruction to a resident firefighter as to when they are to be there and what they need to accomplish?

It is my feeling that if youare going to e… Continue

Is it just me or does it seem like the people around us, that work at our station or at the neighboring mutual aid station, have lost a little bit of moral character? Does it seem odd to you that many people are caught up in the flashy side of the fire service and not focused on what we are here to do?

In my time in the fire service I have noticed that alot of people are getting caught up in the fact that they are paid full time firefighters and that they are better than the volunteers. But on… Continue

So my latest question through my mind that hopefully somebody can shed some light on: I have a particular individual at the station that I am in charge of that consistently talks a big game, as if he were the cats meow when it comes to the fire service. However he is consistently setting the bar for himself so high that he can never attain the level he wants to achieve, and then when he fails he takes it out on himself and everybody around him. Training with this particular individual can be ver… Continue

So I had a long thought process today about volunteer and combination departments in the area. Alot of departments seem to be enamored with the idea that they must have a good ISO rating or they will never again see anymore tax dollars in the bank.

It's my opinion that the ISO rating is important, but the public safety and the firefighter safety is more important. Am I wrong? I have been witness to agencies in the region that will pad the books with as many firefighters as possible whether acti… Continue