Personal firefighter survival in these tough economic times...

By FETC - All rights reserved


This is for all who are currently earning a living in the Fire or Emergency Services field. How do we survive in these tough economic times? Lucky enough we are afforded the opportunity to have the job you always wanted, as some put it..."my dream job".

In this day and age of shrinking operational budgets, eventually the personnel line item is going to have to take a hit. Hopefully paid details, committees, and OT coverage goes first. But what if your Chief has already been your "protector" and now his or her boss wants more?

We must "pay it forward" everyday, every shift, every call. Believe it or not, I struggled through a previous economic downside with the economy back in the 80's. Back then, to be honest I wasn't in my dream job yet but I was making a honest living turning wrenches at a major automaker car dealership. I was one of a handful who recieved "pink slips" from the owner. Did I see it coming, absolutely not. I was young, naive I guess, why just a month before I was accepting a fresh turkey for Thansgiving from that same owner who made an announcement that the company was struggling in it's "current organizational structure". Just after Christmas, I was handed my very last paycheck that had a pink slip stapled to it...

Wow, the economic times back then were far less dire than today but let me tell you I had bills, expenses and payments that were in need of a paycheck. Did I survive, yes I did. Was it easy? Well, it was easier because I was single, not married or nor did I have three children relying on my financial situation.

So as we are awaiting the '09 Obama Stimulis Plan to become fruition, how can we PERSONALY survive the current economic crisis that we are currently feeling? I for one, was hoping for a big fat check in the mail to payoff my mortgage but it appears "that ain't gonna happen".

My first suggestion is to make ourselves as marketable as possible to our bosses. Now is the time to come in early or stay late if needed. We should be making the most of what we got, with our equipment, our gear and appreciate the fact that we are still employed. We should be working as hard as ever to produce the most product for the consumer.

Product? What the hell is this crazy person talking about? I am a firefighter man.... We are not producing a product, and this isn't a production line that we can produce an extra 50 items today. Well each and everyone of us are in the customer service business. Our business is making the customer, (that patient, that victim or that homeowner) feel as though their problems are OUR problems. We should use the Chief Brunicini model for keeping Mrs. Smith happy. By keeping Mrs. Smith happy, we are essentially keeping our budgets financially supported by the consumers.

As far as personal survival goes, if I had to make a decision between laying off a late, lazy firefighter who does the bare minimum everyday (or) a hard working, hard training, go getter... the answer is pretty clear. Market yourself, do your job better than yesterday, train like your life depends on it (because it does) don't complain about daily tasks or chores, complete them and ask for more. Better yet, you know what needs to be done on a daily basis so go get 'em done without being asked to.

Otherwise, when the hammer is about to fall... it is he, the more marketable firefighter who has a better chance of staying to "play"another day. Remember this is the best job in the world. Don't ever forget it!

TCSS
FETC