Wingspread VI Conference - 50 Years Later 1966-2016

When I first heard the phrase, "Wingspread VI," I thought a volunteer department was holding an annual fundraiser! But I was wrong.....very wrong!

Back in 1966, The Johnson Foundation (an outgrowth of Johnson Wax, for those of you old enough!) invited several representatives from the fire service to discuss the state of the fire service and emergency service in general. If you are indeed old enough, you'll know that the Bronx was going up in flames on an almost daily occurrence and that firefighting was a tough job.

The attending members had discussions; maybe some very strong discussions, about where we were and where we should be heading. It was a touch meeting, but they left with the consensus that they would return in ten years and see what had changed, both in society and for emergency services.

Zoom ahead to the Summer of 2016 and a much larger group of folks from the fire services, EMS, federal emergency management, etc. gathered once again in Wisconsin, to look back at the 1996 meeting and to look ahead towards the 2016 event. As you can imagine, it's not easy to review the past ten years in a single "gulp" so to speak and even more so when looking ahead another decade.

Lest you "assume" that the results are kept hush-hush, you will be glad to know that, if not already done, the complete report from Wingspread VI will be released very soon. You will be able to read the results at the website of the National fire Heritage Center (http://thenfhc.org/). This will be the first time that technology has been at a level that could lend itself to this type of dissemination. 

Last week, I had the honor of interviewing Chief Alan ("Bruno") Brunacini and Chief Dennis Rubin, both participants in this last conference and others. You can hear our complete discussion with them on our podcast, "5-Alarm Task Force: News & Issues for Today's First Responders.  Connect here: 5-Alarm Task Force.  Feel free to leave your comments on the discussion and let us know what you see ahead for the fire service in the next ten years.

Stay Safe & Let's Make Sure Everyone Goes Home!

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Then & Now - How Do We Bridge the Chasm?

In an excellent article in FireRescueMagazine.com on the first of this month, Chief Ronny J. Coleman, a CA State Fire Marshall (ret.) and a well-experienced fire professional, brought up a topic that many avoid or are to quick to pass over, "Your Daddy's Fire."

In his article, Chief Coleman posits that in some ways, the "efforts" of firefighting today is not all that different from the earliest self-organized efforts of throwing buckets of the "wet stuff on the red stuff," from as far back as the 17th century and since. We've simply evolved different methods of doing the same thing using the methods that each time-period's technology, allowed. Of course, we have also seen that our fires today are not all "Class A," which has required fire-science experts to develop new materials, tools, chemicals, etc. to quench those fires as well.

One of the greatest aspects that I, and I believe many others, have found in the fire service, is to be a young upstart, rookie firefighter and listening to the "war stories" of those that "were there" before us. They told us of their grand exploits, running into the roaring inferno of an occupied apartment building without the benefit of a hose, rescuing adults and children alike. Or perhaps they were on the third floor and found themselves without an exit, save one window. They rigged some hose around the leg of a dresser and bailed head-first out the window. We sat there mesmerized, looking forward to our own opportunity to live the life of these heroes.

As we progress through our learning curve, we learn many new methods that have been developed to allow our generation to meet the challenges of fighting the "Red Devil." Different tactics, new combinations and yes, even safer ways to do our duty. However, as Chief Coleman states in his outstanding article, the differences and similarities converge to raise the question, "Are we teaching the past or are we teaching the present?" (Ronny J. Coleman, "Your Daddy's Fire," FIRERESCUEMAGAZINE.COM, November 1, 2016.)

He continues by stressing the need for that what was/is old to be updated to include, that which is new. However, we have to ask ourselves, "Do we do it and if so, do we do so enough?" This is an imperative if we are to be able to continue to do our duty. There can be no truer words!

By the natural "biology" of the fire service, there will always (or almost always) be a mixture of, what I will simply say as, "rookies," (0-1 year) "experienced," (1-5 years) and "well-experienced (5+ years). This can be seen both in the firefighters who enjoy the challenge of being on the front-line for their entire career and by those who yearn to learn climb the leadership ladder and rise to the higher ranks of officers.  Add to that mix are those who are retired/disabled, but still dedicated to the service, and willing to contribute what they can to help today's fire service grow into tomorrow's.

Perhaps there might be a way that departments, on their own, in regional groups or through national resources,  could bring the "old" and "new" together. This should not be seen as a "stroll down memory lane," for the "old-timers" to try and mesmerize the "young 'uns," with amazing tales. Rather, these scheduled and specifically organized events, should allow for the clear and concise exchange of information from all parties, that will benefit both those in attendance and in turn, those who will be  their future audiences, as well. Let's take Chief Coleman's words to heart and assure that we use our past experiences as tool towards providing the best possible service we can in our firefighting careers.

As philosopher and novelist, George Satayana warned, Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Stay safe and let's make sure that everyone goes home.