Here's the Dish...OK, Maybe It's the First Course!

First, our thanks to those of you who follow us on Twitter and then come over here to read the latest installment.

Next, I've decided to provide you with a little more knowledge of what our new project is, without opening ourselves to someone stealing our idea, script, etc.

As I've mentioned in the recent posts, we have been dedicated to bring a television program to the masses that would truly represent the fire-rescue service, without insinuating drug use, infidelity, child beating, spousal abuse, etc. This was all well and good for the first ten or so years that we were concentrating on producing a "reality" show. No matter the angle we used, not a single broadcast or cable/satellite network showed any interest when, at the same time, they were putting on show-after-show that dealt with some form of law enforcement. In just the past few years, they have gone so far as to create programs which show people purposely breaking the law so that LEO's have a reason to hunt or track them down, all for "good TV."

Now, I don't have any problem with our brethren in blue being featured on TV shows. As a matter of fact, after both the bad and sad press they have received over the last year or so, these shows demonstrate the highest professional qualities of 99% of America's finest. My question is, why do all these shows have to come at the expense of just one or two shows about those who dedicate their lives to fire-rescue? Are we not entitled to the same positive exposure that law enforcement receives?

Toward that goal, we have created a new, one-hour drama about a multi-generational firefighter from a large, metropolitan city, who faces severe adversity in both his life and career. Nevertheless, all he is concerned with is his family and his job. There are challenges at every turn, yet he never waivers in his dedication. This show focuses on his ability to remain focused on his goals, until a new door opens for him that leads him to a mystery he had never considered.

That's it in a nutshell. The only other details I can share is that we have already reached a tentative agreement with both the city and its fire department who have agreed to participate in the show.

We ask you to please remember that none of the four partners in Dalmatian Productions is a big Hollywood mogul, producer, etc. Three of us have been snot-nosed, belly-crawling, nozzle jockeys. Our fourth partner has been involved in public safety.

Though this show, if it comes about, will be a fictional drama, we are dedicated to have it represent the department, its municipality and fire-rescue as a whole, in as positive a light as possible.

We help you will support our cause. We are not looking for money! We are looking for your interest. How can you help? Leave a comment here or let us know on Twitter @DalmatProd.

EVERYONEGOESHOME!

From Heroes to Zeroes...Time After Time

What have we done?

There's no doubt about it. We have all seen it. Especially, since the tragedy of 9-11. On that tragic day in America, firefighters were seen all over the country as heroes. It wasn't a label that we sought, nor was it a label we even wanted. However, as almost every television broadcast the pictures of our brothers entering the Towers, the viewing audience was enthralled by the scene. Engines, trucks, rescues, ambulances and every other conveyance streamed past the cameras, lights flashing and sirens screaming.

 

When the Towers fell, America felt sad. Some even felt bad. They purchased and displayed American flags, on their homes and on their cars. "Those poor firefighters," they lamented. "They were so brave!" They watched the scenes from the pile, hundreds of our brothers and sisters searching a helmet, a badge, a turn-out coat, anything that might lead them to a hopeful rescue, until the difficult decision was made that they were there only to make a recovery. Within a few weeks, viewers lost interest in seeing the somber scene day-after-day. They weren't members of their family. They wanted their entertainment back. And American television did their bidding.

 

Then, when our members became ill from the toxins they tramped in, breathed in, and carried with them every day and night, we asked to be assisted with our healthcare. The reaction was like we had kidnapped their first-born child. At almost the same time, budget talks were getting underway. And as usual, the finger of trouble was pointed at the those who wear the badges of the branches of emergency services. Like a plague, the unions were blamed for high municipal costs (even though, it is often the costs of administrative personnel that are higher) and when we realized that Heaven forbid, there would be another attack on this country and we would still be the first ones on the scene, we asked for newer, more modern equipment. At this point, all of us, career, volunteer, combo, and paid-on-call, were all castigated for asking for more money than we "earn" in the eyes of the public.

So, even after the horrific sacrifice of our FDNY, NYPD, and PANYNJ brothers and sisters, we went from "heroes-to-zeroes" in record time.

 

After the tragedy on 9-11, we at Dalmatian Productions, stopped all efforts to see our first show, "America's Heroes: The Men & Women of Fire/Rescue." (You can see the pilot episode by using this link, http://bit.ly/1hvSYxH). As much as we wanted this show to succeed to tell all of ours stories, we just could not do it at this time. We had to wait until after the shock of 9-11 had subsided.

 

Thus, it was 2002 when we started up again. We already had the pilot (though it looks a little "long in the tooth" today) and we supposedly had an excellent contact with one of the largest cable/satellite providers in the country. Month after month and year after year, every attempt to market our show, truly any show about the fire service was met with a closed door. One network had the balls to tell us they had no interest in red lights, sirens or smoke. However, it could get video of cross-dressing firefighters, firefighters being arrested or bring drunk, then they'd talk to us about a reality show.

 

As I've written in an earlier post, we never gave up. We tried numerous "angles" regarding the fire-rescue service in a "reality" sense. At least a few networks turned us down. Most we have heard of. Then, last year, we shook the dust off an old idea. Instead of a reality show, we'd make this a dramatic series.

 

Following the recent trend over the last few years of having a limited number of episodes instead of 20-22, we created our new show to fit in to a 12-15 episode format; perfect for a mid-season replacement or a limited run in prime-time. Currently, the treatment (a concise, one-page description) has been turned down by one studio and is sitting with two others.

 

What I believe the studios and networks don't appreciate is who our basic audience is. Just in the U.S., the are over a million firefighters from all classifications. Add to that the percentage of those that are married. Then look at their demographics (the all-important classifications of an audience, age group, gender, buying power) many of those viewers would be in the coveted 18-49 years of age for both men and women; most fall into the middle to upper-middle class economics. What does that gibberish mean? It means that we bring an built in audience that, if we produce a good show, have realistic portrayals of fire-rescue personnel and deal with real issues that we face everyday, we have the power and backing for a successful program. And that is the most important fact that a network is interested in.

 

Listen, I wish I could give you more details, but at this time, we can't and won't take a chance that someone will take our concept, then create and pitch their version to the networks! Remember, every partner of Dalmatian Productions has been or currently is still involved in emergency services. We've been out on the line, three of us as belly-crawling, snot-nosed, soot-faced, nozzle jockeys. And that is why we want to tell our story. And though the idea behind this new show focuses on what specialized unit of the fire service, we are very careful to involve the entire picture of today's fire-rescue service, including our work in EMS and out interaction with our brothers and sisters in blue.

 

We're hoping that we will be able to count on you. First, we may need you to run a letter campaign to get this show on the air. Second, if we get a pilot made, we'll need viewers and lots of them.

 

So let's change the tide of the public's perception and correct the misunderstandings about what it is we do. A 45-second news clip does not define any of us. Let's move from zeroes to heroes!

One Week Down...But a Lot More to Come

Well, the first (productive) week of the new year is finished. Regarding our new show about the fire service, nothing has changed; still no word from the TV studios and production companies.

However, I decided that if we are, hopefully, going to need your help to get this show on TV, then you need to know more about us and see us more frequently. To that end, I've beefed up our presence on Twitter and it has been a great week. Our Twitter follows' presence increased many-fold, as we jumped from 9 to 93 since last Sunday! We had really hoped to reach 100 followers by today. As you can see, we fell short by seven. That's not a big deal though. We've been honored by the many "favorites" and "re-Tweets" we have received, and to that, we say, "Thank you."

As many of you may know, Hollywood is a fickle place and a place where lawsuits fly back and forth, faster than some of the best drivers from NASCAR on opening day at Daytona Beach! And due that idiosyncrasy, we are unable to announce too many details about our new show. But here are a few:

• The show is not, for the most part, about life in the firehouse.
• The focus of our show is on integral and very important division within the hierarchy of the department. Though the public rarely sees this division in their local departments, our research and conversations with the "host city" and the fire department in that city, have demonstrated the tremendous work this division does 24/7 in this wonderful city in the Northeast.
• We have quite a cast of characters you'll meet, and just like anyone does when they watch a good show, they try to identify their favorite and attempt to follow their "STAR's" throughout the time the show airs.
• Too many words here in a description and a smart young lady or young man may know what this show is all about AND what else is coming up. And that, my friends, would be no different than handing the keys and alarm code to a 16 year old neighbor and tell he could take anything that he/she liked.
• If that happens, then they will start popping up trying to sell their own pitch and declaring we had nothing to do with it,
• This happened once back in 2000, We had demonstrated the pilot episode at a large television industry conference.
• We had a booth decorated to look like a firehouse, with a brass (painted) pole, rolls of hose, axes, irons, chains etc. Oh, and a Code 3 MX7000 at the top of the booth.
• We were approached by a major cable/satellite network who watched our preview tape numerous times and requested us to send several additional copies to their corporate office. Which we did when we arrived home.
• We never heard back from the network. Yet, six months later, that network had a fire-rescue reality show on the air which duplicated the majority of our show to the point where we had to retain legal counsel.
• To avoid a lengthy and expensive lawsuit, the network was willing to settle. All we asked for is that the their show could have one more airing and then must be withdrawn from broadcast. We did not ask for a penny.
• Our new show is a drama. At the same time, it has great fire service humor and a lot to say about the lifestyle that's forced upon us when we decide to become firefighters.
• If it is picked up, we want to make sure that the overall themes, SOPs, and reality of working in the fire service remain true to our chosen profession/avocation.

As soon as we can, we'll release more details. And, we'll let you know when and if we'll need your assistance.

Until next time, let's make sure that Everyone Goes Home.

SG

On Our Way....MAYBE?

It's been quite a while since we've posted to our blog. I could list dozens of excuses, but those of us in emergency services, don't do that. We suck it up, face the music and list the reasons. Basically, there was only one. We had come to the proverbial "brick wall" in try to get a good, strong and true show about the men and women of fire-rescue, on television. None of the major broadcast or cable/satellite networks were interested. Yet, by flipping a few channels, you can have your pick of every other "flavor" of reality shows, e.g., "COPS," "Wardens," "North Woods Law," "Alaska State Police," and many more. And as much as we admire our brothers and sisters in blue or tan, what about those of us who wear the red or blue & yellow?

So, we gave up. It was that simple. We had been working since 1999 and our first pilot, "America's Heroes: The Men & Women of Fire/Rescue," to bring a reality show about the fire service to television. However, as we have all seen, be we career, vollies, or paid-on-call's, we're the "experts" at going from "heroes to zeroes!" Sure, everyone loves us after a great rescue or major fire and they "respect" (sic. pity) us when we experience and LODD, but just let us ask for a decent wage in a union contract, or tell the town supervisors that we need to replace our 1985 pumper with 90,000 miles on it, or our 1992 ambulance with over 150,000 miles on it, and the next words said about us are covered in crap!

I was pretty discouraged. I was only active in the volunteer fire service and EMS for eight years, but those are some of the most important years of my life. Ever since 1985, when I had to retire out due to an injury, my car has never been without an emergency jump bag. I've never shirked stopping at the scene of an emergency to assist until fire and EMS arrive. Basically, I've lived by the axiom, You can take the boy out of the firehouse, but you can't take the firehouse out of the boy!"

During those ten years, my three partners and I had developed lots of ideas for other shows that all touched on the fire service. I was even asked to produce a version of our show for an Israeli network. Most of those ideas, after beingfo registered with the Writer's Guild of America-East, were tucked away in either a drawer or a hard drive. Until last year...

At this point, I must explain that I am not yet able to go into specific details, the show I'm about to explain to you in non-specific terms is currently being shopped at two major studios in Los Angeles. Be that as it may, let me say that during a lot of that down time, I spent hours and hours online researching the fire service. There were some great web sites and others that were rudimentary. Nevertheless, they all allowed me a peek or two into their department, their personnel, the SOP's, etc.

Then I found one, a fairly good-sized city on the East Coast, that intrigued me because of the makeup of one of its specialized divisions. This department has never been featured on a TV drama before. As a matter of fact, the division I was interested in, which hundreds of departments around the country also have, has never been the main focus of a TV show either. However, its make-up was unique to my research and the wheels started to turn. Over the next few months I wrote what's called a "treatment" or "synopsis" of the show. It would be true to the heritage of this department and the our proud heritage of the fire service. However, this time, the show would not be "reality-based," rather it would be a one-hour, limited series, drama.

Last year, the four partners of Dalmatian Productions decided to take one more stab at the TV biz and to tell our story, even if we had to dramatize it. One of our partners is based in L.A. and has done a great deal of work in and on television, as a technical adviser. He spoke to producers and directors that he knew and most of them told him that we had an interesting concept. They encouraged us to develop it further.

Now, I've written my small share of both fiction and non-fiction. As a matter of fact, I'm about 75% finished writing a fairly humorous account of my first four years in the fire service, along with one of my partners, who I met when we both joined this combo department back in 1977. But I had never written a real TV show. Never! Nevertheless, my three partners and my personal adviser who graduated the University of California with a degree in screenwriting, ganged up against me and decided that I had to be the one to write the script for the pilot episode of this show. This is not what I had expected.

Needless to say, I sat down to the task. And over the course of a few months and lots of telephone calls, online meetings, etc., we hacked one out that everyone liked. However, there was no way we could try and pitch it based on our own personal views. We needed to get some feedback from those who have been or still are in the trenches every day. 

Another of our partners, located in the northeast near our target city, is still active in his department after more than 20 years. And those many years brought him numerous friends and contacts in the fire service. So quietly, he started pitching the idea to other members of the fire-rescue service. Everyone who read the synopsis, loved it. For the first time in several months, we could take a breath. "Sure," someone might say, "It's a fire show. Everyone is going to like a fire show." And we couldn't get caught in that trap. Thus, we proceeded to share the story with trusted friends who had no connection with the fire-rescue service, unless they have to dial, 9-1-1! And amazingly enough, they too, enjoyed the idea for the show and the story we had created.

With that accomplished, we now had to get our material to a couple of very important people; the decision-makers in Hollywood and the leaders of the city we chose and the leaders of its fire department. Using numerous interpersonal relationships with people at the department level and the city level, the pitch was passed on to the city's Office of Television & Film, as well as to the Chief of the city's fire department. And on a beautiful Monday morning this past September, I received a phone call from the Director of the city's Film & Television office. Remarkably, this call included the news that both the City and the Chief of the Fire Department, were very interested in our project. 

I was brutally honest with the Film Office's Executive Director in that a complete professional presentation had not yet been made to the studios, however, their interest in being the "host city" of the show could provide us a great deal of "influence" for the studios to see. 

Now we come back full circle. Hollywood has enjoyed its extended production break from the beginning of November through New Year's week end. Our synopsis is sitting with people at two major studios. And we will muscle every person we can, especially from our targeted department to talk it up amongst the people that they, in turn, know.

It is our plan, that in the event we do not hear any feedback from the studios, just with what we can bring to this "fight," that we will turn to you. Real men and women who place your lives on the line each and every day. Utilizing more than this blog, and adding in our Twitter Account @DalmatProd, we will ask for your help, as soon as we get the green light to announce it publicly. You'll have a chance to read the synopsis and possibly, even the pilot script. And if you do like it, we'll organize teams by educating you, so that you will jump on our bandwagon and work with us to convince the execs that this is a show that the nearly 1,000,000 men and women firefighters and thousands more EMT and Paramedics will want to see,

Stay tuned to our Twitter feed @DalmatProd and we'll keep you posted on the develpment and then, at the right time, with the most influence, we will all pressure the studios to pickup our show  for a 10-12 episode limited series.

If you have any questions, I'll be around to answer them. You may do so via Twitter, forum comment or email to steve@dalmatianproductions.tv

Now, let's stay safe out there so that #EveryoneGoesHome.

Angels Wearing Helmets & Turn-Out Gear

As I write this entry, I am at my desk with another browser window open, as I watch and listen to the memorial service for the volunteer firefighters and EMT's, killed in the line of duty, in the explosion of the fertilizer plant in West, TX. Yet, as tears roll down my face, I am seething inside.

 

On these posts, I have often ranted against the cable/satellite television networks and how they take so little regard of America's fire service. And now, in the dark, sad shadow of the loss of these brave heroes, the major news networks again disrespect us by only carrying the live broadcast of the memorial service online, most likely, until President Obama comes to the podium. After the tragic bombing in Boston (my great hometown, by the way) the entire memorial service was telecast. But when it comes to us, the ones who run in when everyone else is running, we, apparently don't deserve the same recognition.

 

Oh sure, there's plenty of coverage of the dedication of the Bush Library in Dallas. And there's a great deal of additional coverage on the tragic events in Boston and new details that are coming to light as the investigation continues. These stores do deserve coverage. However, the library dedication was this morning. The information from the bombing has been flowing since the capture of one of the bad guys on Friday evening. The memorial service did not begin until approximately 3:30 PM, EDT.

 

Being a news director is a job that is best described as a juggling act. There are times when the proverbial "cat in a tree," has to be the leading story. Then there are the times when very breaking news story could be the single headline all by itself. Add to that the personalities of news reporters on the scenes who are begging the studio to put their feed up, NOW; you can imagine why a news director's best friend is often a bottle of Aleve. And I honestly do appreciate the herculean task that they face. However, there comes a time when  you have to do what's right, not what's popular.

 

Today is one of those times. Twelve good and decent people, men with families, fathers and husbands, brothers and son, grandfathers, uncles, and friends. Yet, their characters stand high and above their other traits, because they had made a decision to protect their families and neighbors from harm, even if that harm cost them their own lives.

 

It's about time that the public remembers who answers their calls to 9-1-1, no matter the time, no matter the weather, no matter the danger. We do. It's who we are and it's what we do.

The Sadness of Coincidences

I've been writing this blog plus another for several years now. I don't write every day or every week, and usually, not every month. But as it turns out, I'm writing this post one month after my last. So, what would bring me to this point?

Some of you may know that under our Twitter handle of @DalmatProd. All too often, my Tweets begin with the hash-tag, #LODD (Line Of Duty Death). I send out the info only upon confirmation of the loss and it includes the person's name, age, department, date of last alarm, and a compressed URL with details of the notice.

Sadly, all four of the line-of-duty-deaths that have occurred over the past five days have been health-related. No one died while battling a massive blaze; no one died in a collapse. Apparently, all four of our brothers were lost due to medical causes. And this is exactly what I wrote about in last month's column. For goodness sakes, just a month or so ago, we lost a firefighter who was 22 years old, to a health-related cause. 

Last week I was watching, "The View," and actor Kevin Sorbo, who used to play Hercules in a show of the same name, was appearing as a guest host. And during his segment, he mentioned that near the end of the show's sixth season, he suffered  several small strokes, due to a ruptured aneurism near his shoulder. He talked about having to relearn to coordinate his motor skills so he could walk again and speech therapy to help him re-tune his speaking ability. He considers himself one lucky guy and has even written a book about what he has been through, "True Strength: My Journey from Hercules to Mere Mortal & How Nearly Dying Saved My Life."

For at least a decade many of us connected with fire-rescue and EMS, along with many in various specialties of the medical community, have worked hard to promote stroke awareness through the re-phrasing from "stroke," to "brain attack." And the reason is simple. Almost everyone older than 13 knows a little about the symptoms of a "heart attack." However, ask them, "What is a stroke?" and many will be lost. However, most of the time, a stroke is exactly the same medical occurrence as a heart attack, except that it happens in the brain, to wit, a blockage of blood flow to the organ. 

Now in Sorbo's case, his stroke was caused by an rupture in an artery near his shoulder. When the artery ruptures, it allows blood to escape its normal path. When that happens, the blood cells don't have the "flow" behind them to push them along. The cells start to "crowd up" and eventually, like the proverbial snowball rolling down the hill, a mass of these loose cells get sucked up back into the blood vessel. The problem is that the vessel is built to handle a certain size cell, the like lanes on a highway. When this "clump" of cells re-enter the vessel, the clump is too big for the vessel and stops it up, like your bathroom seek. That stoppage, interferes with the blood flow the brain needs and BANGO! you have a "brain attack!"

While aneurisms can occur on their own due to a weakness in the blood vessel's walls, they are often the by-product of HTN or "hypertension," which we know is a curable and preventable medical condition. You can't walk into most supermarkets or pharmacies and not see one of the blood pressure machines. While they are not always the most accurate readings, they can provide you with a range that you may want to advise your doctor of. Additionally, brain-attacks are often a sign of CAD (Coronary Artery Disease). But all too often, people often relate CAD to heart disease, not brain disease. 

Worst of all, too many of us, male and female alike, still suffer from this "macho" image that we are invincible and that the only danger to us is on the fireground. Do you still fight a fully-involved car fire without wearing SCBA (Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus)? Or a dark, smoke-charged 2nd story window  of an apartment building? Why are you willing to take care of yourself on the fireground, but fail to care enough about your health to do so off the fireground?

If you have a family, do you make sure your kids get their shots? Take their vitamins? Do you call the doctor if their running a fever and complaining about ear pain? If so, why? Because you want the best for your children, the best for your family. Are you not a member of that same family? Are you not one of its very leaders? Then don't you owe yourself the very same diligence for your own health that you demand for your significant other and children!

It's time for us to put on our "big-boy" pants and schedule a visit with your family doctor or the department surgeon. Find out what your blood pressure is; learn what your total cholesterol is and if you need to change your food and alcohol intake, as well as salt, exercise, etc. to get it under control. If you are already on blood pressure or cholesterol meds, you owe to yourself, your family, and your colleagues, to do what you need to do to clean up your physical act and get as healthy as you can!

I never want send a Tweet about you!

Winning the Battles, But Losing the Wars?

My wife says I'm strange! OK, for most husbands, that's not too out of the ordinary. I suppose that most of us have an idiosyncrasy or two that may give our spouses pause. And for those of you who know me, you’re probably nodding your heads. 

However, what bothers her is that while reading the newspaper, I regularly read through the obituary column. I’m not quite sure how this habit started, however it has provided me with important information on the passing of an acquaintance that I had not heard about previously. As a matter of fact, when I was working as the administrator for a physician’s office, I came across the obit of one of our patients whom we had not seen in quite a while. In this case, the death was accidental, probably having nothing to do with a medical condition. Yet, when the rest of the staff arrived at the office that morning, no one else knew anything about this patient’s demise.

This strange habit carries over to my unwavering interest in the fire/rescue service. Through various email sources, as well as via Firehouse^© Magazine, I carefully read through the details of each LODD (Line of Duty Death) listed. Why? It is because my attachment to my former avocation connects me to the well-known concept of the “firehouse brotherhood.” Though there are hundreds of women in today’s fire/rescue service, the term “brotherhood” is used as an endearment. We are family. No matter where you served, no matter whether you are/were a career member, a volunteer, or paid-on-call. Once you have carried the “red badge of courage,” you are in the family. And just as we pray for our loved ones to be safe, the same holds true for each and every brother and sister we have in the fire/rescue service.

Thus, when we hear of or read a notice of an LODD, it tears at our heart strings. I read each notice carefully. Why? Once he/she is lost, what difference is it how it occurred? The difference is that in the last couple of decades, firefighter deaths on the fireground, have been dramatically reduced. Yet, the total number of firefighters deaths per year, has remained around an average of 100, except for this past year, 2012. So, if we’re not losing our brothers on the fireground, why are we losing so many?

Some pass in either POV (Personally Owned Vehicle) or apparatus collisions on the way to or from the scene of a call. A more recent spate of losses have been from fire/rescue personnel on the scene of an incident on a public roadway, who are then struck by an oncoming vehicle. All too often, the driver who hits and often kills the rescue worker, is intoxicated or distracted and fails to heed the gazillion flashing lights, the tall orange cones, the brightly burning and smoking roadside flares, etc. And I write this column while living in the State of Florida which is one of the few remaining states that has not outlawed texting while driving. As a matter of fact, a new bill was introduced to the Florida Legislature recently, however, the previous five or six efforts never made to the floor! One Florida representative said that he felt that a law banning texting while driving infringes on the driver’s Second Amendment’s rights. Sadly, we occasionally lose members in the crash of a firefighting aircraft or a medical helicopter.

Yet, with all these various mechanisms of tragic loss, there is still one more that is all too common and one that we might stand a good chance of controlling and that is firefighters’ health. Sadly, the obituaries often note that the firefighter had just returned from a series of strenuous calls, or they had had a busy shift the day before and passed in their sleep. Some even collapse at the station or on the scene of an incident. Listen, no matter where it happens it is one too many losses that we might be able to prevent. If we don’t, we might win the “battles,” but we could lose the war.

Around the country, numerous departments, especially career, have drawn a line in the sand. They have created new, strict, standards for the well-being of their members. One of the most stringent is a “No Smoking” standard. “If you’re a smoker, don’t bother to apply for the job!” Some have taken it to, what might be considered an extreme by stating, “If you have used any type of tobacco product within 365 days prior to your application, don’t bother to apply!”

Back in junior high (middle) school and high school, I was in a successful band and part of the “cool” look was smoking cigarettes.  I gave up cigarettes when I got to college and switched to what I now call the “pseudo-cigars” of the day, i.e. Tijuana Smalls^®, Hav-A-Tampa^®, etc.  When I graduated, I took up a pipe and smoked it fairly regularly at home and in my office and never had an inclination to go back.

When I first volunteered on the job, several of the career members and numerous volunteers either smoked cigarettes or chew tobacco. I never gave it another thought. However, after my SCBA training and using it numerous times on active calls, I started to notice something. Here we were wearing SCBA to prevent the inhalation of smoke, poisonous hydro-carbons, and other toxic gases. Yet, when we were on a working fire and were rotated out for a spell, a lot of guys would dump the SCBA’s then light up a cigarette. 

I saw the same thing happen even more when I moved to the Syracuse NY area and joined a great combo department up there. We had some wild structure fires in the middle of those upstate New York winters. Ambient temps were in the single digits. Add a little wind-chill and we were somewhere between -10^o - -25^o F! Yet, the same thing happened. We’d spell-out and many of the guys would light up right after dumping their SCBA gear.

What was wrong with this picture?

What were we wearing the SCBA for? An endurance test? 

I’ve been out of active service since 1985. But fate has determined that I didn’t get enough practice during my eight years of service. No, since 1985, I’ve had the “luck” of being first or one of the first people to appear on the scene of a significant incident. From full-arrests to MVC’s (Motor Vehicle Collision) with overturned vehicles, ejections, to car vs. pedestrian, I’ve too often been the first one with any emergency medical experience who shows up. Over the past 28 years, I’ve made it a habit to carry an well-stocked BLS jump kit in my car, along with gloves, rope, collars etc. So, I feel pretty well-prepared. Except for one item…me!

I’m 28 years older and most definitely a “few” pounds heavier than I was in my heyday. And even back, I wasn’t the poster boy for volunteer firefighter health. Add to that two bad knees and a lumbar back that has caused me to be declared disabled. No, I don’t think twice about doing the right thing. The adrenalin kicks in and I do what I have to do until local fire/rescue and EMS show up. But I do know what working at every one of these incidents in the past nearly 30 years takes out of me. Because once that adrenalin stops coursing through my veins, I’m wiped out!

The difference is, I do what I do because it’s a part of who I am. We all know the axiom, “You can take the boy out of the firehouse, but you’ll never get the firehouse out of the boy.” This isn’t my job! And if the Good Lord decides that it’s time for my interview, then so be it. I will go, knowing I did what was the right thing to do.

However today, we are losing far too many brothers and sisters to preventable disease. Though part of our jobs is to help prevent the calls we respond to, we never will be able to prevent them all. So, yes, there is danger in the work we do. But, it’s not impossible for most of us to lose weight. It’s not impossible for us to change to healthier diets. It’s not impossible for us to get some regular cardio work-out time in. It’s not impossible to work with either our own physician or the department surgeon, to check us for possible medical conditions we’ve developed since getting on the job and keeping them in check. 

What is impossible is for your family to bring you back if you become a statistic due to preventable illness. Don’t give me that crap about being too busy! When I was on the job, I worked an average of 80 hours per week in my vocation, had a wife and two daughters, and still found time to volunteer at the local firehouse. Ask yourself, “What’s more important? You taking a day off to spend with your doctor and some medical tests or your wife and kids taking a day off to bury you with honors?”

The “LODD Notice” column in Firehouse^® isn’t going to go away. But you can make it a lot shorter!