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I came upon an article that I think really needs to be shared for as this author states his concerns I to have seen this and have always worried...

By david bullard

For tinhelmet.com

January 2007

“Omnis Cedo Domus.” Everyone goes home…

Every email that I send bears that motto for the signature. I wear a black bracelet supporting the same topic from the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. By now it is obvious that I advertise that everyone should go home, but do I do all that I can to ensure that this does happen?
As I have traveled around the state teaching and sharing my passion
for firefighting, I see a lot of guys who have either forgotten, skipped, or were never taught to perform the basic tasks. Even Lance rmstrong had to learn to ride with training wheels and when he crossed the finish line in his final victory, guess what? He was still using those skills he learned while there were training wheels in place to guide him.
In rookie school we drill in to you the basics of donning your gear
correctly, performing rapid and efficient searches, proper stretching of hose lines and things of that nature. We practice these skills constantly, until they should become second nature. But what do we do once graduation is over?

.
These young impressionable firefighters are eager to go out and face
Vulcan and use the skills that they have learned and practiced a hundred times. Do they luck up and wind up in a motivated volunteer company that is always looking to bring their “A” game or do they wind up in a social club that has “done things this way for 53 years and you should too.” Do they get sent to a company that has an officer and crew willing to share their knowledge, expand on the basics, and make the most of each shift?

The fortunate ones do, the others wind up in companies that would rather drink coffee and man the recliners, all the while abusing the seniority they have over the new probie.

I recently heard a conversation between a probie and a senior truck
company member. The probie was speaking of working on shift getting to do multi company drills on hose advancement and forcible entry. The senior truckie looked him and said don’t come work with me if you are expecting to do all that sh*t, because we work smarter not harder around here. That statement was like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.
Remember the basics are just that, basics. They are in place to build
and expand from. We all know that there are a hundred little twists and
adaptations to make things smoother or more practical based on your
department and staffing, but they are all based on the same principles.
Firefighters don’t die too often from sarin gas attacks, but you had better believe they die from getting trapped by fire spread or from getting lost in single family dwellings. As I mentioned before I see a lack of these basic skills all of the time. Guys who will stand outside of the fireground or training ground and talk a big game, but when the heat is on…whether it is training or real life, they miss key benchmarks, they can’t perform a good search, or they can’t activate their pass device manually because they are in trouble. Why not?

I think that the loss of the basics is an epidemic. We have a
dangerous job, sometimes people die doing heroic things….but all too often we hurt or kill Brothers by “skipping” the small stuff. We don’t maintain orientation, we don’t pull second hand lines, we fail to communicate our needs, we fail to do size up, and we fail to THINK!

I once read an article on SCUBA divers and anxiety over death or
injury. I figured to find the biggest fears to be running out of air, animal
attack, disorientation, and such. In the article, a survey revealed that the #1 fear among SCUBA divers was the unknown. Things that they could not foresee. Sound familiar? That’s the same for us and our basic skills should get us out of a lot of the “unknown” situations. When something goes wrong on the fire ground it is just a matter of seconds before something else may go wrong. This could create a huge snowball effect that totally overwhelms you. Remember those basic skills that should be second nature?

They should be almost, if not, subconscious thought. If your
basics are practiced, if they are built upon and not replaced, and you have the desire see to this, then those skills should be able to get your mother’s child out of a lot of tight spots.

I write all this as the precursor to answering the question I posed of
myself in the first paragraph. I will admit that I have not always operated in a manner that fully promoted EGH. We all do stupid stuff, but we are also “each other’s keeper.” I know I have intentionally not pointed out safety concerns because of someone’s seniority or social status. That should never be the case. From now on…lets live “Omnis Cedo Domus.” If you see someone doing something boneheaded or half hearted, don’t be afraid to address it. It sure would suck if what you saw them doing today, killed them tomorrow, and you had said nothing. Just think about it Brothers and Sisters, that’s all I ask. Let’s wear our gear properly, let’s pull the right size and right number of lines, let’s throw ladders, let’s secure utilities, let’s block lanes of traffic, let’s do good searches, and please, let’s stay awayfrom freelancing.

Excellent article. I'm sure this applies across the board, no matter what emergency response type job you have.
I've seen the same thing in Wildland.

WHAT DO YOU THINK???

Gwyd says ...

I don't know what EGH stands for. Unfortunately, I do see the "old-school" ignoring of basic safety way too often. And as I've pointed out elsewhere, although it's too embedded in the consciousness to change it, "Omnis Cedo Domus" is very bad Latin for "Everybody Go Home!" NOT what you want to say to people just showing up. The proper phrase for what we want it to mean is "Omnes Domum Cedite." I should start printing stickers or something.

"Omnes Domum Cedite."

Again I am Amazed at your Pool of Knowledge! I used to keep count but I stopped counting at about 100!

Ravenfirefighter says ...

Again I am Amazed at your Pool of Knowledge! I used to keep count but I stopped counting at about 100!

well, having the big pool of knowledge can be a pain...the treatment chemicals are costing me a fortune!