Posted by Nick [172.68.189.58] on Tuesday, October 13, 2020 at 00:19:55 :
I have been on duty with no days off since June 14. Have been basically from one end of the state to the other. Sorry to hear about Steven Fowlers place. But I'm glad to hear he's ok. We may have had our spats but Steven is a stand up guy and as a 36 year veteran of the fire service, I don't wish that on anyone. Especially someone like him.
Vaughn your comments are spot on. This dipshit governor of this stupid state is gonna create a situation we cant handle. Our department policy is to "keep 90% of our initial attack fires at 10 acres or less". We are one of, if not THE more aggressive fire depts in the nation. But it needs to change. But it can not change during fire season. Decades of aggressiveness has created the problem we have today. Over grown forests and unmanageable fuel loads. The federal forest service has the right idea at times, but usually the wrong time that the idea happens. They "manage" naturally caused fires. That means lighting mostly. But you can't "manage" a lightning fire in Sept during a drought. It needs to be immediately suppressed. Manage your control burns in the winter.
So many of the comments below are so true. Its obvious you guys have the knowledge so i don't need to get into that. I just wish our higher ups had that same common sense. It seems the higher you promote and the more crossed bugles on your collar, the stupider you become. But in a way i understand that too. There no legislation to protect fire personnel from lawsuits. If we were on a fire and homes burn and i am a Division supervisor or a Branch Director, i can be sued by every single person that looses their home or by anyone injured on that fire. That puts the fear of God in alot of people and they don't want to do the right thing for fear of being sued and loosing everything.
The last few months I have spent on the road across the state doing my best to help both situations. I beg and plead with my supervisors to allow me to burn and back fire all the time. I'm an experienced firing boss. I know when to, how to and when NOT to. There were alot of situations the last few months that were perfect opportunities to both control the wild land fire while also eliminating lots and lots of dead and down fuels. Some let me. Others were completely terrified of even hearing the term back fire or firing operation. It was then my challenge to convince them of why it was the best option. Some understood. And still others flatly refused.
I see no change in the future. The kind of personnel promoting are not interested in fighting fire or fighting fire with fire. All they want to do is show up for their shift and go home. Not work any overtime. Not do any physical labor on the fire line. This is the future of the wild land fire service. Not in all locations. But in most. I look back on my 36 years in the service and appreciate every last minute of it. But at the same time, i cant wait to retire Dec of 2021. I've served my time. I've abused my body to unmentionable ends.
I can only hope some of the fire fighters I've trained are willing and able to carry the torch I'm handing them and can convince more people or move up the ranks to be the supervisors the fire service needs
Ok, off my soap box
Nick
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