Who/What is The Fire Critic? Check out the Answers to These 26 Questions Asked by Friends

The other day on The Fire Critic Facebook page, I asked “Who has a question for me? I don’t mean questions about the fire service per say, but questions about The Fire Critic, me personally, what this page and the site is all about, etc.” I wanted to make sure people could connect with me and get to know me. There are some great questions. Below are the questions with answers in no particular order…

For those of you who do not know me personally, my name is Rhett Fleitz. I operate FireCritic.com and associated social media accounts. Over the years, The Fire Critic has become more than just a web site. It has become an alter ego of mine. However, I don’t hide behind the name…I embrace it. Ultimately, The Fire Critic is merely an avenue of sharing information. Learn more about me and the site below.

I will also add that I am happily married to my beautiful wife of 12 years. We have two amazing children!

When are you gonna have a giveaway?
That is a good question. I have some stuff to giveaway and companies that want to give stuff away. It is a matter of timing. The answer is soon…but I don’t know exactly when. I have enjoyed giving plenty of stuff away via FireCritic.com, @FireCritic on Twitter, and The Fire Critic Facebook page. To date, I have given away 2 leather helmets and thousands of dollars worth of merchandise over the years.

What’s your favorite firehouse meal brother?
The one I get to eat warm! I do a lot of the cooking at my firehouse. Probably my favorite is chicken salad. The recipe is here. It is a vary versatile meal, served cold, and can serve as a snack as well.

Engine or Truck?
Engine. I have been on the engine for most of my career. I spent 6 years at #13 when it was a double company and rode/drove the ladder (as we call it) a lot. However, when I got promoted and moved back to #13 myself and the other Lt. agreed that I would be on the engine and him on the ladder. I am a Lt. in my department which means I am a driver with acting ability when the Captain is off.

Favorite book (fire service related)?
Pride and Ownership by Rick Lasky…it’s what is missing in much of the fire service today. Once you have pride and ownership everything else falls into place. It is that easy. Most just don’t get it.

Favorite past time/hobby (non-fire related)?
Favorite is easy…SCUBA diving. I don’t get to do it too often, but I would live underwater if I could. It is that amazing.
Favorite that I get to do when I want… mountain biking. We have some decent trails where I live. Several firefighters ride on our days off. It is a great release from our normal lives.

Hobbies? Hunting…Fishing?
Hunting, not really. Although my son wants to hunt so I will teach him (along with friends who hunt) and we will see how he likes it. Fishing, YES. I love fishing but rarely get to do it. Deep sea fishing is a love of mine that I have only had the chance to do a handful of times.

What made you decide to enter the fire service?
I stopped by the firehouse when I was in high school with some buddies of mine. They were volunteers and we rode together to school. After several times by the firehouse, they told me I should join. I put in an application, got voted in, went to firefighter 1 class and I was hooked. I volunteered at Midlothian Volunteer Fire Department in Chesterfield, VA. It was combination station and once I saw that I could get paid to be a firefighter I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

What is FDIC? 
FDIC is the Fire Department Instructors Conference. It is an annual event in Indianapolis that brings 30,000+ firefighters in town for classes, exhibits, and fellowship. It is one of the largest fire service events in the World and well worth the trip if you can make it.

What is the page (FC on Facebook) here for? What are your objectives for the page?
The page serves two purposes. 1) It drives traffic to FireCritic.com to spread whatever is being shared. 2) It serves as a supplement to FireCritic.com that enables me to share anything and everything fire service related quickly and broadly. The objective is simply to continue the mission of FireCritic.com. What is the mission of FireCritic.com? Good question (although you didn’t ask)…Simply to share information about the fire service with other firefighters and the rest of the World.

What is the toughest thing you’ve found about the fire service that has affected you the most thus far? Missing out on family functions. I have missed a lot of games, events, birthdays, anniversaries, trips, etc. due to working. I can’t get those things back. I understand it is part of the job and I am not complaining, but it affects me. I made it to a lacrosse game of my daughters last night. She was given the game ball and I was right there to see it. I was so proud I almost cried. It meant a lot to me to be there to see it. I will remember that for a long time.

How many years in the fire service?
20. I have been with my current department for 15 years on March 1, 2014. I volunteered for about 5 years prior. I am older than I look. I began in 1994 and graduated high school in 1995.

Are you actively working for a fire service?
I am. I rarely share my departments name in words, but you can see it in images from time to time. I work for the Roanoke Fire-EMS Department in Roanoke, VA (the City, not the County). I am currently assigned to E3 A-shift. I am a Lieutenant. In our department that means I am a driver (engineer) with acting ability. I hop over and ride the seat when the Captain is off. I work with the best crew in the City and I am proud of our service and dedication to our departments mission and vision.

I love following both yours and WWJ’s posts – you  both write very well and give us an opportunity to respond. Love to know about your department – keep up the great work.
My department is the Roanoke Fire-EMS Department (VA) as I stated in the question above has approximately 200-240 uniformed personnel. We are an urban department that operates 11 firehouses, 10 engines, 4 ladders (3 sticks and 1 platform), and 8 ambulances. Ladder 7 operates as a quint. I have traveled a lot to other departments in various regions of the US. We have some of the best firefighters in the World. We have budget, leadership, management, personnel issues just like everyone else. Our department’s history was detailed in a book that I compiled with the help of a previous historian. The book “Firefighting in Roanoke” is available on Amazon.

Smooth bore or TFT and why?
I have never entered into the debate. This is why…Why should I have to settle on 1 nozzle when we carry several on the engine. My department fights a lot of fires with fog nozzles. I don’t fault them…I do it too. We have a high percentage of keeping the fire to the room of origin in my department. I like the smooth bore as well. It has plenty of applications. If I had to choose 1 it would be the smooth bore. Why? Reach and penetration…

What do you want to see for the future of the fire service?
Less prejudice.
More emphasis on experience, skill, and merit. If we are a team, why does the suck ass reap all of the benefits?

How hard is it to deal with civilians who are affected by your work? 
I believe I know what you are asking. It is easy for some and harder for others. When I see a family broken due to the impact of an incident I am on it affects me. You won’t see it on scene, my crew may know and they may be affected as well…but we don’t typically worry about that until our work is done and we can decompress. We show up, we work, we mitigate, we go back to the firehouse. That is what we do. Later, when we are in the company of each other we may discuss what we saw and what happened. It depends on the incident.

Do you sometimes wish things were different in certain areas of your life?
Interesting question. I am reevaluating some huge decisions I made earlier in my career and deciding if the current path I am on is the right one for my family. It may be cliche, but You Only Live Once…and I might as well make the most of it.

How do I start a FOOLS chapter in my area?
Contact the FOOLS International. Ellen, the membership trustee, will help you with everything you need to know about starting one. Feel free to bend my ear about how we did it in my area recently. I think we are off to a great start! If you would like to learn about our newly formed Valley of the FOOLS, check out the Facebook page here.

Why the name Fire Critic?
Who knows? I thought of it back in 2008 when I was operating RoanokeFire.com. I knew I needed to make the switch to a name that wasn’t regionalized. I bought the domain then and didn’t start it until a year later. I liked the ring to it. I even figured the logo would be like a court jester in fire gear…that part didn’t happen. Ultimately, I liked the ring to The Fire Critic & FireCritic.com. I think it stands out among many other names out there.

Will you be attending the Harrisburg Fire Expo next month?
I do not know at this point. I would like to, but I have not decided yet.

What is your favorite tool to carry brother?
Outside of a flashlight and some other typical things I like the irons if I am riding backwards. Firefighters can do most anything with the irons. If I am driving, it all depends on the call. If I am riding the seat, my favorite tool is a 4′ NY hook.

Why do people have skulls representing them in the fire service and on their tee shirts and helmets its a sign of death. Not a good representation of someone that helps and saves lives.
I don’t know where it all began, but it is widely accepted by firefighters. I understand that civilians might not get it and that maybe we aren’t portraying the most upbeat and positive message..but we relate to it I guess. Putting a fire helmet on the face of Charlie Brown simply isn’t manly enough for us. Skulls don’t have names, they don’t have facial features…they are bare bones.

Why the skull as your avatar?
Good question. It is what I wanted. I originally had something different until a friend drew up the current logo. I am seriously considering re-branding with something new…Unicorns or something. Ok, probably not unicorns…let me know if you have a decent idea.

What is your family history in the fire service?
My father was a volunteer firefighter in the Cincinnati and Canton,Oh areas back in the day. We recently took a trip by several of the firehouses. It was a lot of fun listening to his stories. My father stopped volunteering to spend more time with family. He travels a lot now and always sends photos of firehouses and apparatus. He is still very much a fan of firefighters and firefighting. He constantly asks about my job and my travels. I’d say he is my biggest fan…and I am his biggest fan.

What is your most memorable moment with the fire service? Was it a pleasant or unpleasant experience?
Most memorable? Great question. I’d say I have many memorable both pleasant and unpleasant much like everyone else. I wish I could say that I (or my crew) has been put on the pedestal for an achievement or a call that we went above and beyond…while I have been on many calls where we have made a huge difference, we are rarely rewarded or lauded for it. I am fine with that. Even my promotional ceremony was uneventful. I was the lone promotion, a week after the promotional ceremony at council chambers. Mine was attended by my wife and young son along with the staff who was in the office at the time. It was not all that memorable. There have been many “close calls” responding…but not really memorable. Plenty of fires, but nothing truly remarkable outside of us patting each other on each others backs. I guess that leaves the bad calls that will always remain in the backs of our heads. There is one that stands out…nothing that will put me in a padded room, but it is there. It is an unpleasant memory….but might be the most memorable for this guy who is just an ordinary firefighter.

What made you want to start Blogging and running a website? How do you put up with the negative sides to this – the people that pick on what you write about and don’t see the benefits to social media? 
I began blogging because there were only a couple of other blogs related to the fire service at the time (2005). I wanted to start blogging for the fire service like many were doing for the mainstream and other niche markets/areas. I taught myself from the beginning and continue to pay attention to what other blogs in other markets are doing. I have helped many other bloggers with getting started and best practices.
As for the negative sides…I pay attention. I don’t necessarily give it attention, but I see the negative stuff. People who work with me and know me personally know that I am happy to debate just about anything. It isn’t that easy online. Feelings get hurt easily and people hide behind the computer screen. The truth is that I haven’t noticed a lot of negative surrounding my blog/web site. I keep my eyes open and pay attention, making changes when I need to. I have made retractions in the past, but it is rare that I need to. I am happy and up-front when I need to set the record straight to an error I have made.
As for the people who don’t see the benefits of social media…It is harder to explain that in a few sentences, but I basically tell them this: Social media is a huge benefit to the fire service. We need to get with the program…correctly. The biggest myth is that social media is bad, especially for the fire service. They think that because of one or two bad apples who have made poor decisions we should do away with using social media. The truth is that social media isn’t going anywhere and that the problem they have is NOT with social media, but with their personnel AND quite possibly a lack of LEADING correctly.

Thanks for all the great questions.
Rhett Fleitz – The Fire Critic