Fire Critic An Unadulterated View of the Fire Service
poster from demotivateus.com
Have you caught the new show on CBS titled Undercover Boss? They have featured two episodes, one of a waste management company and another for Hooter’s. The premise is simple…the CEO/President goes undercover and works along side the grunts in the company. The CEO then learns or relives the enjoyment of the job at various levels.
I think this would be great for Fire/EMS Chiefs across the Nation. Put them on the rig and let them go to work.
Chances are that they won’t be undercover due to the size of most departments, but the premise could still work. Plus with the Chief not actually being “undercover” it will mean more of us keeping our jobs when we start talking at the kitchen table!
How many of you work for a Chief who has never ridden a rig in your department?
How many of you work for a Chief who has been off the rigs for decades?
Do you think it will help for the Chief to reconnect? Many of us probably work for Chiefs who we see more on the tv than we do in our own firehouses. Does your Chief appear to have a keen understanding of what you do? Some are great leaders who do not “forget where they come from” and yet others lose all correlation to the fact that the men are what make them great Chiefs.
I just wonder what they might learn about:
- Morale
- Brownouts
- Running BS calls on the ambulance
- How memorandums they publish effect us in the company
- How we juggle our schedule and family life
- How we juggle pre-fire plans, hydrant maintenance, company drills, training, territory drills, calls, cooking, and all the other stuff we do on a daily basis.
- Good company officers vs. bad company officers
- lost benefits
What do you think? Good idea or bad idea.
