Kudos again for “Of Mice and Men”! Thank God someone in Bill Manning`s position is speaking up for real firefighters.
Please don`t stop exposing those phonies who think every situation can be made antiseptically perfect. Just call a board meeting or write a new rule. Real firefighters strive to be safe while understanding that firefighting is dangerous. They don`t stand around whining and pointing when success or failure is hanging in the balance.
These safety doctors, as Manning called them, are telling us to do things that I call “safety stupid,” and it all looks so good on paper that our young people think it will be that way in the real world. Maybe we should go on air, wear our SCBA at shift change, and stay on it until relieved at the end of the shift. That way, we would be “safe.”
It occurred to me that we are allowing pseudo-safety pervaders to be spokespersons for all facets of our service. I believe that at least some of the things we are told to do–in the name of safety, of course–are actually more dangerous. Some of them are time-consuming to the point of preventing the effectiveness of efforts for the job at hand. If safety correctness were to be applied to other activities, it could even become difficult to change a lightbulb.
When it is dark and footing is uncertain, sometimes you just need to change the light-bulb–period. However, I am certain that the safety doctors would prefer that we change the bulb in accordance with the following guidelines. It would be the safe way to do it!
How to Correctly Change a Lightbulb
1. Assign a four- or five-digit case number to the job for future reference and start a file.
2. Request a purchase order for a replacement light bulb.
3. Replace with the same size bulb or larger; never replace with a smaller bulb.
4. Fill out a work order for the labor cost.
5. Allow seven to 10 working days for completion.
6. If the bulb is needed sooner, you can get overnight service for a premium charge, but the work order will need to be changed.
7. Do not allow anyone to climb a step- ladder until he has been trained by a qualified instructor.
8. Read all warning and instruction labels before climbing the stepladder.
9. Make sure you have adequate ventilation before ascending above the floor.
10. Do not attempt the work unless a backup person is present while changing the bulb.
11. All persons in the area must be wearing eye protection in case a bulb breaks.
12. Practice screwing a bulb into a convenient lamp to feel the desired tightness without breaking the glass.
13. Wear leather gloves to avoid skin cuts should the glass break unexpectedly.
14. Stand at a safe distance when switching it on to test it after the job has been completed.
15. Then enjoy your freshly illuminated area.
I don`t think this is what real safety is about. In fact, I am, as well as every real firefighter should be, insulted when so-called safety experts imply that we are too stupid to know, after appropriate training, when and how to act safely. I`m sorry, but “Always wear your protective gear, always wear your SCBA, always stay out of the danger area” is not the answer. We are smarter than that. Any department with an “All the Time, Every Time” rule is kidding itself. If you don`t believe that, try asking the firefighter from the Southern fire department that had that rule for turnout gear. It was reported that he died from heat stroke due to wearing full bunker gear on a hot day at an outside fire. He was not killed in the heat of the fire! Keep up the good work, Bill!
Richard J. Shinske (Retired)
Detroit (MI) Fire Department
