What’s in Your Helmet?

       It’s an age-old question that deserves an answer from anyone going ‘to work’. It needs to be asked and answered every time you roll out the door.

      That call could be an automatic alarm, a phone alarm of people trapped or a difficulty breathing E.M.S.call.  Some say you respond based on the information given on a ticket, and that may be true, but not for the question I pose above.

      A few have read this and thought “I’ve known several guys with NOTHING in their helmets,” and while true, and with due apologies to all the Truckies, that’s not what the question means either.

      When we respond we put on all our PPE to board our rig of choice. What is the last thing you put on? Usually your helmet is the last thing you put on. You look at it as it goes up and on to see the chinstrap, the ear flap, etc., are all in place.

      To me this is the greatest motivation moment we can have.

      In that moment it is all coming together, all your knowledge, all the training, all the drills with the other guys on shift, all the conferences, all the magazine reading, internet articles and emails amongst friends and acquaintances, all of it focusing your size up for this alarm.

      All well and good but I think we all also need a gut check as we go.

      I believe that everyone should tape a picture of something near and dear to them inside the top of their helmet; kids, wives, girlfriends, parents, even just a picture of “The Boys”. Whatever focuses you on doing the best and safest possible in the hurricane you were just dispatched to. It helps focus you on you, and in the case of an officer, the men and women under you who also have someone to return to after this latest crisis is done.

      As a bonus, after you come out of whatever incident that you were at, when you take off the lid, you’re “ why you are thankful it went O.K.” is staring back at you.

      We all live with the reality that we, or someone we work with, may not return from any given job. The reasons may vary; collapse, flashover, backdraft, a drunk driver, or a heart attack. None of it will matter if it is you or one of yours. The loss and coping will be all that matters at that time.

      One of the reasons I love being a F.O.O.L.S. member is the ability and abundant opportunity to “shoot the bull” with other members on any variety of topics.

 And I mean ANY other members - from Chiefs to Probies and anyone in between. You can pick up a point that you hadn’t thought about or a different way to present a topic to make it interesting for your crew, your boys, your Department, your Company or your shift, whoever or whatever. A F.O.O.L.S.’ member generally loves talking about what worked and didn’t work for them, and what could help you whether it be for 4 guys on the apparatus floor or a 100 member department on a Sunday morning.

      I’ve gotten power points, drills, documents and encouragement from everywhere from Alaska to Indy to Florida and dare I even say Jersey (although I am not sure what exit). No list would be complete without “The Secret List”- if you still don’t know it, find out about it FAST. Throw in those Canadian and European people and I’ve gleaned knowledge that would have gotten me some serious frequent flyer miles without going to all these places.

      But let’s get back to the helmet.

      What’s in my helmet?

 A photo of my 2 kids from Christmas taped to the inside of my helmet

A great reminder.

as a constant reminder of what’s important - that I do the best job possible and make sure to return to what’s really important to me in my life, my wife & kids, and my friends & coworkers. And by extension the families and friends of everyone I’m working with on any particular shift.

      And for a split second to think what would happen if I didn’t return for another photo to update the inside of the helmet. Who would be left behind, I now consider it another part of my size up. It now is a split second glance on the way in, almost an automatic afterthought, but I feel better knowing it’s there. I only really notice it before if the tape has come off and it has slipped into the band.

      After particularly grueling calls it calms me down and helps to deal with the situation at hand. My after looks are always longer than my before but that’s only from the benefit of time. Safety is one of the fire service “hot topics / talking points / buzz words” and this is a constant reminder not to overlook it, ever.

So answer the question: What’s in your helmet?

It's in there.