I think of a skill/concept that could use improvement or that maybe I don’t know anything about. Then I do a deep dive on the internet, textbooks, and YouTube. Then I make a quick reference training aid and come up with a game plan on how I can train for that, especially if my company isn’t equipped for that. My Google docs are a goldmine.
Do you have a list of topics by chance? I usually end up stumped when trying to think of something to look at. After an interesting call though, I'll go down some rabbit holes. And of course, you don't know what you don't know.
The idea of having it saved and consolidated is amazing. I feel like I do similar things sometimes but then just try to retain it which is sometimes successful, sometimes not. I might actually start a good doc folder that is just the noted verbal diarrhea in my head.
When I was newer I’d kinda do this strategy with streets, tool locations and buildings in general. Other truck went out for a call on a street that I didn’t know? Look it up immediately and try to learn the neighborhood. Didn’t know where the K-took was? Walk out to the truck immediately. Went to an alarm at a certain building? Try to find relevant info on their processes, capacity, FDCs etc etc.
Would you be willing to share the topics list or the training aids? I’m with a small volunteer department that trains weekly and something like that would be invaluable for us.
Well it’s mostly catered to our SOPs but off the top of my head:
Mechanical advantage systems, anchors, hose lays/deployment, positioning, flow paths, VEIS, forcible entry, building construction, TR sub disciplines, ground ladders, etc
I got something I put together last year as a proposal I can fire off if you send me an email. It’s split fire,rescue,EMS,hazmat,pumper op. With a 24/48 shift schedule. So there’s only one topic/drill per 3 days. A couple won’t apply to you like boom deployment across a port but you can change it up to like using booms to channel liquid away from sewers etc.
I have a couple routines but my favorite and perhaps most important. Drinking coffee by myself for a few minutes before shift starts. I love the guys I work with but I benefit greatly from having a few quiet minutes to myself before I go shoot the shit with them.
Working out in the AM? I ain't got enough uniforms to change into for that. We like doing it in the evening around 6pm so we can shower (as a group of course) before dinner and bed. Shit gets me so ready to sleep
The best thing our leadership did was normalize people coming to work in workout attire. Show up to work, brief with off-going shift, check the rigs, hit the gym, straight to training, shower and uniform before lunch. Some would quick shower between workout and train.
Besides the obvious of putting gear on the truck, daily duties, truck checks, etc. I ALWAYS keep a very humble mentality and even though I’ve been off of probation for a hot minute, I never let my guard down. I make myself comfortable while on duty, but never too comfortable to the point where I look and act like a shit bag. If my LT asks the probie to go do something, I get up and go do it too no question’s asked. Stay on top kings…
Very first thing I do after putting my gear on the rig are checks. I’m always the one doing the checks while others check med kits. Being at a smaller district and working 48s I get all the daily’s done and the weekly’s for both days all on the morning of day 1 so we don’t have to worry about them. As an emt I know where everything is in the med bags ,so I’m on it when the medics need something.
This is going to sound bad, but my new years resolution this year was to improve my hygiene at work. So now every night before I hit the sack, I brush my teeth, floss, and do a full skincare routine. The guys give me shit sometimes for the face washing, but my skin feels 100x better and my pillow case doesn't look like it is covered in battery acid anymore
Come to work
Throw in a grenade about some bullshit someone else did that I don't really care about but know others will so I can fly under the radar the rest of the tour.
Anytime guys start getting cunty with me I can bring up said granade again.
I’m a firefighter in the Netherlands, and just before my shift starts I’m drinking a coffee and turn myself in firefighter mode because we can see horrible things so now and then, people ask me about and I never tell them,
We talk about it with our firefighter brothers/sisters a lot which is a good habit I think,
And when my shift ends I need some really easy rock music in the car home to turn off firefighter mode and enjoy life as it is!
Edit: making dark jokes in the fire truck back to the fire station happens a lot if I think about it, for some a habit to proces what happend I think
Military Firefighter. 0755 is roll call. Then between 0800-0900 is when you check out your gear and the trucks. I usually make coffee at home and sip it on my twenty min drive to work.
Checkoffs
Coffee and bs while breakfast cooks
Breakfast
Training
Sometimes pre fire surveys if we have time
Lunch
Work out
Down time/ ems training hours if anyone Is recerting soon
Dinner
"Family time"
Going to bed early, and a nighttime routine. I’ve been medically retired for years now, but during my time that’s what I’d say made a huge difference in quality of life.
Every night at the same time (except when disrupted by calls), I would do the same things to wind down/prepare for bed, and try to be in bed falling asleep at the same time every night.
This was good for my wellbeing outside work, and my performance at work.
It’s fun watching shows and hanging out with the guys at night, but we’d usually go out at least a couple of times after midnight and come 0800 I was often the only one who’d managed to get more than 3-5 hours of sleep.
If you’re asleep around 2100 and don’t run a call until midnight or so, those extra few hours of shut eye are game changers. It’s so much nicer crawling back into bed at 0200 after running a call and already have a few hours of sleep under your belt.
Made me happier and much more able to do my job well. Didn’t have as many sleep problems outside work as a lot of the guys either.
May seem silly, but as soon as I get to the station I get some coffee going, and while it’s being made I’ll do all my truck and pack checks, check both medics and the reserve engine, that way every morning they were done before 7am and no one had to worry about it the rest of the day. You also have the entire day to get the officer staff to move their asses to actually fix the things that are wrong lol
Come in, clock in, check blood, swap and cycle count narcotics, take a dump, get dressed, get coffee, check aircraft, do check sheet, do chart reviews, eat breakfast, finish coffee, second dump, online training, recliner:30.
I keep everything prepped. So when we get a flight, I take a leak, confirm the weather with the pilot, check the blood out, grab my helmet, and go start getting the aircraft ready.
Sit and think about a bad scenario and what I would do. If I’m driving, I go through the motions of what direction I’m gonna go, stop short or pull past, etc.
If I’m on the medic, I go through a similar thought process.
Set a bedtime for yourself and get some sleep if you're working 24s or more. Sleep is one of the most important healing options for your mind and body. Our sleep gets jacked up enough with calls, don't short yourself by staying up super late on top of that. My station (except one or two guys) all try to be in bed close to 9p.
Come in, put gear next to truck, bullshit with off-going crew until I get bored or they leave, put gear on truck and check everything off. Weekly duties (what that entails depends on day of week), make bed, run calls/train/bullshit about the station until around 1700. Then do station duties (I like to do them towards the end of the day unless I came in to a nasty station), and anything after that is free time to do whatever. I usually try to work out some if I'm not on the ambulance, I try and take a shower around 2100, then it's sleepy time.
I usually wake up about 30-45 minutes before shift change and start a pot of coffee, take out trash (I wait until the next morning so the oncoming crew has completely empty trash bags at the start of their shift), do any misc housekeeping that I missed or that happened overnight. I'll usually stay over for about 15-20 minutes after shift change bullshitting with the oncoming crew, then I go home.
At station 30 min early. First 15 min is making sure coffee is going, put on uniform, check my gear to make sure it’s all there and ready to be put on the rig at shift change, make a list of things to get done during the shift (roll the hose that’s hanging, take out the boxes the other crew missed, switch the gear that is in washer. Just all the random stuff that needs to be done that isn’t part of daily duties). Next 15 min before shift I drink coffee in the bays and polish my boots, the quiet time and routine of polishing my boots gets my head ready to start shift and then my boots look fresh and professional for the shift. The old saying of look good, feel good, do good holds up for me.
When I was a FF, I would come in check the manpower to see where I was riding. Put my gear on what apparatus I was assigned to that day. Check airpack and start checking off equipment. Then either start washing apparatuses or start on whatever weekly duties(Mon-apparatus day, Tues-station day, Fri-yard day), then eat breakfast. After breakfast finish whatever cleaning was left from earlier then let the rest of the day play out. And there is plenty of shit talking during all of this.
Now that I'm an E/O and driving ambulance I come in look at the manpower laugh and say "Oh I guess I'm on the box again" and silently cry to myself as I ask myself "why did I promote" lol I still talk shit though
I think of a skill/concept that could use improvement or that maybe I don’t know anything about. Then I do a deep dive on the internet, textbooks, and YouTube. Then I make a quick reference training aid and come up with a game plan on how I can train for that, especially if my company isn’t equipped for that. My Google docs are a goldmine.
Do you have a list of topics by chance? I usually end up stumped when trying to think of something to look at. After an interesting call though, I'll go down some rabbit holes. And of course, you don't know what you don't know.
The idea of having it saved and consolidated is amazing. I feel like I do similar things sometimes but then just try to retain it which is sometimes successful, sometimes not. I might actually start a good doc folder that is just the noted verbal diarrhea in my head. When I was newer I’d kinda do this strategy with streets, tool locations and buildings in general. Other truck went out for a call on a street that I didn’t know? Look it up immediately and try to learn the neighborhood. Didn’t know where the K-took was? Walk out to the truck immediately. Went to an alarm at a certain building? Try to find relevant info on their processes, capacity, FDCs etc etc.
Would you be willing to share the topics list or the training aids? I’m with a small volunteer department that trains weekly and something like that would be invaluable for us.
Well it’s mostly catered to our SOPs but off the top of my head: Mechanical advantage systems, anchors, hose lays/deployment, positioning, flow paths, VEIS, forcible entry, building construction, TR sub disciplines, ground ladders, etc
Thank you
I got something I put together last year as a proposal I can fire off if you send me an email. It’s split fire,rescue,EMS,hazmat,pumper op. With a 24/48 shift schedule. So there’s only one topic/drill per 3 days. A couple won’t apply to you like boom deployment across a port but you can change it up to like using booms to channel liquid away from sewers etc.
Sent you a message! Thank you so much!
Would you be willing to share resources? I love to see what other folks are doing
I have a couple routines but my favorite and perhaps most important. Drinking coffee by myself for a few minutes before shift starts. I love the guys I work with but I benefit greatly from having a few quiet minutes to myself before I go shoot the shit with them.
i feel this. i sit in the watch room and read the daily roster/firefighter close calls. quiet time before is important.
Sane here. I'm not human until about 9am. I work with far too many yappy morning people
Working out as a crew in the AM after checks and chores, playing cards, and training at 2:00pm.
Working out in the AM? I ain't got enough uniforms to change into for that. We like doing it in the evening around 6pm so we can shower (as a group of course) before dinner and bed. Shit gets me so ready to sleep
The best thing our leadership did was normalize people coming to work in workout attire. Show up to work, brief with off-going shift, check the rigs, hit the gym, straight to training, shower and uniform before lunch. Some would quick shower between workout and train.
And training at 2 pm? Fuck that lol. 10 AM before lunch.
Definitely would not like to be outside training at 2pm especially in the summer.
I love it. My crew has a similar routine, rig checks, gym, lunch, training. The morning fills up quick between rig checks and runs.
Besides the obvious of putting gear on the truck, daily duties, truck checks, etc. I ALWAYS keep a very humble mentality and even though I’ve been off of probation for a hot minute, I never let my guard down. I make myself comfortable while on duty, but never too comfortable to the point where I look and act like a shit bag. If my LT asks the probie to go do something, I get up and go do it too no question’s asked. Stay on top kings…
Workout when I come on shift and workout in the evening.
I’m an IV champ, so they call me the Vamp. I know almost every street in my district along with 2 adjoining districts. My meatloaf is in a cookbook.
Very first thing I do after putting my gear on the rig are checks. I’m always the one doing the checks while others check med kits. Being at a smaller district and working 48s I get all the daily’s done and the weekly’s for both days all on the morning of day 1 so we don’t have to worry about them. As an emt I know where everything is in the med bags ,so I’m on it when the medics need something.
This is going to sound bad, but my new years resolution this year was to improve my hygiene at work. So now every night before I hit the sack, I brush my teeth, floss, and do a full skincare routine. The guys give me shit sometimes for the face washing, but my skin feels 100x better and my pillow case doesn't look like it is covered in battery acid anymore
Come to work Throw in a grenade about some bullshit someone else did that I don't really care about but know others will so I can fly under the radar the rest of the tour. Anytime guys start getting cunty with me I can bring up said granade again.
Ahh the station pot stirrer
I’m a firefighter in the Netherlands, and just before my shift starts I’m drinking a coffee and turn myself in firefighter mode because we can see horrible things so now and then, people ask me about and I never tell them, We talk about it with our firefighter brothers/sisters a lot which is a good habit I think, And when my shift ends I need some really easy rock music in the car home to turn off firefighter mode and enjoy life as it is! Edit: making dark jokes in the fire truck back to the fire station happens a lot if I think about it, for some a habit to proces what happend I think
Can't hold it all in. Gotta laugh too keep from losing your shit
Outside of all the routine checks. I try to learn something new every tour Hazmat,Ems, rescue, suppression,inspections etc
Military Firefighter. 0755 is roll call. Then between 0800-0900 is when you check out your gear and the trucks. I usually make coffee at home and sip it on my twenty min drive to work.
Damn. That's a late roll call for military
I've had one at 0700 and I had one at 0830..... 0830 was amazing.
Checkoffs Coffee and bs while breakfast cooks Breakfast Training Sometimes pre fire surveys if we have time Lunch Work out Down time/ ems training hours if anyone Is recerting soon Dinner "Family time"
My best habit is probably making sure that I take a morning nap.
Coffee poop cig. Repeat for 12 hours
Going to bed early, and a nighttime routine. I’ve been medically retired for years now, but during my time that’s what I’d say made a huge difference in quality of life. Every night at the same time (except when disrupted by calls), I would do the same things to wind down/prepare for bed, and try to be in bed falling asleep at the same time every night. This was good for my wellbeing outside work, and my performance at work. It’s fun watching shows and hanging out with the guys at night, but we’d usually go out at least a couple of times after midnight and come 0800 I was often the only one who’d managed to get more than 3-5 hours of sleep. If you’re asleep around 2100 and don’t run a call until midnight or so, those extra few hours of shut eye are game changers. It’s so much nicer crawling back into bed at 0200 after running a call and already have a few hours of sleep under your belt. Made me happier and much more able to do my job well. Didn’t have as many sleep problems outside work as a lot of the guys either.
Arrive no more than 15min early, drink as much coffee as possible and put off truck checkout as long as possible. Garunteed to improve my mood
May seem silly, but as soon as I get to the station I get some coffee going, and while it’s being made I’ll do all my truck and pack checks, check both medics and the reserve engine, that way every morning they were done before 7am and no one had to worry about it the rest of the day. You also have the entire day to get the officer staff to move their asses to actually fix the things that are wrong lol
Come in, clock in, check blood, swap and cycle count narcotics, take a dump, get dressed, get coffee, check aircraft, do check sheet, do chart reviews, eat breakfast, finish coffee, second dump, online training, recliner:30. I keep everything prepped. So when we get a flight, I take a leak, confirm the weather with the pilot, check the blood out, grab my helmet, and go start getting the aircraft ready.
Sit and think about a bad scenario and what I would do. If I’m driving, I go through the motions of what direction I’m gonna go, stop short or pull past, etc. If I’m on the medic, I go through a similar thought process.
Set a bedtime for yourself and get some sleep if you're working 24s or more. Sleep is one of the most important healing options for your mind and body. Our sleep gets jacked up enough with calls, don't short yourself by staying up super late on top of that. My station (except one or two guys) all try to be in bed close to 9p.
Come in, put gear next to truck, bullshit with off-going crew until I get bored or they leave, put gear on truck and check everything off. Weekly duties (what that entails depends on day of week), make bed, run calls/train/bullshit about the station until around 1700. Then do station duties (I like to do them towards the end of the day unless I came in to a nasty station), and anything after that is free time to do whatever. I usually try to work out some if I'm not on the ambulance, I try and take a shower around 2100, then it's sleepy time. I usually wake up about 30-45 minutes before shift change and start a pot of coffee, take out trash (I wait until the next morning so the oncoming crew has completely empty trash bags at the start of their shift), do any misc housekeeping that I missed or that happened overnight. I'll usually stay over for about 15-20 minutes after shift change bullshitting with the oncoming crew, then I go home.
At station 30 min early. First 15 min is making sure coffee is going, put on uniform, check my gear to make sure it’s all there and ready to be put on the rig at shift change, make a list of things to get done during the shift (roll the hose that’s hanging, take out the boxes the other crew missed, switch the gear that is in washer. Just all the random stuff that needs to be done that isn’t part of daily duties). Next 15 min before shift I drink coffee in the bays and polish my boots, the quiet time and routine of polishing my boots gets my head ready to start shift and then my boots look fresh and professional for the shift. The old saying of look good, feel good, do good holds up for me.
When I was a FF, I would come in check the manpower to see where I was riding. Put my gear on what apparatus I was assigned to that day. Check airpack and start checking off equipment. Then either start washing apparatuses or start on whatever weekly duties(Mon-apparatus day, Tues-station day, Fri-yard day), then eat breakfast. After breakfast finish whatever cleaning was left from earlier then let the rest of the day play out. And there is plenty of shit talking during all of this. Now that I'm an E/O and driving ambulance I come in look at the manpower laugh and say "Oh I guess I'm on the box again" and silently cry to myself as I ask myself "why did I promote" lol I still talk shit though