With one sexual harassment lawsuit costing the Fairfax County taxpayers over $350,000 and another pending asking for up to $2,000,000 in awards and a possibility of a couple more being filed in the near future. And now let’s add the Lorton fire which could cost the County approximately $10,000,000 in compensatory damages. The only message that the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Administration wants to focus on. “T-Shirts! T-Shirts!... gasp they are wearing t-shirts!”
Is the wearing of t-shirts really that big of a deal? Or is it the only issue they feel competent enough to manage and address?
The Citizens of Fairfax County and the Board of Supervisors must take action and say enough is enough. Please call, email and write your Board of Supervisors.
This message was sent to C-shifters today from your competent and caring Fire and Rescue Administration -
The intent of the policy is to have us look professional in public. I don't care if you wear white socks under your boots or if you wear a tee-shirt and nomex pants under your gear, but you should have your polo shirt on the truck for the next call. Coveralls are not acceptable unless you were wearing them before the call for the reasons noted above. When you remove your gear, you need to put your polo shirt back on (Being in rehab or racking hose with bunker pants and a Tee-shirt on is acceptable to me....because there is an expectation that firefighters in gear are hot and sweaty...not clean and pressed). Apparatus drivers shall either wear structural firefighting gear, or a class "C" or class "D" uniform on calls.
Acceptable:
• An employee is sleeping and gets up for a call requiring structural firefighting gear. They wear nomex pants and a tee-shirt under their gear (with polo on truck to be worn after gear removal).
• An employee wearing a T-shirt under a polo removes polo prior to donning gear (polo stays on truck to be worn after gear removal).
• An employee doing PT dons structural gear over shorts and a tee shirt.
• An employee removing clothing in the Medical Unit (Rehab), in order to cool off after firefighting in structural gear.
Unacceptable:
• Wearing coveralls while away from the station for non-emergency purposes.
• Wearing coveralls after bedtime.
• Wearing tee-shirts after bedtime on calls when you are not required to wear structural firefighting gear.
• Wearing tee-shirts or coveralls on an EMS call, because "I was just on a suppression call before this".
• Wearing a tee-shirt in the station and keeping your polo on the apparatus.
• Wearing shoes that are not steel toed on the way to or from a PT site.
I expect and appreciate your support and I am available for questions.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
46 comments:
Just a little rearranging of the deck chairs on the Titanic!!!!
What do the HMS Bounty, the Battleship Potemkin, and FCFRD have in common?
That's all you've got?? This e-mail was not sent out today, it was sent:
From: Duke, Andrew L.
Sent: Sunday, December 14, 2008 12:28 PM
Wow, as a supervisor I found chief Duke's clarification and explanations helpful. He sent it out a few months after he was promoted and was following Chief Wood who, btw, would never bother to try to make things clear. That would make it harder for him to write you up.
Look people, with the problems large and small this department has and with the problems large and small we are dispatched to we really should have other things to address than me or any other supervisor running around telling you to wear the proper uniform.
And this site should be able to come up with more than stirring the pot on a hot day with a 2 1/2 year old e-mail.
Can you imagine a police Lt. having to tell his cops to wear the proper uniform over and over again? Nope, they have a standard and are held to it. I bet some of the teams playing baseball in the heat tomorrow would prefer to wear t-shirts? do you think the manager will have to go through the dugout and remind them that it's unacceptable? Of all the issues, you shouldn't have to be told even once, maybe in recruit school, WEAR the PROPER UNIFORM!
Really! Please produce evidence that this projects a difference in the costumer outcome. Maybe we should conduct our own study that compares the polo shirt to the cotton T-shirt to help the safety of our employees to provide a safe environment…….that will be corrupt too…trust me! The City of Fairfax has the option to wear shorts and to their knowledge there has been no report from a citizen that it looks unprofessional. How is it safe to wear three layers of clothing...t-shirt, polo, and PPE on a working fire? I can prove that your body will have less stress if you only wear one layer during the summer months. I do like what Arlington went to with button ups with no dangerous pins sticking in you or getting snagged on your gear. They have good looking uniforms that their employees like to wear. We need to have badges and pins, look at other departments around you, they all have went to cloth with no metal badges....that would burn your skin in a fire...and the metal badges are not NFPA improved on fire situations. We need to look outside of Fairfax County. Why can't we change that SOP with uniforms and submit new ideas that will help us stay safe on events. If you ask any citizen if they noticed polo or a t-shirt they would not be able to tell you. We need to be professional but we need to think of the safety of our employees. When you operate on a fire or an incident for hours in turn-out gear is it safe to have three layers on or two? Can we establish a committee that can decide on what needs to be established or an outside organization? We can factor field personnel that have a real interaction with the everyday situation and not employees in the climate controlled Massey Building. I can go on about a radio strap study that shows metal hooks have nothing to do with anything. Also, keeping our radios in the "radio pocket" is a hazard and is not proven through any study. The funny thing is it is proven through another NOVA department that the radio strap is a better option than the pocket in our turn-out gear. Law-suit waiting to happen there……trust me! Another, aspect to discuss is suspenders are not required through Globe turn-out gear.....read the information J.J. we don’t need them! That is straight from Globe. It restricts your mobility and could cause a tangle hazard. We do not wear high-back pants anymore.....change with the times…another example! All other NOVA departments allow no suspenders if they have the new globe gear.
We really need to keep up with the current times of fire and EMS. Many departments had the “E-PCRs” before us we are way behind with other departments in the Commonwealth. They have their times inputted and have patient info filled in if it was a previous patient. They can fax EKG’s to the hospital…..before they get there. This provides better service delivery for the patient and the hospital for treatment…..all we worry about is t-shirts. In the big picture is that a major concern for us? Or is helping the patient in an effective manner? What’s your name….what’s your D.O.B….need your phone number and your billing address ….oh and your history…..sorry you’re having a heart attack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This can all be put into the system after running one event with that patient. Faster information; can project a faster patient to hospital transfer. In return this is the best outcome for the patient…..we still can’t do this with all “our money”. To top it all off is the hospital average turn-around time…….over one hour! Other departments are doings status checks with-in 20 minutes! Why does our system feel this is good for the public………………..oh yes the system is slow and does not provide the best outcome for the patient. WOW!
Let's all do ourselves a favor and not complain about the uniform policy. If you just follow it and act like it doesn't bother you in the least, then it takes the power away from admin. I guess it will just add to our response times to have to get into our class C's to run calls at night, instead of just throwing on coveralls real quick or bunkers to be even quicker.
If they don't care about us getting out of the station as fast as possible, then I guess I don't either. If they want me to waste time putting on pants before running an 0200 box alarm, or prying my bunker pants off and tucking in a polo outside of a house with a diff breather or cardiac arrest, then that's what I have to do, I suppose.
Easy solution: knock out a few squats or pushups before you throw on your bunkers/coveralls over your shorts. Technically, you're responding from PT. I've seen some meat heads getting it in at like 2200-2300, so this isn't really too far off base anyway :)
It's sad that senior admin has "alleged" issues of "allegedly" their own doing, and feel the need to try and irritate us out of spite for talking about those issues. Real mature, this is. The code of silence is a thing of a past, there's lots of explaining to do, and no amount of pathetic, punitive policies handed down to the field will change that.
Please, no more committees. We have enough of those holding up progress as is. Let's be like Nike and just do it. Especially when all our committee work has already been completed by other departments. No sense in duplicating efforts right?
Agree with Anonymous 1048...
After having been here over 30 years in all positions of this department, I am amazed at the sense of entittlement most of these people AND the tabloid owner of this blog really feels is warranted. I was never in the military, however, I understood the concept of a para-military organization from the day I walked in the door. I'm not quite sure some of you do though. Sure, there are ALWAYS going to be issues within this department, and some of you (blog owner included), feel just because of that all other concerns are null and void?... and we just let people do whatever they want??? Sorry, that's just not how it works. My question to the poster of this blog is "Seriously, is this all you got?"
To be honest, I think all but a handful of rogue FF's & officers really feel the same way as most of us here.
Get a grip! Why do you feel it is your job to dictate policy to everyone in this department...IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY! Here is a novel idea: Get promoted to FC and change it.
30+ years on the job and love coming to work every day (in the field)... AND I take care of my people.
Really. I don't give a F!! I don't think the fine citizens in the county could really care what we are wearing as long as we do our job. By the way that is whole another matter
Some of you may have missed that this topic wasn't posted by The Big Eye - it was submitted from a reader who posts on the blog from time to time.
The Big Eye feels there are a lot of valid points being made. We've always felt that it isn't really too much to ask firefighters to dress professionally. In contrast - one does have to wonder how the Ops chief has time to worry about what FRD members are wearing. We think the long-standing policy of allowing tee shirts on 90 degree days should be followed. Other than that - whats the big deal?
Brother Big Eye
Anonymous @ 1048hrs
"3 layers"
Read the SOP again:
SOP 03.01.03 section E
"If the employee chooses to wear a T-shirt under the Class D uniform Shirt, the T-shirt shall be the same color as the uniform shirt"
You are NOT required to wear the T-shirt under the polo. So just wear you polo that is provided by the county, laundered by the county, maintained and replaced by the county. We are paid pretty damn good money to wear a free uniform. If its hot, its hot, not a whole lot of difference between the polo and T-shirt, your still gonna sweat. Until people can follow simple commands and rules about wearing the appropriate clothing, normal department issued T-shirts when authorized, I am sure this will continue.
Where the Class C if you wish, nobody said you have to wear it under your Turnouts. take it off and just wear your T-shirt under it.
Is it really that hard at night to put your pants on, walk down the hallway putting your belt together and getting on the rig?
we have a really good life if this is really worth complaining about.
REALLY? Hot safety issues, dangerous pins, blah, blah....did you forget what job your in? No really, please contact safety and tell them you think the polo is too hot.
The SOP stands, and until you get off your ass and make a recommendation (not in a Chiefs visit), the standard will hold and people like you will/may be gainfully employed.
While your bitching and moaning, realize that our US troops are currently carrying at least 90 lbs of killing gear in over 91 degree heat, all of the time, every day, for 18 months.
Show some freaking pride!!!
the military recognizes that adults can make decisions and allow judgement on whether to take the cammie blouse off or not..unlike the micro management in FFX.
Should have stayed in the military
4:06 PM Sounds like one of the Kremlin leaders...
Actually when I was in the military there was were pretty defined times when one could go to a T-shirt or unblouse thier boots. The difference being that when those requirements were met everyone followed the same policy.
I said leaders, I meant czars.
so as long as the policy is clear and expectations are known, there should be no issue and or complaints
REALLY……how do the DFCOs have time to continually issue emails stating what can and can’t be worn as a uniform? As a matter of fact, it’s NOT just a uniform issue; it is all of the S.O.Ps and Rules and Regs that need to be followed. If you don’t like a para-military system then you are in the wrong line of work. There is an S.O.P. that spells it out quite well and has for many years. Here is a novel idea for the DFCOs; stop wasting your time giving warnings out on a continual basis; nobody is paying attention to them, it’s of no use if you have to keep reminding the troops. I would suggest that you start holding folks accountable for their actions. If someone is not wearing the correct uniform there are procedures in place that we are ALL supposed to follow - go through the chain-of-command starting with a verbal reprimand to the BC with progressive discipline. I guarantee that there is not a BC out there that will take the discipline lightly nor would they not continue it down the ladder. Progressive discipline, as we all know or should know, is a method of ensuring compliance and forcing a change in behavior of those that do not follow the rules. By getting back to discipline and para-military system, the DFCOs would actually be able to concentrate on their real job – daily operations of their assigned shift. With over 25 years in the department and as a Station Commander I, along with many others have seen a lot and have done a lot, but how we got so far away from accountability is beyond me.
I also saved a copy of Chief Duke's e-mail and I agree that he sent it in December of 2008. I'd like to know where the "focused eye" gets off trying to stir things up by stating it was sent out on June, 2011. That was a lie. What other credibility issues do we need to wonder about when things are posted here? Care to answer how you were so wrong about when this e-mail was sent?
There are no credibility issues here. A BC sent this to his shift leaders this past Tuesday. And several members sent this to the big eye. The issue is not about uniforms per se it is about this is the priority now? Because the sop is the sop. We are still allowed to wear tshirts no big deal. It is just very funny that most of our so called leaders only know how to enforce uniforms and not much else. Previous posters said it best. The citizen will not tell the difference if we are wearing a $50 heavy polo shirt or $4 tshirt. And there is a difference in the comfort factor.
And one more item. Are we not told that the volunteers have to meet the same standards as us? Training, certifications, uniforms, etc. Then if it is ok for them to wear shorts while staffing viva Vienna, Herndon festival and Fairfax fair and be exposed to thousands or citizens who they are Fairfax fire fighters then why not allow us to wear them in duty.
This is a simple morale fix and would save the county money.
This morning, Chief Caussin and Chief Morrisson visited FS 427, around 0800 or so. I don't know the purpose of the visit, but I'd warn the rest of the department to have their stuff signed for in the log book, be in uniform, etc.
I don't know if they're visiting (unanounced, apparently) just to touch base with the troops, or to play mind games with the field personnel. Randomly dropping in on a couple of fire stations every so often, with intentionally no rhyme or reason, would be an effective way to keep people in line with our SOP's.
Another summer, another uniform squabble. Blah, blah, blah. After many years, I fail to see what the issue is apart from personal preference. We are employed by an employer who directs us to wear a specific uniform. Hmmm...the cops, McDonald's, UPS, FedEx...all have to wear the uniform if they want to collect the paycheck. Complaining about wearing a polo shirt versus a tee shirt is simply silly. Do I think we should be allowed to wear tee shirts when it's hot and humid? Yes! Do I recognize that I receive a paycheck for what I do and if I don't like what they want me to wear I can look elsewhere? Yep. Get over it and be thankful you have a job.
Half of the posters who want the tee shirts would probably also want black turnout gear. That's not hot at all in the summer. Or...let's go back to yellow helmets. Any 5th grader knows that darker colored items absorb heat and lighter color items absorb less heat.
C'mon guys and gals. I am with you on most of this, but raising torches and pitchforks over tee shirts makes us all look juvenile. How about being this passionate about the fact we haven't had a pay raise for 3 straight years and folks who should be getting Steps 10 and L-Step are missing out on years of money that they can never recoup in retirement??
Wow year after freakin year...
This issue is pretty near and dear to my heart.
I happen to agree with Chief Dukes intent. Though I don't particularly like it, he's done his job and let his shift know- what's in and what's out. I think that his bosses have given him that leeway. But thats where the problem lies. And by the way... how messed up is a process, where the Assistant Chief, Deputy Chief, Battalion Chief(s) remain silent but a single Safety Captain makes this call on an inconsistent basis.
The reality is, this is an issue because it does play out day to day, station to station and sometimes unit to unit.
No, it's not an embarrassing law suit, lay-offs or knowing how to rescue a trapped firefighter we're stuck on.
But rather a morale vs. image issue.
I'm willing to bet if we lived in say... northern California this wouldn't be our morale issue. Sadly Chief, our weather is not similar to the northern left coast. You just sit back and relax in the AC and comment on how steamy it must be outside. And yes we've all heard the stories from the 70's how you guys had to do some things guys these days couldn't handle. But aren't we a little different now?...a little???
What disturbs me most is our Local 2068 has just broached this issue at a recent meeting. Nemo c'mon dude where's your nuts? (oh you ride around in the AC too, that's right)
This is clearly an issue. Step up and go to the politicians with this. How bout you ask them, Do they really-really believe a T-shirt (or shorts) diminishes our skills,response times, or effectiveness?.
If they say they don't care. Have them direct the Chief on what the right thing to do would be, I don't think he knows, seriously.
Oh yeah,the non-issue/I'm tougher than you- types.
I think we make a darn decent salary, so there take that!. More than many careers that require a degree. (shhhh that's our little secret right??)
Want more money?,hey humble yourself and go work at McDonalds, or Fed-Ex in your new uniform when ya get off duty. Great you've compared this profession to a rather menial and a mundane one.Ha, you're right!! now I see the similarities...they're all jobs!!
Black Gear...black gear!, Ya got me, gee you know my guys..no correction.. my whole battalion wish we were wearing black gear and saying 'kay' after every radio transmission. We also like adding superfluous tedious opinions to issues so they get off topic.
Oh sorry, I forgot to tell you. UPS wears shorts when they fight fire.
I give up...what the heck is a "Jeff Spicoli" ?
Fast Times At Ridgemont High - the stoner who ordered pizza in class.
Spicoli..."superfluous." I like it! Will shorts and tee-shirts really make you happier? That's a pretty low bar.
@ Spicoli,
Yes, we make a darn good salary, but we work (in the field) a 56 hour week to earn that. That's 40% more hours worked than the 40 hour employee in a degree required field that commands a comparable salary. In addition, the county saves on paying benefits, hiring, paid time off, training, gear, insurance, etc. on two people for every five hired, when comparing to a 40 hour week, which is the norm for most jobs (56 x 5 = 280, 280 / 40 = 7).
An 18/4 gets $19.43/hr, I believe. For a 40 hour week, that would be $40414/yr. We have an extra 16 hours/wk built in, on the average, of which 13 are straight time (FLSA threshold). We have things like night diff, pay or comp for holidays and such, but an 18/4 in the field is getting paid at a rate of a little over 40k/yr if they were a 40 hour employee. It's decent money, but hardly comparable to someone with a four year degree, or even a two year degree in many cases. Yes, we work ten days a month, but we're still working 56 hours a week as a base.
I love my job, but I don't feel like we're being compensated more generously than is fair compared to the rest of the county, or when compared to the citizens of the county, given the cost of living. At least we'll need degrees to promote past a certain level, which gives legitimacy to our salaries when being scrutinized by the public.
To Anonymous June 8, 2011 8:01 AM,
Our Founding Fathers were probably considered a "handful of rogue" whatevers during their time. Perhaps the majority of the members of this department are tired of tyrannical leadership, unequitable application of discipline, and having our once good reputation drug through a cesspool.
Pay attention now, what was done about the Lorton Fire??? Yet, it was common knowledge that certain individuals refused to go into fires then and now. What will happen to those that participated in the latest harrassment? What will happen to those (Officers) that lied about their participation in said events? What is done about compromised promotional tests? Heck, if a Captain can crap in a driveway in Clifton......I could go on forever!
The problem is we have career builders in charge of this department who could care less about you or me. They are afraid to do the right thing because it may adversely affect their next promotion or chance to be chief somewhere else. I think it is fair to say no one from within has a snowball's chance in hell of using this department as a stepping stone for the foreseeable future! Perhaps now someone can show leadership and lead this department out of the darkness. I look forward to the day we can have high morale, station pride, shift unity, brotherhood, sisterhood,.........all the things that for the most part just recieve lip service en masse.
This fire department has become a joke to those involved internally and those who observe from the outside. Every day more and more aspects of this "fire department" become laughable - and embarrassing.
Wow so no policy for tee shirts during the summer heat anymore? Of course why would they care if we are suffering in the heat as the sit in the massey building a/c all day, great decision way to continue to drive down moral. Try worrying about important things like sexual harassment and the people behind these lawsuits.
When I got hired, I thought that this was the cream of the crop. It is, for the most part, with our staffing, deployment, compensation, top of the line equipment and gear.
What I'm disappointed in is the quota hiring (vs merit based as it should be).
I'm disappointed in the lack of accountability and discipline. We have people who refuse to learn or do their jobs. We have plenty of "Teflon Dons" who have a long list of trasngressions and substandard performance, but nothing never seems to happen to them. Some people can write "KKK" on a dumpster and head board and work another county job while on FML, for exmple, and it gets swept under the rug, never to be spoken of again.
I'm disappointed in the dip downs on the promotional list to satisfy quotas.
I'm disappointed that we have Captains and Chiefs that don't bother to spend more than two years learning their job before moving upward. How can you be an effective Chief if you have only a passing familiarity with the job descriprtion in your previous ranks?
I'm disappointd that it takes people 9-10 minutes to complete the WPE. I don't need you dropping to your hands and knees sucking wind when we need to keep moving.
I'm disappointed that our leadership chooses to focus on micromanaging via more and more SOP's rather than focus on more important issues.
I'm disappointed that the hiring standards for the job have been lowered to include anyone and everyone. We have a good number of people here that are in it just for the benefits and the schedule. We have people who won't even go inside the fire building.
I plan to stay, and I would like to see this department shed it's current joke status and return to greatness. We should be world renowned, but we're not. We should change that. We do have many good people working here who love the job. What scares me is working under a "paper" officer, someone who memorized the algorithms and jumped through the hoops, but doesn't have any worthwhile practical experience or a clue for that matter. Maybe I can go to medic school and hide out on the boo-boo buggy if our officer pool becomes undesireable down the road. Also, I shouldn't have to wonder if the person next to me will have my back in a fire, or are they just going to flat leave me. I shouldn't have to wonder about that.
I don't mean that. I just want us to return to being a real fire department, not this "customer service" business model. I'm all about good customer service and serving the public, but we're a fire and rescue department, not a corporation. We seem to have lost sight of that in recent years.
"Will shorts and tee-shirts really make you happier? That's a pretty low bar."
I dunno, look around at all the other "big city departments" (and little ones) "Fairfax wants to be when they grow up". A lot of them wear shorts in the summer.
It's a start.
My oh My!!!
What fat lazy cats we have become. Got the big screen TV in every station, Tv's in all the bunk rooms, $100,000+ in salary for most working OT, paid vacation and unlimited EOS. A disciplin policy with so many holes I can do anything but drink (and I mean anything) without loosing my meal ticket. A pension where I can earn more than 100% of my salary and a DROP account that nets me big bucks when I decide to walk away. All supplied by the tax payers of Fairfax County, yet I will sit like the spoiled child I have become a bitch and complain because I have to put my clothes on.........
Why don't you people do yourselves and all of us a favor and quit...go where ever this dream department your little minds have made up and get a job there. We will be better off without your ass and according to your postings so will you.
*snif snif*
I smell a company man.....
Ooops.
snifF snifF
My bad. ;)
Far from a company man Mr spelling. I just happen to be one of those who worked hard to get this job and do it because I love it. With all the problems that we or any fire department face the last person the administration needs advice from is the likes of you and your quick witted disciples.
I smell a company man, whoa! You really took me to the wood shed on that. Not looking for you to jump in and really help fix anything but stopping the bullshit attacks would be a great start for all of us.
To Anonymous 158:
You have to remember we often encourage this type of behavior and sense of entitlement many of these people feel are owed to them... so it's not all their fault. The people who have been here like myself and work in the field (30 years), realize we have a great career and don't take it for granted one day.
A 30 year guy with a positive attitude, and a non-prick like way of looking at things.........how refreshing. Spread that disease brother, we need it.
What happened to the days of showing up and doing our jobs because we loved being firemen?
During "Towering Inferno" we were fireman... now we are firefighters.
Even a dead battalion chief from LA knows that!
Do you guys think I made the right choice in "blowing" that water tank?
Chief McQueen -
I do believe you made the right choice in blowing that water tank. It's a decision that was out of the box and more than likely involved a decision matrix where both life and death were considered.
My question to you, oh - great one, why did you place the explosives at the bottom of the tank as opposed to the sides? I think placing the charges, excuse my military terminology, on the sides may have given you time to escape the inevitable.
Miss you oh great one............
To: June 23, 2011 8:05 AM
Thanks for the vote of confidence... you have to remember this was 1974 and we were running behind budget and never really gave it that much thought. Although, hearing your reply I wish you were on my command staff at the time.
That was a great idea though and could have bought us a little more time, although In all liklihood a very minimal amount.
It's all part of the Recognition Primed Decision Making model... i.e., if it ever happens again I will have something from my "hard drive" to pull out that was successful.
You are definately a forward thinker my friend and a future leader of this department !
Post a Comment