www.thebackdraftmagazine.com | A Volunteer Fire Service Publication | Volume 5 | Issue 1 | Backdraft Magazine 7
I was watching a baseball talk
show the other day. The topic was
"Pretender or Contender." They do
that from time to time to assess the
teams that might actually make the
playoffs (Contender) or those that are
just fooling themselves--and their
fans (pretenders).
We can look at inward at ourselves
to make the same case: Are you a
pretender in the fire service or are you
a Contender?
What's the difference? How can you
tell what you are? There are some
highlights to each.
A Contender is one that goes above and beyond the
minimums. A Contender doesn't care that for the past
four nights they took in a call, this is the fifth night and
a citizen needs their help. A Contender's run counter
starts over every day. A Contender never says, "I did
enough, let someone else do it."
Contenders never get enough of training. A Contender
never looks at the clock and says its 2053, only 7
minutes until it's over. A Contender never looks at the
clock period and at the end of training says that went
by way too fast and I need more on this subject.
A Contender is someone who continuously steps up
and fills in where needed. A Contender wants to do
more than train and go on calls. A Contender wants to
be a part of the citizens they serve.
A Contender never gloats that they are on a fire
department. That same Contender, though, is a proud
member of the team.
On the other hand, a pretender is someone who does
the minimums (or less). A pretender continuously
resets the pager (if it is even on). A pretender makes
excuses to avoid going on "boring" or "those" calls.
A Pretender shows up to training, not because they
want to be there, but because they have to be there
(more than likely from a letter they recently received).
A pretender watches the clock.
A pretender thinks training is supposed to be over at
2100 (and still asks, just the same, "when will it end").
A Pretender thinks they know how the fire department
operates (they might, but from 10 years ago). A
pretender will be among the first to tell you it's all
wrong, but offers no insight on solving the problem.
A pretender is also proud to be on the fire department.
A pretender will tell everyone they know about being
on that fire department. They even wear the shirt all
the time (except on calls) to prove it.
June really starts to sort out the Major League Baseball
Contenders and Pretenders. Where are you and your
fire department on sorting out your Contenders from
your pretenders?
I don't have to ask for any of you to look inward and
ask which you are. You already know. The best part
is that you have a much better chance at becoming a
Contender than some of these MLB teams do.
Contender
pretender
By David Bullard