Chaplains

[RES20CUE 40]

Are there any departments in Westchester that have Chaplains who respond to major alarms?

I don't mean Lay Chaplains or members of the Department, I mean a Chaplain who is not a firefighter.

If you do, how are they identified? Do you issue them turn-out gear to be able to cross the Fire Line if needed?

[Guest x901]

Yonkers Fire has one..... last seen at the Elm Street Fire.

[BFD1054 1,552]

We (Buchanan) have a FD chaplain who is a reverend & not a firefighter. He is however, a member of our Fire Police. I do not believe he is issued specific turn-out gear, but he is issued a white Cairns 1010 helmet with a "Chaplain" leather shield. He usually responds to major incidents, but usually coincidentally because he is a Fire Police member. He is a great guy and an excellent asset to the firehouse. Within the past 2 years or so, we have had some real bad fires and have gone mutual-aid to many other bad fires, some of which have been fatals. He was, and continues to be, concerned and supportive of our firefighters, especially some of the newer/younger guys. He has attended debriefings after fires and has always made himself available for those wishing to talk to somebody. I think Chaplains are an excellent resource in the fire department, but are sometimes overlooked.

[WAS967 97]

Another resource that is often overlooked is the CISD (Critical Incident Stress Debriefing) teams. All too often the macho mentality comes out and people would rather bottle it up than to talk things over. Or worse, go drown thier stress in a bar somewhere. We all work in a very tressful field, and the only way to keep from becomming overwhelmed is to control that which seeks to control us.

[Guest BrotherFF]

Do you feel the new CISD team concepts are making the Chaplain role obsolete, or pushing them out of the way? I do, I still think there is a need, and quite a different need and role....for both

[WAS967 97]

I think chaplains have a very important role, regardless of the CISD. In a perfect world, I would love to see Chaplains be a PART of the CISD, and in some places, I am sure they are. Any time a CSID team is deployed to a debrief, there are at least two people, a peer and a mental health person. I'm sure that adding a person of faith, especially for departments with a large contingency of members of a particular faith, would be useful.

[Guest pentax02839]

I agree I thnk chaplains should be part of the CISD team

[RES20CUE 40]

Guys,

I think the CISM teams are great too, but I'm looking for what other departments do for thier chaplains as far as fireground turn-out gear goes. This is a fireground operations question here, not about CISM teams. Thanks for your inputs.

[1075thebox 1]

Croton used to have a local church priest serve as the Dept. Chaplain. He had a badge and from what I recall, I believe he also had gear. Unfortunatly, he was busier doing "unlawful" things then answering fire calls. He is no longer affiliated with CFD or the church...... ](*,)

[tbendick 27]

http://www.nycfire.net/yonkers5al/pages/DS...SC06903_JPG.htm

Yonkers Chaplain on scene of a fire (In black coat)

http://www.nycfire.net/eastchester/Eastche...r/DSC04809.html

Eastchester Caplain on scene of a house fire

I can say that they both are out there and respond. Yonkers I think goes on like a 3rd and above and Eastchester I have seen at small W/F's.

[WAS967 97]

Not being n the fire service, I'm not familiar, but what is the duty of a chaplain on a fire scene?i

[RES20CUE 40]

Chaplains can have numerous duties on the fireground.

They act as a first line of the CISM.

They give last rights to those in need or request- civilian or firefighter

They can act as a first line for the Red Cross, in assisting with family losses.

They assist with rehab, in just being a friend and someone who will listen.

Chaplains have been around as long as the fire service itself. In fact, for those that don't already know this- the first listed fatality for the FDNY on 9/11 was FDNY Chaplain, Father Mychael Judge.

I'm sure there are many other duties that they do, but thats all I can think of right now.

[WAS967 97]

I don't think I'll ever forget casualty #0001 of 9/11. There is already talk about miracles being attributed to Father Mike.