What kind of message are we sending with this?

[AFS1970 504]

INDIANAPOLIS -- The National Fallen Firefighters' Foundation has filed suit to protect its "Everyone Goes Home" copyright and domain.

The measure was taken against Fire & Emergency Training Network (FETN) that has produced a training program entitled "Everybody Goes Home".

Read the full story here: NFFF Sues FETN Over Everyone Goes Home Name

I just read this news story and had to wonder if this sends the right message to our service. If the goal of such programs really is to educate and to increase safety, why is it so important who owns what catch phrase? My department is just wrapping up a Firefighter 1 class, and throughout the class we have preached the message that the goal is for everyone to go home to thier families at the end of every fire. I never thought that such a concept was owned by anyone other than the fire service as a whole.

While I am not a huge fan of the various commercial training enterprises that have cropped up, I do understand them. The Fire Service is allot better off than my career of Public Safety Communications is in the regard. In communications almost all training above the basic mandates is private sector pay as you go. In the fire service there are at least state and county agencies that subsuduze advanced training. Then there are the private training companies, many of which have a very good product. Then there are the various foundations and associations that seek to put on low cost training for the brothers becaue increasing knowledge and safety is (or at least should be) the ultimate goal.

But when one training entity, especially a non-profit foundation, sues another over ownership of a class title that we should all be doing out best to spread throughout the fire service as a timeless concept, I have to wonder what message we collectively send here. Is the goal about who owns what, who can make the most off of our fellow firefighters, or is the goal that in reality everyone (or everybody) should go home?

Edited April 14, 2008 by BFD182

[ny10570 745]

They spend a lot of time and money developing their programs and videos. When people like these programs and refer others to them, they want to know the referrals are going to the right place so the money will be pumped into their program to enable them to produce more material. and by the way, the public barely notices what goes on with us until they're calling. The only radar this story is going to pop up on is here.

[AFS1970 504]

This is the only radar I am concerned with, as this is really a non-issue to the general public. I would just hate to see that firefighter safety is more about marketing than it is about firefighters. We all own our own survival, and in that regard we are our brother's keepers.

[IzzyEng4 427]

The problem lies with when the term was used by FETN, before or after NFFF started using it. Plus in the FF/EMS.PD world this could cause confusion with people thinking both firms are related.