The New Guy

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JFLYNN: Now, maybe we should talk about what makes a good junior man, because we can have the best Officers and senior men in the world, but if the guy or guys at the bottom and in the middle don't do their job and just want to blame their own bad attitudes and work ethic on those above them, all the best intentions of the bosses and senior men are useless.....

New firefighters should understand that their "rep" begins in probie school, or even earlier. It will arrive at the firehouse BEFORE you do.

We had a running joke for years in one of our firehouses. One of the greatest senior men we ever had, Fran Hannigan (may he rest in peace) was working the new day with another legend, past union president, Don Pinto. Bobby F. and I worked the night shift and the news was out that we had hired a few new guys. One of them was a baseball player that many of us already knew from being such a standout ballplayer in Tuckahoe.

Bobby says "So what's up with the new guys?" to Frannie when he came in that morning. He responds with a "well I know Joey....." to which Bobby and I start laughing because that's exactly what we had said to each other. All three of us already knew this athelete coming aboard. Then Donnie comes in and the same routine goes down, to the word. Now three of us are laughing and we tell Donnie, so four of us are laughing. Bobby and I still laugh about that morning. It was so Abbott and Costello-ish. The point being, this guy didn't even get to probie school and he already had a reputation.

I always looked forward to meeting the probies, as a fireman or later as an officer. Either way, the knowledge they would bring from probie school was invaluable. The good probie knows how to teach new techniques to firefighters who have seen years of fire duty, but haven't had the opportunity to learn the latest and greatest coming out of the schools. He/she knows how to demonstrate or talk about new techniques without coming off like he has every answer in the world.

We know you've just learned the latest improvements, but we did get by for fifty years using a Bowline on a Bite, so when you start rigging those quadruple, figure eight, sow-cow, triple toe loop knots on a rope; we're impressed so long as YOU know that WE still know what we're doing; isn't that kind of the unspoken word?

He grabs the mop, plunges his hands in the sink after supper without being asked or told, offers to do more; all without becoming overbearing. He knows when to go sit and listen, just like a good senior man or officer will. He'll jump out onto the apparatus floor with all the enthusiasm of a high-school gymnist, and start doing the apparatus and equipment checks at 0800.

As the days turn into weeks and months, this member will be consistently found carrying out the same actions. You can always tell the good ones, when after a couple of months he still has members standing around wanting to hear what else he has to say. Ah, you think, another good senior man in the making.

And after a year and a day, and his probation is complete, he comes to work with the same fresh attitude, and continues his good ways. He'll be on committees doing the extras that make a good fireman even better.