Robert Verhelst

The complexity of emergency responses often relies on experience and the support of other teams.
 
Transcript: "Is a great question in. It's always hard to pinpoint an exact situation, but I think one of the things that always comes into play as car accidents and extrication from car accidents, is it's the amount of experience that you have to be able to understand how to get into a car that's either on its side or on its roof or is dented in and damaged so much that you have to make alternative route. It's to be able to get in there and I'm sure there's a lot of different aspects within complex responses. Every single fire that we go into as a complex response because you don't know the exact layout of the building, you don't know the exact location of the fire. And so a lot of times the complexity of emergency responses relies on our experiences and also on the same point are teams that are no right next to us."

The goals of the fire department are to provide the best service to their community in times of need. This means showing up each day and doing as much as possible to be a part of the success of the fire service, transferring knowledge to the next generation, and doing the job to the best of one's ability.
 
Transcript: "So the goals of the fire department they range because you have the administrative goals, then you have the special team goals and then you have station goals and then you have your personal goals. And I think for myself, it's it's showing up each day and doing as much as I can to be a part of the success of the fire service and transferring whatever knowledge. I have to the Next Generation. I know that every single day isn't like that and I'm sure every single Person that's out there. That's been in the career long time. They understand that there's, there's days that you're not at your best, but you're still going out there. Pushing the envelope to get. The goals of the fire department, which are to support your community and provide the best service in the time of need. When other people need you, and I think whether whether you're a volunteer department or a big career department or your wildland firefighter, or you're in the military as a firefighter, The same goal applies is that you're going to do the job to your best ability in that moment? We're all human, but the goals don't change. We get out there and we do something that most people wouldn't want to do."

The biggest threat to public safety is ourselves, and we have to take responsibility for our own safety by being diligent in looking out for things that are out of the ordinary, following safety protocols, and adding more positivity and productivity.
 
Transcript: "This is an interesting question because I think you're going a lot of different perspectives on this of. What do you see as the biggest threat to Public Safety in our community? And how do you dress it? I think our biggest threat is ourselves. We have to be diligent in looking at things around us and making sure to identify those things around us, that we may see as troubling or we may see as something that is out of the ordinary. You know, see something say, something is probably one of the biggest things in public, safety. The other thing is just to be diligent in your own space at home and at work with following the safety Protocols, are there for a reason we developed them through trial and error and somebody did something wrong to make sure that somebody in the future doesn't do something even worse. So I think the biggest threat is ourselves and so we just added to be diligent and getting more positivity and productivity."

I would love to have dinner with Mike Rowe because he is a champion of blue collar workers and has shed light on the importance of their work. It would be great to hear his perspective on what he sees in the trades, why people get into them, and where he believes they are headed.
 
Transcript: "I love this question. Who would I pick to have dinner with and why? I would love to have dinner with Mike Rowe. I think he has put forth the effort to bring to light all of the blue-collar workers, all of the people on the front lines, and what their job entails and how our society is able to function the way it is because of individuals who have taken that step and done the dirty work. I think that's so important to understand and so valuable. The trades are having less people in them. We're having less people be volunteer firefighters. I think it would be so awesome to sit down with Mike Rowe and be able to have that conversation of what has he seen? What has he been able to uncover with the workers of why they got into it, how they're doing right now, and where he sees everything going? Plus, it would just be a great conversation. I love dirty jobs."

The mindset needed to constantly learn and grow throughout your career is one of humbleness, growth, and continual improvement. Be humble about mistakes and proud of where you are and where you can get to, and always look for ways to get better.
 
Transcript: "What do you think the mindset needed to constantly learn and grow throughout your career? I think it's two things. It's one is a growth mindset of constantly looking at things and understanding that you're going to be good at things and you're going to constantly have to adapt because the dynamic situation of our job is so ever-changing, obviously, because not all two incidents or accidents or situations are the same. And so being able to go into it with a humbleness as well is so critical, not thinking that you know everything because as soon as you think you know everything, something's going to come at you and you're not going to be ready for it or you're not going to be flexible enough to be able to adapt to it. So making sure that you're humble in your career, but at the same time with a growth mindset, always looking for that little thing of whether you're going into a fire and nozzle positioning, how to advance a hose line better, how to ventilate a roof better. There's always going to be certain things that you can take little pieces of and make better. It's no different than any kind of personal development. That's how we get better is taking little pieces of what we learn and applying it to what we're good at and continually striving to be better at it. Be humble to your mistakes, but at the same time be proud of where you are and where you can get to."

A fire engine is the vehicle used for water supply and fire attacks, while a fire truck is the one used for ventilation, search and rescue, elevator rescues, and extrication.
 
Transcript: "This is a great question and my son would know exactly what the answer is because a fire engine and a fire truck. So a fire truck is the one that does the ventilation and as the ladders on it as the aerial ladder, it is the truck crew in essence, they will do search and rescue within buildings. Will do the ventilation on the buildings? They are the ones that do elevator rescues. They are also the ones that have the tools that you call the jaws of life that are Cutters and spread. Has for any kind of car accidents extrication, 's and then you have the fire engine. The fire engine is your source for water. It is your source with the hoses on it. They are the ones that are going to be putting out the fire from the interior from the exterior. If you're doing a defensive but they're the ones that are going to be running the show for any of your water supply and your fire attack. Some actually, some of our ladder trucks in the city actually have water on them as well as hoses for Or attack, but a lot of cities in the country. Actually run it. As a truck company is a truck company and you do ventilation you do search, you do extrication, and that is your job, and you're really good at it. So that's the difference between a fire engine and a fire truck."