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Fall FF1 Graduation - The Wagontown Fire Company
Thursday, December 15, 2011

Thursday, December 15th, 2011, members of the Cochranville Fire Company attended the fire training graduation for the fall of 2011. Cochranville Fire Company members graduating were Cole Burkhart, Chris Kauffman and Josh Kauffman. This ceremony at the Wagontown Fire Company began with Chester County Fire Training Coordinator, Jeff Groves, giving an introduction. Opening remarks were given by Director of Chester County’s Department of Emergency Services, Ed Atkins. The guest speaker of the night was President of the Chester County Fire Chiefs’ Association, Raymond Stackhouse. Raymond is also a lifetime member of the Cochranville Fire Company and Past Chief of the Parkesburg Fire Company. He gave an inspiring speech: "It is an honor to be up here tonight. Having the opportunity to speak in front of my peers, friends, many of my mentors seated behind me and the new graduates is also quit humbling. These are very interesting times for the fire service, and more than a little disconcerting. Manpower is at an all time low, new materials are being introduced into the interior environment of homes – ones that burn faster, reach flashover quicker and light weight construction with early structural collapse are potential killers. We are running fewer calls, we have less time to devote to the service and the risks facing us may be greater than they have been in a decade. But probably the biggest concern, in my opinion, is a growing overall attitude of complacency. Complacency; Webster's dictionary defines complacency as" self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies. Let me use myself as an example. Over the last few years I have had to take a long hard look at my commitment to the fire service and what that means to me as a result of some possible medical concerns (thankfully unfounded) and a training incident in which my performance was more than lacking. The reality is that I was just "going through the motions, just playing fireman instead of being a fireman." My physical conditioning, while thinking I was relatively healthy and in shape, was more "go to the gym and workout just because" and my training was more "what class should I attend based on the town it was in." Bottom line, the realization that I am absolutely no good to anyone as an interior firefighter if not physically, mentally and emotionally prepared set in – I had become complacent. As a result I began to make changes in my commitment to training, exercise program and overall attitude toward the fire service. The next thing was to begin looking at those seated around me on the fire truck and ask; "could this person save the customer we are going to serve and just as important, can they save me if I need them to?" Wow, what a wakeup call that can be! Ask yourself this question next time you step onto that rig to respond to a run, but I caution you, do this only after you take a look at yourself first. If the answer to the above question is no, the fix is not to get off the apparatus, ridicule or yell; and it certainly is not getting rid of the already declining manpower we have. What I am advocating is promoting individual awareness and change, encouraging a new attitude, one that cares about physical conditioning, commitment to training and emotional stability one individual at a time. We all have very busy lives and our time has become more and more precious to us, I can appreciate and support that. However, whether you have acknowledged it or not, when you put on that gear you chose to make a commitment to the community and the fire company you joined. Now that commitment in terms of actual time spent at the station can vary; it is your prerogative, but that commitment to being able to, actually possessing the physical and mental ability to do the job, should not be left up to interpretation. You can either do it or you cannot. Would anyone question the amount of time a doctor is required to go to school, the annual firearms training police are required to attend or the continuing education requirements of EMTs & Paramedics? Is your life, be it citizen customer or fellow firefighter, any less precious during a fire than it is when you need one of those services? Since when did it become ok to expect any less of those that are supposed to be able to protect your lives and property from the effects of fire? It is high time that we, as a group, stop the unsafe and unfair practice of acting like just because we are mostly volunteers that are commitment to training and providing the service that is expected of us is any less important than the expectations we have of other professionals! Let me be clear, I am not suggesting that we get rid of, or refuse membership to, anyone that wants to volunteer their time. There is truly room for everyone in the fire service, BUT we need to start acknowledging that not everyone can be an interior firefighter, drive a fire truck or cut someone out of a vehicle AND for those who want to; they need to be held accountable to assure they can mentally, physically and emotionally! The men and woman seated before you tonight have taken steps toward this change, committing the most precious commodity they have to you, the customer they serve and the brothers and sisters seated beside them; their time to train! They have just completed many hours of standardized training that will be the foundation of everything they do from today forward. They have my admiration, respect and true thanks for taking on that responsibility. It is now up to them to be leaders of a change in attitude, individual examples of commitment to training and being the best they can be. This change will not happen overnight, nor will it occur all at once. Changes in attitude and behavior take individual commitment and occurs one person at a time; I challenge each one of them to be that person. In closing, let me say congratulations to the graduating class. I look forward to having the honor of working with you in the field and just as importantly, on the training ground. Thank you and stay safe." Starting with the firefighter 1 graduation, Instructor John DeMarco, shared comments about the class. Class spokesperson, Cadet Lindsay, had the opportunity to give a speech. Followed by presentation of the certificates and the class cadet award. New fire fighters then stated the fire fighter oath. A fire officer 1 class also had to present certificates. This was done by Instructor Latta White. Lastly, Chester County Fire Training Certification Leader, Maureen Giunta, presented an award to the Lionville Fire Company for becoming 100% certified. Closing comments for the night were provided by Jeff Groves. Thank you to Belfor for providing refreshments for the night. Congratulations to the Lionville Fire Company for becoming 100% certified and to all the members that passed fire fighter 1! ***Please check out our multimedia tab for a few clips of this event***