Why Is It A "Good Job"

[x635 4,066]

It seems like after some departments have a job, any and every job, several members get on here and post comment after comment patting themselves on the back, with a one-line comment like "Good Job/Great Work By All" and "Great Stop". Rarely do these members say why it was a good job or good stop. Obviously, those comments that don't provide any information as to why get deleted,as previously discussed.

What I'm curious is, why is it a "good job". Who can really make that call to say "Good Job"? Just because a fire goes out, is it a good stop?

Yeah, maybe it was a good job. You saw fire, you worked together, and you put the fire out. Isn't that what you are there to do? If you presented a video of the complete incident to a panel of peers or experts in the field, would they say good job too? Experience counts too. How can a member that's only been to a couple of fires comment on it being a good job by all? And why do numerous people from a select department insist on posting in mass "Good work by all" type comments after every single job?

Personally, I'd rather be saying to myself after every job "How can I do it better next time" or "What do you think of this?" or reading/brushing up on some of the techniques I used or situations I encountered. . It's nice that some members have so much pride in their company and come in here and display that....but feed your- and others- knowledge, not your egos.

Sorry for the rambling.

[IzzyEng4 427]

In my opinion a good job would be the following.

1. The departmentstopped the fire before any major damage to the property occured.

2. there was no life saftey hazard or lives were saved from a structure before any injury occured.

3. All company woredk together to acchieve the goals of saving life and property.

4. And I have to say this in caps. NOT FIREFIGHTER INJURIES OCCURED ONTHE SCENE.

[Guest]

It seems like after some departments have a job, any and every job, several members get on here and post comment after comment patting themselves on the back, with a one-line comment like "Good Job/Great Work By All" and "Great Stop". Rarely do these members say why it was a good job or good stop. Obviously, those comments that don't provide any information as to why get deleted,as previously discussed.

What I'm curious is, why is it a "good job".  Who can really make that call to say "Good Job"? Just because a fire goes out, is it a good stop?

Yeah, maybe it was a good job. You saw fire, you worked together, and you put the fire out. Isn't that what you are there to do? If you presented a video of the complete incident to a panel of peers or experts in the field, would they say good job too?  Experience counts too. How can a member that's only been to a couple of fires comment on it being a good job by all? And why do numerous people from a select department insist on posting in mass "Good work by all" type comments after every single job?

Personally, I'd rather be saying to myself after every job "How can I do it better next time" or "What do you think of this?" or reading/brushing up on some of the techniques I used or situations I encountered. .  It's nice that some members have so much pride in their company and come in here and display that....but feed your- and others- knowledge, not your egos.

Sorry for the rambling.

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Wow...you read my mind. Could not have said it any better myself.

[xfirefighter484x 234]

Personally, I'd rather be saying to myself after every job "How can I do it better next time" or "What do you think of this?" or reading/brushing up on some of the techniques I used or situations I encountered. .  It's nice that some members have so much pride in their company and come in here and display that....but feed your- and others- knowledge, not your egos.

Sorry for the rambling.

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I think that it is all relative to the situation. Sometimes, different situations dictate different perceptions of "good" or "doing well". As was brought up by someone else in a previous post, the most important thing I see is:

1. Everyone got to the scene safe and sound

2. The situation was prevented from getting any worse, and was kept to a minimum.

3. Everyone made it home safe and sound.

A generally accepted statistic brought up in my college classes are that 25% of all FF fatalities are from responding to, and returning from an incident, a scary statistic if you ask me. I am sure most people would think that actual fireground operations are more dangerous these days, while they are, response can be just as, if not even more dangerous. Even less (maybe only reported ones at least) injuries are from the actual operations at an incident.

Stay safe out there guys. Remember, you are #1 in the safety out there. While we strive to help the public, we have to take precautions and help protect ourselves, first and foremost!! You did not cause the incident (hopefully not at least), you are there to help. You cannot help someone else if you are incapable of keeping yourself safe.

Edited February 16, 2006 by xfirefighter484x

[gss131 212]

I think anytime you can knock it down with minimal extension all the while keeping it an offensive operation is a good stop,indicates operations working well.Also the conditions found on arrival may make it a good stop, numerous buildings involved, non standpipe long stretch ,frozen hydrants,etc,etc .the ability to adapt to situation and resolve in timely manner and keep damage to minimum=good stop.

Edited February 16, 2006 by gss131

[Guest]

Ok just a few thoughts here, 1st off I can think of 2 departments that come to mind where I see members of their own department jumping on the board immediately after the fire and saying great job this and good job that one of those buildings went to the ground, and then the other department I speak of had several issues go tacitly wrong during firefighting operations and the house was several damaged. My question is if your there or a member of your own company why are you patting your self on the back? what has happened to the modesty of this job being cocky and having pride in your department is one thing but I as a Firefighter much rather have the praise and congrats come form fellow members in the fire service who are creditable people pat me on the back be it in person or on the website. its honestly some what disgusting, yea we all seek a pat on the back, but it means 10 times more coming form a fellow member of service who may be watching a particular job or listening or even on scene as a M/A company. lets face it with this site there are often a good number of members of this board there working or buffing that are not from the host department. Why don't we get a little modesty on this board and stop being immature babies who want to pat our selves on the back because we burnt down a building. Also its a given on can only face what the encounter on arrival, be it heavy fire, or water problems but the bottom line is lets cut the crap and be professional even on this site, because like many people have said we should all be professional wither career or volunteer we represent department and should be professional when ever we are in the publics eye. Which is always,...

Edited February 16, 2006 by Engine Co

[Guest BrotherFF]

I agree! I like coming on this site to read about what happened at the job, not 10 or more members from one company saying what a great job they did, and nothing more.

[gss131 212]

i,m only giving my definition of what constitutes a "good Job" ,not the who or why they post. i thought that was the question for the thread,guess i misread it.

[firemoose827 324]

*I think its stupid that you are all arguing about this. A department goes out to a call, puts out the fire and like so many have already said no one gets hurt, they did a good job. If they want to "strut their own feathers" than let them. Its a free country and I dont think its hurting anyone. If you are tired of reading about it, than dont, its a free country, no where in this site does it say "You have to read EVERY post." Come on guys, lets just get along and let everyone state their opinions without getting jumped on and embarrassed, thats what this site is for, to express yourself to fellow fire and EMS people. Hey. at least they didnt get into a fist fight over anything.

Lots of love out there...everybody smile and be happy ...it could be worse...at least they werent staring at a foundation going "Yah man, like, good fing stop man!!!" Hey, sorry all, had a bad year so far, lets just hug and make up. Are we still a BROTHERHOOD? This was just to make people smile and take a deep breath. Everyone stay safe, watch each others backs. Peace.

[gss131 212]

i dont recall anybody arguing

[pcfd64 1]

x635

I'm from one of those Depts you reference and couldn't agree w/ you more! There are really only 2 things that count:

a) did you (as an indvidual, then as a Company and then as a Dept) do your best at the incident?

If I know I did my best (regardless of the outcome) no one can ask for more.

The only other compliment that counts can only come from a 3rd party, like a Chief Officer/IC or from a brother who saw your work and can say 'Thanks, nice job!'

I'll take either or both of those any day over the 'pat yourself on the back' comments!

PCC

[Guest tfd193]

funny....none of the members from those un-named departments who are being spoken of have been able to post a reason for this...

[Guest]

Brothers and sisters

I think it is very important after a fire or emergency to critique the entire operation. I believe this should be done by THOSE who operated on the scene. It would be great for the Chief and company officers to get together and sit everyone down the next day and say...OK How did we do and where can we do better? In todays day and age, where fires are fewer and far between, it is so needed for us to come together and learn after each and every job! By no way is this to belittle anyone, just pure and utter honesty... What's our GOAL ? ...To preserve life and property...and make sure we make it Home to our families.

I think this approach will determine....Good Job or Hey we need improvement in a certain area!

Stay Safe

[tjd1012 5]

would you rather someone say"bad job" or "nice try at a stop"?

[x635 4,066]

would you rather someone say"bad job" or "nice try at a stop"?

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No.

The best are often the quietest.

Again, as stated above, the point I am trying to make is that I, like other members, read the threads in this forum for additional information about the job, from the members who were at the scene or have factual firsthand information about the job. Like has been said, I don't come to this forum to read post after post after post with one line saying "Good Job" or "We Rule". This forum ain't provided for members to "strut their feathers", and vice versa, criticize departments. It's for the exchanging of information. We want to know WHY it was a great job by all, and what happened at the incident.

As far as the notion that it's a good job because firefighter were safe and don't get hurt, I disagree with that. That's what SUPPOSED to happen, every time, isn't it? At times, can't it be just luck that no one got hurt???

Sometimes, I think egos can be our enemy. When you have members, especially younger ones with less experience, thinking they did a great job at every fire they go to, and that they "rule", can the confidence and complacency level that breeds become a danger?

What is a good job to me? One where I learned or taught something, and one where my team or I made a clear, positive impact in someones life. But, I digress.

So, it's not so much about the department doing a good job....it's about the egos that come with it and the gang of posts on here about it. The best are often the quietest.

I end this post with my original question- Why is it a "good job".....don't just tell us it was, tell us why!!

Edited February 16, 2006 by x635

[Guest SQUADco119]

If i come on here and say good job i mean it and im sure others do. All the fires ive been to and came on here to say they or we did a good job is becuase they/we did. Take ossining for example the last couple of fires they had they had textbook knockdowns even a few life saves and alot of property saves. I just used them as an example cuase we go there alot and when your standing by watching it all unfold you can see alot. Granted every call and fire is a challenge we all know if you put water on a fire it will eventually go out but the question is, what you do with the water your tactics your way of operations how you go about attacking and overcoming the challenge. Every job is different and you bring a great point 635 from now on when we as posters on emt brav say its a good knock down or a good job we should say why we think that but i think that we should also in a way with out critisizing be allowed to post construtive thinking and observation materials that we see that arent always safe etc as well, thats how we learn! Good topic!!!!

[cas2383 22]

Hearing good job and saying hey we worked well together on that one is a lot better for morale. And yes incident critiques are also important, but just remember to compliment for the good instead of just harping on the bad. Work to fix mistakes, work to win good praise of your peers and supervisors for a job well done.

Edited February 17, 2006 by cas2383

[Guest]

No fire is good!!!!!!!! Property is lost, people may be hurt, and lives are disrupted. Same thing as saying "good MVA" or a "good cardiac arrest."

This point of view is extremely strange; however, almost everyone says it. Fire and EMS are strange entities. We flourish on other's misfortunes. Not because we wish harm on others, but because that is why we train and why we exist.

Saying "good job" is slang. However, if you really think people having fires and getting hurt is literally "good" you are literally crazy

[vfd2482 0]

1st off my idea of a good job is

1 - when everyone got back to the firehouse safe and sound.

2 - any time the fire is contained to the room of origin or building if it was fully involved upon arrival.

3 - EVERY time a rescue is made!!

No fire is good!!!!!!!! Property is lost, people may be hurt, and lives are disrupted. Same thing as saying "good MVA" or a "good cardiac arrest."

This point of view is extremely strange; however, almost everyone says it. Fire and EMS are strange entities. We flourish on other's misfortunes. Not because we wish harm on others, but because that is why we train and why we exist.

Saying "good job" is slang. However, if you really think people having fires and getting hurt is literally "good" you are literally crazy

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victor, talking about "a good one" like you refer to is not what everyone is posting about. thats a subject for another topic some other day.

[firemoose827 324]

Actually, I believe everyone has the right to come on this site and state their opinions on any topic, which is one of the points I was trying to make. I agree also that maybe they could state WHY they did a good job so we can all learn from mistakes and good tactics. This site is here to help everyone learn, and provide a nice forum for EMS And Firefighters to chat and swap stories and tactics, and warn of certain hazards, ect. I enjoy this site and hope it continues to provide a forum for us ALL to talk about different topics and be able to get advice and criticism from our fellow firefighters/EMS providers. I have 17 years experience yet I am always open to criticism and advice from anyone.

Good post, it generates lots of discussion.

Have a Great Day!

Jonesy

[Oswegowind 17]

Maybe they are just excited that they got to fight a fire and that is all they care about..."good job"-- meaning, we got a fire and I got to go out and put water on it...

Like said already...no fire is "good", unless you are looking for insurance money and you don't get caught or are an arsonist and you burn a building to the ground

I don't know how many of the people posting on this information exchange actually own a home and have to pay all the bills and work constantly on making their home theirs, but I know damn well that I don't want my house to burn in any way...and if i saw someone brag that it was a good job...well i would be pretty pissed off about it...

A good job is the fire dept that prevents the most fires in their district by educating the people that live there and answering home owners questions...Why can't a dept live with a truck one more year if they can use some of the money to buy smoke detectors and extinguishers and show their protectees how to use them and make sure that all homes in their district have them? So the next time they are cooking and make a mistake their house does not burn down and some member of this board gets on and says...great job by all!

[firemn23 8]

I understand what alot of people are trying to say and do agree, but fires and mva's is what our job is to do. If I was a cop and solved a crime with hardwork and teamwork, efficently and quickly should someone not tell me good job, because someone lost something? But i should not be struting around tell everyone I did a good job it should be for my peers to tell me. I do think it has gone over board lately, it seems that every time there is a fire someone says good job, it makes it has been used so much that i don't even read them anymore.

[Guest SQUADco119]

Ok first let me clear things up, i think what most of us mean by good job and what this thread defines is when we are saying good job we atleast from my stand point believe and hope others mean the saying the same way, when i say good job basically i mean a welll run operation a kick a** knockdown etc you get my drift if you dont i dont know what to tell ya. Of course 13victor we all know fire and all types of calls we do suck cuase it means someone is in need of help and are sufffering wether it be property loss, tragic death, injuries anything, but saying we did a good job or they did to me that means you see something positive out of that whole mess and chaos. I and we should wish harm on nobody and yes if you do then your just Fu****g loopy and need help mentaly but i dont think thats what this topic is asking, good job could also mean that it was really ripping or it was really a bad pin like an oxymoron, like 13 victor said just a slang some of us use. As long as we do it for the right reasons thats all that matters if your in this service to just get your kicks and jollies off of someone else suffereing than you dont deserve to be in this service let alone be allwoed to live amongst society.