Complacency: A Dangerous Job As A Firefighter

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The truth about complacency
Being a firefighter is a dangerous job as everyone knows. There are many challenges that firefighters face every day. Sometimes firefighters don’t always keep up with themselves. I am talking about complacency. Complacency is something firefighters have been challenged with in the past and will continue to face as their time in the fire service continues. What is complacency? How does it affect firefighters and those around them? How can firefighters avoid or prevent complacency? How will complacency affect their future? These are major topics that have relevant in the past and a continuing problem we will face in the future.
The definition of Complacency is self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness
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It is unclear how many lives are lost because of complacency, however approximately one hundred firefighters die every year in the line of duty and without a doubt complacency plays some sort of role to this happening. Firefighters are by no means perfect. “They have short-comings just like other mortals. Some common sins include complacency toward maintenance” (lake, 2012). This is a challenge that has arisen in the past and that will continue because of a mindset that needs to be broken, which is maintenance of your gear. This is difficult because of the persona that firefighters think they have to uphold and how it makes them look. “We maintain the fallacy of “the blackest PPE makes me the coolest firefighter in the fire department”” (Kirby, 2010). There have been numerous studies that suggest that this is untrue and a contributing factor like complacency is to blame, this is sad because sometimes because of that complacency firefighters may be at risk of injuring themselves or those around them when they themselves become a victim because of faulty gear maintenance. Maintenance does not always apply to a firefighter’s gear, it may also apply to a firefighters training and knowledge skills. Skills along with knowledge as everyone knows are perishable over time. Over the years many departments have had budget cuts this is a fact. One of the first things that get …show more content…
Some ways to help combat complacency are being surrounded by those who are goals oriented individuals, people who are aware of the negative that being complacent brings. “Complacency would be misplaced in an environment which is increasingly competitive and performance orientated” (McGregor, 2013). This is not only true, but also very hard to do when your gear is not kept up and uniforms are not in pristine condition and cared for. Another combative to complacency and laziness is keeping up to date by reading scholarly journals and periodicals about your job or perhaps the job above yours will always pay off in the long run, when either it comes time to promote or skills are being tested. Those that are not complacent will always shine through in the end and may end up getting that position or rank above others. Complacency has affected the past, it affects the present and it will affect the future unless actions are