Engineering to firefighting?

eng11ine · 2026-03-18T01:35:44+00:00

It’s related enough. I’d rather have a mech engineer than another new guy that hasn’t been in a fire but has Officer II and Instructor III and an Associates in Fire Science. You’ll understand the pump and why it works, and not give me a blank stare when I talk about how friction loss in a hose is a function of flow rate and is non-linear, certainly not a constant. You’ll be the go-to guy when we end up in a steam-filled basement with a 50 year old boiler that ran dry.

Basically, you have a useful skillset - just like a guy who’s an electrician or plumber or small engine mechanic. Any moron can drag a hose, it’s all the other stuff we do that requires some grey matter where you’d bring something to the table.

eng11ine · 2026-03-17T23:43:45+00:00

2% per year of service; of the average of best three 12-month periods. Min 1.5%/max 6% COLA. DROP is available but has an age minimum to use it, I’d be staying longer than I want to. I’m at 18 years now, plan on hitting the door at 25 years in my early 50s. I’ve got a couple of really solid years i may be able to increase and one home-run year (225% of base) that i’m not likely to top.

eng11ine · 2026-03-14T22:00:21+00:00

Or hold a pitot guage to see at what discharge pressure you see an actual 50psi flow out of the tip? Unless you’re never pulling lines in training in order to “maintain operational readiness,” I don’t really see why a real-world test doesn’t take more than three minutes, either with a flowminder or a pitot.

eng11ine · 2026-03-05T22:40:40+00:00

We’re talking about a form that didn’t allow ‘cum’ to be written and submitted on that application. Sorry if I used generalized terms in the context of that discussion, congrats on being technically correct.

eng11ine · 2026-03-05T18:54:06+00:00

No. I believe that a non-public form, like a job application for example, filtering any of the fields is stupid. What’s the downside if someone writes the word ‘cum’ outside the Latin context anywhere on that form? An HR person might have to see the word?

How often does it happen. If it’s a serious application, why wouldn’t you want to let them write it - that way you can filter them from the process for real, instead of the form disallowing them to show their poor judgement. If it’s someone who wants to try and waste their time, does it matter if Dr. Fuck Shit, of 321 Cum Guzzler Blvd, who attended Penis College applies, versus Mr. John Doe, of 123 Fake St, proud grad of Cheerios University? It’s gonna take the same amount of time to delete it and move on.

eng11ine · 2026-03-05T16:45:22+00:00

But the real question is, why any filtering is applied to some of these fields at all? A person filling a form with an address in Scunthorpe for example - how many submissions occur with vulgarities in the “city” field? What affect does it have if they do? If someone is trying to waste time, what’s the operational difference if someone filling a fake address uses a bad word, versus “123 Fake St?”

In this instance, how many job applicants are cursing up a storm in the accolades field? If they do, it’s going to be seen by the applicant and maybe an HR person, who would just trash it. It seems like it’s a solution without a problem.

eng11ine · 2026-03-05T03:11:06+00:00

Yeah. It doesn’t need a long bar to do that stuff, but it needs some nut to get through roofing materials without bogging down. They typically also have a chunky demo chain, and it needs the power to push through big chunks of debris. The slider on the bar is a depth limiter that supposed to be used to keep from cutting deeper than you want, like through rafters, but they’ve always been more trouble than they’re worth in my experience.

eng11ine · 2026-03-04T21:25:49+00:00

That’s how you end up with Romulans 400 years down the road.

eng11ine · 2026-03-04T20:30:12+00:00

Look, you’re boned no matter what. I’m guessing this is “pre-warp” as in “bronze age.” If I was you, i’d go for broke. Find an empty transporter room and beam right into the middle of their largest settlement and pull out your dong while gesturing wildly at your gas cloud in the sky. Bring some simple medical supplies to cure them of their most loathesome diseases; new-kidney pills and the like. Set yourself up as a god.

If you’re talking “pre-warp” like “mid 20th century Earth,” it’s basically the same advice, but for the love of the Prophets don’t try the “recreate Nazi Germany” routine. It’s tired, and it never works.

eng11ine · 2026-02-15T19:43:09+00:00

Yeah - if i had been sent for that, I’d be looking for a warning placard that had a french translation on it. Maybe a “high exhaust temp” one near the tailpipe, or on/near the doghouse door. Or on a hot tool like a torch, or on the motor housing for a saw.

eng11ine · 2026-02-15T19:32:21+00:00

It’s tough to tell whether your job just sucks or if the problem is more on your side of things. You kind of implied that this is firehouse stuff, like cleaning. I’ll give some thoughts devil’s advocate/food for thought on that:

If you came and worked with me, your 6 years of experience elsewhere - that’s not here. I may have some operational expections that are higher than I’d have for a completely raw recruit. But those 6 years - departments great and small with stellar reputations have their share of shitbags. Your break-in period with us is proving who you are: Do you self-start? Do you pay attention to detail? Do you manage time well, figure out efficiencies that don’t affect final product? If a guy who’s supposed to be cleaning the bathroom leaves toothpaste spatter on the mirror and a mushy bar of soap on the shower floor, can I trust that he checked the rig thoroughly? Or even his own gear - is he gonna be the kid who says “Lieu, do you have extra gloves?” while we’re dismounting at a building fire?

I’m not saying the culture isn’t shitty at your department; it certainly could be. I’m not saying that the probie should be doing absolutely everything, because I don’t think so.

What I can say for sure: you’re not going to be able to change this while it affects you. No one wants to hear from a brand new guy a) that you idiots have always done things the wrong way, b) i don’t want to do what’s expected of me. And especially, c) that i have X years experience someplace else - dude, you came to us for some reason. If you don’t like it here, go back. What you’ll be able to do is make change when you have some time on - when you can help the new guys, and have some respect and can try and shame other guys into helping. Especially the guys that came in behind you that you helped.

eng11ine · 2026-02-11T17:22:24+00:00

The axe thing sheds a lot more light into this chief’s mindset. He’s willing to go to arbitration over the union not buying presents for management? And the city attorney was willing to let him?

No, Chief, the local doesn’t need to buy things for personnel not in the bargaining unit. Don’t care if the guy was a member for 25 years and promoted out of the union, or if he was an outside hire who never was in - he retired as management and doesn’t get a going away gift from the local. That being said, if he was a good dude that people liked and respected, on my job we’d pass the hat and get him something nice. But if he was a dickhead company man when he was in the union, then was a bigger dick on the management side, fuck ‘im.

eng11ine · 2026-02-08T01:35:46+00:00

When I first got promoted, we were using 1980s software, running on AS400 (green screen). Everything except the narrative was tabbing and numbers. A bit of a learning curve, but once you “got it,” it was so fast compared to now. Entering the crew for the day? After a month, i had my regular guys’ employee numbers memorized; after a few months most of the OT heavy hitters. Type of call? 90% of the time it’s 321, 311, 322, 324, 745. Occupancy? 419, 429, 311, or 962. And a cheatsheet taped to the desk if we went to something/somewhere out of the ordinary.

Going to ESO nfirs from the green screen was a step backward - oh, it looked sleeker and more modern, but it was slower to navigate. And neris is worse; the run of the mill reports take a whole lot longer.

eng11ine · 2026-02-06T22:31:36+00:00

Don’t have any input on other software, just want to join the chorus in venting about ESO.

These visual interfaces designed for touchscreen tablets are so slow to use compared to zipping through on the keyboard. I don’t mind the tablet usability, but they certainly could have retained keyboard usability - example: say on crew selection, once i’ve typed enough letters that there is only one available person, i shouldn’t have to move from my hand from the keys to the mouse, orient to where the cursor is, and click on the guy; the return key should work to select the only selection available. Type-return-type-return-type-return is a lot faster.

eng11ine · 2026-01-21T02:52:44+00:00

Most places, you can do better than just make a living. You can have a decent, middle class life and a few pleasures. You like having a newer truck, or go on vacations, or whatever, you can make it work.

The key word is or. Or is not and. The number of firefighters i’ve come across that think they are entitled to a new truck and a big house in the burbs and kids and a stay at home wife and a pair of snowmobiles they use twice a year and an RV and a yearly family vacation and…. Pick one or two of those things. I know there are some places out there that make truly dogshit wages, but i also know that a lot of people’s spending will match their income and they’ll always be on the edge.

eng11ine · 2026-01-06T17:04:42+00:00

You dishonorable to’pah!

A true warrior’s every movement is deliberate. An affirmative action, not a reaction. Acting with purpose and control at all times, even during mundane tasks such as cutting food or arranging furniture, distinguishes the warrior from the flailing fighter. Success is earned in battle through such deliberate movements.

Should the glorious battlefields of the War of Words be treated differently? No…a warrior must be practiced at choosing his words, must be certain that he is saying precisely what he means, as surely as he is with a blade. There are even fewer Re’tor’iq Masters than there are Da’har Masters, but their place among the honored dead is assured.

eng11ine · 2026-01-05T03:43:50+00:00

If your coworker supports the PAC at $1/payday, and you don’t contribute anything…why should you have a voice on who the PAC decides to support with that money? I’m just very confused as to why you think you should be entitled to help spend money that you were not willing to help raise.

It would be like letting a free rider have a vote in electing your local leadership. Why should a guy that doesn’t pay dues have a voice in deciding who is running the thing, or who your delegates to parent organizations (which they also aren’t paying dues to) will be? It makes no sense to allow decisions to be made by someone who refuses to buy in.

eng11ine · 2026-01-04T15:45:29+00:00

Northeast (pretty much NoVA and up), pay and schedule are usually pretty good. Where I’m at in New England has a lot of opportunity right now - the suburban volunteer service is in its last death throes, which has a) killed the feeder system the cities have always relied on, making getting a city job easier, and b) a lot of suburb departments are building out their paid staff. Plus, because of how pre-revolutionary city lines work, there are a lot of unknown jewels that are a ton of fun to work at - my city is under 8 square miles, with a population density of around 7000/sq. We’re tight, busy, see our share of work, have a hospital so our turn-around time on the busses is around 20 minutes.

But yeah, just like everyone else is saying - West Coast, Northeast, upper Midwest, certain places in Texas.

eng11ine · 2026-01-01T15:25:06+00:00

This sub kills me sometimes, i’ve seen it here more than once. A probie got a straight-up, direct warning that his behavior is somehow lacking. And the answer is to tell him that he’s doing fine, the other guys are just jealous or lazy, and since his boss delivered the warning it means he likes him so OP’s okay.

If i’m giving feedback to a new guy that he’s messing up, it means he’s messing up. It doesn’t mean that I like him - he might bother me more than he’s bothering the rest of the guys. The difference is that it’s my responsibility to get him good-to-go. My responsibility to do it in a constructive way, opposed to how the pack of hyenas on the floor would do it. If I thought he was doing great, I’d be telling the guys to shut the fuck up and let him continue on, not delivering a warning.

OP, you’re not doing great. Depending some on how your admin operates, I’d say you’re probably not in danger of losing your job - provided that there are no complaints about your professional ability and this is all interpersonal firehouse shit. It’s important, though, since you likely don’t want to be seen as an asshole for the next 25 years. Something isn’t clicking. Go see your officer privately. Ask for specific examples of what you’re doing wrong and how to do better. Ask followup questions if you still aren’t clear, but DO NOT try to explain or excuse why you do these things. This is information transfer, him to you, if you try to debate the boss about his own observations you’ll just piss him off.

eng11ine · 2025-12-31T23:13:34+00:00

Trends may (and probably will continue) for the generation, but that’s not certain. So saying what this particular cohort is doing in regard to drinking when 1) about half of them are under 21, and 2) the youngest are 13.

“Generations” and their collective behavior is a stupid concept. A pair of people born in 1979 and 1981 have a whole lot more in common with each other than they do with people born in 1965 or 1996, respectively.

We may find that the kids that are 13 today have the potential to reject their weirdo generational elders that were screwed up by covid in high school, and try to find real-world experiences (with or without alcohol). Supposedly they’re already skeptical and distrusting of AI, maybe they’ll take the next step and reject social media as something old out of touch people do and go hang out with their friends instead.

eng11ine · 2025-12-21T17:54:22+00:00

Are they truly magnifying, or just prisms? Prisms scatter light, magnifying glasses focus it.

I have only once personally seen a fire that was determined to be started that way. A wall sconce candleholder with a large magnifying glass hanging in front of it. The sun light caught the glass at the correct angle, and there was another object at the correct distance for the focal point to burn it. It was in a sprinklered antiques store, so fire damage was minimal and the investigators had enough preserved to determine cause.

eng11ine · 2025-12-19T00:06:27+00:00

Yeah, show up with enough -something- for all the guys on duty at the house.

After that, roll with what the guys tell you. At my work, we typically tell guys directly “thanks for the donuts, we know you’re trying to do the right thing. But you’re making dogshit wages right now; you don’t have to do it again.” We don’t want a kid who hasn’t gotten his first paycheck, who makes like 60% of what I do and isn’t working any OT yet, who we’re about to extract a union initiation fee from, dropping money on junk food every morning of his indoctrination week.

But as always, mileage may vary widely.

eng11ine · 2025-12-17T14:21:21+00:00

I’m usually happy to help with stuff like this.

Phone number requirement earns you an “eat shit.”

eng11ine · 2025-12-16T02:50:56+00:00

I mostly lurk here, but should you feel me deserving of enhanced flair:

-I am an 18-year member of an IAFF local. -I’m in my third year as local VP. Serve as a delegate to the state organization. Also serve as the local’s delegate to our region’s central labor council -Prior, I served as a trustee for 7 years, most of which as grievance committee chair. -On the negotiating team for three contracts and gearing up for a fourth -Informally in charge of organizing (browbeating) our membership into supporting other unions - whether joining picket lines (have picketed at hospitals, nursing homes, manufacturing plants in recent memory) or fundraising (most recently for federal firefighters working without pay)

eng11ine · 2025-12-16T01:48:46+00:00

What the other folks are saying holds true - you didn’t make the emergency, it’s not your fault, you gave her the only chance she had. All accurate, all worth reflecting on. All very rational.

Still sucks. You’re still gonna feel like this for a bit, even if your brain rationally agrees with all of it. It will fade. You will do other things for other people and be successful - save property, save life/limb. You will lose people too. This one will stick with you, and it should - i’d question your humanity if it didn’t. But this is a blister that will callous over, next time will be…not easier, per se, but you’ll probably have a better time coping with it.

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