001: What is a Senior Man?
What makes you a Senior Firefighter? Is it tenure? Experience? A self-proclamation or the officer’s designation? Maybe in select cases it could be. But what truly makes a Senior Firefighter isn’t simply an objective trait or statistic. It comes from what is between the ears, and the character, values and intentions one demonstrates.
We are living in a Fire Service where the "Senior Firefighter” is becoming younger and younger. And more commonly it seems a switch flips one day when the tenured tailboard promotes or retires and suddenly the Senior Man duties fall to a younger crew member who may struggle to understand the expectation of him or herself. I know because I was that firefighter once. My mentor and friend; the last Senior Man had moved to a different company and suddenly the expectation to fill his shoes inadvertently fell to me.
As a young “Senior Man” I struggled at first. I was already the motivator and hype man; initiating training and building up the crew. What I lacked was experience having the hard conversations and truly mentoring someone. I understood what it meant to be the Senior Man and the example which had previously been set in regard to what an informal leader does was clear. But the rough road for me came when most crew members were naturally looking to me to be that informal leader they needed and expected, while one other individual with a personal grudge sought to destroy my reputation and pit the crew against me for his own selfish gain. This is another topic to address another time, yet I mention it because it ended up helping me mature and grow in ways I would’ve never predicted; in the end building a stronger bond between myself and my crew today.
The “Senior Man” isn’t just announced or hand picked. And while there may be 20+ year tail boards here and there, if they are recliner riders then they are not setting the example for the next generation; nor are they the informal leaders you need on your crew. The Senior Man naturally emerges. He or She has grown quietly and humbly, rising to that expectation of the Senior Man only when it is their time to do so. They lead by example from the backstep. They motivate, mentor, challenge and drive the crew from the peer level. They set the tone, mentality, attitude and pace for a crew. They are the person the crew looks to for answers, insight and direction, and the person whom a company officer puts their complete trust and confidence in.
The Senior Man does not do any of it for recognition or status; they do it because they are into the job, they care about their crew, and they care about the Fire Service. They understand the expectations, realities and challenges of the job, and they play a vital role in ensuring a crew is set to meet and exceed every one of those. They are not old and crusty guys and gals. They are strong, passionate and driven individuals.
If you are a mid-to-low man on the crew, listen to your Senior Man. The mentorship they offer comes from experiences you may not yet have. Appreciate the effort they put in and their personal investment into you. If you are the company officer, empower your Senior Man to their full potential. Allow them to thrive as that informal leader at the peer level. It will only help you, help the crew and further develop them into one day being a good company officer themselves.
To the Senior Man, do not ease off. It can be exhausting and mentally draining at times. But you are the pacesetter. You are the one everyone is watching. Bring the right energy and attitude to your crew. Set the example for the next man up. Invest in your crew, and represent the traditions of the Fire Service proudly.
-ST