In November, this column discussed the stages of life and identified how each of those stages resembled the stages in a firefighter's career. I'd like to continue with the theme and take a closer look at the first stage of the firefighter life cycle: child.

Now this doesn't mean that young firefighters should be treated as children. Rather, recognizing this stage will assist fire officers in determining where young firefighters should be in their career and how they should be expected to perform and behave at this stage in their employment life cycle.

This first stage begins on the first day of a firefighter's career and continues through his or her first three years on the job. During this period, the firefighter must learn the rules and behavior of the department and the basics and nuances of emergency service as a whole. At the same time in this growing-up process, the firefighter is learning to accept and understand the responsibilities of the job.

Beyond the basics learned in recruit school and during their initial training, these firefighters have only a very few of the skills needed to allow them to excel. At this early stage of their career, they come with the ability to sit, speak and talk. It's your job as an officer to take young firefighters under your supervision and train them for their future in the fire and emergency services.

New firefighters naturally are curious about the new world in which they live and play; they should be provided with an environment where they can learn freely without significant risk or harm. The officer should try to use each call even the most basic as a time to show rookies things to be learned. It could be simple things from how to properly get the equipment back in service for the next call to how to fill out the report and how important it is for the report to be done correctly. Each day should be educational for young firefighters. Hours spent on learning tools, hose lays, medical protocols, response district streets, sops and apparatus are just part of the learning that must constantly occur.

Young firefighters usually will have short attention spans, yet they work much like a sponge, soaking up everything that is said and done around the station. An officer must be on the constant lookout for the things that are wrong and giving improper information to that young firefighter. It's much harder to remove this improper information and correct errors than it is to make sure that poor information isn't learned in the first place.

The officer should be monitoring young firefighters' schedules and activities. Where and with whom are the recruits spending their time? Do they watch television or training videos? Do they spend time learning bad habits or good habits? It's important to monitor recruits' time and energy.

Your goal is to teach recruits how to act appropriately with their fellow firefighters. Officers have the responsibility to guide these firefighters to become competent, caring and contributing members of the department. This means that the officer sometimes must take the extra effort to not only show the firefighters how discipline is correctly administered but also the proper way to accept said discipline. With a short term of departmental experience, the recruit is developing both physical and intellectual skills. Just as a toddler takes some wobbly first steps, so does a young firefighter into the department. When dealing with recruits, take a moment and count to 10 before initiating any discipline.

“Toddler” firefighters also must learn to solve problems, even if their fresh approach and unsolicited ideas are resented by more experienced members. Firefighters often must learn by experimenting. As they gain the first taste of working fires, major trauma calls and disaster calls, they begin to learn and apply that information to future calls.

To aid in decision-making an officer should:

1. Give information

   Explain to the recruits what is going on and what is happening at calls.

2. Give reasons.

   Connect what you are doing to why you are doing it each day. Provide the history and logic in why things are done this way instead of just ordering them to do it.

3. Give descriptions.

   Explain relationships and events in the department.

4. Give praise.

   Make firefighters feel valued at the appropriate time. Don't give false praise, as it won't be of value.

5. Encourage questions.

   Have firefighters ask questions about anything from the simple to the complex.

Here are some other guidelines that may help an officer with this stage of the career life cycle:

• Tell recruits what you want them to do rather than what you don't want them to do.
• Use actions as well as words to demonstrate the right way of doing things.
• Give the reason as well as the order. When you request something, follow that request with a reason for that request.
• Give choices when possible. Make those choices reasonable and attractive.
• Never physically or verbally abuse firefighters. It may stop bad behavior for a short time, but it doesn't help recruits develop self-control and responsibility.
• Try not to play the blame game. Use your daily routines as a chance to improve the way things are done around the department. Try not to blame everything on the administration or the other shift.
• Make a sincere and concentrated effort to ensure your recruits learn proper language and speech. Foul and offensive language is not conducive to the image of firefighter or an officer.
• Color outside the lines. Encourage recruits to try different approaches to age-old ideas. That the fire service is considered 300 years of tradition unimpeded by progress is usually due to the lack of innovation.
• Celebrate little triumphs. Each time a young firefighter makes a positive effort or learns a new skill, celebrate and recognize the achievement.
• Make the most out of story time. Use stories and examples to teach the young firefighters on a regular basis.

Remember that young recruits are still children in our business; treat them with care and love. They may break some rules and make mistakes but you should always close your training and discipline moments by letting them know you care about them and their careers.

Ken Farmer is the president of Capitol Safety Systems, which provides consultant services in management, leadership, sales and course development. He's also a volunteer firefighter with the Fuquay-Varina (N.C.) Fire Department, where he previously served as chief.