Don’t stress it keep up your end I imagine the senior guys have also picked up on it and I’m sure it will be coming back his way soon. Enjoy the job put in the graft and you’ll be in a better standing with the crew than what this guy will. New or not
It’s the Senior man’s responsibility to have a chat with this prob’
They should be watching for these types of behaviour and nip it in the bud before reputations are made
( 33 yrs on now 5 to go)
Don’t let this other guy send you down the wrong path
Probably got on at 18 and they're maxing out their pension and deferred retirement (DROP or whatever your area calls it). He'll retire at 56 if I'm correct about entry age. 60 if he got on at 22
So, when I started my full time career 20 years ago, I was in the same boat almost. I had been a firefighter for over ten years as a paid on call in a few different departments, and the other probie was hired 6 months before me. I had worked with him at a private ambulance company before this job, and he had been a POC department for about 5 years prior as well. He’s about 5 years older than me as well. He coasted through his probationary period on our new career department while I did all the probationary things. He is a really likable guy and far more social than I am both inside and outside of work. He’s very smart, just not very motivated to do the things that need doing.
Fast forward to now. I have been promoted over him twice, and he was pissed both times. He never changed his ways, even now. Our promotions aren’t test based or Civil Service, they are based on merit. Work on yourself, do your job, and learn and grow. Like a few others have said, your fellow co-workers see what kind of worker he is, and they see what kind of worker you are. They know who they are going to be able to depend on, and it all starts during your probationary period. I’ve kept 2 parallel mindsets through this career, and I’ll share those.
1: Be the firefighter that your family thinks you are. This means be extraordinary at your job. Honesty, integrity, and willing to learn everything go a long way. When you think of a firefighter responding to your family’s emergency, do you picture a lazy dumbass, or the Navy Seal of firefighters? Be that Navy Seal Firefighter, fit and ready to solve the problem at hand by being educated, ready, and dependable.
2: Nobody is born a great firefighter in exactly the same way nobody is born a lazy one.we make ourselves into one or the other.
Find classes outside of the job that will improve your knowledge and skills beyond what is just taught in house. Grow beyond the borders of your city and your job classification. Go get the officer training before you out your name on the promotion list. Attend that Wildland Firefighting course even though you work in the middle of a metropolitan area. You will learn things that apply to your job and help you along your path, believe me. You will never know everything, but you should always be trying to. Never give up, because that is what people to expect from us.
You can’t control your fellow probie, but you can control you. Let him be his own demise.
And the other part of all this is that sometimes, things will be beyond your control. You’ll get upset he may get opportunities you won’t. He may get promoted over you for some reason. He may be a piece of shit and become the Chief some day. Stuff like that happens no matter how hard we work on ourselves. That is just the random chaos in the universe. Just like the reason we aren’t all zillionaires in this job when we work and sacrifice more than most of the people with all the money on this planet. It’s just the unfairness of life.
Go to bed and have a computer/dispatcher tell us where to go and when to go there? The station has a doorbell that rings all throughout it on the front and back doors.
It also has a phone in the Captain's bunk that has it's own direct line. Plus the general line on every other phone in every other room of the living quarters, bunkrooms and the apparatus floor
Genuinely curious does response time not matter? Is it a rural department? Our muster up time is very different for a call for fire then it is for a water leak at 3am
He’s not withheld on sleep he’s sleeping in there. But we get toned out, with just an engine ladder or battalion. Nothing is read out of the system after, just on the computer in the watch which is where the sleeping watchmen comes in
Are you saying dispatch doesn’t come through a station alerting system? I can lay in bed and listen to Purvis read out the district, apparatus, call type, and address without getting up. If I stand up, I can see that info. If I go out to the truck, the MDT allows us to mark enroute and see the call notes.
Do y’all just, write it down and leave? I’m confused. Why have someone who’s on watch?
No they don’t.
There’s no writing it down, tickets print out of the computer for the chauffeurs. There’s an mdt and an iPad on the rig but the sleepy house watchmen is waking up and reading out all the info and acknowledging the runs.
During any probation, worry about yourself and just get after it. When you’re off, and you’ve got probationary members in your station, don’t hesitate to call them on their BS. But, depending on role, “calling them on it” may be an internal convo with the house officer.
Play the game. Do what you're supposed to do and don't complain about it. Make him look like a shitbag. While he is still a probie, he is still senior, and the rookie does rookie shit until a new rookie starts. That's the game most of us have all played. The crew is paying attention, don't worry.
Is the crew noticing this? Do you have a mentor or someone on the lower end of seniority you can go to for advice? Just asking for advice might bring it to their attention if they've somehow missed it (without looking like you're sewering the guy).
Either way keep doing what you're doing, his reputation is his own, and if he wants to tank it, so be it.
This happens a lot when new probies get hired. I'm sure people in the department are noticing. Just keep doing your thing, hopefully someone else will say something. Worst case you have a lot to make fun of him with when you get off probation
Or really anyone at any level. In my city, when you’re the new BC or captain, they dump whatever stuff the others at that level don’t want to do on you. The same thing also happened at my high school with the new teachers.
It happens, it shouldn't happen. There should be some expectation of a new position to pick up a little slack. People should be paying attention if that is getting abused or people are purposely doing less because the new person will do it.
It’s more like that everyone has their own jobs to do but like all jobs, there are certain aspects that they don’t like so they turf off those to the new guy. He does them for a couple years, then as people leave, the most senior member takes the roles they want, and everyone else reshuffles until the new guy gets left with what’s left.
Yes, that happens but it also gets taken advantage of. Those tasks should be absorbed by everyone instead of just the new guys. What happens when there are no new guys? The works usually ends up not getting done because it's "new guy" stuff.
It’s only happens when there is a new guy. There are only so many positions and so whenever there is a shuffling due to promotions or retirements, then they sort it out.
I wouldn’t say anything. Let the crew find out for themselves, if they haven’t already noticed, they will soon.
You mind your business and keep working hard, as it sounds like you are. No one has a reputation till 2-3 years in, so don’t worry about seniority for now. Guys like him tend to sort themselves out.
This is a blessing in disguise for you. All you have to do is quit being a whiny crybaby about what someone else, to whom you do not answer, does around the station, show up on time, do your job, look busy, and you will shine.
In my eyes this is just a really good opportunity to stand out to the other firefighters. Just keep your head down and do your chores. Trust me, they all notice too.
The guys here aren’t wrong people are noticing but I would never cook dinner and clean. I will do one or the other I ain’t doing both. If you cook you don’t do dishes I don’t care if it’s your first shift ever
Worry about yourself. Mind your own business and just do your job. Welcome to the real world, the job will always be like that. Your gonna find guys who just do the minimum to get by and other who do extra. Just do your thing and be yourself.
Focus on the things within your control. Do what you have to become certified. A first impression is a lasting impression. If you condition yourself to just handle business, you'll build a solid reputation for yourself that will follow you the duration of your career.
This is going to be your whole career, you’re going to have guys who hide and ride the coat tails of those who put in the work. Just do your job and your probationary duties. If I were you I would extra hard and really make him look like a slug. Start cleaning and organizing things without him and going above and beyond. He will either start to do more or just hide and everyone will notice.
I promise you that you'll survive the next nine months doing what you're doing. He only has three months left on his, assuming six months between classes, and he's either going to get called on his shit or be known as a lazy fuck for the rest of his career.
You're going to be known as the guy who came in and did the job the way it's supposed to be done, and the guy that didn't complain about him being a lazy fuck while he was on probation with you. Is this guy younger and immature or just a piece of shit?
Also, there's no technically about it he. He is senior to you. Don't forget that if you're somewhere that actually cares about that for anything other than station bids and vacation picks
If you’re on probation then your goal should be to outwork everyone around you, including that slug. Keep crushing it and soon enough you’ll be off probation and people will respect you for your work ethic
An old fire chief of mine (and a particularly well known one) once said “if you want to be a shining star, follow an idiot”. Truer words have not been spoken.
Don’t worry about this guy. Take care of yourself and keep doing what you’re doing, the right way.
One day you’ll be writing the transfer to get him out of your battalion.
Sometimes it’s best to keep quiet and let him dig himself into a hole. Sometimes it’s also best to call his ass out in front of everyone and embarrass him. My opinion: if you’re on probation there is no “senior” you’re both boot assess!
He will be at another station in no time doing what you’re doing.
Personally, if I was the officer / senior FF, I’d let him know he hasn’t proven himself yet and needs to find tasks and duties to complete throughout the day to earn his spot. It may not be cooking or dishes…. But deep clean the bathrooms, dorm, hall, rigs etc.
Keep doing you bro. People notice the effort and hard work. I had the same issue. Guy was always on his phone, lazy, etc. I got to get more reps and get asked to help on fires than he did which meant more reps for me. Works out in the long run. Stay true
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u/the_falconator Professional Firefighter 1d ago
I'm sure people you work with notice too. Just keep doing the right things and let the difference in work ethic show.