From Carl Verstrepen
20 years ago a group of Belgian firefighters traveled through the southwestern United States. This was a lovely tourist trip that included San Diego, Los Angeles, Yosemite National Park, the Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas. As with all fire brigade tourists, their cameras were taken out and operated at full capacity when fire trucks passed and their rental cars came to a complete stop when there was a fire station to visit and visit. One of those stops was the Kern County Fire Department in Bakersfield, California. The Belgians were welcomed with open arms and given a great tour of the train station, machinery, equipment, and equipment.
Our American brothers took a couple of Belgians for a ride and a phone call. This experience was very different from operations in Belgium, where fire stations were more like prohibited territory for all non-department members.
In May 1996 a group of 12 Belgian firefighters spent a few days in the San Diego (CA) fire department stations. They rode out on calls, watched the training and talked about procedures and experiences. The Belgians “stole” knowledge with their eyes. On the return flight to Belgium, Marc Opstal, the organizer of this trip, decided with a few other firefighters to set up an organization to organize such trips. This idea resulted in Fire Observers vzw in October 1996.
ONE NAME, OUR ORGANIZATION AND ITS BOARD AND GOALS
The choice of an English name for the group was unanimous, although finding the right one was not that easy. Marc Opstal became President of Fire Observers vzw, while some participants on the San Diego trip joined the board in several other positions. (Vzw is the Belgian abbreviation for non-profit organization.) We chose a non-profit organization because we did not want to work for profit. This was also the easiest way to set up an association and work legally under a very strict Belgian law on organizations.
Over the years a lot has changed in the operation of Fire Observers vzw; the board was one of them. Today Opstal is still president of the organization, but the other key positions and board positions have been filled with new talent.
The board consists of 11 members who work for the association without compensation. Board members act as program directors; Once we have departmental approval for a training program, the board members do all of the planning; Administration; and booking of flight tickets, rental cars, hotels, etc.
All of our board members have been working in the fire and rescue service for several years. They are a mix of all ranks from firefighter to boss, career and volunteer; they are all approved for the rescue service and / or several special forces.
Since the establishment of Fire Observers vzw, we have made it very clear that these programs are not just a vacation. These are seven to ten day training programs followed by a few days of downtime, so tourist visits and beach time are more likely towards the end of the trip. The actual program provides a busy schedule of work-related visits, exercises, lessons, demonstrations, and station life, including responding to all kinds of incidents. Our main goal is to convey to our members how US fire departments are organized, how they train and how they work, to learn more about their procedures and equipment, and to share experiences and ideas. Then we can take this knowledge with us to Belgium and try to implement it accordingly in our departments and services. In addition to our main goal, we want to enable our members to learn more about the United States of America, its history, the American way of life and of course the Brotherhood.
OUR MEMBERS: 1996-2015
All of our members must work in the fire and rescue service. 94 percent are professional firefighters or volunteer firefighters with ranks ranging from firefighter to chief. Six percent are non-fire fighters who work as trainers, paramedics, nurses in rescue services and emergency rooms, lifeguards or emergency dispatchers. Since 2001 we have also received a large group of fire fighters from the Netherlands. Today we have more than 200 members in our association.
In the first few years of our existence, we kept the number of programs per year at two. Communication wasn’t the same as it is today. For example, not everyone had access to the internet so members of our organization joined through word of mouth.
Communication with the host departments did not happen overnight either. Due to the increasing number of members, we have been offering four programs per year since 2012. In 2013 we also started a program in Canada.
Once a program is posted on our website, members can apply for approximately 30 days before the selection process begins. There are two lists – the first (1) with members who have never joined a program before and the second (2) with returning members. Each program has 75 percent free places for members for List 1 and 25 percent for List 2. The selection is based on the list ranking.
In October 2015, a group of 10 Belgian fire observers was invited to a training program by the Mobile Fire Brigade (AL). It was the second time there was a program in Mobile; a very successful program was carried out in May 2007. The Mobile 2015 program was the 50th project by Fire Observers vzw! These 50 programs have brought more than 550 fire fighters from Belgium and the Netherlands to US fire departments to observe, train and share knowledge.
The list of hosting departments is long and varied. Others include San Diego, Fresno, Sacramento, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Nashville, Mobile, Jacksonville, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach County, Atlanta, Richmond, Norfolk, Washington DC, Fairfax County, and Detroit . Numerous departments have hosted us more than once.
For 2016 we have four very exciting programs on the program again, with hosting departments such as Miami-Dade, Houston, Long Beach and Phoenix. A total of 44 fire observers take part in these programs.
WHAT DOES A TRAINING / RIDE-ALONG PROGRAM LOOK LIKE?
Our group is looking for fire departments that are large and busy enough to house a group of 10 to 14 fire watchers for about a week. Our members are assigned to the busiest units and stations in the city and take part in daily station life such as equipment and equipment checks, cleaning and homework, lessons and exercises, physical training, shopping and cooking, and (of course) responding to various incidents.
We also schedule many work-related visits during the program. For example, we will visit the Emergency Call Center, the Fire Department Academy, the Fire Department Museum (if any), the U.S. Coast Guard, fire equipment builders, and trauma centers.
We also try to do a few courses, drills or demonstrations like live fire drills, height rescue, confined space rescue, hazmat incidents, SWAT medics, trauma helicopters, rapid water rescue, ARFF, sea fire fighting, etc.
We always have a good time, but these programs are not vacations and our members know that. There is a very high standard; This is a 100 percent active program with very few hours of downtime.
In the stations, our members can be assigned to engines, trucks, bosses, medical units and special units. In responding to all incidents, our members remain in an observing role. However, several departments have asked us to work on actual incidents. Some involve us with their field operations such as fires, salvages, medical assistance and rescues. Others have also included us in indoor fire and roof operations.
OUR SUCCESS
It has been proven that these programs are a success! The mixture of education and tourism in a high class organization leads to an increasing number of members and an increasing number of applications for each program. More than 60 applications were received for the 32 free places in the 2015 programs.
Because we are a non-profit organization that is not affiliated with any federal or local government or any other department or agency, we do not receive any grants or financial aid. All of our members and board members are responsible for their own expenses such as flights, rental cars, fuel, hotel / accommodation, tourist activities and insurance; they even have to take time off from work. The members apply on a voluntary basis and are of course highly motivated to take part in these programs.
For more information about our organization and programs, please visit our website at http://www.fireobservers.org.
Carl Verstrepen has been working in the fire and rescue service since 1996 and has held several positions in four different departments and offices. He joined Fire Observers vzw in 2004 and shortly thereafter became a board member. He has been CFO and contact person for public information since 2014.