Firefighting: Why You Should Embrace Being Inquisitive on the Job

Veteran firefighters are bound to find rookie firefighters whose questions seem endless. While it may be somewhat charming and welcome at first, tenured firefighters and company officers soon grow tired of answering them constantly.



The result is that even though the barrage of questions may die down, many of these inquisitive firefighters tend to feel undervalued. Even worse, they may learn procedures incorrectly out of fear of appearing annoying.

In this piece, we’re going to argue that you should definitely embrace being inquisitive on the job. Here’s why.

Why Some Leaders May Get Frustrated with Inquisitive Firefighters

Generally speaking, there are three primary reasons why some company officers and other leaders feel frustrated with an inquisitive or curious firefighter:

1. Weak leaders tend to interpret questions as a challenge to their authority.

2. Company officers who lack proficiency in abilities and skills tend to feel concerned about having to demonstrate said skills or incorrectly answering questions.

3. They may not see questioning for what it is—a valuable method for new firefighters to learn and understand their craft.

Negative Consequences of Shutting Down Questions

While it may ostensibly seem harmless to shut down questions from a curious firefighter, consistently doing so can have negative consequences, such as:

· Lowered morale of junior firefighters. They may feel isolated, and their work ethic may suffer as a result. In this line of work, a flawed work ethic isn’t merely unproductive; it is dangerous for the junior firefighter, as well as the other crew members.

· The junior firefighter may become rebellious and disruptive because of feeling undervalued.

· The junior firefighter may just end up transferring to another fire station or leave the fire service altogether. If this happens consistently, it will prove to be detrimental to the organization.



Benefits of Embracing Inquisitiveness on the Job

There are several benefits to being curious and inquisitive as a firefighter, including:

· Junior firefighters become excited about their line of work and invest more time and effort into understanding the minute aspects of the job. Once they gain a sufficient understanding, they will stop asking so many questions and will be better able to help others with similar questions.

· It improves the overall effectiveness and safety of the crew. Better informed firefighters will be able to perform better on the job.

· It makes your crew feel like one unit when every firefighter feels valued and appreciated. It shows that leaders take pride in their juniors.

· Other firefighters feel encouraged to ask questions, benefiting everyone on the crew.

 

If you’re looking for civil service jobs in Nassau County or wish to take NYC civil service exams, such as the NYC firefighter exams, get in touch with Civil Service Success.

Civil Service Success has been successfully preparing candidates for the NYC firefighter exams since the 1960s. The institution’s level of expertise is unparalleled.

Visit their website for more information.

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