By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna
January 10, 2024 (San Diego) -- Making a New Year’s resolution is one thing. Remaining resolute and seeing them through is quite another. It’s important to make them realistic and obtainable.
Every January we start a new recruit fire academy. The first order of business is to review all academy policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs). Understanding policies, and training on them repeatedly, provides recruits with a sound foundation in safe and consistent operations before learning basic firefighting skills.
In addition to learning policies, our recruits develop “Integrity Agreements.” Integrity Agreements are like policies but are more personal in nature. The recruits develop them as a team, but they own them as individuals.
Like policies, these agreements hold recruits accountable for actions on and off the training ground. We tell them, “If you don’t live up to the agreements, you have no one to blame but yourself. You own them; they are custom-made by and for you!”
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