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“Company
Officer Development: Mentoring our Future,” Captain Ray
Gayk
By Susie Smith
With stories both humorous and
serious, Captain Ray Gayk of Ontario, California,
entertained and informed Alabama fire chiefs at the 2008
Fire Chiefs Conference in Tuscaloosa. The second speaker of
the morning on Wednesday, February 6, Captain Gayk addressed
a critical fire service issue in his presentation “Company
Officer Development: Mentoring our Future.”
Captain Gayk began his
presentation with the assertion that those fire fighters
preparing to be company officers should receive training
more specific to the job, training that does not currently
exist. He cited several reasons why the training for company
officers should be enhanced:
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Litigation related to accidents, injuries, and deaths is
on the rise. (Captain Gayk gave several examples
including litigation arising from the 2003 Cramer fire
in Idaho and the 2001 Thirtymile Fire in the state of
Washington.)
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Other
industries make training a priority. (Using the example
of In-N-Out Burger, a no-frills fast-food business open
since 1948, Captain Gayk explained how employees who
reach the level of store manager must have received 27
days of training to do their jobs.)
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Having well-trained company
officers means more competent, effective leadership that
helps to strengthen the morale and performance in fire
departments.
In addressing the lack of
training of company officers in his California fire
department, Captain Gayk, with the support of his deputy
chief, initiated a mentoring program. Staff interested in
being promoted to company officer may participate in the
voluntary, no-cost program that teaches them to be competent
counselors, managers, and leaders as well as prepares them
for promotional testing. Getting the program up and running
was a challenge, but Captain Gayk and his department learned
from their mistakes to improve the program over time.
In one of his stories, Captain
Gayk recounted a conversation with his first captain, Rick
Lynski. Captain Lynski explained “fire department tattoos”:
From your first day on the job, you receive tattoos, some
good and some bad. Just like inked tattoos, your fire
department tattoos, whether good or bad, are easy to get and
hard to get rid of; they are with you throughout your
career. In answer to Captain Lynski’s question about what
kind of tattoos he intended to earn, Gayk answered “Only
good ones.” The message of Captain Gayk’s presentation was
that committing to improved training and mentoring of
company officers will contribute to the fire service having
leaders on the front line with more good tattoos than bad.
2/15/08
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