Tim Cowan | Oneida, NY
Chief Tim Cowan, Oneida City Fire Department
“We will save more lives through the efforts of fire prevention than we ever will out of burning buildings.”
This week’s article was written by Chief Tim Cowan himself. Take it from here, Tim…
Tim with father, Jay Cowan.
Ever since I was little, I knew I was going to be a firefighter. My father was a volunteer firefighter in the local fire department, and I spent a lot of time there with him. My mother was also in the ladies auxiliary and would bring me along to fires when they would bring food and drinks to the firefighters at the scenes of emergencies. You could say that I was raised in the fire department. As soon as I turned 18 years old, I joined the same fire department that my dad had been a member of for over 25 years, the Canastota Fire Department in central New York.
The next few years were awesome, we went to a lot of fires and did a lot of training. There were a few calls that stand out, that I will carry with me forever.
It was prom night and the call came in around midnight. At that time, there was a fire box system (Gamewell) that alerted the fire department for a specific location in the Village. Street Box 42 was activated, corner of Wilson Street and North Main Street. As the fire chief arrived on scene, he transmitted a working fire with a report of person trapped.
Heavy smoke was pouring out of the upstairs apartment when we arrived at the two-story building.
As I made the top of the stairs and started a right-hand search pattern, I found the adult victim on the floor near the bed. I called for my partner to grab his legs and I would get underneath his shoulders. It seemed like forever trying to get him out of there. Once outside, EMS started CPR and transported him to the hospital. Unfortunately, the victim died but fortunately, he was an organ donor and saved other lives.
Later, I was hired by the United States Air Force as a firefighter stationed at Griffiss AFB in Rome, NY. I was young and had no idea what I was in for. Working for the military was a job like no other. Top secret clearance, the largest fire trucks in the world and B-52 bombers, what’s not to love! It was the best job ever!
The military taught me honor, discipline and commitment. The fire chief was highly respected by all on the base. He demanded perfection and would settle for nothing less. He also cared about each and everyone of us and always made time for us. His leadership lessons carried with me throughout my career. The chiefs and officers taught me how to be a career firefighter. The education and lessons learned were far beyond any textbook. I can vividly remember the “routine” that we followed every day. Morning roll call, daily checks, morning maintenance, after lunch drills, workouts and ending the day with shift dinner. Later in my career, I found out how important the “routine” is and was. Unfortunately, and unbelievably, the base closed due to Base Realignment and Closure Commission decisions. That was the best job that I ever had.
When the base closed, I was hired by the City of Oneida Fire Department as a firefighter/EMT. Transitioning from working at an Air Force base fire department to a City fire department was challenging to say the least. No longer were the 24 hours on 24 hours off shift. No to mention, all the planes were replaced with houses and downtown buildings. I quickly transitioned into the fire marshal’s office as a fire inspector.
This is where I learned that fire prevention efforts were the keys to success.
We were very active within the community conducting fire inspections and fire prevention. After I was promoted to Lieutenant, I also was promoted to Fire Marshal shortly after. This is where some of my proudest moments came in.
The Cowan Family: Keeley, Jack, Tim, and Andrea (from left to right).
A few years ago, we conducted a Community Risk Reduction program where we began to identify areas that needed fire prevention efforts. We started a middle school program that included fire extinguisher use by students and teachers and a side by side live fire sprinkler demonstration. This program had success stories by students that used fire extinguishers to extinguish fires in their own homes.
We also started a juvenile fire setter program within the department. This program has formed relationships with youth and community organizations to combat fire setting issues. After seeing how fire prevention efforts help the community, there is no doubt that we will save more people through the efforts of fire prevention than we ever will out of burning buildings. I ended my career with 22 years of service as a Deputy Fire Chief/Fire Marshal.
One area that we can improve on is mental health. Throughout your career, you will experience things that the public will never see or understand just based upon the nature of our business. From the best calls to the worst calls, they will build within you. When I joined the fire service you did not talk about bad calls, you just hid them away someplace inside you. For me, that helped me move on to the next call, but I never forgot about what I had seen.
Fast forward 28 years to present day and I have struggled with some bad calls and experiences that no one should ever have to go through. Peer support helped me with those struggles. Understand that you are not alone and all that you need to do is ask for help. There are great Critical Stress Debriefing teams that many departments have access to. Programs offered by the NFFF, FRCE, IAFF, NVFC and other national organizations can provide training for mental health and peer support. As a company officer, I always wanted to lead by example. The times that I was struggling, I asked for help.
What kind of officer would I be if I did not show my guys that it is OK to ask for help?
A message that I would have to the fire service, is to take care of your people, they are your biggest assets.
At the end of the day our lives are in each other’s hands.
Another area that the fire service needs to embrace is cancer prevention. It is a very scary reality when cancer deaths start to outnumber line of duty deaths. There are some easy things that we can do today to help save us for tomorrow. Washing your turn-out gear after every fire is a great start.
Unless washed, turn-out gear will hold on to carcinogens that are found in today’s fires within the fibers of the gear, gloves, boots, and helmets. Manufactures have already started to make particulate reducing hoods to protect the neck area from these cancer-causing agents. Along with washing your turn-out gear, showering as soon as possible after being in a fire is just as important. Removing the smoke from your skin will help in reducing the absorption into your body. These are a few easy ways to help reduce cancer causing effects.
The public needs to understand that fire is fast.
Many still believe that they have lots of time to escape their home when the smoke detector goes off. Because of the materials inside everyone’s home, fires burn hotter and faster than every before. People need to have an escape plan and practice it regularly. Cooking remains the leading cause of all home fires. Fire extinguisher use and fire prevention efforts focused on kitchen safety need to be a priority.
Home fire sprinklers save lives, that is a fact.
Educating the public on the need for home fire sprinklers needs to be a priority. Home fire sprinklers are designed to prevent flashover giving occupants time to escape a fire in their home. This topic needs to be top priority to combat the fire death rate in the United States.
I love being a firefighter. Some of the greatest times in my life have been at the fire department. From the emergency calls to the camaraderie, it’s the greatest job in the world. I wish 28 years ago I started a journal about the fire service and my experiences. I know today that book would be full of great stories.
Now that I am recently retired, I cannot help but miss my guys. I miss sitting out front of the fire station with the guys talking about the day, eating dinner together every shift, the 4:00 a.m. calls and staying up the rest of the night because it’s too late to go back to bed, I miss the hell out of them.
Oneida City Fire Dept. Shift 4. Marcel Jeffrey, Travis Kroll, Tim Cowan, Jon Wasicki, Andy Bennett, and Scott Burbidge (from left to right).