Back to the Basics

In fire service, training tends to be cumulative, in that it simply builds one skill on top of others learned. For instance, once a firefighter learns hose handling and nozzle control, he might next learn some more intermediate fire attack principles based on those basic skills. Additionally, he might be soon expected to learn advanced tactics, up to and including live fire evolutions. Each new skill assumes he has learned the basis, or foundation, of the previous skill.

Once in a while, it becomes apparent that it is time to go back to basic skills and get some more practice. If a fire call points out that a few firefighters are falling short in the practical application of hose handling, the department might decide to use the next training session as a chance to "get back to the basics." Much to the chagrin of veteran firefighters, this is an absolute necessity to ensure that advanced tactics are not disrupted by responders who are a little rusty in basic skills.
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As I get deeper in these blog posts, I am attempting to keep the same principles in mind. I have decided to get back to the basics and share with each of you the reasons why I make these posts in the first place. Obviously, the blog name "Rescue Matt" is a play on of the fact that I am a volunteer firefighter and also a fire equipment salesman. The reason, though, goes much deeper. I personally believe myself to be rescued, as you will read in my very first blog post, which I have (gasp, he's not really going to REPOST is he???) reposted below for those of you who have joined with me after my initial post. I hope you can see grains and slivers of the post below in the spirit in which I post weekly for you. While the topics vary week to week, my goal is to keep on task with the following.
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It is a firefighter's nightmare... the day his brother falls in a fire and needs rescuing. Unfortunately, given the unavoidably dangerous atmosphere that firefighters are asked to endure, scenarios like this are inevitable. Firefighters train for this through drill after drill, but the moment it happens, I am quite certain all training goes out the window and it is simply a matter of a race against the clock. I have embedded this video as an explanation of what I mean (warning, not suitable for all viewers):


I personally feel very blessed that I have never had to experience anything like this, yet it reminds me of my own faith journey in so many ways. By now, you most likely know that I am a firefighter--a volunteer to be exact--and if you know anything about firefighters, we relate almost every aspect of our life to those experiences.

In my life, I was blessed to have been in a Christian since around the age of 6. However, during a time in high school, I feel away from that faith and struggled both behaviorally and spiritually. There was not one single moment in my life where I was rescued, yet a series of events led to me eventually reigniting my faith, "rescuing me from the dominion of darkness," as Colossians 1 states. So, as a Christian, I needed rescuing. And I received the rescue operation that I needed.

In addition to the thought of being rescued, I also think about the firefighters who are performing the rescue. You see, I believe that Christ gave specific commands to his followers that stated we are to be rescuers to others who are in danger of falling. But his command didn't go unfunded... with this mandate, he gave the resources with which to rescue his creation. First, he gave a community, which is much like the brotherhood of firefighters. This community is intended to be strengthened through their gatherings and in their commonality in Christ to the extent that they should have a desire to see others rescued as they have too been rescued. With this community comes the second resource, the Bible. The canon itself is filled with story after story of people being rescued from the dominion of darkness, yet Christians so often forget that this book is a blueprint to guide in these rescue efforts. Finally, he gave not only a community and not only a book, but himself. He is the martyred example of how to rescue people from the dominion of darkness. It is through him that rescue can even be made. If it was a cause that he believed was worth giving the ultimate sacrifice for, it is a cause that Christians should seek to model in their own lives. As Penn--yes, the athiest magician of Penn and Teller--stated, "how much do you have to hate someone, if you believe there is a God and a heaven and a hell, not to proselytize?" You see, this man Jesus, in whom I claim to believe, died for a cause in which I claim to believe. If I, a follower of Jesus, truly believe that this world is need of God's rescuing hand, and that I possess the necessary information with which to perform the rescue, and I fail to do so, then there is no rational explanation other than hate. So, we are given a community, a spoken word, and a martyred example with which to share a method of example. In my metaphor of fire and rescue services, the martyred example would be fallen heroes of the past, from whom we can learn to prevent future disaster.

So, where do we go from here? The simple answer is to go and perform the rescue for which we have been trained and equipped. As I close this post, I think about the firefighter in the video embedded above. If you watched it to about 1:20, then you saw the darkness come crashing around him. I have been there--not physically; not literally. I praise God that I have not been in such a scenario in real life... but spiritually, that is where I have been. Yet I was rescued. By God's hand, through my wife, through my family, through my friends, I have received the rescue I so desperately needed. So again, I say, as Penn already did, "How much do we have to hate--if we believe in God and Heaven and Hell-- to not share in the news which could rescue others from the Dominion of Darkness?