Hello!!
I'm Oda, the guy who always leaves souvenir shopping until the last minute at the airport and ends up picking out products really haphazardly!
Right now, I'm writing this blog post in the lobby of Haneda Airport while waiting for my flight to Saga Airport.
Now,
I went!
The National Rescue Symposium 2023!
I am so grateful to have been able to attend this gathering!!
Whoa!
I really don't know where to start writing.
I've thought that so much that I'm at a loss for words☺️
Since it's going to be long, I'll split it into two parts.
Today, in Part 1, I'll write about what I felt while reflecting on the contents of the Rescue Symposium.
In Part 2, I'll write about the wonderful encounters I had with firefighters from all over the country.
So, here we go!
The Rescue Symposium is an event where about 1,000 firefighters involved in rescue work from all over the country gather to share the initiatives of their respective fire departments using PowerPoint presentations.
There is a theme every year,
and this time it was "Effective Training and Education",
so basically
it was like, "This is how our headquarters conducts training!! How do you all do it?"
And before getting into the main topic,
as a special lecture
a person from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force named Matsubara took the stage, and in short, it was really great!
He was someone who called himself a maverick and has carried out many reforms.
Among them, there was one part that really hit home,
which was "Rescue in CBRNE terrorism".
CBRNE terrorism is a disaster like the sarin attack on the subway, and the basic premise is that a large number of people requiring rescue are generated simultaneously.
For this disaster, he proposed breaking the rules, and I was really convinced by it.
Simply put,
Rescue as much as possible with easy-to-move equipment without doing wet decontamination!!!
That's what it was.
In other words, instead of wearing Type A (the thing like a spacesuit), you just do dry decontamination and save people quickly without taking time!
Regarding this, I had briefly heard from a senior who recently entered the Rescue Course at the Firefighting College that things were changing this way, so the story really clicked.
Furthermore, Matsubara said words that really hit me, like not being afraid of challenges or change.
#Everyone who took the stage was a revolutionary
#I became super proud
#I can't take it anymore
I thought, "I must not forget this!!" so I took notes on my smartphone, so I'd like to introduce the top 5 words that hit me!
First
5th place: "A high rank exists to take responsibility"
This is amazing for 5th place!
When you say it like that, it's like, "Isn't that obvious! You punk!" but if you ask if I can do it properly myself, I can't.
Currently, my rank is Fire Chief Deputy, which is the 4th from the bottom out of 10 levels.
It's the post after the captain of the Special Rescue Team, and when the captain is off, I sometimes act as the captain and go on missions.
So, I usually train and work with my juniors, but honestly, there are times when I blame my juniors when something goes wrong.
#Sorry!!
#I'll be careful!
Of course, I have the feeling that I shouldn't do it, but I don't think I'm perfect!
#Sorry!
#I'll be careful!
However, looking at Matsubara's atmosphere and achievements, I thought this person really takes responsibility.
It's getting too long! lol
Next!
4th place: "A boss in a bad mood doesn't get important information"
First, as a basic premise, there is not a single boss in a bad mood in our fire department!!!! lol
What he said about this was,
Even if you are told "report everything"
if the atmosphere and relationship make it difficult to report, there will inevitably be moments when you keep quiet about things that are hard to say.
If that happens, it gradually becomes a vicious cycle, and important information won't come in at really important times.
In addition to reports not coming in, the person themselves might not even realize that it's becoming difficult to report,
so it's exactly like the Emperor's New Clothes.
Regarding this, I also think there are parts that apply to myself.
No matter what, when you are busy with work, tired from raising children, or sleep-deprived, you might unknowingly frown and look grumpy when you look back.
At such times, I reflected that my juniors probably found it difficult to talk to me.
And he also talked about how to deal with this problem of reports not coming in.
That solution is simple and anyone can do it.
It is "force yourself to smile".
Right now, you are reading this article on your computer or smartphone, so you probably have a straight face right now?
Keep that face and the angle of your neck and go to the bathroom and look in the mirror.
If you can't go to the bathroom, please imagine how your current face looks objectively.
Aren't you grumpy? lol
But inside, you're not grumpy at all, right?
That's it!
The answer is!
Even if you think you're not grumpy,
You probably looked surprisingly grumpy, didn't you?
Juniors won't report to you with such a grumpy face!
But since you're not grumpy inside
You don't know why reports aren't coming in!
That's it! The answer is!
You must not be grumpy!
#How many times are you going to be grumpy
So, including me, everyone has moments when they are grumpy, so if you want to receive reports, let's force ourselves to smile!
Of course, it doesn't have to be a big smile! Just lift the corners of your mouth slightly and make your mouth look pleasant!
Okay, let's do it!!
Smile.
See! Someone just talked to you, didn't they?
That's how it is!
The reason is!! lol
So let's all smile.
Gradually, the muscles for smiling will develop, and your face will become smaller, and it will become your default smiling face!
By the way, I walked from Ginza, the symposium venue, to Shimbashi, where my hotel is, smiling for 40 minutes, and about 10 people talked to me.
#Are you looking for an izakayaaa?
#Catch
Sorry!
It got long again! lol lol
Next!!
3rd place: "The field is full of problems, but it is a treasure trove of ideas"
Yes, that's right!
Next!!
#Don't slack off lol
2nd place: "Training is an experiment, not a failure"
This is also a good saying!
The choice of the word experiment is good!
Instead of "Hey! Let's train!",
it feels like it's easier to participate when you say "Hey! Let's experiment!"
In other words, even if failure is failure, if you position it as failing in training, it inevitably becomes a negative impression.
Just by changing it to the word experiment
since experiments produce results,
there is no such concept as failure.
What was previously positioned as failure (for example, dropping equipment from the training building),
which was "Oda made a mistake and dropped the equipment",
can be changed to
"When we conducted an experiment working at a high place without a leash cord, we got the result of dropping the equipment."
You can change it like that.
Why, the former was mainly Oda
but the latter is mainly the phenomenon.
So this is not a human error,
but a system error.
Don't you think the way we deal with things changes depending on how we think about it?
If you adopt the former way of thinking,
it becomes, 'Oda has a mental issue, so make him do 100 push-ups.'
But if you adopt the latter way of thinking,
it becomes, 'When working at heights, in addition to fall arrest, attach leash cords to equipment within 2 m of the edge. Furthermore, have team members double-check each other when entering the 2 m zone.'
That's how it would turn out!
#I managed to articulate it pretty well
#This is the good thing about blogging
#It helps clear my head
Yes, it's gotten long again!
So, next!!!
No. 1: 'Demonstration training is just like a school play.'
This is something difficult to say, but please don't get angry.
At our headquarters, a few years ago or so,
a coined term called 'demonstration training' was born.
Well, what it means is,
because there are many guests and media,
we decide every little detail from 1 to 10,000, and then we perform it exactly as planned, and have people watch or film it.
That's how it is.
Specifically,
・The wording of radio communications is all decided in detail, and people say it while looking at a piece of paper.
・Everyone knows what will happen next
・There's something like a general rehearsal for the play
・If you do something that hasn't been decided, you get scolded during the review
・It gets good reviews saying, 'It was a wonderful training session that closely reflects actual field conditions!!'
That's how it is.
Regarding this, I think everyone has a vague idea in their heart, but they're afraid to do it.
If you think about the combinations from No. 5 to No. 2, it's easy to understand, but when it comes to doing blind training,
'If I can't give instructions well, will my juniors look down on me...?'
or
'Can I properly carry out my senior's instructions? I'm scared, my stomach hurts.'
or
'If I freeze, that would be bad.'
That's what they think.
Evvvvvverybody thinks it.
But if you think about it carefully, it's really strange and something to be feared,
it has become 'the eyes around us' instead of 'disasters', hasn't it?
At this point, that training is just a school play.
Furthermore, a situation where you get scolded by a nursery school teacher for making a mistake in a dance at a school play is already a comedy sketch.
#I said too much
However, we have to look at reality and think about it.
Veterans, mid-career, and young people!
Let's all have the same thought!
'Let's do a large-scale experiment instead of a school play!'
Let's all use this phrase and make it a good training session!!!!
Everything is to protect the residents from disasters.
This was Seishiro Oda!
So, it ended up sounding like the end of a presentation, but I ended up writing an article about my impressions after listening to Mr. Matsubara's lecture.
So, I said I would make it into two parts, Part 1 and Part 2, but I'll add a middle part and make it three parts!
In the middle part, I will look back at the stories of the remaining speakers
And in the final part, as planned,
I will write about the wonderful encounters with firefighters from all over the country!
I started writing from the lobby, and two hours have passed, and now I'm on a plane♪
Now, I wonder if I can write two more articles before arriving in Saga? lol
#Absolutely impossible
So, look forward to it!!