Discourse Observation Analysis Notes

Assignment One

Anna McCord

Observation One
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Robinson Volunteer Fire Department Mint Hill, N.C.
Background Information: I am extremely interested in the way a fire department is
structured and how different members are actually treated outside of responding to a call.
I have grown up around firefighters my entire life and having witnessed the camaraderie
between men in the same department, and the rivalry between men in neighboring
departments. I am intrigued by the behavior of firefighters. My father was on our
communities fire department board for twenty three years and five of my cousins are now
full time firemen. I have been to this particular station many a time and the environment
seems to be a highly dynamic one filled with many personalities to observe.
Figured World: a large group of people with similar ideas and behavior that can all be
further divided down into multiple communities of practice.
I will be observing Robinson Volunteer Fire Department which responds to medical and
fire on the east side of Mecklenburg County. Robinson Volunteer Fire Department will be
referred to as RVFD or simply Robinson in the majority of this analysis. RVFD is located
on Mecklenburg Shrine Club Road in Mint Hill, North Carolina and was established in
1953 to help ease the range Mint Hill Fire covered. They serve the eastern parts of
Mecklenburg county and team up with surrounding volunteer, and full time fire
departments depending on the call and requirements. When Charlotte Fire Department
followed through with the Camp Stewart South Annexation in 2011, RVFD went into a
year long contract with Charlotte to help cover the newly annexed area while station 40
was built. As of 2011, they are at the threat of closing down due to the building of Station
40 of the Charlotte Fire Department. RVFD still runs automatic aid calls with Mint Hill,
Harrisburg, and Flowes Store Volunteer fire departments. They plan to continue to serve
the unincorporated areas of Mecklenburg county until further notice.
Certain places within my figured world that may be important to know are as follows:
The Gathering Room: A place where firemen can all hang out to watch television,
play games, have meetings, and simply congregate in general.
The Bunk Room: The bunk room is a place where the firemen can lay down to
take a
nap or sleep if they are on a night shift. (not much activity takes place there
besides
sleeping so it is unlikely any observation will actually be done here.)
The Bays: the bays are two large garage type areas that house the apparatus and
rigs of the fire department. there are two bay doors in one room and three in the other.
The Weight Room: area with punching bags, weights, treadmills, and other
exercise
equipment for firefighters to work out.
Social Norms: behavior that is appropriate for a particular place at a specific time in each
setting. May or may not be used to create a code of conduct or unspoken rules.

Discourse Observation Analysis Notes

Assignment One

Anna McCord

Although it is a pretty relaxed environment there is a level of respect and common sense
required in the fire department. It is expected that the men (and one woman) on Robinson
respect one another, respect the property, respect their lieutenants, assistant chief, and
chief. It is not permissible to be messy or leave things in their improper places. If there is
an emergency everything must be in its correct place to be able to function smoothly and
dispatch to a fire or medical call promptly. Although there is a time to goof off or relax,
there is never a time for shenanigans or anything that could cause an issue with the way the
department functions.

Domain: The shared goal or code to uphold within the community. This holds the
community together and gives them a purpose. In other words, what they should all be
striving for.
At Robinson, there are several things that can be considered the domain. They range from
something as simple as the actual document called The Fireman's Prayer, to something like
keeping the station clean and functioning.

The Firemans Prayer- This is a call to all firemen called to duty. This states their strong
allegiance to saving lives and protecting property. All firemen strive to live
up to this
creed.
Keeping the Station Clean- All firemen must take turns and keep the department in clean
and
working order to avoid messes and problems that could delay their response
time in
any way.
Saving Lives- Saving lives and protecting property are both stated in The Firemans
Prayer,
however this should be a category on its own simply because that is the main
goal of
all firefighters.
Communities of Practice: any particular group or gathering of people with similar goals or
ideas within a figured world.
The obvious community of practice I expect to observe are the firemen themselves.
However, there may be a more specific community of practice such as probes
(probationary firefighter), Firefighter I, Firefighter II, lieutenants, and chiefs. Perhaps
probes, Is, and IIs can all be grouped together as underlings to the authoritative figures
and may prove to be their own communities of practice.
Since my observation has occurred I have concluded that the following are the main
communities of practice:
Probationary Firefighters- These men are often called probes, pronounced probees, and seem to stick together while still trying to find their way into the
accepted
ring of firemen. They have not yet completed their training and
certification to become
a FFI or FFII.

Discourse Observation Analysis Notes

Assignment One

Anna McCord

FFI/FFII/EMTS - These men and one woman have completed the necessary
training
and certification by the state or other necessary certification to be considered
firefighters and emergency medical technicians. They are a
functioning part of the
department and are above probes but below everyone
else.
Captains- Captains are elected officials who must also be certified FFs of EMTs.
They keep order in the station under the chief and asst. chiefs.
Chief/Asst. Chiefs: These six men are the key leaders of the fire department who
have
the responsibility of budgeting, training, upkeep, and everything that makes
a fire
station tick.
Artifacts: objects or items of importance to and or may define a particular community of
practice. May include items needed for the community of practice to function.
I would consider several things in the fire department artifacts due too the importance of
their availability and usefulness. I have selected several key artifacts I think are of
importance for you to understand this community of practice.
Bunker/Turn Out/ Life Safety Gear- all o=f these names are given to the only thing that
stands between a fireman and the heat of a fire. The gear consists of a helmet, boots, jacket,
pants, gloves, toboggan and air mask/tank.
Apparattus/Rigs- All encompassing terms for all vehicular equipment made to transport
people or water. This includes Engines 1, 2, and 4, Brush 6, Rescue 8, the ATV, and the
department car.
Actors: a person with a specific job or who fulfills a specific roll inside of a figured
world.
I have selected these actors from my first observation period however future observations
may differ in actors based on who is present when the observation takes place.
Robbie Honeycutt - Chief
He has been Chief at Robinson for 23 years and has been a firefighter for 46.
He worked full time for Huntersville Fire Department until his retirement. He will
usually be referred to as Chief or the Chief in these observations.
Josh Mailing - Probationary FF
He is in the process to be on Concords Fire Department full time and hopes to
gain
more experience at Robinson. He is 20 years old and plans to make
firefighting his
career. He has been at Robinson for 2 years.
Brandon Shaver - Probationary FF
He is in the process to be on Concords Fire Department as well. He moved from
Idlewild fire department after gaining two years of experience there and is
currently
taking his EVD (emergency vehicle driving) courses to be able to drive
the trucks to
calls at the station. He too plans to make firefighting his career. He
has only been at
Robinson for a year.

Discourse Observation Analysis Notes

Assignment One

Anna McCord

Farrel Tackett- FF/EMT

He has been on Robinson for 15 years and plans to continue volunteering. He has
his
full firefighters certification and worked for Charlotte Fire Department
before changing
line of work to work with his brother. He still loves the fire life and
plans to continue to volunteer until he is no longer physically able.
Dustin Huffman - Capt. FF/EMT
Dustin Huffman is 28 and has been at Robinson for 7 years and portrayed
extreme
leadership characteristics and was therefore respected and voted in as one of
the
captains two years ago. He works full time for Charlotte Fire department
and continues
to Volunteer in his spare time.
Jack Harlow- FF
He has been on Robinson for 3 years after transferring from mint hill volunteer
department. He has his full firefighters certification and is in the process to
be on
Charlottes Fire department. He has his EVDs and although not a captain or
chief, he
still can drive fire vehicles.
Michael Thompson - FF/EMT
Michael Thompson
John Booth - Asst. Chief
Literacy Practices: particular way people in figured worlds and communities of practice
communicate with one another in whatever form that may take.
*Note: Firefighter jargon is difficult to understand and may be easily confused especially
over radio transmittance for people unfamiliar with the terms. I will do my best to define
new terms that may arise at any given point in my observations.*
Radio Transmittance: Radio is used for communication from Central, or dispatch, and
each individual station, then each station has their own channel to communicate with their
members on, and each call is designated a station number so all units responding will be on
the same channel.
Whiteboard: In the firehouse there is a whiteboard in the gathering room with important
information, incoming events, news, training activities, to do lists etc.
Meetings: During meetings there is an opportunity for any fireman to bring up and issue or
thoughts and opinions he/she might have on any subject pertaining directly or indirectly to
the fire department.
Practices of the Community: Different tasks or activities that members of the community
do religiously to keep their focus and domain on track. This should be what makes their
domain accomplishable. Due to the practices of the community the Domain can be
achieved.
Training Sessions: These are established to give firemen current information on
firefighting strategies, life saving techniques, and to keep them
current on
physical activity.

Discourse Observation Analysis Notes

Assignment One

Anna McCord

Meetings: Meetings are held weekly and these are to convey any new or upcoming
information or events tat are taking place at Robinson. These are important
to the
function of the department.
Physical Exams: These take place monthly and put firemen and EMTs through
certain
tests and trials to see if they are in good physical shape as per
required for this
job.
Interview Questions:
I have chosen to interview Brandon Shaver. He is a frequent appearance in my observations.
1. Explain how the chain of command works in your fire department.
- The chain of command in our department specifically is our chief, our two assistant
chiefs our four captains, and then firefighters/ems are basically all on the same
level. So basically you just do whatever someone ahead of you n the chain of
command tells you to do in an emergency situation.
2. Tell me how the chain of command affects the level of respect given to each category of
firefighter? (Rookie/Probe, FFI, FFII, Lt./Captian, Asst. Chief, Chief)
- To be honest, if were not in an emergency situation we just treat everyone with the
same respect. I mean obviously we have to listen to Chief (chief) if he asks us to do
something around the station like clean or fix something and in training but
other than that its just kinda understood that you treat everyone with the same kind
of respect you deserve.
3. Describe a typical day at the fire department between calls.
- Well, a typical day at our department isn't that exciting, since were not always full
time staffed but always have people on cal it really depends on who is at the station.
But typically, we just hang around, goof off, lear the trucks, keep it clean around
there. Most of the time if Chief is there hell think of a million little things for us to
do and most of the time we dont do them up to his standards so a lot of times, me
and josh end up doing it all again. I mean, theres no typical day, it can be super
relaxed one day, and the next day have a million things to do. It just depends on
whos working and what we have coming up and how busy we are.
4. Would you say there is a difference in quality of firefighter based on how many calls he
attends, and why or why not?
- Obviously the more calls you go to the more experience you gain and, you know,
the more reliable you look to the chief iI guess. Honestly, you can have a million
hours of training but nothing prepares you for what you walk into. Wether thats a
medical call or a fire, or a wreck or anything. So yeah, the more calls you go to
well not necessarily a better firefighter but it makes you a more prepared
firefighter. More knowledgable.

Discourse Observation Analysis Notes

Assignment One

Anna McCord

5. If a firefighter starts at another station and transfers to your station, even if he isnt a
rookie, would you still treat him lesser than his title because he has not been a part of
your station as long? Give examples.
- I would say no, because thats how its supposed to be, but obviously yeah, if you're
from the outside you kinda have to be welcomed in eventually. Its like family here.
So basically its like introducing a guy to your family and expecting everyone to treat
him like hes been around for years, and he hasn't. I was the new guy. I transferred
from Idlewild and it took everyone awhile to warm up to me. specially since i was
still young when I transferred. But they warmed up to me pretty quick, started
giving me nicknames, calling me Dumbo. Thats what I am now. They call me that
because of my big ears.
6. Explain a specific time where a firefighter has been singled out or made an example of
by someone in command to either prove a point or out of disdain for that firefighter.
- Chief doesn't call anyone out who doesn't need to be called out. If youre being got
onto by Chief you messed up. Just about everyone has been made an example of
before for doing something wrong. He doesn't do it in a derogatory way its just
kind of a Hey don't be a dumba** like this guy, kinda thing. I remember one
time, the first time I ever brought my girlfriend to the station, I was carrying my
gear from my truck to the bay and as soon as i walked into the bay Chief was
standing there with Josh and Farrel and he said Wheres your gear bag? and i
had left it at home and just carried my gear loose in the back of my truck, so I said
Its at Home. Keep in mind my girlfriend was standing there the whole time. Well
Chief said Alright dumbo, I know youre smarter than this. and he asked my
girlfriend Missy do you know what happens when you leave any type of fabric in
the sun? and she looked petrified and said Uh well i know color fades when you
leave it in the sun and Chief said it sure does and with fire gear it can cause it to
break down and weaken when it fades. Then its d*** near ineffective. So, dumbo
here is gonna go home and get his gear bag, isnt he? and I was bright red at this
point, even my ears and I said Yes Sir. and all the guys just kinda snickered and i
was real embarrassed. He doesn't mean anything by it, he's just trying to keep us
from making mistakes. You cant afford mistakes at a fire station.
7. Would you say there are issues within the department itself between firefighters? If so,
explain and give an example. If so, why do you think there is an issue if you are all
working together for the same goal?
- PSHH, yeah. One that comes to mind is the one everyones talking about between
two firemen that i will not name I just think ones a little jealous of his girlfriend
and doesn't like him spending so much time with him, but thats okay. But, yeah
even though were all working for the same goal in an emergency situation it doesn't
mean were not humans underneath it all. I mean, aren't all people in high school
trying to graduate and yet high school was flu of drama. Problems go everywhere.
Its not uncommon for someone to be mad at somebody for something. Anything.
Observation Session One:

Discourse Observation Analysis Notes

Assignment One

Anna McCord

Afternoon of September 7th

10:45 AM - 11:20 AM:
Chief, Robbie Honeycut, arrives at the station while Josh Mailing, Brandon Shaver, and
Michael Thompson are sitting in the common room watching pre-game football. The chief
enters and no one stands up or even bothers to straighten their posture on the couches.
Chief makes a comment regarding the laziness of the men on the couches and Shaver
replies, Its sunday and football season. What do you expect? Chief shakes his head and
retreats to office and processed to sit at the computer and rustle through papers. The men
continue to sit on the couch.
11:20 AM- 11:35 AM - Jack Harlow enters with his new fianc Liz. Harlow and Mailing
have recently had a huge fight about Josh not wanting to help Harlow and Liz move into
their new apartment. The tension in the room is so thick you could cut it with a butter
knife. Mailing texts Shaver who is sitting right across the room and his phone happens to
be on loud. Mailing seems embarrassed and his face turns bright red. Mailing and Shaver
exit the room and move out into the bays. Harlow and Liz shook their heads and rolled
eyes when the two exited.
11:35 AM - 12:00 PM
Chief emerges from office and asks where Shaver and Mailing went off too. Thompson says
they got scared of Jack and went to mess around with the trucks. Chief grabs cherry wax
and rags and exits to bay area to find the two probes. The chief asks them what the issue is
and they say nothing is wrong and everything is fine. The chief then proceeds to tell them
that Engine 4 and Brush 6 need to be waxed after their wash they just had. The two probes
ask why he doesn't get Thompson and Harlow to do it and chief just walks away without
responding. The boys start waxing the trucks. Not long after they begin Farrel Tacket
appears in the bay door of Brush 6 and begins to laugh and poke good hearted fun at the
probes. The three men all joke and cut up until Tacket says its to hot for an old man and
walks into the gathering room.
12:00-12:10 PM
Several minutes after Tacket enters the gathering room, laughing and joking can be heard
erupting form the inside. Shaver and Mailing proceed to talk about Harlow begrudgingly
behind his back in the safety of the bay away from Harlows ears. Along with speaking
poorly about Harlow the two joke about the high pitched tone the Chief has when he
speaks. They seem to mean no hatred towards the Chief but continue to make fun of his
voice for a good amount of time.
12:10- 12:30 PM
The men inside, Chief, Tacket, Thompson, Harlow, and his fianc begin to talk about a bad
car fire on I-485 outterloop in station 40s district that RVFD was called for support on.
They all seem to become completely enthralled with the story. Both Thompson and probe
Mailing responded for RVFD for that wreck. Shortly after the story concludes Harlow
brings up the fact that shortly after RVFD ran clear and available to central, Thompson,

Discourse Observation Analysis Notes

Assignment One

Anna McCord

the engineer on this call, backed directly into a parked car behind Engine 2 at the sight of
the wreck. Chief simply shakes his head but half jokingly half seriously states that
Thompson knows whats coming to him.
12:32 - 12:35 PM
Tones drop for a medical call of a 46 year old man with trouble breathing on priority level
delta. Mailing and Shaver reenter common room at the sound of the tones and no sooner
than they enter Tacket, Thompson and Harlow exit into the bay and begin to gear up and
board Rescue 8, the first on medical calls. Shaver looks to Chief and Chief comments about
moving quicker or theyll leave them. Mailing and Shaver gear up and are on Rescue 8
before the bay door is even comply open.
Observation One Conclusions: It is interesting how when interviewing Shaver, He
answered questions about the chain of command and about respect in the fire department
stating that, Everyone deserves the equal amount of respect. No one is really above one
another unless on a call. However, it was shown to me through the observation that there
are some very hostile behaviors among different levels of authority in the fire department.
Observation Session Two:
Night of September 10th
7:30 - 7:50
Brandon Shaver, Dustin Huffman, Michael Thompson and John Booth are finishing up
sweeping out the bays and setting all their gear where it needs to be. Josh Mailing enters
the main room carrying wendys for everyone and tells everyone to Come eat your s***.
Booth enters from bay room followed by everyone else and they settle up money for their
meal.
7:50-8:05
It is practically silent while everyone eats their food. Aside from the occasional grunt or
chuckle at the television, everyone is pretty much focused on their eating.
8:05-8:20
Huffman goes outside for a smoke and to call his wife while the rest of the men sit around
like beached whales. They all start to talk about various and sundry things. Mailing brings
up Booths accident the other day by asking if Chief was gonna demote him. Booth
responds with Hell no hes not demoting me. He loves me too much. Shaver was not
there when the accident occurred and had to be filled in. Mailing and Booth both give
similar sides to the same basic story. When Booth was connecting the hose to the pump and
then to the hydrant he didn't have the seal tight enough during raining and caused one of
the valves to pop off and bang into the asphalt. This caused the washer on the inside of the
hose line to break and will need replacing. Huffman entered about half way through the
story and stood off to the side.
8:20- 8:28

Discourse Observation Analysis Notes

Assignment One

Anna McCord

After hearing the story Shaver states that at least he didn't back into a parked car at a call.
The men laugh and they all start to clean up the food mess when the tones drop. The call is
a fire alarm priority Alpha and they depart just as quickly as they scarfed f=down their
food. Them men gear up and take engine 8, and the rescue. Mint hill ambulance was
dispatched as well as Mint Hills Fire Department.
8:28-9:05
Robinson arvies on scene where Mint Hill engine, ladder, and rescue, are already on scene.
Mint Hills chief has already said he would take command and robinson could be on
standby if the fire ended up becoming something. The men are disgruntled as they have to
stand around and sit in the trucks while they watch Mint Hill walk the perimeter. They
walk toe perimeter and nothing is showing on the outside of the house. Most often when a
fire warm goes off it can be triggered by something as small as toast burning in the toaster.
Once the perimeter search is complete Robinson radios to central that they are clear and
available and they leave and do not stick around to watch Mint Hill speak with the
homeowner.
9:05- 9:15
The men are driving back. In the Rescue, Booth, Mailing and Shaver proceed to complain
about Mint Hill and how they consistently take their calls from them. Shaver even says
They bring that d*** ladder to everything. It was a one story structure with nothing even
showing and the brought their ladder. surprise surprise. Booth states theres really
nothing they can do about it since Mint Hill is full time and staffed and they are just
volunteer. The men nod in reluctant agreement and let the sleeping dog lie.
9:15-9:25
The men arrive back at the station, park the trucks, replace their gear, and everyone but
Thompson finds a place to sleep. Thompson heads home for the night whir the rest of the
men bunk in.
Observation Two Conclusions: I notice that there is quite a bit of rivalry between Mint Hill
and Robinson. This is partially because the men are angry that Mint Hill would not close
down but Robinson is threatened with that every day. I do however believe this hostility is
also from the fact that both fire departments want the glory of responding to an important
call. It is natural order that whatever station is on scene first can take command of the
situation. Frequently Mint Hill arrives first on scene because they are both bigger and
staffed full time. This definitely causes the men to be angry before they even do anything
wrong.
Observation Session Three
Morning of September 17th
8:00-8:15
The Chief, Shaver and Booth are in the main room. Chief and Booth are discussing the
upcoming training session while Shaver eats goldfish for breakfast and watches the movie
Battleship. Mailing comes down from the bunk room and enters, with only his boxers on,

Discourse Observation Analysis Notes

Assignment One

Anna McCord

notices I am here, turns around and says Ive never seen a girl hang out at this fire
department so much in all my d*** life He returns moments later with shorts on and
proceeds to plop on the couch.
8:15-9:00
Tackett arrives at the station and calls Mailing and Shaver to come check out his new visor
lights in his truck. The three men exit the door and Chief yells ahead to them saying to
hurry up because they have a long list of stuff that needs to be done today. Outside Tackett
turns on his truck and puts on his rear, grill, visor, and strobe lights and parades his truck
around the driveway. Shaver and Mailing shake their heads and Shaver says he wishes he
had big money to throw around like that. Tackett also works on the city of Charlotte fire
department at Station 26. The men prolong going inside for as long as they can because
they do not want to start chores. They walk towards the horse fence and talk about how
Chief always wants something done. They mock the Chiefs high pitched voice and even say
it sounds like he sucks down a whole bottle of helium before he comes in every day.
although it is all laughed about outside Chiefs earshot, they wouldn't dream of saying that
to his face.
9:00-9:10
Bay door one opens and the Chief walks out holding a tarp and a spray can. The men walk
over and Chief asks them to spread out the tarp. Tackett asks the inevitable What do you
want us to do? and Chief explains they will be sealing the old hose lines with the spray
sealant to prevent any further cracking if they needed to be used in an emergency situation.
9:10-9:25
Shaver and Mailing try their hardest to convince the Chief it isnt necessary to do that
because there is no likely reason the new hoses would fail and they would need to use the
old ones. They went back and forth about different scenarios between the three of them but
in the end their efforts were wasted. Chief said it didn't matter what the reasoning was,
besides the reason that he said to do it.
9:25-9:40
The men go to the back and grab out all the old hose line out of the locker and roll in out
bit by bit to begin sealing it. They are yelled at for bringing it all out at once because they
can only do one at a time so why would they bring more than one out as he is ragging on
them the tones drop for a fire alarm at the new Town Hall. The men know it is most likely
a fluke as the new system is still under construction and they have responded to it twice in
the past day, however it is procedure and they must go again.
Observation Two Conclusions: Although the men say that you should respect everyone
equally and that the chief has authority at the fire house, it seems to me that the men have a
serious problem talking about the Chief behind his back. I suppose it is that way with any
authority figure in any situation, however this is not something I expected from these men
who say they respect and revere their Chief s much.

Discourse Observation Analysis Notes

Assignment One

Anna McCord

Conclusion of All Observations: Although it was conveyed in the interview that everyone
has equal respect around the fire house, through my observations it has become obvious
that the level of respect given to any one man at Robinson differs greatly. There is
disrespect to authority behind their backs and there is disrespect to equals directly to their
face. This is shocking coming from a group of men who are known to uphold such high
standards. There are interdepartmental issues as well as issues between different
departments. I believe it goes without saying that it does not matter what type of a code
or standard anyone must uphold, we are all humans and have our flaws. I am not sure
what make humans want to belittle or put down one another, but I do know it is within all
of us, no matter how hard we try to hide or deny it. There is no doubt about it, firemen are
not perfect, however they are heroes that do a lot for their community.