There's a new fire guild in town.

For those of you who've seen this:
people.tribe.net/quin/blog
Yes, I know about it.

Yes, I know it could be taken as a back handed slap at me. Though I'm assured that wasn't the intention.

I'm not going to be participating in this and I think my local friends need to know why.

"Been there, done that"
Several years ago, I co-organized NAFAA and the local chapter guild 'Hearthfire'. It was torn apart. Probably for the same general reasons that almost every other fire organization has failed. And if I knew what those reasons are, I might try to help avoid them. I can point to the petty inter-personal politics that had nothing to do with the group, but in the end, I think it's just a matter of ego. Not really in a bad way, just that you need a strong ego to spin fire in the first place and when you get a room full of them, they often collide. But what may be the most important part is that I remember the years it took to write the nafaa code, the $1000s of dollars I spent researching and educating fire departments, and the difficulty I had keeping together over 500 active members of NAFAA. I don't want to start all over again. I'm way done with fire politics.

"Fact and fright"
If you glance over the invitation to the group, you'll see first that they're using scare tactics to get members to join. This is not a healthy way to start anything, Just look at the Bush Administration. But, also, they're working from snippets of reality without first getting the whole; getting the facts. I'm not sure I can, nor want to, work with people who will build from gossip as their foundation.

"Not enough time"
I'm falling behind on my personal schedule for Red Swan. There's a ton of work I haven't done on the website and 100 phone calls to make after I do. We're still getting jobs in, and we haven't really started on our planned programs. Now, Red Swan is something I completely believe in. I think it can go very far, but can also help place the fire community in much higher standing than back yard birthdays, and mistreated rave nuisances. Our goal is to provide the fire community with avenues that not only pay well, but pay regularly. We'd love to see people *making a living* at fire performance rather than just have it as a weekend gig-thing. So, if I don't have enough time for something I really believe in, I certainly don't have the time for something I'm dubious about.

"Convenience"
And, of course, They're holding this meeting on a Wednesday. While it's true that there are 3 people who can run the park, it still feels like an imposition to ask. But more importantly, I like going to burn club. Why would I want to give up Doing fire to Talk about fire? Seems counter-productive.

So, should this be taken as my suggestion to avoid this group? No. In the end of it all, I see one of two things happening. Either the forces that killed so many other fire guilds apart will do the same here. In which case, I will have wasted time and effort. Or something solid, factual and beneficial will happen. And if *I'm* part of it, people will probably look to me to make that happen. I've spend the time in research, I've attended quarterly 9am meetings on weekdays, I've distributed enough DVDs that my drive finally died on this very machine, I've talked city after city into using the NAFAA code so that it's easier to get permits in LA, possible to get them at all in Santa Monica, and easier to get them in Orange County. I have fought against the tides of bureaucratic red tape and the insipid fears of our community long enough. Time for other people to stand up. Maybe Ty and Rebecca will start showing up regularly at SAFFE meetings, maybe Fire Groove will get serious about fire safety, heck, maybe Josh will step up as a community leader, Who Knows? But the point is, it will be less likely for someone else to step up if I'm still active.

I'm stepping out of this guild in hopes that people will actually READ the NAFAA regs, even the annotated version. I'm hoping that other people will devote time and money to researching the deeper truths about fire performance. I'm hoping that in a large group, someone will grow a pair and bother to ask other people about the whole story instead of convenient little snippets. I'm hoping that the LA fire community won't continue to lean on me as the sole source of fire safety info and starts doing some of this work in an organized and distributed manner. And, of course, I'm hoping that they'll deliver this information to the NAFAA site for posing in the wiki. :)

So, If you've read this far, just sign your name at the top of your answer sheet and turn it in whistling. I thank you for putting up with my ramblings. Also, I might add that by getting this far, you have the makings for the kind of person I'm talking about here. Maybe you should join this guild just to help keep their facts straight for them. :) Don't worry, I don't have a problem with anyone else joining up.... ;)


[oh, and for the record, this definition:]
ego |ˈēgō|
noun ( pl. egos)
• Psychoanalysis: the part of the mind that mediates between the conscious and the unconscious and is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity. Compare with id and superego .