We Did Our Best

As firefighters, the very nature of our business is dealing with difficult situations. We are often called into chaotic scenes rife with danger, difficult decisions, and impossible tasks. Most of us embrace the challenge and take pride in a job well done. Unfortunately however, sometimes things don’t turn out the way we would like despite our best efforts.  Most often it is because of circumstances beyond our control; after all, people don’t call us when things are going well. When faced with these difficult times we often attempt to rationalize by saying “we did our best”. But we have to take an honest look at ourselves and ask, is our best the best it could be? Consider the following questions. Would my best be better if I were more physically fit? Would my best be better if I took more classes? Would my best be better if I put more effort into training? Would my best be better if I studied more? At this point it should be clear that our best is never as good as it could be. With the dynamic nature of our job and the wide variety of services we provide, it is impossible to be perfect in every aspect of our job. But while we will never achieve perfection, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive for it. Lives depend on our best being good enough-our lives and the lives of those we serve. We owe it to ourselves, each other, and the customers to try to make our best better every shift.  

Captain Earle