I first noticed this club when assigned to 5 Engine in Richmond, Virginia. 5 Engine was the busiest Engine Company in Richmond, for the entire 8 years I was assigned there. It was wonderful place for a young fireman to learn his trade.
In the early 1980’s all three shifts at the nickel were taking in about 80 to 100 working fires a year, most of which were in the first due. To really learn how to be a good fireman, one has to go to fires. And the action didn’t get any better than 5 Engine.
Some of the best Officers, and firemen were assigned to the busy house on Leigh Street. Lessons of previous battles were passed down from the senior members. Friendships were forged that will be taken to the grave. We also worked with 18 other men assigned to 1 truck that shared the cramped quarters. Many of them were also members of the 30% club.
What is the 30% club?
Have you ever noticed that when first arriving at a working fire, it’s always the same guys who step-up and take the fight to the fire? Now far be it for me to point fingers at the rest of the members, but it seems that some guys have a strong urge for self-preservation. Another important point is that someone has to take the hydrant.
In my early days as a Richmond Fireman, it was always the same guys you bumped into inside a fire building. Pitch black smoke, the sound of crackling fire, a campfire amplified 100 times by being confined inside a building. Who is that? It’s Buzzy, It’s Pinky, It’s Radar, It’s Mikey, It’s Bryan, It’s Grayson, and the list goes on. Richmond has always been blessed with great firemen; it has been passed down from generation to generation. It always felt good to be crawling down that long dark, hot hallway with these men.
Upon finding the fire, the pipe is opened and the steam seams to find every opening in you clothing, making an uncomfortable situation even worse. Thru clenched jaws you “stick it out” that extra 30 seconds that it takes to turn a second alarm fire into just another all-hands job.
The members of the 30% club know that their work will not be featured on the news; the public will never see what they do. That small burns to the ears and neck are part of the trade. They know that many second and third alarm fires (which can generate intense media coverage) would have been put out if a thirty percenter was on the pipe. Members of the club also know that once the fire is knocked down, there will be a wave of firemen on scene wanting to help pull ceilings and walls, making sure they rub a little soot on them selves. At times it gets so tight you can’t move.
So what is it that drives these guys? Thirty percenters love the challenge of taking on a force of nature, and living to tell about it. They know that the true reward working in this business is what you give back to the community, the life you helped save, the building you helped save, the little boys baseball card collection, a little girl’s American doll collection, the family photo album. Things that can never be replaced are some of the things that drive the “thirty percenter”. There is also a bond, a brotherhood that is formed by shared hardships, and shared danger. Respect, the respect you get from Officers and co-workers. I can remember what it meant to me. The many times of “Good job” or the eye contact from officers who know what you just went through, and what you’ve accomplished. The respect you receive in the firehouse kitchen, etc. It feels good to be in the thirty percent club.
How do you join?
You join the club by taking all available training classes. Learn you business so you are not a danger to yourself or those around you. Then you must figure out who in your department is trustworthy, and stick with him at the next fire. Like any trade, you need a mentor to show you the ropes.
Be careful, the loudest talker at the kitchen table may not be the best fireman on the fireground; it’s often that quiet guy sitting at the table taking it all in, who just might surprise you at the next worker. One sure way to tell is to push the line in at the next fire and see who you bump into…….I can promise you that it is right then that you will have become a candidate for the thirty percent club. And you may even be seen with a slight grin on your face when one of the pretenders rubs a dirty glove across his face…..
"People asked me, am I old school? I guess in many ways I am because I truly believe that tradition is important to the long-term survival of the fire service."
"To me, the fire service is still dirty hose and brass nozzle tips, seasoned firefighters who know what it means to pull a ceiling and know what to do when they're told to trim a window...and it's about chiefs who trust their instincts and exude that command presence."
"I view the two-in/two-out rule as a copout standard," he opined to a broad national audience, "When the two who are in are in trouble, what are the two who are our going to be able to do? My experience is that it may take a half dozen or more firefighters...to rescue just one firefighter in distress...to me, the safest way to operate if there are only four personnel available for interior firefighting, I think, is all four in. And the reason is that the search for victims will be completed more quickly, but most important, water will be applied to the seat of the fire in a shorter time frame, which eliminates all the hazards the two-in/two-out rule was created to address in the first place."
Under the impulse of such thoughts the nobility of the occupation thrills us and stimulates us to deeds of daring even of supreme sacrifice."
LT. Andy Fredricks
Squad 18 FDNY
Killed 9/11/01
[At the time of his untimely death, Andy was rising through the ranks and had a passion for fire attack methodologies which was making him a fire service giant.]
Edward F. Croker
Chief of Department FDNY
1899-1911
"I have no ambition in this world but one and that is to be a fireman.
The position may in the eyes of some appear to be a lowly one; But those who know the work which a fireman has to do believe his is a noble calling.
Our proudest moment is to save...lives.
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