In Response to Olive Juice's Ch. 5 (HRO) Blog

I can easily relate to the above blog about firefighters. My x-boyfriend is a firefighter / paramedic as well as on the HIT team for his department, so the idea of "High-reliability organizations" (HROs)is so close to home its scary. Every shift my x-boyfriend would come home and talk casually about the near death experiences he would deal with on a daily bases as if it were a normal thing to everyone around him. It is so unbelievably true that it really does take a certain type of person to be able to successfully complete the tasks required of them as a firefighter. There are so many "meticulously planned and coordinated safety rules and cultures within a fire department that acceptance is most definitely something you must work for, it is a never ending battle to stay on top of the most recent rules and regulations while still proving yourselves to the chiefs and fellow firefighters. The first year of a firefighters career is the most challenging when it comes to HROs because they are the new-bees and have not yet proved themselves worthy to be part of such a socialized system and it takes many years after probation to truly be "up to par" with other firefighters within your station. The reality of it is that firefighters must be prepared to face life and death situations on a daily basis and must be able to act in an instance to not only save a patients life but also to be sure that they are safe as well as their fellow workers.