Ben Franklin: Founding Father, Firefighter, and… EMS Educator?

Ben Franklin has long been associated with the founding of the American fire service.

What many people do not realize is that his interest in building and protect strong communities has left us with many lessons to inspire and guide fire, rescue, and EMS leaders in the twenty-first century. His wisdom is as applicable to emergency responders today as it was to is hard-working readers of the eighteenth century.

While it is unlikely that Franklin ever taught bloodborne pathogen lessons, he often gave advice that you might hear in any modern training classroom, “Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes or habitation.” He also noted that, “In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.”

Franklin said of aspiring leaders, “He that cannot obey cannot command.” and that the road to leadership can be long and difficult, but worth the effort, “Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.”

A proponent of what now may be known as servant leadership, Franklin recommended that leaders understand, “To be humble to superiors his duty, to equals courtesy, to inferiors nobleness.”

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About romduck

Rom Duckworth is a dedicated emergency responder, author, and educator with more than thirty years of experience working in career and volunteer fire departments, hospital healthcare systems, and private emergency medical services. Rom is a career fire captain and paramedic EMS Coordinator for the Ridgefield (CT) Fire Department and director of the New England Center for Rescue and Emergency Medicine. Rom holds a master’s degree in public administration, is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer program, and is the recipient of the NAEMT Presidential Award, American Red Cross Hero Award, Sepsis Alliance Sepsis Hero Award, and the EMS 10 Innovators Award. Rom is the author of "Duckworth on Education," as well as chapters in more than a dozen EMS, fire, rescue, and medical textbooks and over 100 published articles in fire and EMS magazines. A member of the NAEMT Board of Directors, as well as other national and international advocacy and advisory boards, Rom continues to work for the advancement of emergency services professions. Contact Rom via www.romduck.com