Updates: You can’t take it with you!
Rev. Kenneth N. Hessel
I don’t know how many times
I’ve started up my computer for the day and been faced with the prospect of
waiting for the computer to upload the latest batch of updates necessary for
the protection and well performance of the computer. The worst ones are the ones that take place
in the middle of some important work and that annoying pop up shows up that
says, “The computer will automatically restart in 10 minutes.”
In the course of firefighting
we, too, have gone through a series of updates. We recently were introduced to a few new acronyms to assist us in our firefighting
skills and for our protection. Some of
these are just new variations of things we have always done; others may be a
total new approach to firefighting. It’s
important to remember and update our thinking to things like S.L.I.C.E.R.S.,
V.E.I.S., and L.U.N.A.R. (If you don’t remember what these are, it’s a good
time to review and process them in your memory.)
I would like to remind you of
another, more practical type of update that we need to perform. In the course of my ministry and chaplaincy I
have run into the failure of this update a number of times and I have seen it
cause much chagrin and damage in a person’s family relationships. It’s a simple and necessary update that can
benefit so many.
This update is really
simple. Review and update your personnel record and your beneficiaries.
As obvious as this seems, it
is amazing how often this gets overlooked. Think of how many things can change in a year. It could be something simple like changing
your internet provider and receiving a new email address or moving to a new
apartment and having a complete change of physical address. It could have been a bit more complicated
like adding a dependent (spouse, child) or losing a dependent (death,
divorce). Think these are minor things
that don’t need an update?
Consider what would occur if
something serious happened like a line of duty injury or death. What if that emergency contact you had listed
on your personnel file is no longer at that telephone number you had put on
your file 5 years ago when you first joined your department? Would anybody know how to reach them?
Or worse, what about that
death beneficiary you had listed on the form as your spouse? You’ve gone through a nasty divorce,
remarried and had children with your new spouse in the 15 years since you last
updated the form. Guess who gets your
death benefit?
As I said earlier, I have had
to deal with a couple of incidents in which the surviving spouse or children
didn’t get the benefits because a previous spouse was listed and the
beneficiary form was never changed. The
pain and anguish this caused was hardly worth the 5 minutes it would have taken
to update the form.
My challenge to you is to take
the time to look through your files and update them. Ask your personnel manager (or appropriate
person in your department) to look through your information to bring them up to
date. Chiefs, consider making this a
yearly project in your department.
Rev.
Kenneth N. Hessel is currently the Chief Chaplain of the New York State
Association of Fire Chaplains, Inc. having served in that role since 2014. Prior to that he served as the Executive
Secretary for 6 years and 2 years on the Board of Directors. He serves as a firefighter, EMT and chaplain
for the Westbury Fire Department, having joined the department in 1999. He was also the chairperson of the New York
State Fire Council from 2009-2011. Pastor Ken, originally from Derby, NY, has
been a Lutheran minister for 29 years.
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