Thinking Firefighters

In one of my last posts I briefly touched on the topic of creating a “thinking fire service” and I truly subscribe to this idea. The fire service of the 21^st century is facing, and will continue to face, new challenges and, to remain effective, we must successfully rise to these challenges.  I believe that breeding “thinking firefighters” is an essential task that will allow us to remain effective in the 21^st century.  However, there are many folks within the fire service who do nothing to promote or encourage “thinking firefighters”.  There are few good reasons for this and this mindset does nothing to improve the future of the fire service. 

Simply put, you don’t magically get promoted one day and have all the answers. Nor will you ever have all of the answers in this job.  With that said, breeding “thinking firefighters” will allow firefighters to gain knowledge, skills, and abilities that will prepare them to be good fire officers.  Failing to prepare is preparing to fail and this is exactly what an organization is doing if they do not embrace the concept of “thinking firefighters”.  The firefighters of today are the leaders of tomorrow and it’s incumbent upon the leaders of today to prepare folks to take their job and, in turn, take the fire service into the future.  So how do we make this happen?

The first step to breeding “thinking firefighters” is to put your own ego aside.  Hopefully it already is.  If it’s not than it needs to be.  As a fire officer you do not serve for yourself, you serve for the citizen’s, your subordinates, and your department.  The quicker you embrace this mindset, the quicker you will become a better fire officer.  Your goal should be to prepare your firefighters to take your job and become better than you.  That’s correct, I said “become better than you”.  Sometimes that’s a hard pill for folks to swallow as nobody wants to be outdone or made to look inferior.  The reality is by breeding “thinking firefighters”, who are best prepared to take the fire service into the future, you have been successful in your mission as a fire officer.

After your ego has been set aside, the next step is to train and prepare your firefighters to be “thinking firefighters”.  This happens around the firehouse, during drills, and in all phases of emergency incidents.  One of the best things you can do to prepare your firefighters is: show how AND explain why.  One of the main traits of a “thinking firefighter” is: understanding why they are doing, whatever they may be doing.  If a firefighter understands why they are doing something, they will be able to formulate multiple action plans in the event that “Plan A” doesn’t work.  Taking a few moments to explain to your firefighters the thought process behind your decisions and actions will also help your firefighters.  Not only will it help them better understand what an officer is thinking, but it may positively influence their decisions and actions.  A successful company, with “thinking firefighters”, usually operates as a well-oiled machine and very little direction has to be provided.  This type of performance comes from training and preparation and is not achieved overnight.

Another excellent thing you can do to breed “thinking firefighters” is to show your firefighters where you have come from, both as an individual and as an organization.  It’s important for firefighters to know that you have been in their role and the things you did that worked well, as well as those things that didn’t work so well.  By acknowledging your own mistakes and shortcomings, you provide your firefighters with knowledge that will, hopefully, keep them from making the same mistakes.  This also validates the fact that everyone makes mistakes.  It’s not how bad you mess up, but how well you recover.  Also, as stated above, it’s important for your firefighters to know where the organization has come from.  This will help the firefighters understand why the organization operates the way it does now.  Surely, there have been folks within the organization who dedicated time and effort to progress your organization to where it is today.  The hard work and dedication of these folks, hopefully, kept your organization moving forward and firefighters who understand this can better fill these roles in the future and keep your organization moving forward.  Also, applying water and hooking ceilings is a time-tested practice that still proves to be effective today.  There are many “old school” methods that still prove to be effective in today’s fire service and they should not necessarily be tossed to the side.  Ensure your firefighters are aware of how the “old, salty” guys did the job because “Plan A” doesn’t always work and the “old school” method may need to be employed to get the job done.

Of course, there are many other things you can do to be a good fire officer but these things will help you breed “thinking firefighters” and ensure the fire service remains effective in the 21^st Century.              Remember, being a good fire officer involves preparing your firefighters to take your job and to be better than you are.  This type of leadership will help keep the fire service moving in a forward direction while not forgetting where we have come from.