Operationally Effective Leadership

Despite the beliefs of some within our ranks, the fire service remains a risky business that sometimes places us in harm’s way.  To remain effective, the fire service will always have risks associated with our operations.  Before we go any further, I want to reaffirm I am an advocate of aggressive operations, not reckless operations.  With that said, the fire service is dependant upon fire officers who are effective at leading in extreme, risky, and life threatening situations.  Simply being organized or an administratively strong leader will only take you so far in this job, as will simply being operationally strong.  However, the focus of this post is to assist in achieving operationally effective leadership within the fire service.

Earning the respect and trust of the troops is essential to operationally effective leadership.  A title is just that, a title.  You can take the biggest goofball in the firehouse and put a rank on their collar and helmet shield, does that simple act make them any more of a leader than they were the day before? No.  Do you think the troops will truly trust or respect this person anymore than they did the day before? Probably not.  Respect and trust are earned through actions, not through words. 

It begins in the firehouse.  Showing your firefighters that you will not ask them to do things you aren’t willing to do yourself will go a long way.  Not only does it show the troops you are a team player, it shows them that you haven’t forgot what it’s like to walk in their shoes.  If you aren’t engaged in an absolutely necessary task, pick up a brush to help wash the rig or pick up a broom to help sweep the floor.  The first few times, the troops will probably tell you to put it down and they’ll take care of it.  Don’t!  Actually doing the tasks a few times reaffirms that you aren’t just putting on a front and that you’re truly committed to helping them.  After a few times of doing the tasks, it’s okay to walk away when they tell you to.  After all, since you are a 21^st century fire officer, you probably have a lot of other “less fun” items that need your attention.  However, periodic participation in these tasks with your firefighters will strengthen your team and reaffirms your commitment to them.  The benefits of this will likely carry over to your company’s operational performance.

Operationally effective fire officers strive to continuously better themselves and their firefighters.  Consistent training is essential for preparing your firefighters and yourself to perform efficiently and effectively in extreme, risky, and life threatening situations.  Too often I see fire officers put together company drills but do not participate in the drill themselves.  The positive of this situation is they are initiating training, however they are doing a disservice to themselves and their company by not participating.  Drills are a great opportunity for everyone to learn and are an excellent opportunity for leaders to display their competency and reassure the troops that they’re not “all talk”.  Conducting drills regularly will also allow a leader to communicate the operational expectations they have of their firefighters.  Additionally, drills provide leaders with opportunities to come out of their comfort zone and will provide the troops with initial exposure to a fire officer’s operational leadership capabilities.  While one’s actions on the fireground will ultimately prove to be the true gauge of their operational leadership capabilities, the training environment allows for a positive initial impression to be made.

The items discussed above pertain to pre-incident actions that a fire officer can take to maximize their ability to be an operationally effective leader.  These are great opportunities to lay ground work for fireground performance, however, at the end of the day it’s just ground work.  Fireground performance is the true defining factor of an operationally effective leader.  It’s where the extremes, risks, and life threatening situations all come together and it’s where the troops may need your effectiveness as a leader the most.  Everything you’ve done beforehand may help you or, if you fail to lead effectively, it all may go out the window.  On the fireground there’s no place for folks “talking the talk”.  If you don’t “walk the walk”, chances are you’re going to be operationally inefficient and ineffective.  The troops will see this and it won’t matter how good you’ve made yourself sound in the Engine bay or at the firehouse kitchen table.  Consistent and proven fireground performance are indicative of operationally effective leadership.

If you’ve been in the fire service for a little while, it’s likely that you’ve encountered fire officers who talk a good game in the firehouse but lose their mind the second the bells ring.  Again, the troops see this stuff and take note of it.  This type of behavior helps define the (in)effectiveness of one’s operational leadership.  If the troops see their “leader” panicked or unsure of themselves, chances are they will mimic the same behavior or dismiss the “leader’s” abilities.  Instead the operationally effective leader is able to keep the troops motivated, focused, and performing.  We all know that sometimes things don’t go right or in our favor on the fireground.  These are the times that operationally effective leaders shine.  Instead of panicking or locking up, operationally effective leaders are able to persevere through these conditions and make things happen.  The operationally effective leader takes their firefighters to the fireground prepared for whatever they may face and leads from the front.  They share risk with their firefighters and never place their own safety or wellbeing ahead of that of their firefighters.  When you become a fire officer, you assume responsibility of your firefighters and it’s not just at your convenience or in comfortable situations.  When it’s dark and hot, you better be making the push with them or ahead of them.  The operationally effective leader embraces this responsibility and takes pride in leading their firefighters to the places that most folks don’t want to go.   I’m going to share an experience of operating on a fireground with a fire officer who did not display operationally effective leadership.  Fortunately, there were no negative consequences but, as you read, I think you will figure out pretty quickly we may have just been lucky.

“The Captain of the Duty Crew I was riding with on this particular evening about ten years ago was a really nice guy.  He had a very positive attitude and was easy to get along with.  Generally, his Duty Crew would check the rigs, eat dinner, and perform a drill.  Often he would be doing some sort of administrative tasks while the drill was taking place.  However, he was very much in support of the troops doing the drills.  Every time the Captain ran a somewhat serious call, he got through it with a mediocre performance.  Generally his crew would get him through it, but nonetheless, he got through it.   Anyways, everyone acknowledged his operational deficiencies but nobody wanted to bring them to his attention for fear of hurting his feelings.  With that said, he remained a company officer for a few years with little change in his performance or abilities.

This particular evening passed rather uneventfully until we were dispatched for the “Commercial Building Fire” at 2 AM.  We were going as the first due Engine and the fire was reported by local law enforcement officers who were investigating a burglar alarm at the location.  With this information, it was a pretty solid bet that we were going to work.  We arrived shortly thereafter with a one story, lightweight wood frame restaurant and smoke pushing from everywhere.  Myself and another firefighter stretched a line to the front door and donned our face pieces.  The officer joined us and we entered through the front door with zero visibility.  We sometimes ate breakfast at this restaurant, so I had a pretty good grasp of the building’s layout and we headed towards the direction of the kitchen periodically popping ceiling tiles.  As we progressed further into the restaurant, the officer wandered off away from the kitchen.  I’m not sure why nor did he say why.  Nonetheless, he wandered off and was later found in the bathrooms.  The other firefighter, who was brand new, soon wandered off in the opposite direction and ended up outside.  Anyways, I progressed further when I began to hear that beautiful sound of popping and crackling.  I rounded the corner and Bingo!  We found it.  Great! We got this thing, no problem.  So, I turn back to notify somebody that I’ve got this.  Except nobody is there!  Screw it, I don’t really care and I’m certainly not concerned that I’m barely 19 years old operating by myself without a portable radio in a restaurant fire, I’m just going to start knocking this thing out.  About 30 seconds later, somebody found me and joined me while I was hitting the main body of fire.  I quickly realized this was one of the senior guys from our firehouse who came in one of our support vehicles.  He asked me where everyone was and I told him I didn’t know and we proceeded to knock the main body of fire when the IC sounded the evacuation tones.  So we back out and I’m pissed because we’d just knocked out the main body of fire and a couple more minutes would have let us mop up the remaining pockets of fire.  Little did I know what things looked like from the outside prior to this(I later found out when I saw the video, it was pretty impressive) and because my officer wandered off and I didn’t have a portable radio, the IC had no idea we had a line on the fire.  Thankfully the IC did the right thing and pulled the plug to allow us to regroup and redeploy.  After the fire was completely extinguished, I found out the officer had been found wandering around the bathrooms.  Not once did the officer attempt to explain himself or apologize for his actions.  I’m not sure how he felt about himself afterwards but I can assure you I lost my faith in his abilities to perform under pressure or in dangerous situations.  The guy really is a nice guy with a good attitude and, while well intentioned, is far from being an operationally effective leader.”

As I stated above, I think you can probably figure out we got lucky as the above operation was a recipe for disaster and it all could have been prevented by operationally effective leadership.  The fire service conducts business in dangerous places and needs leaders that can effectively lead in these environments.  Leadership in these environments is paramount as a lack of effective leadership can have dire consequences.  It’s nice to run around with the white helmet or the brass on your collar, but are you prepared to take on the responsibility of leading people into risky, extreme, or life threatening situations?  Operationally effective leaders are and they will keep the fire service of the 21^st century operating in an efficient and effective manner.

   

The Slump

If you do this job long enough, you’re likely to experience a time, or times, when it seems as if you can’t catch a “good” call.  I’ve been somewhat spoiled for much of my fire service career, as I was a live-in at my VFD for 8 years and got hired with a career department at a young age.  These two factors placed me in a firehouse very frequently thus greatly increasing my chances of going to “good” calls.  Well, as is the case with many folks, life has changed for me in the past few years and I have other responsibilities in life besides the fire service.  With that said, I don’t get to be at the firehouse as often as I used to be and lately I seem to be in a “slump” for good calls, or at least what I consider to be a slump. 

It seems like everyday I’m at work my VFD is taking in good calls and with the exception of a few instances, the other shifts are picking up the good calls at work recently.  This is extremely frustrating! Don’t get me wrong, I don’t wish for bad things to happen to people.  However, bad things do happen and when they happen, I would like to be able to put my skills to use to help fix whatever “bad things” are happening.  I think most firefighters who are in the fire service for the right reasons would agree with this mindset and relish the opportunity to put their skills to use and help someone.  Besides being demoralizing to an individual or a company, slumps can affect operational effectiveness if not dealt with properly.

If not dealt with properly, slumps can increase complacency and/or laziness.  Folks who are experiencing a slump may get in the mindset that their skills won’t be tested or used during their shift or duty crew.  Once folks get in this mindset, it’s easy for them to sit around and focus attention on everything but operational performance.  It’s incumbent upon fire service leaders, formal and informal, to keep the troops focused and not allow complacency or laziness to set in.  The time you have available because you aren’t running good calls can be used to conduct good training.  As I often preach, second to operating at incidents, proper training is the best way to become operationally efficient and effective. 

Additionally, slumps can cause unnecessary animosity within the firehouse.  It’s often said not nearly as many petty firehouse arguments would occur or silly policies be created if companies were going to fires everyday.  Folks wouldn’t have the idle time to focus time and attention to, in the grand scheme of things, petty items.  Again, it’s incumbent upon the formal and informal leaders to keep the troops focused on the important items.  The time folks spend arguing or complaining about silly policies can be better spent placing time and attention to your tools, apparatus, or firehouse.  Getting everybody involved will likely increase firehouse morale and camaraderie.

While slumps can be frustrating, it’s important to stay focused on our job.  As we are all aware, at any point your slump can come to an end and you will be expected to perform in an efficient and effective manner.  In 1965, the baseball great Willie Mays had a 0-24 slump and ended up winning the NL MVP.  This is a testament to remaining focused and understanding your slump will eventually come to an end.  You may not have run a fire in 2 months, but in 2 minutes you may be responding as the first due Truck Company to a house fire with kids trapped.  Are you going to be ready to perform in an operationally efficient and effective manner?

Why Somebody Has To Give A Report From The Rear.....

Sorry about the lack of posts lately, I've just been busy trying to catch up with life.  Anyways, I should have some new stuff up this week.  Until then I will leave you with some photos of a fireground I was on that reiterate the importance of a company giving a report of conditions in the rear.

The fire was on an early June morning in 2009.  My company responded as the 3rd due Engine on the box with 3 personnel.  The first due Engine Company went on the scene about 1 minute ahead of us and reported a fully involved dwelling.  Since we were the 3rd due Engine, we came in from the opposite direction and laid a supply line from a secondary water supply.  We led off with a 2.5" hoseline and stretched from the "Delta" side of the house.  I directed my nozzle firefighter to set up and begin flowing at the "Alpha/Delta" corner with the 2.5" and I took a lap to give a report from the rear.  When I got to the rear I saw a 2 story addition that had smoke pushing from both floors but no fire showing.  I reported this to Command and returned to our Engine to stretch a 1.75" hoseline to the "Delta" side, so that we could transition inside as soon as Command would allow.

Conditions upon arrival
Photo Courtesy of Paul Lof, retired FFX Co. FF

After about 3 minutes of operating, we had dumped our tank water on the fire and had made significant progress on the main body of fire.  The 4th due Engine arrived, picked up our line, and supplied us shortly thereafter and we were only without water for less than a minute.  As soon as the water supply was established, Command allowed our company and 2 special service companies to enter from the "Delta" side door.  We went from room to room making quick work of the remaining fire in the front portion of the house and the special services completed the searches which proved to be negative.

Transitional point
Photo Courtesy of Paul Lof, retired FFX Co. FF

Miraculously, all 18 occupants made it out safely prior to the fire department's arrival.  There were a few "take-home" points from the fire: obviously the importance of getting a company in the rear as conditions may differ greatly from the front, 2.5" hoselines can extinguish large volumes of water if applied correctly (the first due Engine led off with a 2.5" but the nozzle firefighter was operating the hoseline with the nozzle only partially open which was hampering their extinguishment efforts), a solid fire stream extinguished the fire versus "pushing" it (some would lead you to believe applying water from the burned side will always push the fire into the unburned side.  The wider the pattern, the more CFM's of air are moved thus increasing your odds of "pushing" by-products of combustion. A solid or straight stream doesn't move a large amount of air and, when properly applied, will extinguish fire. Science and firegrounds have proved this, improper and improperly applied fire streams are probably the cause of "pushed" fire incidents.)

After extinguishment
Photo Courtesy of Paul Lof, retired FFX Co. FF

The next day, the addition still very much intact and definitely tenable had there been trapped occupants
Photo Courtesy of Paul Lof, retired FFX Co. FF

Where Are You Masking Up?

I am extremely pleased that, as of late, the majority of the fire service has seemingly reached consensus in support of utilizing SCBA and not breathing smoke.  Some big names, from big departments that preach aggressive operations, have begun publically speaking in support of SCBA use and explaining why it’s absolutely necessary in today’s fires.  When I joined the fire service, there were still plenty of guys who viewed taking in smoke as a macho act.  In fact, as a young gung-ho firefighter out to prove my worth, there were instances where I neglected wearing my SCBA when I should have been. Stupid!  That’s the only word to describe my actions.  Anyways, we’ll discuss that topic further later.  So now that we’re on board with wearing SCBA, when do we put our face piece and regulator on?  As with most things in the fire service, there are many schools of thought on this.

I am a proponent of putting your face piece on outside the rig, just before entering an IDLH atmosphere.  One time, and only one time, have I ever put my face piece on in the back of the rig and our initial actions were a giant disaster.  I was 17 years old and had just cleaned up from a working fire when we were dispatched first-due for a house fire.  I was running the line and the back-up firefighter was a DC firefighter.  The information Communications gave us indicated they were receiving multiple calls and this would probably be a working fire.  Once he heard this, the “experienced” DC firefighter excitedly told me to put my face piece on (without clicking in the regulator).  Being young and dumb I listened to him, despite the fact I had never done this nor had I ever seen any other members of my company do this.  So when the wagon driver stops to layout from the hydrant, this dude bolts from the rig sporting his face piece.  Once again, being young and dumb, I follow thinking I’ve missed something that he hadn’t.  Wrong again!  So there we are, face pieces on and running down the street beside the rig waiting for it to stop near the reported address.  There’s nothing evident from the front, which comes as a surprise based on the information Communications gave us, regardless I run the line as that’s company policy.  We get to the front door and the back-up firefighter goes to work on the front door in true professional fashion with his size 12 boot.  At this point my face piece is fogged up beyond belief as it’s the middle of summer in Virginia.  Finally this guy gets the door open, and I advance up the stairs with a dry line bouncing off the walls because I can hardly see through my fogged up face piece.  We get to the second floor of a three-story townhome and still have no smoke conditions. I’m beginning to wonder if we’re even at the right address and my vision is completely obscured from the fogged up face piece.  Finally, the officer grabs my SCBA shoulder strap and leads me to the sliding glass door, which leads to a deck.  There is a small fire involving the fuel line on a propane gas grill.  The officer directs me to “cover” him with my now-charged hoseline as he secures the propane at the cylinder, which extinguishes the fire.  I “cover” him, without actually being able to see a thing because I still have a fogged up face piece on.  Obviously, not a very effective technique.  Anyways, I finally take my face piece off and realize what a bunch of clowns we just looked like.  The poor people’s walls were dinged up from me bouncing off of them and their door was absolutely destroyed by the “Jackie Chan” forcible entry techniques that were employed.  Needless to say, prematurely donning my face piece contributed to a large part of this clown show.  With that said, I’ve never done it again.

Prematurely donning your face piece while still on the rig can be dangerous, lead to implementation of improper tactics, cause important visual indicators to be missed, or contribute to “tunnel vision” type behavior.  The face piece may obscure or obstruct vision, which could lead the user to run in front of a moving vehicle, run into a stationary object, or fall into a hole or ditch.  The face piece may also prevent the user from getting a good look at the fire building, which could be disastrous.  Some of the disastrous consequences may include failure to identify the fire area, failure to identify victims, failure to note areas of potential refuge, or failure to identify any special hazards on or around the fire building.  Anyone who’s been the first arriving officer at a couple of good fires can probably agree that there is a lot of information to be gathered rapidly, using all of your senses.  It’s almost like the world momentarily stops and you rapidly process all of the information your senses are telling you about the fire to put a plan in to action.  This may involve seeing things, smelling things, hearing things, and touching things.  Prematurely donning your face piece can impact your ability to use many of these senses and, in turn, cause you to miss important information.  Additionally, the ability to effectively communicate may be hindered by prematurely donning your face piece.  Your orders may not be clearly understood by those who have prematurely donned their face piece and hood or your voice may be muffled due to the face piece.

Conversely, donning your face piece and regulator too late can be detrimental to an operation for obvious reasons.  I responded one night as the Rescue Company OIC to a fire alarm in a house.  We’d been responding for about 30 seconds when Communications filled the box for the house fire.  We were responding to our second due area and the Engine Company whose first due it was, weren’t known to be very quick or aggressive.  Needless to say we arrived about 30 seconds behind them and had smoke issuing from the entire second floor.  They were just finishing their stretch and donning their face pieces and regulators in the front yard and my goal was to get to the second floor before the Engine Company to start my search.  As I said before, this Company wasn’t too quick or aggressive so I knew they would come to a near standstill once they hit the smoke and I certainly didn’t want to get caught behind that.  So being the “21 year old bad ass Rescue Company dude” I thought I was, I bolted to the second floor and planned on donning my face piece and regulator up there.  The smoke from the synthetic materials burning quickly showed me who had the upper hand.  I looked cool running through the front yard and up the stairs, but looked like a complete chump as I rolled right back down the stairs.  I hit the top of the stairs and took two gulps of smoke, which took the breath right out of me.  I’ve never wanted air so bad in my fire service career and literally dove right back down the steps to an area of refuge so I could don my face piece and regulator.  I quickly got myself back together and donned my face piece and regulator, however it was now too late and the Engine Company had made the stairs.  As projected, I got stuck behind their slow advance and it hindered my ability to do a rapid primary search of the fire floor.  If I’d taken a few seconds inside the first floor to don my face piece and regulator, I probably could have had the primary search of the majority of the fire floor done before the Engine Company even made the stairs.

So when is the right time to don the face piece and regulator?  Every incident you respond to is unique and there are many potential places or times to don the face piece and regulator.  Your tactical assignment, fire and smoke conditions, and the building are all factors that influence where and when to don the face piece and regulator.  Some folks feel that you don’t need to don the face piece and regulator until the smoke conditions are too much to breathe without it.  The problems with this mindset are numerous and the reality is that you’re taking in unnecessary smoke.  Some basic rules I use to determine when and where I don my face piece and regulator are just prior to entering an IDLH area, when working directly above an IDLH area, and when working directly below an IDLH area.  This may mean before walking in the front door, on the floor below the fire, before heading to the roof, or before entering the top floor of an attic fire.

But doesn’t waiting to don your face piece and regulator delay implementation of tactics?  I say no.  One of my major operational pet peeves is folks that take way too long donning their face piece and regulator.  This is simply a training and motivation issue.  I’ve observed this trend from very early on in my fire service career and being the competitor that I am, have always made it a point to be quick when donning my face piece and regulator.  Back before we utilized riding assignments at my VFD, this allowed me to take the hoseline many times from folks slower than I was.  This served as a great motivator for a young gung-ho firefighter.  However now that I’m a little older and sometimes wiser, efficiency and effectiveness serve as my motivators for quickly donning my face piece and regulator.  It’s an easy skill that can be practiced by yourself at any time.  As long as you have a firefighting PPE ensemble and a face piece, the skill can be practiced.  I average about 15 seconds from the time I begin to don my face piece until I am breathing air and ready to operate in an IDLH.  A couple things I do that have helped me become quick are coming off of the rig with my gloves on, developing a system that works for me, and utilizing the same system every time.  I also take my face piece off of my regulator when donning the face piece which prevents me from wasting any of my precious air and ensures my chin strap is in the proper position.  These are two frequent detail-items I see people getting wrong on a frequent basis.  I have included a video of a guy I know donning his face piece in about 10 seconds and regulator in about 15 seconds.  Anyways, like everything else with this job, a little bit of hard work and perfect practice will probably improve your performance.

As I stated at the beginning of this post, this is one of the great debates within the fire service.  Obviously this blog is my point of view.  With that said, that doesn’t mean everything I have to say is the only way to do things.  Robby from Average Jake Firefighter blog, is a big proponent of coming off the rig with your face piece on.  A few years ago he did a blog post that explains his point of view and the reasons behind it.  The guy cares a great deal about the fire service and is obviously very dedicated to helping the fire service progress.  With that said, just because we have differing view points on this issue doesn’t mean I think he’s an idiot or useless to the fire service.  He has his way that works for him and I have mine that works for me.  At the end of the day, you have to do what works best for you and maximizes your efficiency and effectiveness.  So consider the pro’s and con’s from both methods and get out and train to figure out what works best for you.

  

What Happened Here?

Take a look at the photo and share your thoughts on what is going on here, and why it's going on.  If I've told you about this photo, don't cheat, let the other folks take a guess.  And no, I'm not inquiring about the water spraying from the 4.5" to 4".

Fireground Geography

Most members of the fire service are aware of the importance of effective communication on the fireground.  However, as discussed in previous posts, sometimes we come up short in our fireground communications.  One area where I continuously note deficiency is the ability to effectively and consistently communicate fireground geography.  Fireground geography should be communicated effectively and consistently for a variety of reasons, as it may greatly influence strategic and tactical decision-making.

When I became a chief officer at my volunteer firehouse, one of the first classes I took focused on managing a Mayday event.  I travelled to Indianapolis, IN to take the FDTN(the Fire Department Training Network, a very squared away training company run by Lt. Jim McCormack of the IFD) course, “Commanding RIT Operations”.  The practical portion of our class ran concurrently with the practical session of a “RIT Operations” class and we were tasked with managing their scenarios.  During the first scenario, I asked the RIT companies for a progress report and their location.  The answer I received was that they were about 20’ from the front door and had located the trapped firefighter but needed further assistance.  The initial RIT company had not deployed with a search rope, so the only information I had on their location was that it was about 20’ from the front door.  Hopefully by now you’ve realized that this didn’t tell me a whole lot about their actual location.  With some prompting, I was able to gather enough information to determine the company was operating in the ”Bravo Quadrant” of the first floor and subsequently deploy companies to assist with removing the trapped firefighter.  After the scenario was complete, we shared our thoughts on the things that went well and the things that needed improvement.  I explained to the company that simply telling me the distance you think you are from the front door doesn’t really give me a good pinpoint on your actual location.  Instead, utilizing building quadrants would give me a much better idea of their location.  I was astonished when nobody in the class had any idea what I was talking about and I had to draw out the building quadrants on a piece of paper and explain the concept.  After a few minutes of explanation, the concept seemed to make a little more sense to the folks in the class and quadrants were successfully used in the remainder of the scenarios I managed.

By the middle part of the last decade, many fire departments across the country switched the way they designated the sides of a building from numbers to letters.  Instead of sides 1,2,3, and 4, they became sides Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta.  As is the case with most changes in the fire service, there was an initial resistance to the change from many folks.  It was soon realized that simply stating the letter of the side could cause some confusion, as the letters “B” and “D” can sound very similar.  The solution was to utilize a phonetic alphabet to overcome this problem.  However, more problems arose as some departments wanted to use their own variations of a phonetic alphabet (Adam, Baker, Charlie, Delta, Edward, Frank, George, etc.).  Obviously, this somewhat defeats the purpose of using common language and terminology.  Recognizing this, most departments soon adopted use of the NATO phonetic alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, etc.).  The changes also apply to designating exposures and, in cases of attached exposures or multiple exposures on a specific side, a number will be designated after the letter (i.e. Bravo 1 Exposure).  Listen to fireground audio and you’ll quickly realize the importance of effectively and consistently designating sides of buildings and exposures.  If you listen to enough fireground audio, you will also quickly realize that folks often have a hard time getting this right.  When I say getting it right, I mean consistently using the system that your department has in place.  Just because my jurisdiction uses letters, doesn’t mean your jurisdiction has to.  Would it be nice if everybody did? Sure.  But reality tells us otherwise.  The bottom line is effective and consistent fireground communication will allow for efficient and effective fireground operations.

The last topic of fireground geography I am going to talk about deals with the number of floors in a building.  This is a huge pet peeve of mine and an area that we, the fire service, often come up short.  Anyone who’s been on a few incidents or done a few walk-throughs, can tell you that building isn’t always as it appears from the front. Areas that have significant grade changes, garden apartments, and townhouses are prime for having a different number of floors than what appears from the front.   Ideally, as quickly as possible somebody needs to determine how many floors the building is and communicate how they will be designated.  As a chief officer at my volunteer firehouse, when I was running a box alarm, odor of smoke, or gas leak, I tried to always obtain the number of floors and announce their designation to all responding units.  For instance, a 2-story in the front, 3-story in the rear townhouse would have: a basement, first floor, and second floor.  Identifying these designations early on will prevent confusion that may persist for the duration of the incident.  One-story houses that sit on a basement, also seem to cause great confusion.  I recently listened to a fire at work involving a one-story house on a basement.  The initial size-up called it a one-story house and it was later called a two story house by a chief officer.  During fireground operations, several different geographical terms were being used interchangeably to describe where companies were operating, none of which were consistent.  Thankfully it was a relatively small fire and the companies made quick work of it without incident.  However, had a Mayday been declared on the fireground, significant confusion may have occurred due to the inconsistent geographical designations being used on the fireground.  Several widely publicized fires have occurred within the US fire service that should drive home the importance of identifying the number of floors in a building and establishing consistent designations for the respective floors.

Effectively communicating fireground geography and keeping it consistent will allow us to operate more efficiently and effectively.  It allows for better accountability, may help you in maintaining orientation on the fireground, and assists in strategic and tactical decision-making.

Stop The Epidemic!

I have tossed the idea around for a while about doing a post on this topic, as I’m sure there are some folks who will take exception with it.  However, I feel the message needs to be communicated for the betterment of the fire service.  You see, there is an epidemic that seems to becoming widespread throughout the fire service: the acceptance of mediocrity and subpar performance.  This epidemic undermines many core values the fire service has been built upon, compromises the fire service’s effectiveness, and is dangerous.  It’s dangerous to firefighters and citizens, alike.  However, it’s not too late to stop this epidemic and steer the fire service back on course.  Failure to do so will result in further compromise to the 21^st century fire service’s effectiveness.

So when did this epidemic begin?  I’m not really sure when it began nor is it really all that important to know when it began.  However, it is important to realize that it exists and will continue to exist until the fire service takes a stand to stop it in its’ tracks.  Too many folks have gotten on board with the mindset of: as long as nobody from the fire service gets hurt, the operation was a success.  One hundred things could have gone wrong, but as long as no fire service members were hurt then we did something right. Yes, you did one thing right but you also did one hundred things wrong.  I’ll go out on a limb and say an operation where this takes place is far from one I’d consider a success.  Every operation we do should be reviewed to determine what actions worked out well and what actions could be done differently to improve our operations.  With that said, in almost every instance, some actions could be done differently improve operations.

Why does this epidemic continue to occur?  It continues to occur because the fire service allows it to.  It’s easier for many folks to turn a blind eye to subpar performance than it is to address, and correct, it.  Often, it’s because folks don’t want to hurt somebody’s feeling by bringing these concerns to light.  Here’s a news flash to the folks who subscribe to this mindset: fires don’t care about our feelings, class C soil doesn’t care about our feelings, methyl ethyl bad stuff doesn’t care about our feelings, and water that has turned a street into a raging river doesn’t care about our feelings.  I’m not advocating hurting feelings, however I am advocating the fact that we have to outperform the elements we face in the course of our duties if we want to perform effectively.  Failure to outperform these elements compromises our effectiveness, our safety, and the safety of those we serve.  Accepting mediocrity and subpar performance will not help us in any way, shape, or form in our quest to outperform the elements and challenges we face.

Many folks in today’s fire service like to throw around the phrase “Everyone Goes Home”.  Often the folks who throw this phrase around are the same folks accepting mediocrity and subpar performance.  Accepting mediocrity and subpar performance is actually contradictory to the very phrase these folks throw around because it seems like the right thing to say.  The fireground and emergency scenes are actually more dangerous when folks are performing in a mediocre manner.  In order to operate as safely as possible, while remaining effective, the fire service needs folks who perform in a superior manner, not in a mediocre manner.  Do you want to operate on the fireground that has a RIT staffed with folks who perform in a mediocre manner? Probably not.  I want to operate on the fireground that has a RIT staffed with folks who take pride in doing the job well and operating in a superior manner.  Your families and the people who care about you probably also want that, as that gives us a much better chance at coming home at the end of the shift versus the result of operating amongst mediocrity and subpar performance.

While it may be easier to turn a blind eye to subpar performance, it’s not the right thing to do.  Part of being a firefighter is doing the right thing.  Acknowledge and correct subpar or mediocre performance, but do not accept it!  Company officers, challenge yourselves and your people daily.  Strive to always perform as efficiently and effectively as possible.  As Captain Dan McMaster, of the Alexandria Fire Department, stated at AFTD ’12, “operational concerns and deficiencies need to be corrected through training, not discipline”.  Get your folks out to the apparatus bay and in your response district to train.  You may think you’re being nice by sparing one’s feelings and not acknowledging subpar performance, however you are doing an injustice to your people, yourself, and the citizens by accepting mediocrity or subpar performance.  The 21^st century fire service’s effectiveness is dependant upon folks striving for superior performance, not mediocre or subpar performance.