Lots of Work Ahead in 2009

One of my biggest concerns in 2008 has been the dwindling funds available for urban search and rescue programs around the nation. When things cut loose out there, these are the resources that everyone wants, but given the state of funding for these programs and the state of the economy, they may also be the first programs to see the axe.

When a few of us got together and developed the State Urban Search and Rescue Alliance in the middle of 2005, we had no idea that there was as much interest in putting together regional and state assets as there was. We found that virtually every state (and even some of our Caribbean neighbors and compatriots) were in the process of developing these programs, but people weren't talking the same language (NIMS typing and credentialing was in its infancy), were "reinventing the wheel" in so many facets of their work, and most of all, weren't communicating that they had things to share or that they had needs that could be filled by others.

The nation's emergency service providers should learn a lesson from all of this: we can work together by reaching out to others, and find commonalities that can bring us together rather than to continue to stay in our "silos" and perpetuate the turf-guarding that keps us from solving our serious issues. In this day and age of stripped budgets, if we can show that we are willing to lay down our egos for the common good, we might have a bigger stick to wield when it comes to chasing the vultures away from our already scarce funding allocations.

A Little Self-Reflection

I was interested to see this item in FirefighterHourly.com this morning on recommendations from a recent NIOSH report; how ARE we are doing in comparison to others relating to safety?

Fire Department NIOSH Comparison

Here are recommendations from a recent NIOSH report released on a Line of Duty Death. How does your department stack up?

• Fire fighters conducting an interior search have a thermal imaging camera
• Ventilation is coordinated with interior fireground operations.
• Mayday protocols are developed and followed.
• The Incident Commander receives pertinent information during the size-up (i.e., type of structure, number of occupants in the structure, etc.) from occupants on scene and that information is relayed to crews upon arrival.
• Fire fighters communicate interior conditions and progress reports to the Incident Commander develop, implement, and enforce written standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fireground operations.

In our department, some of the items are works in progress, but they are being performed and we are seeing the fruits of these labors. Our organization has TICs for a number of companies and has a plan in place adding more to the list until all primary companies have one; new and more comprehensive Mayday protocols have been developed and the final touches are literally being put on these so they can be implemented; and other procedures (guidelines in our department) are also either being implemented or are in various stages of development.

The other items on this list, however, are incumbent upon the personnel on scene. As part of our jobs on the fireground, we need to insure that ventilation is well-coordinated, that we get good size-up information, and that interior crews verbally send a good picture of what is going on inside the structure to the IC.

These items come from practicing your craft; by looking at buildings daily, rehearsing “scripts” of good size-up procedures, and knowing what conditions indicate changing conditions for operating crews and knowing when and how to describe these to command officers.

The Chief and his staff can get you all the tools in the world, but if you don’t have a proficient knowledge of fireground operations, they won’t do you a bit of good. Train often and train like your life depends on it – because it does.

Let's Not Be Too Hasty...

The Hon. Michael Chertoff suggests that it would be a bad idea to reorganize DHS and bump FEMA up to a cabinet level, despite the different missions they have. I suggest that maybe its time to let FEMA (and by extension, the USFA and the National Fire Academy) get out of the broom closet and at least have a better seat at the table.

Although I agree one-hundred percent that "emergencies don't come neatly packaged in stovepipes", I don't think the fire service is the group hoarding the information. How about a little love in this new administration for the fire service?

Things Are Not Always As They Seem

Only 24 days of shopping left until Christmas. However, for something a little deeper, how about a discussion on keeping your head in the game. For my battalion's quick training training today, I sent them a discussion on “sudden event” situations. Case in point: On Firefighterclosecalls.com, there was an article on a PA propane explosion that gave some interesting observations about the situation that unfolded after this sudden event. My question to my team was, "Are you prepared for a sudden 'game-changing' event during your operations?"

As responders, we go into so many calls with our own expectations as to how things are going to work. I am just as guilty of it as anyone else- it is human nature. We have to, however, shake loose some of our preconceived beliefs as to what we think is occurring vs. what is actually occurring. How do we do this? By getting facts through a proper size-up and maintaining good situational awareness. But even then, in the real world, the facts as we understand them may not be what is actually occurring.

Using a very real case in point from the other morning: While overhauling a fire the other shift, a number of us saw what looked to be an increasing smoke condition after we thought the fire was extinguished. Now there’s nothing wrong with that- the point in doing a complete overhaul is to uncover stuff like that (so we don't have to come back later). If we had ignored the condition, or lied to ourselves about the situation and convinced ourselves that it was nothing, those decisions would have been wrong. But everything about the evidence led us to believe we had hidden fire someplace. We developed a plan to root it out, we had lines in place, but no matter what area we pulled, we found that the smoke continued.

Finally, we decided to increase the amount of ventilation in order to find out if we were dealing with pockets of smoke instead of a fire. This proved to be the case and the smoke ended. But it is a good example of seeing something you think is one thing and finding it to be something completely different.

It is almost contrary to human nature to see events unfold in a certain way 99 times, and not expect it to occur the same way for the next time. As a veteran firefighter, however, I know it will be on the 100th time that things go differently and Murphy will pay us a litle visit.

Like every other aspect of our job, we need to prepare ourselves mentally for how to overcome that complacency and act appropriately on the new evidence. This is appropriate not only for emergency response, but in our daily operations. Don't assume for a minute that because you have seen something progress a certain way virtually every time that you have all of the facts.

Whenver you are working on solving a problem, use a good basic plan of action, know the strengths of the people who are working with you and challenge them to use those strengths, and most of all, don’t be afraid to roll with a revised plan. After all, situations change and if you fail to adjust, you are likely going to end up as part of the problem.

Happy Thanksgiving

Last post today, I promise (I only have a few more I'm moving over then things will stabilize). I want to give thanks for my wife and children and my family and friends; for the many opportunities we have been given and for allowing us to be good stewards of those responsibilities; and especially the continued courage, strength, wisdom and patience required to lead firefighters and rescue personnel not just on emergency scenes, but daily, where it really counts. My wife says all the time, "Of those who have much, much is expected." I believe it and hope to always live up to it.

Picture by Deputy Chief Ed Boring, Hilton Head Island Fire & Rescue

Customer Service

This is a post I wrote originally for my blog at FirefighterNation.com:

Customer relations are essential for any department operating in this day and age, as our customers (read: taxpayers) are more educated and have higher expectations of the emergency services. These expectations come from watching television shows that portray us in a certain light as well as more information going out in the form of public education efforts.There are considerable efforts being made by leaders in our industry to increase our professionalism. We need to consciously market our concepts in a positive way.

Likewise, there are expectations not only when dealing with the public, but with internal customers as well:In our organization, we have adopted objectives for personnel that read like these:

• Fire and Rescue personnel shall give high priority to customer satisfaction by anticipating customer needs, time constraints and their desired outcome.
• We must listen to customers, seek to understand them, and empathize with the customer’s perspective, especially treating the customer with respect.
• We must strive to consistently respond to customer requests in a courteous, efficient and timely manner.
• Fire and Rescue personnel shall demonstrate a commitment to meeting customer requirements with a sense of urgency, proactively following through to resolve issues.
• We must create realistic expectations and regularly inform our customers of status/progress, provide options/alternatives if needed, and successfully help our customers understand and accept negative outcomes.
• A big part of all of our jobs is to support our other team members in meeting their customers’ expectations.

You all know what good customer service feels like and you all know what it’s like to have bad customer service. I suggest to you that professionalism begins at using our skills, abilities and past experience to improve service quality and to provide excellent service not just to the taxpayers, but to your colleagues.

We need to make it part of our personal mission to exceed at helping people when they need help- that’s why we got into this business to begin with. Often, when we get called, someone else is having a bad day. Our job is to try to help solve that situation, or at least to lend a hand in making it a little better. When supervisors ask you to perform a task, even though sometimes we don’t feel up to it, remember that it’s all part of a bigger picture and realize that we need to serve our customers in many ways, some of which may not be immediately obvious to each of us.

The impact you have isn't just felt in your local departments, but across the nation as well. When you make it known that you are a firefighter, you are, like it or not, representing all of us in this business, career or volunteer. It's a huge responsibility, but something you can handle.

Remember, when you are interacting with that civilian, are you treating that person like you would want to be treated yourself in a similar circumstance? You have an obligation to all of us to represent the profession in a positive light and to try to aid when possible, and to try to assist someone in finding solutions to their problems when you can't.

Rebel or Revolutionary - You Choose

As posted from my blog at FirefighterNation.com with some updates:

With all of the change going on in the atmosphere, I was contemplating the difference between being a rebel and a revolutionary. It seems to me that there are plenty of firefighters who are a little mixed up and don't understand the difference. The problem is that while revolutionaries effect change in a situation, rebels simply refuse to obey.

Why should that matter? When we are agitating for change in our current situation, being a revolutionary suggests turning or moving, which is hopefully a positive thing. Rebelling doesn't suggest anything positive at all. I know firefighters who think that their rebellious actions suggest something courageuous or heroic, where I am suggesting that those individuals aren't any of that at all. In fact, many of the "rebels" I have encountered are resisting change for good because it upsets their version of the status quo.

If you are pushing against the status quo in order to make positive change, you are sure to meet with resistance from those who are comfortable in that little rut they have dug. Anything you may do to move them from it is going to be perceived as threatening to their happiness and they may lash out at you. They are not going to understand your motives or they may not want to understand. Things may even get dangerous, for your career or for you personally.

The winds of change are blowing and we can either flex with them and survive, or resist them and be broken off at the trunk. We in emergency services need to understand our entire environment and be revolutionaries, to think about things in ways we never thought of them before, for the good of our profession.