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Twenty Ten

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august_detailAs we transition into a new year, and as plans begin to take place that frame and outline the year’s activities, foremost in this planning, preparation, scheduling and outlook should be those activities and commitments that training, education and skill development can be implemented and enhanced. Take the initiative to recognize and identify training and operational gaps and distinguish the risk and options available to lessen or eliminate the risk and reduce the gap deficiencies. Take the time to implement effective, accurate and frequent training and skill development drills, training curriculums and programs.

Don’t sacrifice or forego on this mission critical area when so much is at stake in the domain of combat structural fire suppression. Understand the predictability of performance in the buildings and occupancies not only in your jurisdiction, first or second-due areas, but also in those areas that you may be called upon to respond to for greater alarms or mutual aid. Remember Building Knowledge = Firefighter Safety.

Keep an eye in the rear view mirror; learning from the wisdom and knowledge from where you’ve been, what you’ve done and all your past experiences and practice; but at the same time focusing on the road before you with keen attentiveness on situational awareness, anticipating error-likely conditions and balanced risk assessment and operational management in both your strategic and tactical deployments. 

Twenty Ten(2010)

 Here are twenty (20) Suggested activities or initiatives for you to consider in 2010….

Above all, be safe in all your endeavors, assignments and incident tasks.

  1. Regardless of my years of experience, I will increase my understanding of the basic principles of Building Construction, because; Building Knowledge=Firefighter Safety.  
  2. Identify ten (10) buildings within your first-due or response district and complete a pre-fire plan and present this to my company of organization.
  3. Identify an area where new residential construction is underway and follow the construction process from foundation through completion to gain an understanding of operational issues.
  4. I will complete the UL Structural stability of engineered lumber in fire conditions online course and implement the lessons learned in my strategic and tactical operations.
  5. I will not take any building or occupancy for granted, and shall take all precautions to ensure crew integrity and safety during my task assignments.
  6. Complete a 360 assessment of all buildings upon arrival, when ever feasible to gain reconnaissance information on the building and incident risks and implement this info into my strategic, tactical plans or company task assignments.
  7. Research the issues affecting; Engineered Structural Systems (ESS), Fire Behavior/Fire Dynamics or Fire Suppression Management/Fire Loading and develop a training drill to share the lessons learned.
  8. Select a new or previous published fire service text book and read up on a subject area that I may have neglected or ignored to increase my skill set.
  9. Implement an objective approach towards effective risk assessment and profiling of all buildings and occupancies during incident operations and implement balanced tactical deployment with aggressive/measured assignments; recognizing that my company and I are not invincible.
  10. During demanding Combat Structural Fire Engagements, I will; Do the Right Thing at the Right Time for the Right Reasons and will not practice Tactical Entertainment.
  11. Read the Report of the Week (ROTW) on the National Firefighter Near-Miss Reporting System web site and share the operating experience (OE) lessons with my company or department, to reduce the likelihood of a similar or more serious event.
  12. I will read Ten (10) NIOSH Firefighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program Reports and present the lessons learned in a discussion, table top, drill or training program.
  13. I will attend a regional or national training conference to increase my perspective and awareness of other firefighting, safety or operational methodologies, process or practices to increase firefighter safety in my home organization.
  14. I will increase my understanding of the NFFF Everyone Goes Home Program initiatives, including the Sixteen Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives, Safety Thru Leadership and the Courage to Be Safe Programs and other new program initiatives and advocate and promote enhanced safety measures in my organization.
  15. I will advocate and promote safe and defensive apparatus operations during emergency responses and will always buckle-up my seat belt and ensure my crew is always belted-in, not placing my company at risk and obeying traffic signals and postings.
  16. I will implement the New Rules of Engagement during combat structural fire operations; while monitoring and reacting to on-going building performance and fire behavior.
  17. I will increase my understanding of the Predictability of Building Performance and base my operational deployments on Occupancy Risk not Occupancy Type.
  18. I will become a mentor to a new or less experienced firefighter and promote the traditions, honor and duty of our fire service profession, tempered with an emphasis on firefighter safety, survival and wellness.
  19. I will take NO emergency incident responses as being routine in nature, due to frequency , regularity or  past performance, demands or outcomes, nor will I take any building for granted; Company, Team and personal safety and integrity is paramount and I will not be complacent, but remain vigilant based upon my training, skills and experience.
  20. This one’s for you to identify and fill in………..

Ensure you’re glancing occasionally in your rear view mirror to monitor where you’ve been, while driving your initiatives, programs, processes and actions forward. Above all, maintain the courage to be safe. We don’t know what’s in the cards on any given day, but the citizens we protect can rest assured, we will do our job as firefighters, to the best of our abilities, because of who we are; today, in 2010 and certainly well into the next decade and beyond. Stay safe, with the hopes for a Happy New Year.

Posted by on December 31, 2009 • Filed under: "firefighter safety", advocate, building construction, Christopher Naum, command-leadership, Company, compentencies, construction, courage to be safe, culture, decision-making, destiny, duty, Engineered Structural Systems, fire behavior, fire service, firefighter-safety-health, fortitude, History Repeating Event, leadership, lessons, LODD, mentoring, Naum, NFFF, NMRS, Officers, operations, Planning, qualifications, Remembrance, Safety, Safety Culture, Skills, tradition, training • Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sixty Seconds for a Three Sixty

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As I was contemplating the development of a posting for today, one that was intended to pose a few rhetorical questions for the day, I came across an email forward to me by a good friend Brian O’Malley a motivational speaker, with a proclamation that provided a three-sixty (360) review to a recent strategic alignment meeting I participated in.

As I looked at the words and phrased statements, it became obvious that these thirty-six words aligned compactly within twelve lines provide a distinct three hundred and sixty degree perspective on much of what each of us should strive for; each day, on each shift, and at every call.

These are demanding times that accellerate a varity of emotions, uncertaintly and at times of personal discovery. Regardless of your rank, or time in grade, the length of time in your organization or the size and structure of your department, your daily demands and challenges; leadership, mentoring, contributing, setting the example, being at your very best individually or collectively as part of a team, a company or a department is essential and pivotal-Think about it…..

  • Find your Energy
  • Explore your Strengths
  • Discover you Passion
  • Expand your Perspective
  • Understand your Beliefs
  • Choose your Attitude
  • Align your Behaviors
  • Challenge your Perception
  • Define your Success
  • Live your Value
  • State your Mission
  • Proclaim your Purpose

Take the time to look at this video HERE, take the time to Celebrate What’s Right…..

Posted by on July 22, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , ,

The BOSS

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No this isn’t about Springsteen….

The Company Officer fulfills a mission critical role within the fire service that directly affects personnel and public safety and community accord. The title carries with it the opportunity to ride the “front seat” and be in charge of a company responsible for addressing incident operations and service demands dictated by the company’s function, responsibility and task assignment.

Recognizing the various avenues available that place a firefighter in transition from a individual contributor to that of a first-line supervisor; whether thru examination, assessment, appointment or popular vote, there are essential functions and elements that the title bestows. The title also carries with it an immense responsibility, obligation, duty and accountability. It’s much more than a set of collar brass and new front helmet shield.

Recently, having been engaged in conversation and dialog on a national level discussing firefighter safety initiatives and actions, the question that comes up frequently is; “Where can the fire service make the greatest impact on firefighter safety, in the least amount of time?” I strongly believed it’s with the “Boss”, the “Lieu” or the “Cap”- The Company Officer, that first-line supervisor who has command and control of their staff of personnel and can either permit or enforce a wide variety of administrative, managerial or operational essentials. They can have the greatest influence on firefighter safety, operational integrity and risk management.

Following the initiation of the NFPA 1021 Standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications in the early 1980’s, one of the first organizations that recognized the need to begin expanding the opportunities for educational, competencies and skills development was the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI). The ISFSI’s Company Officer Development program (COD) was formulative in the identification of company officer developmental needs and providing the manner in which to achieve those needs through dedicated training and focused program delivery. Although many agencies and organizations align with the a number of professional qualifications paths and certification processes, with most departments having some form of qualification or prerequisites; many still do not for a number of reasons.

Here’s a link HERE, to a hybrid voluntary process that was developed for county level implementation and aimed at a predominate volunteer fire service system to increase fire officer proficiencies, provide suggested consistency and bridge the gaps between local level training and “qualifications” and state or national level professional qualifications. Contact me if you’d like more insights on the Volunteer Fire Officer Credentialing Program.

Here’s some questions to ponder;

  • Give the specific narrowed band of choice, what is more important for a Company Officer to have attained: Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA) in Suppression based Strategies and Tactics OR Leadership, management and Operations? What is the basis for your selected KSA and why?
  • What is the minimum time in grade a firefighter should attain before they consider a transition to a Company Officer?
  • Should professional qualifications, certification and advanced training be a prerequisite for the rank of a company officer?
  • What do you feel are the mission critical attributes or KSA that today’s Company Officer must have?
  • Can the Company Officer make the necessary impacts to improve the safety culture of the fire service?
Posted by on July 17, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Leadership

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Leadership; It certainly isn’t about the number of bars or collar brass horns you have on your collar, the color of your helmet, or the “title” you have. Although there are many who would argue that point and feel that they are THE Leader specificially because they DO have the title, rank and brass. Some do and some don’t, stop and think about those that do (and why) and those that do not (and why)…..

An interesting take on leadership came from the acclaimed cinema Director Robert Altman’s 2006 Lifetime Achievement Oscar acceptance speech, in which he stated simply; “The director allows an actor to become more than they’ve ever dreamed of being.”

How do you think this applies to the Fire Service?

Take a few minutes to look at management guru Tom Peter’s video on The Definition of Leadership.

The transcript of the Tom Peters video clip is available HERE.

Some Leadership Definitions HERE.

What are your definitions of leadership?
Where does your Leadership start and stop?
What about those around you?

Posted by on May 20, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , ,

What’s in The Cards Today?

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On any given day, we expect some fairly simple and basic things; Simple and basic from a firefighter’s perspective that is. We hope that we have a busy day, for the most part. That the alarms and incidents allow us to practice our skills and do what we do best. Deep down inside, we also hope that we have a good “job” come in.

Not that we hope or wish undue miss-fortune, distress or sorrow on anyone, but, IF a fire is going to happen, let it happen on my shift, my tour or while I’m at the firehouse and able to make the first-due. It’s a pretty fundamental hierarchy of need, and it’s what makes us tick at times. Because of who we are and what we do. Right?

The daily experience, expectations, our comfort zone; We’re Pretty Good At What We Do-Regularly….We Develop Profound Habits and Methods…We Treat a Lot of Things as Equal in May Respects…We’ve Grown Accustomed to Certain Operational Modes.

We don’t really think anything is going to happen to us, certainly nothing so adverse that I don’t go home after the call. Nothing is going to happen to YOU; it happens to someone else….BUT to everyone else-YOU are the other Guy!On any give day, at any give alarm, the dynamics around us at times are in or out of our control. We may not be able to see what the cards have in store for us, BUT we must ensure we use every bit of training, fortitude, knowledge, skills, courage, bravery, insights, luck and sometimes (other divine) intervention to get us through.

There have been a lot of bad things that have happened over the course of the past few weeks in the fire service, with the continuing trgic loss of brother firefighters in the line of duty, accidents, injuries and other situations both directly and indirectly.

Think about your actions, think about what you can do to make a difference or to alter or change the course of a situation. We sometimes have a greater hand in destiny and how the cards are dealt than we think. Be safe, have a great tour or stay at the firehouse today.

Posted by on May 3, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

First-Due, Second-Due; Do Not Pass Go, Proceed Directly to Jail

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Last week a horrific accident involving two responding fire apparatus collided in an intersection resulting in serious personal injuries to eleven people, nine of which were firefighters. The resulting collision caused significant property damage to the six month old aerial ladder and the year old engine.

The preliminary investigation of the crash indicated that the apparatus driver of the aerial truck may have run a red light at the intersection, while the engine company driver had the green light. The engine company also had control of the Opticom system at the intersection. Both companies were responding to what initially was a reported fire call-but turned out to be public works crew smoke-testing sewer lines.The most significant issue that has arisen thus far is that law enforcement officials have determined that aerial ladder driver ran the red traffic signal-causing last weeks crash, and now has officially been charged with failure to use due caution. The aerial ladder subsequently rolled, hit a woman on a bicycle, snapped a utility pole and landed on top of a car. The bicyclist crushed by the ladder truck, remains in critical condition.

The ramifications of this charge may be far reaching in a number of ways. And all of this for the first-due.You know what I mean. Responding to what has all the makings of a “good” call, knowing that other companies are heading to the same address from different stations or departments- All with one goal in mind; being first-due. It’s interesting to note, one of the articles in the local news media mentions, “Did station rivalry cause the fire truck crash?” Take a look HERE. Say it ain’t so! Trying to beat another company in to the scene- preposterous, we don’t do anything like that! Running red lights, blowing through intersections, pushing the envelope with the speed limit..all in the name of the first-due.

When are we going get it! Stop and think about some of the moral, ethical and legal responsibilities the next time you get behind the wheel of an apparatus and begin rolling out the station. Whether you’re the apparatus driver or the company officer-SOMEONE needs to keep the response in check and balance the urgency, severity, the needs and the timliness of the response. YOU as the apparatus drive NEED to take FULL responsibility. Can you handle that?

Take a look at some of the incident reports on the NIOSH Reports or at the EGH site. Stop and think, is it worth the risks you’re taking? You may not have the chance to pass go, you won’t be collection 200 dollars; You may be going directly to jail- with no free get out of jail card. Slow down, drive responsibly, there’s always going to be another call, there always is.

Posted by on April 6, 2009 • Filed under: Uncategorized • Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,