By Sid Newby
I’ve always been intrigued by individuals who demonstrate leadership skills that lead to getting work done. It has become a passion of mine for most of my adult life. I’ve had the opportunity to work with both good and not- so-good leaders during my career. This has enforced my belief that it is critical for fire service leaders to make known their expectations and to communicate their goal of being prepared on fire scenes. As a company officer for more 15 years, I planned and prepared the members of my firehouse to be very effective small units on the fireground. Later, as a chief officer, I found it more difficult to wrap my arms around having multiple small units performing coordinated actions to complete the strategy I developed.
As an ardent reader, especially military articles and books, I immersed myself in the topic of battleground leadership. An underlying theme I gleaned from multiple military articles and books was that a force cannot move forward and be effective without coordinated actions and having the necessary individual and team skills to complete the mission. The fire service is a force that must be in a state of readiness to respond at a moment’s notice in uncertain threat environments.
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The article focuses on a method to help fireground commanders develop their ability to communicate intent (expectations) to fire companies operating on emergency scenes. The main purpose of the intent is to provide a framework within company officers can act to complete the mission. Individual fire companies are the linchpins of a successful emergency scene operation. The importance of synchronized small unit tactics following the commander’s intent is critical to a successful mission on an emergency scene. Every emergency operation outcome is the result of many small unit outcomes. The key is for each small tactical unit (engine and truck companies) to perform in a predictable way. If one small unit fails to perform its task, the whole operation could have a negative end result and change the commander’s strategy.
Three Principles for Success
I use the following three principles for success on the fireground.
• Plan. A coordinated plan is essential for mission success on the fireground. Defining standards, training members on these standards, and enforcing them are essential. Determining and setting priorities are critical during this phase. The main purpose is to equip fireground commanders with an outline for success on the fireground. An incident commander (IC) communicating his intent and imparting his presence on and off the fireground are necessary for effective mission-orientated command. A coordinated effort by individual units is essential to complete the mission. Fire service members should be able to identify tenets and use training tools to assist in equipping themselves and their crews to complete their mission. Resource capabilities are essential for a commander’s confidence to mitigate an emergency operation. To be brilliant at the basics and working together as a team are essential during an emergency operation.
Set up templates for certain fire scenarios including types of building construction and proven firefighting methods. That being said, every fire is unique based on fire conditions and resources on scene, and fire officers must be allowed the freedom to make time-sensitive critical decisions while working under the fireground commander’s intent.
• Prepare. As a battalion chief, one of my main responsibilities is to be prepared and ensure that the other members of the battalion are prepared to respond to emergencies. You must instill a mindset to be prepared before the alarm to engage and take action. Time should be spent on continuously honing the basics that will benefit fire service members and the community they serve. If you can’t do the basics, tactics and strategy will not matter.
The expectations or “basics” are broken down into five areas of study for leaders: leadership, discipline, training, tools, and situational awareness. Although these tenets seem simple, they are hard to achieve. Even the smallest task performed correctly or incorrectly could make the difference between success and failure. The success comes from the consistency in performing the drills so they become second nature. Fire companies must be able to react in tactically challenging and stressful conditions during an emergency operation. Commanders must know the individual and collective capabilities of each unit. A commander can assess the capabilities of fire companies only through arduous training set to a firm standard. Habituated discipline is the key to being brilliant at the basics.
“Habit breeds that priceless quality: calm”
– Carl Von Clausewitz.
It is important to have a framework of drills to assist ICs and company officers. We must practice as we would in our work environment and be used to working with our gear on. It does make a difference. We need to drill on the correct set of basic skills repeatedly and consistently. Fire companies must be able to act individually on their assignment as well as in unison with the IC’s strategy: “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”-Sun Tzu
We will never be able to recreate the fire scene. Our drills can’t replicate the complexity, the confusion, and the time-compressed situations that can occur. We have to forecast the drills that we believe are the most crucial for the success of the mission and then rehearse those drills constantly under progressively more challenging conditions. Success comes from the consistency in performing the drills so they become second nature. There should be a shared responsibility in each team member’s competence that provides consistency and unit integrity.
Every member of the unit should be able to respond quickly in challenging and stressful conditions to the company officer’s order to change a tactic based on fireground conditions. For example, the hoseline at a residential fire generally is stretched to the front door. However, the company officer in his walk-around determines that the hoseline should be stretched to the rear of the structure to another entry point. The crew should be able to stretch the line, charged or not, to the alternate entry point with a minimum of instructions. It is no different than when an audible is called in athletics.
“Build for your team a feeling of oneness, of dependence on one another, and of strength to be derived of unity.”
– Vince Lombardi
I realize that we have more duties to do every shift than we’ve ever had o before, but there is no more important duty than to be proficient in using our equipment to protect our community. We must be able to tactically perform our duties at the emergency scenes. That is what the community expects.
Performing a variety of basic drills every tour of duty has enforced my conviction that consistently training our small tactical units is critical to success on the emergency scene. I have integrated the training drill concept into skill sets for battalion chiefs to keep myself up on basic skills. Being brilliant at the basics is dependent on habitual discipline–a consistent pattern of behavior under stressful conditions. The challenge for the leaders and the members is to internalize these habits for the unit. Command confidence will be gained by knowing the capabilities of the members by sharing the IC’s expectations on emergency scenes and preparing as a team by practicing together. Conducting practical hand’s on drills with small tactical units working in union with each other will give the fireground commander a view of the skill level of the units under his command.
• Perform. Planning and preparation pay off in performance. Being prepared and ready to perform ensure that fire companies and fireground commanders are in the best position to safely and successfully save lives and property. Fire companies must see the fireground commander as competent in the art of firefighting tactics and strategy. The fireground commander displays a quiet confidence that comes from knowing your job and that you will be able to carry it out successfully. Command confidence is increased when the officers know the members are prepared and share his expectations on the emergency scene. The commander is sure of this because he and the team members prepared and practiced as a team.
Every emergency operation outcome is the result of many small unit outcomes. If one small unit fails to perform its task, the whole operation could have a negative ending. It is critical to have a tailboard session with your crew members after an alarm to go over what parts of the operation went well and those that may need to be corrected. It’s all about being better prepared for the next alarm. Success is having members execute skills on the fireground as if the incident were another drill; it becomes routine (normal).
When each task is performed correctly, it is a magnificent sight for the IC: The hose is stretched correctly to the entry point, ventilation is coordinated with the fire attack team, the search team gets a primary search of the structure quickly and efficiently, and there is an uninterrupted water supply.
“Good tactics can save even the worst strategy. Bad tactics will destroy even the best strategy.”
–General George S. Patton
The main purpose of the fireground commander’s intent is to provide a framework for company officers to act within on emergency scenes. Working together as a team in a coordinated manner to provide mission-orientated command is the key to a successful operation. Time should be spent on continuously practicing the basics that benefit members of a fire department and the community they serve. A chief officer should know the capabilities of their fire companies. Skill sets have to be performed often to build muscle memory. During an emergency operation, you will fall back to your training on a particular skill. The key is for each small tactical unit (engine, truck, rapid intervention crew, search company) to perform in a predictable way. Performing the skill as a team with conditions as realistic as possible brings a cohesiveness that enables everyone to know their position without wasting valuable time on the emergency scene. Strenuous realistic training will make the actual fireground appear normal. It is important to have a framework of daily drills to assist new company officers and acting officers. The correct set of basic skills needs to be drilled on and repeated on a consistent basis. Fire companies must be able to act individually on their assignment but also in unison following the strategy of the IC. Fireground commanders should evaluate how well their companies are operating on emergency scenes and ask, “How can we perform better?”
BIO
SID NEWBY is a battalion chief and 33-year veteran of the Wichita (KS) Fire Department. He is an FDIC instructor and a Fire Engineering author. He is a Kansas State and nationally certified fire service officer and instructor. He has an associate degree in fire science and a BA degree in education from Wichita State University. He lectures nationally on various fire rescue topics. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program.
