Photo by Tony Greco.
By Dominic Magagnini
The definition of change is “to make or become different.” Maybe we should add to this definition, “to make better or great.” We have the ability to inflict positive change in our departments and our fire service that can make us better, make us safer, and make us more productive to the people we serve. Making the changes—and making them the right way—is something our fire service needs to get right before a positive change gets lost with lack of communication.
Being a member of a very young and progressive fire department, change is inevitable, but the way we change our department should not be rash and without thought or preparation. The fire service has gotten very young very quickly, and we should not take the new ideas of our membership lightly; some young members have great merit and greater influence on the job we love. As leaders, mentoring our young firefighters on the right way to inflict change on our fire service is one of the most important things we can do.
Knowing how to make a change, whether it is a new hose load, a change to our uniform, or something you may consider insignificant, we have to do it the right way and lean on the experience of others to lead us in the right direction. If done wrong, a change that could have a great influence on our department could be met with great resistance.
My department has implemented a “change request process” that we use for making any changes within our department. It is a great avenue for our progressive members who want to implement change where we want it and to effect that change in a positive way. For example, if one of our companies is in possession of a piece of obsolete equipment that they would like to discard, they fill out a change request. The change request is then signed by all the members operating out of that house along with an explanation of the reasons why they want the equipment removed. Once the request is signed by all company members, both for or against, it is submitted to management for review, they make a final decision.
You can use this process for small- or large-scale departmentwide changes. For instance, my department has used this process for creating a new patch, new hose loads, and for switching from high- to low-pressure nozzles, to name a few. We also used this process as a means of brainstorming new ideas and giving those ideas meaning within the context of our department and between members.
Communication between members is very important. Your members want to be involved, and having them on your side will help any change go a lot smoother. In this process, we send the change request out to our entire department prior to submitting it to our management. This allows us to show management that the line staff as well as us want the change and for the right reasons. Involving (or at least informing) a majority of members with the change will aid in its transition and impact once we implement that change because the members will be expecting it, thinking of how the change will positively affect their assigned company.
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“Do your homework, and have all the questions people might have for you answered prior to presenting you change or idea.” I received this piece of advice from one of my battalion chiefs when I came to him with an idea. I was trying to move to fast with a project, and he knew it would fail if I did not slow down and “take the time to save some time” prior to moving forward.
We often try and want everything done yesterday in the fire service. We are “Alpha” personalities that think his idea is the best and most productive one at any moment of any time. We teach our firefighters during their recruit time to be smart; as soon as we get off probation, we have great ideas and or we go to a class, learn something, and return and want to implement change into our department as soon as possible.
Is it being smart to try to change things that will affect the operations of a company during its tour without having company members trained on whatever the change is, be it a piece of equipment or a new operation? Is it being smart to jump in with both feet on something without properly educating yourself first?
Change is a great thing; it can make us safer and change our culture positively, but I have also seen it done and tried the wrong way, and it always fails miserably. The repercussions of the word “no” can be catastrophic to a department and an individual. But many times, that is the answer we get when we are not fully prepared and educated prior to implementing the change.
Not being at the ready can kill us in a second on the streets while on a job; it has killed many of our brightest, strongest, and best fire service leaders because they were not prepared when they wanted to change something they were passionate about. They received the answer “no” so many times that they just stopped trying to be productive members of our departments and became “just-here-collecting-a-check” firefighters.
What they did not realize was that the person making those decisions, the one asking the tough questions, didn’t feel comfortable with the change because that firefighter was not prepared and educated fully prior to the conversation. It is, often, not because the idea or concept was not best for the department and its members; it was because he was not prepared for those tough questions.
If you believe something is instrumental to our success as a fire service, and the way your department conducts business can change for the better, have a plan! Do your homework on the idea you have, follow through with it, and present it to whomever you need to present it to. If your plan is to change the type of nozzles your department operates with, put together a pros-and-cons list, flow as many different nozzles as you can, and reach out to firefighters across the country who have done it before and done it successfully, and find the best fit for your department, no matter its size.
Also, devise up with a training plan for the change. If you want to make a change, think of how you are going to train your firefighters in implementing the plan. Switching a fire nozzle is a large-scale project; how to operate the nozzle, how to pump the correct pressure, staffing of the line, resource needs, initial costs, and maintenance costs are just a few of the questions you must be prepared to answer. Having those answers for whatever project you are trying to implement makes the it a lot easier for your chief to answer “yes” at the end of your presentation.
Unfortunately, you will run into resistance when trying to change almost anything in the fire service. A full buy-in from everyone is almost impossible, but if you can have a plan for the change, you can change the resistance into acceptance if you have answered the questions of weary members prior to them asking them.
Slowing down to speed up is not a skill that most of us possess. We want everything now, and some have the ability to be extremely thorough, but for most of us, it is a skill that is learned through many personal failures or the lessons of others who came before us. Streamlining the change process for your firefighters and creating a template for them to succeed will lead to the research and homework that is needed.
Change must be effected in our fire service in a positive way. It is not always needed, but when it is, you must have a direction for your motivated members to follow. Change the definition of “change,” and make your department, your assignment, or your passion great. Communicate with your members and your chief officers along the way, and educate them as you learn. The more they are informed and educated, the more likely you are going to hear that answer you have worked so hard to hear.
Taking the time to do it the right way takes a change in us. Learning how to slow ourselves down and realize that it is in the best interest of our fire service is not as easy as it seems, but as soon as you learn that skill, your ability to change things becomes much more attainable. As always, it only takes the actions of one to change the direction of many.
Dominic Magagnini is a member of the Ceres (CA) Fire Department assigned to its C Shift’s “Quint 18.”
