BY OTTO SANDLEBEN
On-the-job training. What is the first thought this phrase brings to mind? Formal drills on the training ground? Fires where experience can be gained only through exposure to any one of a multitude of situations? Strict classroom instruction? This list is not exhaustive but serves to make you think of our traditional definition of on-the-job training.
Firefighters live in a station as part of the crew but tend to learn as individuals. We learn through personal experience on the fireground, by attending structured classes and training seminars, and through fire station discussions.
Personal experience increases our knowledge base regardless of whether the situation is positive or negative. It may not be necessary to “have” the experience firsthand. If we see an action and the result of that action, we should learn from it.
For example, the truck company is ordered to perform positive-pressure ventilation. The task is completed before the engine company has a good hit on the fire. The fire pushes through the structure simply because coordination is not in place. Seeing the fire progress rapidly through the building should make the firefighter realize that the use of positive-pressure ventilation must be part of a coordinated, multicompany effort. On the other hand, the truck company is ordered to begin positive-pressure ventilation. The engine company makes a good hit on the fire. This time, the bulk of the fire is knocked down and the building begins to clear of the products of incomplete combustion. In this scenario, the firefighter witnesses how efficiently a coordinated attack works.
Structured classroom instruction and training seminars are other ways we learn while on the job. One advantage of structured classroom training is the consistency of the information put forth. The classroom for our purposes is not on a college campus. It is simply the day room that doubles as the training classroom or the kitchen table. Information is given with operations particular to each fire department, consistent with departmental standard operating procedures. Of course, there are fires that will be extinguished using nonconventional methods, but this is a good place to hear “how we did it in this fire.”
On-the-job training also occurs between calls, while we are at the fire station having a cup of coffee. In this environment, we learn from the stories of fires past, that one-car accident where the tools performed flawlessly or the great save a firefighter made without regard for the danger from the fire.
BANDURA’S SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
Albert Bandura has long studied the social foundations of learning. His Social Learning Theory suggests that people learn how to perform and act by observing and imitating role models around them.1 If we apply this theory to the fire service, then we have what seems to be a good explanation of how firefighters learn on the job.
Social learning is an important method of training in the fire service. We cannot explain to new recruits every possible situation they will face during their careers. Our raw potential is developed by listening to senior firefighters tell the story of how they saved brother firefighters while sacrificing personal safety.
I remember a few years back the story of a firefighter who was trapped in the basement with his crew. He helped his company get out of a basement window. The firefighter telling the story, as he heard it, related the last words heard were “at least you guys will get out.” The hair on the back of my neck stood up! Fortunately, the firefighter helping his brothers out did not die, but the situation was bad enough that at the time his dying seemed a real possibility.
Now, not having been in this particular situation myself at that point in my career, I do recall that hearing the story not only increased my pride in the brotherhood but also gave me the information that I might someday be able to save a crew member’s life!
Social learning can also be called vicarious learning. The American Heritage Dictionary2 defines vicarious as being “felt or undergone as if one were taking part in the experience or feelings of another.” This is the type of learning that has no specific teaching lesson in mind; it simply happens as a result of being around the table. Firefighters early in their career automatically listen and observe for cues about how to perform in the station and on the fireground. This social learning may not be realized on a conscious level but simply as a function of becoming part of the company. Information is received vicariously while the stories are being told. I mentioned earlier that although firefighters exist in companies, they learn as individuals. Attention span and comprehension ability, among other things, affect the amount of information digested. If we are to imitate experienced firefighters, we must listen to some of the things they have to say.
As firefighters, we must avail ourselves of every opportunity to increase our knowledge base. From the first day on the job until we retire, it is important to hear the lessons. We must facilitate our development through the conscious realization of the importance of personal, behavioral, and environmental factors. On-the-job training encompasses the environmental influences of fireground activities, classroom training, and fire station discussions.
The social learning theory provides a label for what occurs as we develop our personal and behavioral skills. There is a continuous gap between what we know and what we need to know. This skills gap can be shortened through social learning. Experiences and thoughts that would otherwise take firefighters years to learn on their own can be learned faster. This is not to say that social learning can absolutely replace actual hands-on experience, but it is a good starting point. As an example, teaching a firefighter to be aggressive in attacking the fire can be accepted only for the lesson being told. Until the firefighter feels the intensity of the fire and learns firsthand that a little heat must be endured, he cannot fully appreciate the in-formation being relayed.
References
- Newstrom, J.W., K. Davis. Organizational Behav-ior, 10th Ed. (McGraw-Hill Companies, 1997).
- The American Heritage Dictionary, 2nd College Edition. (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1985).
OTTO SANDLEBEN, a 19-year veteran of the fire service, is a firefighter/paramedic for Largo (FL) Fire Rescue. He has an associate’s degree in fire science technology from St. Petersburg College.
