RAPID DECISION MAKING ON THE FIREGROUND
BY JOHN MARK NORRIS
Decisions by fireground commanders usually are made under extreme time constraints. The quality of their decisions can result in the saving of citizens` and firefighters` lives and of millions of dollars in potential property losses. How to train future fireground commanders to make quality decisions under extreme time constraints and how to select the most qualified candidates for promotion are challenges.
A review of the literature regarding the science of decision making reveals various models. Authority rule, consensus, Delphi techniques, dialectical inquiry, nominal group technique, and the Vroom and Yetton model of decision making are all samples of theories you can study to become an effective decision maker. Modern management theories are employed to train college students in how to choose options from among alternatives in the most effective manner. But are a college degree and a voluminous résumé the qualities we should be looking for in our fireground commanders? Should we be promoting chiefs who have the ability to determine the number of possible ways an outcome can occur, then determine the number of possible ways every possible outcome can occur, then divide the first number by the second, and then determine the probability of the event in question before deciding to send a crew with a 112-inch handline into a building to extinguish a fire?
In “How White Is Your Helmet?” (Editor`s Opinion, Fire Engineering, September 1995), Bill Manning wrote, “…the fire service is crying out for the type of leadership that can be supplied only by a chief who answers his field radio as well as his office intercom….Many chiefs nowadays are far removed from the sounds of the fire scene. Now it`s IEMS, diversity training, and TQM above all else.”
A study entitled Rapid Decision Making on the Fire Ground was conducted in 1988 by the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. The study`s objective was to examine the ways decisions are made by highly proficient fire service personnel under conditions of extreme pressure and where the consequences of the decisions could affect lives and property.1 The study`s major finding was that in most fireground situations, the strategy was for these highly proficient fireground personnel to use their experience to identify a course of action. Decisions were made based on the fireground commander`s skill at recognizing critical elements of an incident, recognition that has been developed through years of experience. Complicated decision trees and matrices were not used; in fact, in 80 percent of the incidents, the fireground commander was able to handle decision points without any need to consider more than one option.
It makes no sense to train officers to generate and evaluate a variety of options when that process will result in failure during the critical seconds of an emergency incident. When the alarm sounds, the effective fireground commander will not necessarily be the chief with the most degrees, certifications, completed seminars, or office time under his belt. Rather, the effective fireground commander will be the one who has the breadth of experience and situational awareness skills needed to make instant decisions when lives and property are at stake. n
Endnote
1. Klein, Gary A.; Roberta Calderwood; and Anne Clinton-Cirocco. Rapid Decision Making on the Fire Ground (Systems Research Laboratory, June 1988, vii).
JOHN MARK NORRIS, a 17-year veteran of the fire service, is a training battalion chief with the Baltimore County (MD) Fire Department. He has a B.S. degree in emergency health services from the University of Maryland and a master`s degree in public administration from the University of Baltimore.
