Photo by Tony Greco.
By Michael DeStefano
Scenario: You’re sitting at the fire station on a Sunday afternoon in the fall watching an NFL game. It’s the fourth quarter with 15 seconds left on the clock, and your team is down by five points on the 10-yard line. The team breaks from the huddle and lines up at the line of scrimmage with a placekicker for the center, an offensive linemen running pass routes, and a defensive lineman in the quarterback position. Obviously the play does not go well, and your team blows their playoff shot again this year. What happened? Did the players fail at their job of being a football player? Or did the coach fail at his job of filling the correct positions with the correct people?
The fire service is very similar to a sports team; we practice more than we play, we make split-second decisions that affect the outcome of the game, and we draw a crowd whenever we show up. And, of course, the big similarity is that we get one shot to either win or lose the game. However, there is one big difference between the fire service and sports, (and most other career choices, for that matter): We are expected to know and complete any task thrown at us.
Every year, new recruits walk through the doors of my training center and I see the list of certifications and skills that they bring with them from fire school. Every year that list grows. Anyone within this business knows that the fire service is an all-encompassing response organization: fires, medical calls, vehicle accidents, hazardous materials, airport response, marine rescue, urban search and rescue, tech rescue; the list could go on and on for the calls with which we are faced. The public only knows one thing—call 911 and the fire department will handle it. This is the difference: specialization.
In almost every other career choice there is the ability for specialization. You don’t find a pediatrician performing surgery on an elderly cancer patient. Nor do you see a plumber setting up an electrical box on a house. If this were to occur, you would have a poor outcome similar to the football game referenced above. Unfortunately, the fire service does not have the opportunity to specialize every single type of call it will run. We simply don’t know where or when that call might occur.
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This creates the modern fire service “Jack of all trades, master of none” approach. Every firefighter is trained on all kinds of calls that are related to target hazards within one’s jurisdiction. Some departments have the opportunity to allow specialization in tech rescue, dive rescue, airport response, and so on, and some do not. So, how do we get over this obstacle of placing any football player in any position if we can’t cater to a specialized response to each individual call? We coach!
Every level of management within the fire service allows the ability to coach. The key is learning the strengths and weaknesses of your players, followed by playing to the strengths and training to reduce weaknesses. If we look at the rank structure of many departments, we can establish a basis of what level of coaching should occur.
- Firefighter level. On medical calls, the emergency medical technician or paramedic has the ability to delegate tasks among the crew based on the needs of the patient. This firefighter should know who on his crew is the best at each function (i.e., IV, intubation, CPR, splinting, and so on). The delegation of those tasks will play to his strengths.
- Company officer. This level of management allows for daily coaching and staffing. Many times, a departments rank structure will fill the player positions for the company officer to cover driver, jumpseat firefighter, medic, and so on. If this is not the case at your department, make it a priority to place the most qualified member in these positions. Additionally, when the game starts and you are on scene, the plays will flow better from the start. On scene, continue to play to your crew’s strengths. On the roof, give the guy proficient with saws cut time, or have the guy that is quick and accurate search the lead on the primary.
- Battalion/District chief. Have your crews in your district staffed accordingly. A company officer with heavy extrication experience and training is worthless in the suburb station that is third-due to any highway incidents. The same goes for a marine rescue officer that is staffed mainland with no boat within 10 miles. Again, play to the member’s strengths to ensure the best possible outcome.
- Chief level. This is the “head coach” position. The chief decides what specializations he wants within the department based on target hazards. A fire boat in a mountain department is as good as a brush truck in a downtown urban department. The selection of apparatus and units based on the area to which the truck responds is key. Additionally, delegating the assistant coach positions is also important. If the chief selects the correct people based on education, knowledge, and experience of the position for his assistant chiefs, the organization as a whole will operate smoother with less error. Much of what we as fans see on the field is directly related to what occurs behind the scenes within the football organization. The same holds true to fire rescue.
Our goal when responding to an emergency much like a game is to win. There is no settling for a tie or the “we will get them next time” mentality. It is an all-in, winner-take-all approach. We need to look at ways to stack the deck in our favor. I would much rather operate safely and efficiently to earn the easy win rather than be able to say that we won against all odds.
Michael DeStefano is a lieutenant assigned to the training division with Brevard County (FL) Fire Rescue. He began his career in 2004 at a small three-station paid department in Winter Springs, Florida, as a firefighter/EMT-B. In 2005, he moved to Brevard County, taking on the role of firefighter/paramedic in 2006. He has an associate’s degree from Eastern Florida State College in fire science and a bachelor’s degree from Barry University in public administration.
