Slow down!

A chief officer from another town asked me how I stayed so calm at fires. I pondered that question back at my office after the fire. Was I always able to stay so calm?

There was a time when I first made company officer when that was not always the case. A battalion chief (BC) I worked for was James Earl Jones at the firehouse-his deep, slow, resonating voice made you want to fall asleep. But on the fireground, he became Sam Kinkaid. I know you all know what I am talking about. He sent my adrenal glands into overdrive. I became Sam Kinkaid Jr. I would scream orders to the two “fire dogs” sitting behind me, and they were off like a pair of blue tick hounds after a squirrel. They disappeared in a blur.

It really bothered me that I had lost so much control. How could I slow my crew members down when they were so amped up? I thought, Hey, these guys are on a 150-foot, 1¾-inch leash. I could just step on it and stop them at the door. But as I watched that hose being dragged across the ground at a velocity of 2,000 feet per second, I pictured myself doing a double back flip with a twist. Could I stick the landing?

The defining moment came when I dumped a full hose complement in the middle of the street on a well-involved structure downtown. The problem was that the structure was in the alley with no street access. The second-due engine went straight to the alley, and I sat there looking like the idiot I was.

I had to slow the BC down for my own sanity. So whenever he would scream his orders to me, I would respond by slow, methodical, acknowledgment of his orders. “I (pause) copy, (pause) Chief.” The more I did this, the more I realized that I was calming him down as well.

I carried this over as I transitioned to BC. I stay in my vehicle with the windows rolled up through the first alarm. This is my calm, controlled space-no engine noise, no chain saws running, no citizens screaming at me. Quiet and controlled. It calms my company officers down and translates into a more efficient and safe fireground.

Craig Wiedenhoeft
Battalion Chief
Sacramento (CA) Fire Department

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