Fire service “shelf life”
A couple of years ago, I was sitting at home in a “bored moment” looking at a shelf in my kitchen. On that shelf was a loaf of bread that had been there for longer than it should have. The bread and other items on the shelf had what is called a “shelf life” (the period during which a material may be stored and remain suitable for use). The word “shelf life” stuck in my head, and I related it to my reflections on the fire service.
Everyone in the fire service has worked side by side or under a person who had exceeded his “shelf life”—the person who is resistant to change, who is afraid to let the “salty dog” attitude go by the wayside, or who fails to positively influence the next generation for success.
Most chose this career path wanting to help people, and there is nothing wrong with that. Most of us spend one-third of our lives with each other and away from our families, which creates a brotherhood and sisterhood like no other. Does the fear of moving out mean the bond is broken or lost, or is it that we fear what’s next?
Although we know physical fitness, mental wellness, and being cancer free are the priorities for a longer life span, there are also parameters within which we can still provide the safest and best customer service not just externally but also internally. Is it fair to hold back our colleagues from being successful? Is it fair to think we are doing the best we could in the job and not know we are below par? We must be accountable to ourselves, our internal customers, and the future.
Self-reflection. At what point do we have the courage to look in the mirror and evaluate whether we are “wheel chocks” to the service or still “viable” for success? Can we be honest with ourselves without looking at faults in others; can we self-reflect and answer these questions? I know we would all consider it okay to pass along the knowledge we gained from our mentors. Are you following these traditions and passing on the lessons of the past to the future?
Everyone in the fire service is built and wired differently physically and mentally, which makes us such a strong profession. Most firefighters fear change. Not supporting change can and will cause a breach in today’s fire service. There is no room for the resisters to set road blocks for organizational success. Ultimately, somewhere along those lines “safety” comes into play.
Preparation. In the past, most were not given the preparation when taking the oath and accepting the challenges we were about to endure for the next 20 to 30 years. Our predecessors did not prepare us for our environment; and, as we all recognize, our world is very different today than ever before and the school of hard knocks has different consequences of which we must be aware, adapt to, and overcome.
Today’s fire service leaders are adapting as fire academies are teaching the importance of financial planning. Fire station discussions from the informal leaders focus on work-life balance, retirement funds and benefits, and behavioral health. These are some of the biggest issues the “shelf life” members are up against. Regardless, they should not let us decide not to retire and let colleagues take it from where we left off. The fire service is infinite, and every member is finite within the fire service. After all, we are firefighters, and “improvising” seems to be what we do or have done to be successful, but we can prepare for the end of our “shelf life.”
This letter may be somewhat brutal to some, but I can relate to “shelf life,” as I recently made the choice to retire. I have been involved in the fire service for more than half of my life. I have my fears that include not having financial success, loss of the brotherhood and sisterhood, and just not being on a fire truck again.
The life that I have known is about to turn into something that I do not know; in this case, I am afraid of change, but I am ready for the challenge just as I was for all of the challenges I have taken on in my career. I had a shelf life and was not afraid to self-reflect and move over for the next generation to take over and lead.
Rink Gordon
Captain/Paramedic
Kingman (AZ) Fire Department
Questions ICS Fire-Law enforcement structure
I would like to comment on “On Scene Cooperation: Fire Department and Law Enforcement” (Fire Engineering, March 2018). I agree with many of the important messages contained in the article and encourage all fire departments to establish better relationships with their law enforcement partners. I have been teaching the incident command system (ICS), including the All Hazard Incident Management Team course, to fire and law enforcement agencies across the country since 2004; have been a train-the-trainer instructor for ICS Incident Commander and Operations Section Chief courses at Emmitsburg; served as an ICS subject matter expert (SME) for the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and was an ICS SME for the National Sheriffs Association, developing and delivering ICS courses for law enforcement, among various other capacities. The Figure 1 incident command graphic in this article is what I would use as the example for any ICS class of “how not to do it.” It portrays multiple command posts as well as multiple Operations Section chiefs at the same time. Both are against ICS principles. I hope this can be addressed and does not set back all the effort nationally to bring law and fire together.
R. Ranger Dorn
Battalion Chief
Oak View, California
Adding realism to training
I attended FDIC International 2018 in Indianapolis and was truly taken aback by all the information available and shared among departments. Working collaboratively and helping each other fix the problems we each encounter really embodies the idea of the fire service. Listening to the speakers inspired me to share this little teaching tool we employ and hope that others might find it useful as well.
A few years ago, I was reading An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, written by Chris Hadfield. To prepare for the rigors of space and to train for any type of emergency, NASA put together a collection of “sims” called “green cards.” During training, one of these green cards might state anything from “one of the crew is dead” to “a piece of equipment isn’t working.” I would bet that some departments would like to throw the occasional curveball at trainees to see how they would react. However, most times, the training is scripted—in officer training, they’ll probably throw a Mayday at someone or the instructor would be trying to pull something out of a hat at the last minute. We decided to take NASA’s approach and built the “Black Box.”
The Black Box contains multiple expected and unexpected issues and scenarios that might arise on a scene. A group of us spent an afternoon brainstorming all the issues we could think of that might challenge our efforts during a call. Following are a few examples of what we came up with:
- Parents transported, child remains on scene.
- Occupants of a vehicle are missing. (The driver says there were passengers, but now only the driver is in the vehicle.)
- There is an imminent medical need in an unsecured location.
- The chaplain is unavailable to respond to a deceased patient; the family is on scene.
- Accusations of malpractice.
- Containing multiple people who have been exposed to hazardous materials.
- Political pressure.
- Unusual smoke/fire colors.
- The attack engine needs to be repositioned.
- Mutual-aid companies are using unsafe tactics.
- A firefighter’s reaction to a disturbing call.
- Media concerns (ignoring barriers, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act issues).
- A firefighter “freezes up.”
- A firefighter refuses orders (substantiated or insubordinate).
- Responder confrontation (fire vs. law enforcement, law enforcement vs. emergency medical services, and so on).
These are a few of probably 100 cards we developed. It was interesting running our members through these problems: Some knew exactly how to deal with the problem; others had never considered it. On scene, everything usually goes great when there are no obstacles but the obvious. But since we’re in the “what-if” business, it’s best to be confronted with every type of trouble you can think of before it happens. As author Chris Hadfield described it: “The astronauts’ comfort zone increased with every problem they mitigated. Nothing boosts confidence like simulating a disaster … and realizing you have the ability to work the problem.”
Steve Black
Training Captain
Cornelius (OR) Fire Department
Code enforcers as educators
I was recently asked if I ever get tired of making people nervous when I show up to perform an inspection. This comment made me question if we as code enforcement officials have approached fire code enforcement activities incorrectly over the years.
Code enforcement professionals are often asked, “Why?” “Why do I have to keep the rear door of my business unlocked during operating hours?” “Why do I have to install a commercial hood suppression system over my 9,762-kilowatt mega burger machine?” and, my favorite, “Why do I have to install a sprinkler system in my 15-story assisted-living facility?”
Virtually no one enjoys being told what to do and how to do it. I propose that when code enforcers are asked why a certain code exists and must be complied with, we respond with education.
Most human beings don’t wish harm on the patrons or employees of their business. Often, the adage of attracting more flies with honey comes into play in fire code enforcement. As Mrs. Smith’s favorite Chief Alan Brunacini always said, “Just be nice.” Often, we as firefighters and fire code enforcement officials have studied the historic fires that have impacted today’s fire codes. If you do not know the background of the codes, do your homework. Many publications are available to educate you on the historic events that have shaped fire codes in the United States and abroad.
Once you have a firm grasp on the historic fires that have impacted the codes you are assigned to enforce, you can then gravitate to an educational code enforcement model. For example, if asked, “Why do I have to keep the rear door of my business unlocked during operating hours?” you can relate to the business owner what happened at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire on March 25, 1911, when 146 people died and another 71 were injured. This educational approach may move the business owners to inquire about how to prevent such tragedies in their business.
The 1974 America Burning report states: “The efforts of individuals and organizations in the fire protection field have run against the twin tides of ignorance and indifference, tides which contribute substantially to the extraordinary magnitude of the fire problem in the United States. As firefighters we can use educational moments such as fire inspections to reduce the amount of ignorance and indifference that individuals pay to the fire problem that exists in the United States. In order to begin to shift the tides of the aforementioned fire problem in the United States, I encourage everyone to begin to take the educational approach toward fire code inspections.”
Heath Smith
Chief
Argo (AL) Fire and Rescue
