By RICHARD MARINUCCI
Fire department personnel work with many other departments and agencies, both in government and in the private sector. This includes police agencies, financial people, and those in public works. Members also interact with hospitals, schools, and private ambulance companies. This is by no means a complete list but a start to help indicate the increasing complexity of interpersonal relationships that are important to providing quality service. With so many people involved and the variety of personalities you will likely encounter, you would have to be quite naïve to think that there will never be any conflicts in the course of performing your duties.
A vast majority of issues requiring resolution involve personality conflicts or other “people problems.” You can never eliminate them, but you can prepare yourself to handle them appropriately and can take steps to help prevent or minimize the severity of the issues. And like so much of what we do, experience, education, training, and practice will help. But also keep in mind that these issues take time—time that can prove to be very beneficial. Your skill in handling these issues will directly reflect on the outcome.
THE PROBLEM
You receive a letter in the mail (“snail mail” at that) from your local ambulance company. The letter is accompanied by a complaint form filed by the ambulance company regarding an incident in your community that took place approximately two weeks prior. The complaint alleges that your medics, who respond first to initiate treatment, treated the private medics with disrespect, provided questionable treatment, and used “bully” tactics on the patient. This letter is the first notice regarding this incident that you have received. What will you do?
First and foremost, this does not appear to be the type of incident that requires instant action on your part. Since the incident occurred two weeks before, it cannot be that time-sensitive, or you would have received something more urgent. Regardless, even though you have discretionary time, you should not postpone your actions.
There are two things that need to happen initially. You need to contact the ambulance company to acknowledge receipt of the complaint. Indicate that you are investigating and will contact it within a short time after you have had a chance to review the incident. The second thing to do is to contact your officer who had responsibility on that particular incident to get his perspective. It is imperative that you get the story from your “horse’s” mouth. It not only gives you insight from your firefighters’ view but also shows confidence in their opinion. This does not mean that they get a free pass as to responsibility, but it allows them to provide you with their perceptions of what occurred.
If your policies, procedures, and practices require personnel to report incidents such as this to you when they occur, you may have a clue that this is a very minor incident to address. If your personnel typically let you know when there may be an issue, and they didn’t in this case, that tells you that they did not view this as a potential problem. Regardless, you need to investigate and resolve it in the interest of your working relationship with your ambulance company.
As you talk with your officer and crew, try to ascertain the real problem. Was it operational or skill related? Or does it appear to be a personality conflict? Knowing the real reason behind the complaint is essential to finding the right solution. Get a written statement, preferably before the meeting and as close to the event as possible when it is as fresh as it can be in your personnel’s minds.
It also helps to know your personnel and how they operate on the scene. You have a variety of personalities within your organization, and their interactions with others can vary. While you hope there is never an intentional effort to create conflict, there are cases where two people just don’t seem to get along. The past history of your personnel can give you hints as to what you may expect.
Get the facts as best as you can. Look for independent third parties, such as police officers, who can provide an unbiased viewpoint. Those not involved emotionally will provide the most realistic recall of the incident. They usually have nothing to gain or lose and provide “just the facts.” It will also help if you can get a written summary, so you have all the details at your disposal should you need them.
You have now balanced the complaint—that is, you have both sides of the issue—and you are ready to proceed with the private company. Set up a meeting that includes all the players, and make sure that appropriate supervisory personnel are in attendance. On occasion, you may find the problem solved if the complaining party is unable or unwilling to meet. In most cases, a true resolution cannot be reached without getting all the parties together. Sometimes, the written complaint is much harsher than what comes out in a face-to-face meeting. Of course, emotions may come into the discussion and skew the facts. Be prepared for either.
THE MEETING
At the meeting, aim your efforts at the issue at hand. Do not let previous or unrelated issues enter the discussion. If they do, then you have a strong indication of previous events that may have led to the complaint. Play it by ear to see if you need to probe to find out if there have been previous unreported incidents that may have led to this particular complaint. Sometimes, relatively insignificant issues (at least in your mind or those of your members) build up to the point where you are dealing with an accumulation, not a single event. Even still, it is important to do your best to stick to the facts and keep the discussion about the incident, not side issues.
If you have done your homework and have a good idea of what may have happened, you can determine if there really is an issue and who may be at fault. If your personnel acted as they should have, you need to defend them in public. This sends a strong message to the complainant, his boss, and your personnel. If you suspect that your personnel may have contributed to this incident, don’t say too much. You will want to handle this in a much more private setting so you do not publicly place your personnel in an uncomfortable position. Even though you strive for ultimate cooperation, remember that you work with your firefighters more than you will ever interact with the private ambulance personnel. Treat your own with the appropriate respect, fairness, and decorum.
Depending on your view of the outcome, take the necessary action. Inaction may be the best choice in many cases. Conducting the investigation and holding the meeting may be all that are needed. Nevertheless, document the meeting for your own records. You never know when there will be a reoccurrence.
OPTIONS FOR RESOLUTION
The goal of every fire department should be to provide quality service every time out the door. If your system involves the use of other agencies on certain calls, you need to work together as best as possible. Consider creating interactions other than those on the scene of an emergency. Meetings, training, and the like can help build stronger relationships that can help prevent minor issues from becoming larger. They also allow for problems to be resolved at the appropriate level in the organization.
Make sure that everyone—firefighters and private medics—knows that you expect the first step in a complaint to be resolving the issue directly between the involved parties. If that is not successful, the officer in charge needs to become involved. Only if these steps don’t work should the chief be brought in. A good system with good people will fix most things before they get to the point that necessitates the chief’s intervention.
Anytime you have more than one person involved, there is the potential for a personality clash. Understand that these events will happen; nothing can be done to make them all go away. However, you can be prepared and can practice. Taking the correct actions will keep small problems small.
RICHARD MARINUCCI is chief of the Northville Township (MI) Fire Department. Previously, he was chief of the Farmington Hills (MI) Fire Department. He was president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs in 1997-98 and chair of the Commission on Chief Fire Officer Designation. In 1999, he served as senior advisor to Director James Lee Witt of FEMA and acting chief operating officer of the United States Fire Administration for seven months as part of a loan program between the City of Farmington Hills and FEMA. He received the Outstanding Public Service Award from the director for his efforts. Marinucci has three B.S. degrees: in secondary education from Western Michigan University, in fire science from Madonna College, and in fire administration from the University of Cincinnati. He was the first graduate of the Open Learning Fire Service Program at the University of Cincinnati (summa cum laude) and was named a Distinguished Alumnus in 1995.
