By Daniel Vecchiolla
Success can be built in a multitude of different ways, and the meaning of success varies depending on the individual. One universal commonality in the fire service about being successful is developing solid relationships. As a company officer, your primary goal is to ensure each person is safe and goes home in the morning. With that comes embracing that responsibility and building trust with the firefighters; both are the building blocks for a solid relationship foundation. But one area that often gets overlooked by company officers is their relationships with other officers.
If you’re assigned to a larger station with multiple fire apparatus, chances are you aren’t the sole company officer on that shift. Even some smaller stations may have numerous officers working the same day. You may have two lieutenants, or a captain and a lieutenant, or maybe a captain and the battalion chief. Whatever your arraignment is, how solid are those relationships? It’s easy to get caught up in trying to take care of your own people and forget the fact that you may be missing out on an opportunity to develop a relationship that can change the functionality and dynamics of the station.
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You also have company officers that are on opposite shifts as you. Do you work for a fire department where A-shift does something completely different from B-shift? Most likely you do, and your shift is always the best shift, right? C-shift, though, they’re the worst. So how do we bridge the gap and get everyone on the same page?
Communication
It’s always a crapshoot on your station assignment, and the same goes for who is at your station. In some cases, you’ll make long-lasting relationships with your coworkers, and in other cases, you’ll wish you didn’t see some of those people again. Whatever the case, while you’re a company officer, there needs to be, at a minimum, a respectful working relationship. First and foremost, to foster that dynamic with another officer, there needs to be a dialogue between you both. That starts with the simple act of talking to each other. It may seem unusual to even point out the obvious, but there are some circumstances where that does not happen.
If you have multiple officers on the same shift, are you talking to each other? Not just the typical formalities, but discussing the plan of the day, firefighter training, personnel issues, etc. An equally important area is getting to know who they are. Do you know their significant others’ name, if they have kids, what they like to do, and so on? Fostering a strong relationship starts with building a solid rapport, and that can’t happen if you aren’t speaking to one another. Granted, you may not become friends and socialize outside of work, but it’s still important to learn about one another.
Another area where communication is key between shifts is an accurate pass down from the prior shift. Let the oncoming officer know what calls you had and their significance, any issue with the apparatus, any training you may have conducted, and any other information you find pertinent. This typically only takes a few minutes at most, but it provides valuable information that can help alleviate issues that may arise for that officer. Not only will the oncoming officer appreciate the information, but you’re setting them up for a successful tour of duty.
Share A Vision
Once a clear line of communication has been set up and established, it’s time to start talking about what vision each of you has for the shift and the station. Do you want to have a station that trains every day and is super gung-ho? Maybe you do, but the other officer is more relaxed. In some circumstances, both of you will be on opposite ends of the spectrum on how you think the station should look. That’s okay, but it’s paramount that you find a commonplace and meet somewhere in the middle. Having both officers not finding common ground and staying on opposite spectrums will cause confusion, low morale, and segregation within the fire station. We’ve all seen how that plays out. It’s not a positive environment and ultimately causes more issues and stagnation.
Sharing a vision across shifts is a little bit more challenging to establish than inside shifts. The outcome needs to be the same, though. Having different shifts with different visions also bestows some of the same negative aspects. Don’t get me wrong—having all shifts share the same exact vision is most likely not going to happen. But it can. If the vision is to have the best station in the district, that’s something everyone can get on board with. The way each shift strives to attain that vision will ultimately vary and will be up to each company officer.
Set Expectations
Any good company officer has sat down with their crew and provided clear expectations for each individual firefighter. Without those expectations, you truly are doing a disservice to your people and leaving them in the dark about what you want from them. So why not have expectations for the other officer? You absolutely should. Setting up clear expectations between officers is an excellent way for each individual to communicate what they want from the other person. One reasonable expectation you should have of each other is to handle disagreements in private. Nobody wants to see two officers disagreeing and getting into an argument in public. It also undermines their roles in the fire department, and people can use that against them. There are plenty of other reasonable expectations to have of each other, and this will all depend on the individual and their preferences., but try and limit them. Developing between three and five expectations seems to be the sweet spot.
Set the Ground Rules
We’ve established that to have an effective shift, both officers need to be able to work well with each other. Another effective way to make the collaboration more efficient between each person is to set up some basic ground rules. Having a set of ground rules helps clear up any ambiguity between each officer and makes navigating certain situations more palatable. Some basic ground rules between officers shouldn’t be extended too far but should focus on a few simple rules both officers agree upon. One important rule to consider when developing a basic list should include disciplining your own personnel if you aren’t on shift. There will be certain situations where discipline is nonnegotiable with zero officer discretion, but there are circumstances where officers will handle their own personnel differently.
An example may be if a firefighter shows up late to work. One officer may always write those individuals up no matter the situation, whereas the other officer will give some leeway, especially if it’s a rare occurrence. If you are the more lenient officer, you’ll want to handle your personnel and not have the other officer handle that situation. The same goes for the other officer, who is black and white on the rules. Figuring out these situations before they happen may minimize the potential for disagreements and confusion down the road.
Know Each Other’s Strengths and Weaknesses
The last important aspect of setting up a successful shift with other company officers is knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Having firsthand knowledge of each other’s attributes will ensure the right person takes charge of the right situation. This translates to the fireground and also translates to the firehouse. If one company officer is great at technical rescue and the other isn’t, wouldn’t it be wise to have them oversee that operation? Of course, it would. The same applies at the fire station. Suppose one company officer can breeze through developing an Excel spreadsheet and the other can’t even spell Excel. In that case, you’re going to want the officer proficient in developing spreadsheets to take the lead. Learning about each other’s strengths and weakness takes time, and there might be certain situations where both of you overlap in attributes. That’s not a bad thing. As company officers, if both of you are weak on something; you now have an opportunity to find someone who may be an expert that can assist or take the lead. Being a good company officer is not pretending to know it all, it’s knowing the right people for the right situation.
DANIEL VECCHIOLLA is a Virginia-certified fire investigator and a captain for Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Fire. He began his fire service career with the Chesapeake (VA) Fire Department, serving for four years. He transitioned into the Department of Defense system five years ago and is stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in public administration from Old Dominion University. He received his Fire Officer designation through the Center for Public Safety Excellence, for which he serves as a peer reviewer.
