FRM 2010 jul

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Preplanning water supply issues, p. 32

Plus Combat radio background noise, p. 62 Why department accreditation matters, p. 36 3 methods of attack for WUI fires, p. 71

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July 2010 Volume 28, Issue 7 To subscribe, visit www.fire-rescue.com

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Accreditation 36 Seal of Approval

3 perspectives on the process of gaining departmental accreditation

The International Association of Fire Chiefs’ leadership section

By Jeff Eastman, Eric Jones & David Stephenson

60 President’s Letter

How to market your service, personnel & apparatus to your community

Tactics

By Chief Jeffrey D. Johnson

46 Trying the “True” Belay

62 Sound Off

Informal belay test reveals rescuers’ slow reaction time

How to combat background noise & what’s being done to correct it

By Tom Pendley

By Chief Ott Huber

78 Quick Drills

68 Safety

T he one-person “baseball-swing” simplifies entry on inward-swinging doors

Hasty decisions often compromise safe operations & create more work

By Homer Robertson

By Chief Randall Talifarro

46

Wildland/Urban Interface 71

Triple Threat 3 methods of attack for fighting WUI fires

By Thomas W. Aurnhammer & David Vega

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69 Near-Miss

2 reports underscore the importance of rapid intervention teams

By Deputy Chief John B. Tippett Jr.

Plus!

56 Product Picks

FireRescue technical editors review hot products from FDIC 2010

By Greg Jakubowski, Bob Vaccaro & Homer Robertson

July 2010

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In This Issue …

12 From the Editor

It’s not just recruits who must prove themselves; we must also be fit for duty

By Timothy E. Sendelbach

14 ToolsNewsTechniques

• Gear Test: MSA’s Workman Tripod for confined-space rescue is lightweight, durable & easy to use • News: “Vegan firefighters” is not an oxymoron—it’s a small but growing trend • Announcement: John Sullivan promoted to Deputy Chief • Challenge News: Firefighter Combat Challenge has strong start

32 Fire Attack

Exclusively Online!

Engine companies must come prepared to establish their own water supply

By Greg Jakubowski

76 Company Officer Development

Going the extra mile to help someone can affect your entire community

By Ray Gayk

82 Fire Prevention

Public educators will play a critical role in leading the fire service of the future

By Jim Crawford

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22 Nozzlehead

Readers offer their opinions on being LGBT in the fire service

26 Apparatus Ideas

Columbus takes delivery of the first of 18 apparatus from Ferrara

Visit www.tinyurl.com/FireRescueblog to read these articles:

Truck Company Operations Successful forcible entry includes size-up, the right tools—&, of course, solid skills

By Jim McCormack

Put It All Together

Integrating multimedia into your postincident analyses can help solidify the lessons learned

By Brett Bowman & Jennie Collins

Leadership Skills

Understanding how others view your authority can help you use it more effectively

By Chief Marc Revere

By Bob Vaccaro

About the Cover On Sept. 18, 2008, firefighters from the Community (Texas) Volunteer Fire Department performed defensive ops on a house fire that occurred during the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in west Houston. The neighborhood was still without electricity at the time of the incident. The homeowner stated that his generator started a fire in the garage, which quickly spread to the house. A second alarm was called, and mutual aid from Houston responded. TACTICAL TIP: “Big fire, bigger water” has long been the motto of the fire service when dealing with well-advanced fires. This particular incident presents a unique challenge in that later-responding units (back-up or mutual aid) might be delayed due to the aftermath of the storm.

When resources are scarce (or in this case delayed), limit your risk, establish a defensive position outside the collapse zone and attempt to limit the fire spread using natural breaks or pinch points within the structure. Always keep in mind that calculated risks are based on savable property and savable lives. Risk nothing for what is already lost. Photo Ryche Guerrero

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84 New Products 86 Classifieds 89 Ad Index 90 Response Time

Increased authority brings increased stress

By Brian A. Crawford

July 2010

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Timothy E. Sendelbach - tesendelbach@msn.com dePUtY editor

Shannon Pieper - s.pieper@elsevier.com MAnAGinG editor

Janelle Foskett - j.foskett@elsevier.com senior editor

Cindy Devone-Pacheco - c.devone@elsevier.com editoriAl AssistAnt

Kindra Sclar - k.sclar@elsevier.com online neWs/BloG MAnAGer Bill Carey - bill@goforwardmedia.com editoriAl director

A.J. Heightman - a.j.heightman@elsevier.com editoriAl dePArtMent

Phone 800/266-5367; Fax 619/699-6246 Art director

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Western eMediA sAles rePresentAtive

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Jim Maloney - j.maloney@elsevier.com 215/239-3157 senior sAles coordinAtor

Elizabeth Zook - e.zook@elsevier.com sAles & AdMinistrAtive coordinAtor

Liz Coyle - l.coyle@elsevier.com eMediA strAteGY

Phone 410/872-9303 MAnAGinG director

Dave Iannone - dave@goforwardmedia.com director of eMediA sAles

Paul Andrews - paul@goforwardmedia.com director of eMediA content

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Jenna Engelstein - j.engelstein@elsevier.com MArketinG director

Debbie Murray - d.l.murray@elsevier.com MArketinG MAnAGer

Melanie Dowd - m.dowd@elsevier.com senior GrAPhic desiGner

Kathy Whitehead - k.whitehead@elsevier.com MArketinG & ProGrAM coordinAtor

Olga Berdial - o.berdial@elsevier.com vice President/PUBlisher

Jeff Berend - j.berend@elsevier.com foUndinG PUBlisher

James O. Page, 1936–2004 Choose 15 at www.ďŹ rerescuemagazine.com/rs

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July 2010

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Editorial Board

iaFC Board & StaFF

To reach any member of our editorial board, e-mail frm.editor@elsevier.com and include the contributor’s name in your subject line.

FireRescue is the official publication of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

TECHNICAL EDITORS AppARATuS Fire Chief Bob Vaccaro (Ret.) Deer Park, N.Y.

EDITORIAL ADvISORS & CONTRIBuTING EDITORS

iaFC Board

Chief Brian Crawford Shreveport (La.) Fire Department

Jeffrey D. Johnson President & Chairman of the Board

Dwight Clark FirstCare, Forsyth, Ga.

John E. “Jack” Parow First Vice President

Chief Scott Cook (Ret.) Granbury (Texas) Fire Department

Al H. Gillespie Second Vice President

Battalion Chief Henry Costo Philadelphia Fire Department

Larry J. Grorud President 2008–2009

Capt. Mike Kirby & District Chief Tom Lakamp Cincinnati Fire Department

Assistant Chief Brian Fennessy San Diego Fire-Rescue Department

William R. Metcalf Treasurer

ExTRICATION Battalion Chief Todd D. Meyer Gig Harbor (Wash.) Fire/Medic One

Deputy Chief William Goldfeder Loveland-Symmes (Ohio) Fire Department

Richard Carrizzo Missouri Valley Division

fIRE pREvENTION Fire Marshal Jim Crawford (Ret.) Vancouver (Wash.) Fire Department

Assistant Chief Todd Harms Phoenix Fire Department

COmpANy OffICER DEvELOpmENT Deputy Chief Ray Gayk Ontario (Calif.) Fire Department fIRE ATTACk Chief Greg Jakubowski Lingohocken (Pa.) Fire Company

fITNESS Division Chief Martha Ellis Salt Lake City Fire Department QuICk DRILLS Capt. Homer Robertson Fort Worth Fire Department RESCuE Capt. Andy Speier Snohomish County (Wash.)

Fire District 1

Fire Chief Ed Hartin Central Whidbey Island (Wash.)

Fire & Rescue Fire Chief Jeff Johnson Tualatin Valley (Ore.) Fire and Rescue Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr Austin (Texas) Fire Department Steve Kidd Delve Productions, Inc., Orlando, Fla. Chief Tom Kuntz Red Lodge (Mont.) Fire Department

RESCuE REpORT Tom Vines, Rope Rescue Consultant Red Lodge, Mont.

Thomas E. Lubnau II Lubnau Law Office, P.C., Gillette, Wyo.

RuRAL fIRE COmmAND Capt. Keith Klassen Summit (Ariz.) Fire District

Chief Steve Pegram Goshen (Ohio) Township Fire & EMS Department

Resident Instructor Patrick Pauly Pennsylvania State Fire Academy Lewistown, Penn.

TRuCk COmpANy OpS Capt. Michael M. Dugan Fire Department City of New York Capt. Randy Frassetto Surprise (Ariz.) Fire Department Lt. Jim McCormack Indianapolis Fire Department

to SuBSCriBE, viSit www.FirE-rESCuE.Com

Battalion Chief Tom Pendley Peoria (Ariz.) Fire Department District Chief Billy Schmidt Palm Beach County (Fla.) Fire Department Deputy Fire Coordinator Tiger Schmittendorf Erie County Department of Emergency Services, Buffalo, N.Y.

John W. deHooge Canadian Division William Walton Jr. Eastern Division John Sinclair EMS Section Alan W. Perdue Fire & Life Safety Section Kenn Taylor Great Lakes Division Luther L. Fincher Jr. Metro Chiefs Association Roger Bradley New England Division I. David Daniels Safety, Health & Survival Section Jack K. McElfish Southeastern Division Jerry “J.D.” Gardner Southwestern Division Fred C. Windisch VCOS Joseph M. Perry Western Division iaFC StaFF

Deputy Chief John Sullivan Worcester (Mass.) Fire Department

Mark W. Light, CAE Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director

Deputy Chief John Tippett Charleston (S.C.) Fire Department

Ann Davison, CAE Strategic Information Manager

Battalion Chief Matt Tobia Anne Arundel (Md.) County Fire Department

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FromTheediTor

Feeling Entitled?

It’s not just recruits who must prove themselves; we must also be fit for duty

I

By Timothy E. Sendelbach

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t’s day one of your recruit class: 25 young men and women fill the classroom dressed in their pressed, navy blue uniform pants, polished black boots and red T-shirts. Suddenly, the recruit class coordinator enters the room and pulls out six of your fellow classmates for failing to abide by the designated dress code. Te recruits immediately make the necessary modifications and return to the class. Tey know that attention to detail is an absolute necessity.

Over the next 15 weeks, the class is reduced to 23, and several recruits are put on probation due to academic or physical shortcomings. Te recruits endure the rigors of daily PT sessions, including miles of track time, stair climbs, push-ups, hose pulls, bear crawls and sit-ups, along with hours of classroom instruction, weekly written evaluations, hands-on demonstrations, practical evolutions and scenario-based testing.

Any failure along the way is followed by remedial instruction and strict requirements to demonstrate mental and physical competencies. Anyone incapable of meeting the established academic and/or physical standards is deemed unqualified for the designation of firefighter and is immediately released from the class.

In many fire departments throughout the country, this describes the journey we endure to become line firefighters. But fast-forward 5, 10 or 15 years and consider, what standards are in place for you as a line firefighter or company officer serving in this same department? Are the physical and academic demands the same? Are you required to demonstrate your mental and physical competence in the same fashion you were at the beginning of your career? If not, why not?

Disturbingly, a recent study published by Harvard researchers showed that up to 40 percent of firefighters nationwide are overweight and, as a result, they have a much higher risk of suffering a heart attack on the job than the general population. Yet many fire departments don’t require annual physicals or fitness tests beyond the ones required when a new recruit is hired.

Te job of a firefighter is no less strenuous, nor is it less hazardous, as we become more seasoned/experienced; in fact, I would argue it actually becomes more hazardous and more strenuous as our bodies age and our responsibilities increase. So why do so many of us oppose mandatory fitness requirements, medical screenings, drug screenings and skills evaluations that will not only ensure our readiness, but also identify our

Firerescue Magazine

deficiencies before they become life-threatening? Is it a fear of failure? Is it a fear of losing our jobs? Although all of these are certainly possibilities, so too is the possibility of severe injury or death to you or your crew.

In 2009, 82 firefighters died in the line of duty, 35 of whom died from sudden cardiac events. Even more disturbing: 19 of those 35 firefighters had pre-existing medical conditions, including eight who had been diagnosed or treated for heart problems (prior heart attacks, bypass surgery or angioplasty/stent placement).

Te trend of sudden cardiac events in the fire service is not new, nor is there a quick fix for it. Yet our continued resistance to mandated physical requirements and diagnostic screenings is making the problem worse.

For the last 20 years, the fire service has made great strides in improving safety—enhanced personal protective equipment, design standards for new tools, technology that allows us to understand fire behavior, etc.

Te final piece of the safety puzzle is in the hands of the end users—you and your crew. As firefighters, we boast that not everyone is made to be a firefighter; not everyone can do our job. Firefighters are without question a special breed, but we are also products of our environment. We are not invincible, and we are not without weaknesses and limitations. To be part of the select few requires a lifetime of hard work and sacrifice.

It’s no secret that a lot of firefighters and officers believe that the next generation of firefighters lacks the values and work ethic of previous generations, or that they haven’t learned the discipline associated with the traditions of the job. It’s not uncommon to hear that these younger firefighters carry a sense of “entitlement” for things they haven’t earned.

We might turn that same criticism back on ourselves.

Yes, we proved ourselves and initially earned the rank we hold. But such entitlement comes with term limits.

If we can’t pass an annual, minimum physical fitness test, if we haven’t kept up with the basic skills needed on the fireground, aren’t we, too, demonstrating a sense of entitlement for something we haven’t earned?

It goes without saying that we must demand the best of our recruits, and this includes strict physical and mental training with detailed performance standards.

But we must also ensure that we, too, are fit for duty.

Fifteen weeks of training is a formidable foundation for success, but it’s certainly not enough to sustain us for a career.

July 2010

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Tools News Techniques Equipment

How To

Training

People

Gear Test

Pros

The Lighter Side of Rescue

Cons

Story & Photos by Andy Speier

Workman Tripod + Durable; + Lightweight; and + Easy to use.

MSA’s Workman Tripod for confined-space rescue is lightweight, durable & easy to use

- On the shorter side.

A

MSA P.O. Box 426 Pittsburgh, PA 15230 Tel: 412/967-3000; 800/MSA-2222 Web: www.msanet.com

s a technical rescue instructor, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in confined-space entries in some unique places. One thing I know for sure: Tese entries present a number of unique challenges. Tis, of course, makes it all the more important to have the right tools to get the job done.

I recently had the opportunity to test MSA’s Workman Tripod for confined-space entry. Te tripod has high-tensile aluminum square legs and is adjustable in 5" increments held in place by easy-to-insert ball detent pins. Overall, I found the product easy to use.

Its strength is in its short packaged height and weight.

The tripod’s maximum height is 8 feet (96 inches), and its interior headroom is 91 inches.

Upon rigging the tripod over a manhole and using a 4:1 prerigged haul system, the crew was able to remove a firefighter from the hole and her feet cleared the opening.

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Events

I look at four features in a tripod for confined-space rescue: weight, maximum height, footprint and packed size. I’m less concerned with the maximum capacity as long as it’s sufficient to support a single-person load.

Weight: Te Workman Tripod weighs 45 lbs. Tis is nearly half the weight of some other tripods, so it caught my attention right off the bat. Te entry point for a confined space is often deep inside a plant or mill, possibly 25–100 feet off the ground and accessible only via catwalks or enclosed ladders. Ever haul a heavy tripod 100 feet up a water tank? It’s tiring. At only 45 lbs., one rescuer can easily carry this tripod without it becoming a burden.

Maximum Height: Te tripod’s maximum height (overall headroom) is 8 feet (96 inches). Its interior headroom (underside of the tripod head) is 91 inches.

I’m always looking for as much height as possible, and although this is actually on the shorter end of the spectrum, the height wasn’t a problem for us. Upon rigging the tripod over a manhole and using a 4:1 pre-rigged haul system, the crew was able to remove a firefighter from the hole and her feet cleared the opening. Te firefighter was attached to a front D-ring on a class III harness, but at 8 feet, it appeared that we could remove a victim in a Spec Pak, SKED or LSP Halfback and have enough of their torso out of the space to enable us to remove them. Te tripod’s minimum overall height is 55 inches. Tis measurement is relevant when you need to work in basements and other low-overhead environments.

Footprint: Te tripod’s footprint is 59 inches at maximum extension—a good size if your target hazards are manholes and similarly sized spaces. If you want your tripod to span narrow trenches, wells and lift stations that have boxes built around them, or larger openings, then this may be a limiting factor. A plus: Te tripod features skid-resistant feet with built-in leg base support that improves stability and strengthens the entire system.

Packed Size: As not all agencies have the benefit of carrying all their confined-space rescue equipment on a large, multi-compartmented rescue truck, space can be an issue. Many agencies carry this equipment on ladder July 2010

The aluminum tripod head has three exterior and one interior swivel eyes (attachment points) that are rated at a breaking strength of 5,000 lbs.

trucks, engines and former ambulances. Te Workman Tripod’s packed size is 63 inches long and 10 inches in diameter. A packed length of 63 inches will fit in many exterior compartments and is considerably shorter than other rescue tripods.

Set-up: Because the legs are locked in place when folded, and the leg base strap is pre-threaded through the base, set-up is simple and can be done by one person. Tere are multiple holes to allow the legs to be extended or made level on uneven terrain. Te adjustment is held in place with one detent pin on each leg.

Te pins are secured to the leg with a chain tether to prevent loss. Tere’s always a bit of confusion when erecting a tripod as to how many holes are showing and where to pin the legs. Tere are no numbers or letters on the tripod’s legs, but this is easily solved with a permanent marker. Additionally, the tripod features a maximum height indicator—located on the inside of each leg—that identifies the maximum leg extension length. I would prefer it if it were on the outside of each leg. To improve visibility, I colored the indicator with a red marker—an easy fix.

Te aluminum tripod head has three exterior and one interior swivel eyes (attachment points) that are rated at a breaking strength of 5,000 lbs. Te tripod’s maximum load rating is 400 lbs. with personnel and 620 lbs. with equipment. Te interior anchor swivel was a nice feature when using a pre-rigged haul system. Te outer anchor swivels are for attaching change-of-direction pulleys for hoists and fall protection mounted on the tripod legs. Te three legs are attached to the head and, when stored, are locked in place to prevent the tripod from opening in transit and to prevent the legs from becoming entangled.

Take a moment to read the directions as to how to release the legs when packaging the tripod. Tis is time well spent.

Te tripod comes with a 1" yellow, solid-webbing leg base support strap that features a spring-loaded cam buckle. So, in addition to being used as a leg base support, it can also be used as a carrying sling.

I often see tripods that come with chain (read: heavy) or cordage secured by a Prusik or ascender to function as the leg base support. Te flat webbing with the cam buckle appears to be a good solution as it’s light and easy to adjust.

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Te tripod also comes with a carrying bag that’s big enough to fit the tripod without a lot of work. It’s made of a coated nylon, which is sufficient for use during transport and storage.

Te Workman Tripod is compatible with the Lynx Hoist and Lynx Rescuer units. Prior to using either of these units with the tripod, I recommend that you review the instructions and consult with an MSA Technical Consultant.

On another note, I recently had the chance to participate in a series of confined-space entries in two 2,800-foot-long storm drain systems, where we put the Workman Tripod to good use. Due to the length of the system, there were numerous entry and exit points.

Team members appreciated that the Workman Tripod was lightweight compared to other, heavier tripods.

Te bottom line: If you’re looking for a tripod that’s a bit lighter, and you don’t need an exceptionally tall tripod, then the MSA Workman Tripod ($700) may work out well for your team.

Note: Tank you to Captain Jon Winkelman and the crew at Station 91 at McLane Fire & Life Safety in Olympia, Wash., for their assistance and input in this review.

Andy Speier is a captain with Snohomish County (Wash.) Fire District 1, assigned to Engine 18. He is the district technical rescue team training coordinator and a training coordinator for the Snohomish County Technical Rescue Team. With a fire service career that spans 29 years and several departments, he is a partner in SPEC RESCUE International and a senior instructor for the Peak Rescue Institute. Contact him at 206/784-5272 or andy@peakrescue.org.

News

Diet-Hard Fans “Vegan firefighters” is not an oxymoron—it’s a small but growing trend

By Jane Jerrard

L

ike all firefighters, Rip Esselstyn is dedicated to saving lives. But in Esselstyn’s case, his efforts focus on helping firefighters and others avoid heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other killers, by following a “plantstrong” diet.

Esselstyn, an Austin firefighter until last fall, began eating a vegan (or plant-based) diet in 1987 when he became a professional triathlete, following the example of a mentor-athlete as well as the medical facts discovered by his physician father, a leading researcher on reversing heart disease through diet. More than 20 years later, Esselstyn is an established diet guru. He has written a bestselling book, Te Engine 2 Diet, and recently retired from the fire service to work as one of two “healthy eating partners” of Whole Foods Market.

But while his message is spreading to a general audience, Esselstyn’s roots remain in the fire service.

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Photo Courtesy timothy Carlson

Saving LiveS at the Station

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that they’re reaping huge benefits. After all, the No. 1 cause of firefighter fatalities is heart disease—and the firehouse lifestyle is a big contributor to this. “At the firehouse, you have a confluence of all these awful things coming together,” Esselstyn points out. “Your nerves are always on edge, waiting for the next call—so you float to the refrigerator.” He adds: “And firehouses are the dumping grounds for America’s leftovers.”

CaLLing Dr. oz Te story of how C shift rallied to help a firefighter, and the astounding drop in J.R.’s cholesterol, soon got media attention, including a big article in Te New York Times—which led to attention from literary agents.

“I realized for the first time that as a firefighter, I was in a unique position to reach a segment of America that never gets a chance to hear this message,” Esselstyn says. So he wrote his Engine 2 Diet book, which came out in February 2009 and became a national bestseller. “Now that the book is out, I’ve heard from firefighters around the country, who write to tell me their success stories,” he says.

In February 2010, Esselstyn appeared on Te Dr. Oz Show, where Mehmet Oz, MD, challenged three overweight Chicago firefighters to follow the Engine 2 Diet for 60 days—giving up all meat, dairy, processed foods and extracted oils. All three agreed to a goal of losing 4 inches off their waists—and within 2 months,

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s

Esselstyn joined the Austin Fire Department in 1997, and drew interest with his plant-based diet—a way of eating that does not fit in with typical firehouse meals.

“Ever since I joined, I’ve answered questions about how I eat, and written programs for people who asked me to help them out,” Esselstyn recalls. In 2003, his shift had a bet to see who had the lowest cholesterol. Trough this bet, they discovered that Specialist James Rae (J.R.), age 37 and with a family history of heart disease, had dangerously high cholesterol.

“We embarked on a journey to save the life of a fellow firefighter,” Esselstyn says.

“As an act of solidarity, the five firefighters at Station 2’s C shift started eating a plant-based diet. We all ate that way at the station, and I think three of us (including J.R.) ate that way around the clock.”

Within a month, J.R.’s cholesterol level dropped from 344 to 196. Word around the firehouse spread about the benefits of Esselstyn’s way of eating. “Now, the Austin Fire Department has close to 100 firefighters eating a plant-strong diet, and it all started from that C shift in 2003,” After publishing his book “Engine 2 Diet” Esselstyn says. last year, Rip Esselstyn began hearing from Although the vegan firefighters had to firefighters all over the country, writing to tell him their success stories with fitness and nutrition. endure some teasing, there’s no denying

July 2010

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Sullivan Promoted to Deputy Chief!

FireRescue magazine Editorial Board member John Sullivan was promoted to deputy chief of the Worcester (Mass.) Fire Department on April 4. Sullivan is a well-known advocate for firefighter health and safety, currently serving as a member of the Board for the IAFC’s Safety, Health and Survival Section. A company officer on the night of Dec. 3, 1999, at the historic Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse Fire, Chief Sullivan is a staunch proponent of air management, rapid-intervention operations and firefighter safety training. He speaks nationally about the Cold Storage incident and has become well known for his dedication to firefighter life-safety through sharing the lessons learned from this incident. “We have promised our fallen brothers and sisters that we will ‘never forget’; we have a solemn obligation to keep that promise!” Sullivan says.

each had lost 25 to 40 lbs. and saw major reductions in cholesterol levels.

One of the firefighters, Doug Crowley, says, “Te hardest part for me was the education. I thought I knew how to eat well, but I had to really police my diet. Tere was a lot of information to take in.”

Crowley has met Dr. Oz’s goal, saying he went from pants with a 38" waist “that I basically tugged under my gut,” to a size 34" that are getting too loose. He says, “Te support I got at the firehouse was amazing. Some of the guys were calling me up and giving me recipes.

Tey bent over backward to support me, saying ‘it’s a tough challenge, but we know you can do it.’”

Crowley plans to continue following a modified version of the diet. “I’ve adapted the diet to myself. It’s a very, very rigid diet and I’m not following it exactly. But I made a lifestyle change based on Rip’s philosophy on food.”

He adds, “I hope that the guys who read this are inspired to do something about their health.”

Jane Jerrard lives in Chicago and writes regularly for FireRescue.

Combat Challenge

On Your Mark …

Firefighter Combat Challenge has strong start Story & Photo by Michael DeGrandpre

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our 2010 is off to a tenacious start, as each of the first four events of the Firefighter Combat Challenge’s 19th season has showcased the participants’ strength and dedication to the fire service.

Since mid-April, the Challenge has rolled into four states—Ohio, Alabama, Massachusetts and Florida—setting up shop and producing successful events.

Te kick-off event in Ohio, our 313th Challenge, saw Darren Hillman of Windsor Team Parker Construction (Ontario) spending some quality time on the award podium, as he won the Overall Top Male and Over-40 category, and placed in the finals of both the relay event and the co-ed tandem event. Run Faster Omaha was also well represented, taking three of the top 10 individual spots.

Te elite Lion’s Den, a Challenge program sponsored by Lion Apparel to recognize the fastest on the course, has been increasing in pride. Dan Korte earned a spot in Ohio, posting a time of 1:39.38. Korte also Choose 22 at www.firerescuemagazine.com/rs

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placed first in Albertville, Ala., helping his team, Fairfield Fire, place top on the list of teams for the event.

Coming in second place in Alabama was Team Clayton County (Ga.).

Members from Team Fairfield Fire (Ohio), Team Clayton County (Ga.) and Team ButlerTech Fire Instructors (Ohio) managed to take seven of the top 10 individual spots in the recently devastated tornado region of Alabama. ButlerTech also placed a team member at the top in the Over-40 relay, while Team Clayton County won by almost 10 seconds in the final round of the relay event, with a time of 1:16.29.

Massachusetts was a mixed bag of geographical representatives and results, with several departments making an appearance in the top 10. Ryan Hallam from Fredericton Goodlife Fitness (New Brunswick) took home the top individual position as well as a first-place medal in the team relay competition. Luc Hamel (Quebec) and Jacques Breton (Quebec) took home the Over-40 and Over-50 top prizes, respectively, proving that age has nothing to do with physical ability.

Shooting down to Florida, Brandon Cunningham (from Georgia) set the standard again, placing first with a time of 1:31.44 in the individuals. He was followed by Mackenzie Briggs from Palm Beach County (Fla).

But it was Team Clayton County (Ga.) that ranked first as a team and first in the male relay finals. Te top three other team spots were occupied by Floridians.

Te female firefighters were exceptionally well represented in Florida, with Heidi Charest taking the top spot in the 2-day event. Te team Hot Mess! took the gold in the female team relay, which included Charest and teammates Heather Callender and Stacy Strong.

Te 20th season of the Firefighter Combat Challenge features some changes to the course. Leaving behind the chance for human error, the Challenge has fabricated a new drag-race-style start system, where competitors are cued with both audio and visual signals. Tus, the entire timing process from start to finish is completely automated and accurate to the one-hundredth of a second.

Tour 2010 will find the Challenge in more than 23 locations around the country, as it will celebrate 333 events in the company’s history, culminating at the World Challenge XIX in Myrtle Beach, S.C., in November.

Photo Courtesy MiChael DeGranDPre

Team Clayton County (Ga.), seen here participating in a relay event, took second place in Alabama.

Michael DeGrandpre hails from Maine, and has recently joined the Firefighter Combat Challenge, covering the season events as the staff photographer and videographer.

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NOZZLEHEAD

A Final Word of Advice for Rainbows on the Bay Readers offer their opinions on being LGBT in the fire service Following are two letters Nozzlehead received in response to his article, “Dealing with ‘Haters’: Advice for a gay firefighter surrounded by cruel co-workers” (February issue, p. 20). Nozzlehead then adds his response to both.

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ear Nozzlehead: Thanks for responding to the letter from Rainbows on the Bay and for your positive example. You are 100 percent right: The job comes first, and we need to serve our communities without bias. Treating our fellow firefighters with respect regardless of their sexual orientation, nationality, gender or age is important.

In my opinion, as a gay firefighter and veteran, anyone who may feel differently should go elsewhere.

My advice to Rainbows basically follows what you suggested. When you’re ready to come out, start slowly with some friends, and work your way out from there. As scary as it may be, in order for change to occur, you have to come out.

I did it in my firehouse, and it really made a difference. There have been a million questions—and some jokes—but no negativity aimed at me directly. What happens behind my back is of no consequence to me. I can tell that there are some guys who have issues with it, but their problems are something they need to work out on their own.

Showing people that I won’t be shaken or intimidated also helped me gain their respect. I don’t mean be a jerk—just be confident and happy. You’re still you after you come out; this is just an aspect of your life that’s new to them.

Another tactic I use is humor. I beat them to the punch with some of the jokes they may want to crack, and by cracking jokes about myself, it shows them that it’s OK to joke with me too—but in a respectful manner. It’s a learning process for me and my co-workers.

You deserve to be happy in your career and in your life.

Good luck, Rainbows, and be strong!

—Rainbow Two

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ear Nozzlehead: FIRE 20/20 (www. fire2020.org) is a not-for-profit organization involved in fire service recruitment and diversity issues. We have some great information available for gay and lesbian firefighters, and we encourage firefighters to use us as a resource on a wide array of diversity issues.

Below are some excerpts from an article from DiversityInc

Magazine (www.diversityinc.com), one of our sponsors. The article points out that while coming out to friends and family is challenging enough, coming out at work is even more difficult, because you risk losing your job. DiversityInc recommends asking yourself these six questions: 1. Are you personally ready? And how do you know if you are? Out & Equal’s Executive Director Selisse Berry says that if you’re prepared to come out, there should be some sense of relief because you’ll be bringing your whole self to work. “[Our mission is] to really help people be able to bring all of who they are into the workplace,” Berry says. “It’s kind of this notion of leaving a big part of yourself at home and, at work, it’s like walking around with two different pairs of shoes all day long.”

2. Does my department’s nondiscrimination policy protect LGBTs? Some organizations have sexual-orientation protections in their nondiscrimination policies, but not all. Before you come out, make sure you understand your department’s (or city, county, etc.) policy and are ready to deal with any repercussions.

3. Are there other openly LGBT employees at your job?

If there are, that’s a positive sign. If you know an openly gay or lesbian colleague well enough, consider asking about his or her experience. Another positive sign is having a supervisor who’s understanding and accepting of your sexual orientation. “Everybody’s different.

But, definitely, if you’re coming to work every day and you get to know people as people, you can tell who’s going to have an OK time with this and who may not,” Berry says. “Not everyone has a boss whom they can come out to, but that definitely makes a huge difference when you feel like you can sit down and say to your boss, ‘This is who I am. But I’m not out to everyone on our team. Why don’t we strategize together [on] what would make the most sense?’” (Nozzlehead note: You may also want to reach out to the local or nearby LGBT resources center for guidance.)

4. Did you practice your announcement? It may sound silly, but it isn’t. Revealing something emotional is never easy, and people sometimes get tongue-tied. Although there’s no perfect way to announce that you’re lesbian or gay, practicing what to say should make you more comfortable.

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5. Do you know how to respond to people’s reactions?

For some heterosexuals, the first time they hear you say, “I’m gay” or “I’m bisexual,” they may be uncomfortable.

Beyond that, curiosity may arise and they ask personal questions. Advice: Only respond to questions that you feel comfortable answering. And if someone asks you something inappropriate, let that be known, too.

6. Can you handle negative reactions? One 27-year veteran of a very progressive company (who is gay and asked that DiversityInc.com not use his name or company), says that last year was the first time he proudly displayed a photo of his partner on his desk. For all those years, he led co-workers to believe the woman in the photo on his desk was his wife, when it was actually his sister.

“As progressive as the company is, I still never felt I could be out in the office,” he says. “It was extremely difficult. I wanted to let everyone know who my real partner was. But I also didn’t want to cost myself a chance for advancement. No one else was out. If I only knew then what I know now.” (Nozzlehead note: In other words, be prepared for a significant negative reaction and weigh your options.)

—Larry Sagan, Executive Director, FIRE 20/20 Dear Rainbow Two, Larry & Readers, Tanks for your feedback. Maybe Archie Bunker’s philosophy applies here: “If we was all just happy and gay, we wouldn’t have to deal with all these ‘other’ kinds of strange peoples.”

I think we’ve covered this well enough without having a Nozzlehead Pride Parade.

Hmm, catchy name. And while we will of course cover related subjects in the future, maybe the simple stuff you teach your own kids applies: Treat others the way you want (and want your own kids or loved ones) to be treated. And focus on being well-trained and disciplined firefighters.

A final word: Firefighters who are LGBT, take the advice from the FIRE 20/20 folks and Rainbow Two and other resources, but use caution and THINK. Tis should be no surprise to anyone. Coming out in the fire service is a huge risk depending upon your department and its history, culture and leadership. Remember: Currently, federal law provides legal protection against employment discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, age and disability, but not sexual orientation or gender identity. In 29 states, it is still legal to fire someone based on his or her sexual orientation, and in 38 states, it is still legal to fire someone for being transgendered.

So while it may not be easy, think this out by following all the advice we’ve provided, and seek out resources of your own.

And then get back to focusing on your real mission: preparing, training and responding to (and coming home from) fires and related emergencies. Tat’s our advice for those dealing with this issue—and for those who may not want to even think about this issue.

Got a fire service question or complaint?

Let Nozzlehead hear all about it. He’ll answer you with 2,000 psi of free-flowing opinion. Send your letters to: Nozzlehead, c/o FireRescue, 525 B St. Ste. 1800, San Diego, CA 92101-4495 frm.editor@elsevier.com Choose 26 at www.firerescuemagazine.com/rs

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apparatusideas

A Multiyear Deal Columbus takes delivery of the first of 18 apparatus from Ferrara

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By Bob Vaccaro

hen the Columbus (Ohio) Division of Fire (CDF) decided to make a large apparatus purchase, it saw an opportunity to change how it did business.

For years, the CDF had bought apparatus through one-time contracts. “Tis time around, we went for a 3-year contract with two 1-year extensions with price adjustments,” says Captain David Ringley, who heads up the CDF’s Research and Development Department. “Tis seemed to gives us an edge on getting a better deal.”

Te result: a multiyear deal with Ferrara for 18 apparatus, nine of which have been delivered and are working well for the department.

GoinG to Bid CDF engines generally stay in frontline service for 6 years, then 3 years in reserve; ladders frontline for 10 years and 4 years in reserve; heavy-rescues frontline for 7 years with 3 in reserve; and medic units frontline for 5 years and 3 in reserve.

“Our engines get a lot of use, since they’re all ALS units and have a paramedic on board,” Ringley says. “Usually they have in excess of 160,000 miles when they’re put in reserve status, so they get a good workout.”

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BiG ChanGes For some CDF companies, the new engines will be a big change. Many had operated pumpers based on commercial chassis; these will be the first they’ve operated on a custom chassis.

Tere are also other changes. “Based on tactics and staffing needs, these engines have low ergonomic hosebeds for increased firefighter safety and larger compartmentation designed for the CDF’s specific tool configurations,” Ringley says. Te cab interiors were built for extreme wear and tear, with very little plastic used. Te rigs feature painted front bumpers rather than chrome, triple LED light bars on the roofs of the cabs, T-shaped water tanks (which gives the

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All photos courtesy FerrArA Fire AppArAtus

One of eight Ferrara engines delivered to the Columbus Division of Fire, built on a Spartan Gladiator chassis.

In 2006, the CDF began the process of speccing the new engines, as well as an air-supply unit. Te apparatus design committee consists of 10 members—firefighters, chiefs and officers from all areas of the department. “We liked the fact that we can have the average firefighter on the street have some say in the design of our vehicles and still meet the budget,” Ringley says.

Once the specs were selected, the bidding process began. “Even though we have a state contract process, our city attorney likes us to go out for competitive bidding for all of our purchases,” Ringley says.

“Tis time around we received five bids from four different manufacturers.”

Te department wanted to standardize its apparatus with one cab and chassis, lighting package and compartment layout. “Since we couldn’t specify a certain manufacturer for the cab and chassis, all the manufacturers bid with a Spartan chassis and their own body. Ferrara turned out to be the lowest bidder, and we chose them because they best met our needs and price,” Ringley says.

Te contract covers eight engines and the air-supply unit—also supplied on a Spartan cab and chassis— delivered in the first year, seven engines in the second year and two engines in the third year.

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apparatusideas

vehicles a lower hosebed), full Weldon multi-plex wiring systems, a shorter wheelbase and a lower profile.

Te first eight pumpers were built with 425-hp Detroit Series 60 engines; the next seven will have 425-hp Cummins engines, and the last two will have

Columbus Division of Fire • 1,522 uniformed firefighters • Area protected: 240 square miles • Population protected: 791,868 The engines feature ergonomic, low rear hosebeds.

• 34 engines • 15 trucks • 5 heavy-rescues • 32 medic units

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2010 Cummins EPA-compliant engines. All have Allison EVS 4000 automatic transmissions, 1,250-gpm Waterous pumps and 750-gallon poly tanks. “We haven’t gone with any foam tanks yet,” Ringley says.

Te pumpers are set up with 1,000 feet of 5" largediameter hose (LDH), 500 feet of 2 ½", 500 feet of 3" and 250 feet of 2" hose in the crosslay. Also on board is 100 feet of 1 ¾" hose, a bumper-mounted trash line and two 1 ¾" attack lines—200 feet and 250 feet, respectively.

Te vehicles were specced with all new equipment, and Ferrara completed all of the tool and equipment mounting at the factory. “When the vehicles were delivered to the city, they were pretty much ready to go into service, with some minor adjustments,” Ringley says. “Tis saved us a great deal of time.”

Service during and after the sale was “paramount to us,” Ringley says. “We visited the factory for a preconstruction conference, a mid-build inspection and a final inspection. Tey were very responsive. Some minor changes were made to the vehicles during the bid process, but they were handled without a problem.”

Following delivery, the only problem involved a suspension component, which was a vendor problem. “It was taken care of immediately,” Ringley says. “We’re lucky we have a local Ferrara dealer that provides service, as well as a Spartan service center not far from our city that can provide additional service.”

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apparatusideas The CDF incident support unit, which responds to all major incidents, is also built on a Spartan Gladiator chassis.

Right: The incident support unit features a Scott RevolveAir SCBA filling station and room for 96 spare SCBA bottles.

A Good ExAmplE Te CDF spent a great deal of time pre-planning for this large order, working out the details before the construction. I’m seeing a lot more apparatus committees that include representatives from all levels of the department. Tis proved effective for the CDF and has worked for other departments as well, but it can sometimes backfire—having too many opinions in the mix can be a detriment. But it’s all dependent on what’s right for you and your department.

Other factors of note in the CDF purchase: Not everyone can afford to spec a full complement of tools and equipment and have them mounted at the factory before delivery, but if you can, it will save you a great deal of time and possibly money in the long run.

Planning a lower hosebed for firefighter safety, a shorter wheelbase for better maneuverability, and compartment space for proper tool placement and mounting is a proactive plus for the CDF. Finally, service after the sale is an important aspect of any apparatus purchase. Make sure the apparatus manufacturer you choose gives you the most for your dollar.

Bob Vaccaro has more than 30 years of fire-service experience. He is a former chief of the Deer Park (N.Y.) Fire Department. Vaccaro has also worked for the Insurance Services Office, the New York Fire Patrol and several major commercial insurance companies as a senior loss-control consultant.

Vaccaro is a life member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

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Fireattack

Flow Masters Engine companies must come prepared to establish their own water supply

J by greg Jakubowski

ust about any firefighter will admit that you can’t put out much fire without water (OK, there are a few unusual exceptions to this). Water is generally readily available, inexpensive even in larger quantities and works well to extinguish most types of fire. Of course, you’ve got to have good access to it to be a good engine company.

But many initial-arriving companies get so focused on arriving first at a working incident that they neglect to provide themselves with an adequate, uninterrupted water supply to allow them to get the job done. Tey drive past hydrants or don’t properly equip themselves with the tools needed to obtain a water supply from alternative sources. Tey then go into service with either a small line to “conserve water” or a large line (a little better), hoping to knock down the fire before they run out of water.

Essentially, they hang themselves out to dry, hoping that, if needed, the next-due company will bail them out. Tis just isn’t good planning.

One of the primary jobs of any engine company at a fire scene is getting water on the fire.

Whether your engine is large or small, you’ll be limited by your water tank size unless you do something (lay a line, call for tender support, etc.) to establish a supply.

PrePlanning: it’s Your Job One of the primary jobs of any engine company at a fire scene is getting water on the fire. Whether your engine is large or small, you’ll be limited by your water tank size unless you do something (lay a line, call for tender support, etc.) to establish a supply. Remember: It’s your job—not the incident commander’s—to secure a water supply for yourself, so you need to be thinking about it both en route to and as you arrive at the scene, not after you get there and realize you need more water.

Preplanning how you’ll establish a water supply might not matter if you’re handling a car fire, a dumpster fire or some other type of small contained fire situation, but it will matter in a house or building when firefighters are on the interior and at risk.

It will also matter when the fire has the immediate potential to spread to exposures.

And if you’re given an assignment to attack the fire, it should go without saying that you need to “grab your own plug.” You might think you have the fire knocked down, but fire has a habit of taking some unexpected turns, so engine company officers and personnel need to anticipate this.

Tis is a key part of engine company size-up, which we covered in “Double Duty: First-in engine companies are often tasked with both size-up & initial fireground operations,” May 2010 issue, p. 32.

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For years, I ran with companies in almost fully hydranted areas. Quite often, we did aggressive forward-lays, dropping in on almost any house or building fire assignment. It was a mark of pride to radio to the next-due engine to “pick up my line.”

When possible, we’d run a “wagon pumper” arrangement, with a single driver bringing the second engine (pumper) from our station right behind us to pick up the wagon’s

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Photo Brian Meroney

Hydrants vs. no Hydrants

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lay at the hydrant. Tis allowed the engine company to be selfsufficient on the fireground. We were confident that we could make an aggressive fire attack, knowing that our supply line was in the street and an additional water supply was only moments away when needed.

Now, I live and respond in a largely rural area, where 80–90 percent of our coverage area is without hydrants. My firefighters rely heavily on our tender (tanker) to arrive right behind the engine with an additional 3,500 gallons of water.

On working incidents, as the crew enters the fire station responding to the call, they assign one of the drivers the task of making sure the tender follows the engine so that we have a water supply to rely on upon arrival.

Again, the crew can confidently initiate a fire attack knowing that the water supply is right there with them.

Water via Other apparatus It’s also important to know how to properly utilize your supply line because if you don’t, you may have to rely on other apparatus, which can be risky when the apparatus has to maneuver into position in a crowded scene to reverse-lay a supply line out.

But if you plan to use the second-due (or later) engine to establish a water supply, consider having them stand by at the initial-arriving apparatus to reverse-lay from it, instead of having them stand by at the hydrant to lay into what may already be a crowded scene.

If the first-due ladder is a quint and equipped with supply hose, the first-in engine can pull up past the fire building, assess the situation and advise the quint about where to lay in to the building, giving them an optimal position and a reliable water supply.

Mutual-aid COnsideratiOns In today’s fire service, using additional apparatus to secure your water supply often means using a mutual-aid company that may or may not have the same water supply set-up as your company. If they carry a four-way hydrant valve or some other hydrant appliance, but you don’t, you better spend some time training with them so that your firefighters know how to use it.

If you need a special fitting, adapter or wrench to hook to your hydrants, be sure your mutual-aid companies have this tool. If you use dry hydrants, use a female thread at the connection point to the hydrant so apparatus that hook to it can do so without the need for

Know Your Hose Of course, firefighters need hose to do their job properly and safely, so whether you like it or not, you have to use it and pick it up when you’re done with it. (For years, I’ve been trying to figure out how to move large volumes of water via fiber-optic lines, and as soon as I patent that, you’ll be the first to know so you don’t have to pick up big, wet hose. But until then, we need to go with what we’ve got.)

How often do you take your supply hose out of the bed anyway? It’s probably not a bad idea to dust it off and practice making a lay for those smoke-in-the-house calls. At the very least, it’s a great drill for firefighters who probably don’t get the chance to practice that particular skill very often.

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Photo Brian Meroney

It’s your job—not the incident commander’s— to secure a water supply, so you need to be thinking about it both en route to & as you arrive at the scene, not after you get there & realize you need more water.

It’s important to know how to properly utilize your supply line because if you don’t, you may have to rely on other apparatus, which can be risky when the apparatus has to maneuver into position in a crowded scene to reverse-lay a supply line out.

an adapter (many dry hydrants are installed with a male thread on them). Tis will help speed up the connection process.

ConClusion It’s the job of every engine company to anticipate long-term fireground water-supply needs as they arrive on scene. Failing to recognize a working incident can cause an engine company to miss an opportunity to “lay out” or secure a water supply that may be key to controlling an incident. Tis can be even more critical down a long driveway or in some other limited-access area where only a single piece of apparatus can enter.

To make a rescue, apparatus may need to drive right into the scene to avoid delay—but someone still needs to ensure that the engine has an established water supply. Performing water-supply evolutions can help speed up the process, which allows apparatus to make a brief stop at the hydrant, and ensures that firefighters entering a dangerous environment will have the water they need to protect themselves and the victim(s).

Remember: Water puts most fires out, but you must “catch” your own supply going in. Following this simple philosophy will ensure your safety and success.

Greg Jakubowski is a fire protection engineer and certified safety professional with 31 years of fire-service experience. He is a Pennsylvania State Fire Instructor, serves as chief of the Lingohocken Fire Company in Bucks County, Pa., and is a member of the IAFC. Greg is also a principal in Fire Planning Associates, a company dedicated to helping fire departments, municipalities and businesses with pre-emergency training.

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3 perspectives on the process of gaining departmental accreditation

By Jeff Eastman, Eric Jones & David Stephenson editor’s note: “Trust but verify” was President Ronald Reagan’s signature phrase many years ago; today, it has become the catch phrase of budget negotiations throughout the country. Gone are the days of blanket approvals in the spirit of public safety.

Fortunately, fire chiefs and fire departments around the world have an option that can speak volumes at the budgeting table: becoming internationally accredited through the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE).

Tis step-by-step process not only helps justify your

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annual expenditures using statistical data, but also helps you implement long-term strategic planning, apply new technologies to reduce response times and fully align all aspects of the organization with national standards and best practices. Accreditation is not a passing fad; it’s a much-needed tool to achieve fire service excellence.

In the following article, we take a look at the accreditation process from the chief, company officer and labor leader perspectives.

—Timothy E. Sendelbach, FireRescue Editor-in-Chief

July 2010

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The Fire ChieF’s PersPeCTive

By Chief (Ret.) Jeffrey Eastman, Culver City Fire Department Te concept of accreditation in emergency services is a relatively new idea to many fire departments. However, it has been a common practice for many years in a variety of professions, including hospitals and schools. Accreditation can immediately improve your department, give you a plan for the future, show your administrators and elected officials that what you’re doing is credible, and make the department a safer place to work.

Achieving accreditation by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI; the commission within CPSE that accredits fire departments) isn’t an easy process. To be successful, your department must have a true commitment to continuous improvement and transparency, the willingness to receive constructive criticism and the will to make the changes needed to improve. Te process will require a significant amount of staff time. For many departments, staff time is a precious commodity, so the investment of time needed to complete the accreditation process is an important consideration.

First Steps Accreditation begins with educating your department, city or county administrators, and elected officials about the benefits and challenges of the process. Some fire department administrators and many of the rank-andfile may struggle with the concept. Some are skeptical of anything new; others will question the costs vs. the benefits. You may even face resistance by members who will see accreditation as a way to take away resources or change policies in ways they don’t like.

Our first step was to become a registered agency with the CFAI, which

July 2010

Photo courtesy eric Jones

Photo courtesy eric Jones

GIS analyst Captain Julio Talero of Lincoln (Neb.) Fire and Rescue works with GIS data. To achieve accredited status, departments must learn to use tools such as GIS to analyze performance and assess risk.

This GIS-produced image depicts the effective response force for Lincoln (Neb.) Fire and Rescue.

allowed us to send several members to accreditation classes to learn about the process. When our members returned from the classes, we began the process by creating an accreditation team and assigning a member to be the accreditation manager.

Next, we applied as an applicant agency and began work on our self-assessment manual. Tis is considered the backbone of the accreditation process and involves examining and documenting in detail all of your department’s operations, including community risk. Te process of selfassessment includes the development of a strategic plan and a standard of response coverage document.

Te ability to collect and manage your department’s data is a key component to this part of the process. It’s important to have good factual data; no longer can the fire service rely solely on personal opinions, traditions or past practice to show and prove performance levels.

Once the self-assessment process is complete, the CFAI assigns a peer review team to your department that performs an on-site inspection and then makes a final report, which includes specific recommendations for improvement. Te CFAI then grants, denies or defers your accreditation status.

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Seal of Approval Benefits I’ve been through three accreditation cycles—as a fire captain, a battalion chief and a fire chief. As a fire captain working on accreditation, I never fully understood the benefits and felt I was wasting time that could be used in other areas. I didn’t like the idea that we would be “judged” by other fire departments, and didn’t see what we could learn from departments outside our area. Once I met with the

Steps to the Accreditation Process 1. Register as an applicant agency 2. Assign an accreditation team and accreditation manager 3. Attend CFAI classes to learn the process 4. Conduct a thorough self-assessment 5. Create a strategic plan and a standard of cover document 6. Submit to an on-site inspection and report 7. Receive CFAI’s acceptance, deferral or rejection CFAI is a part of the Center for Public Safety Excellent (CPSE). For more information, visit CPSE’s Web site: www.publicsafetyexcellence.org.

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on-site peer team and actually read our entire selfassessment manual, however, I started to see how important this process could be for our department.

When we became the first department in California to be accredited, there was a true sense of pride among the members.

As a battalion chief working closely with our elected officials and city administrators, I saw firsthand how proud they were of our department and how they appreciated our commitment to improvement and our willingness to share every aspect of the department with them. Tey felt more a part of our department and more secure in the knowledge that we were doing everything possible to make it run safely and efficiently.

As a fire chief, the true benefits of accreditation became crystal clear to me. Te self-assessment manual clearly defined the department’s strengths and weaknesses—which gave me evidence that the department was operating efficiently and meeting the needs of the community, while also allowing me to prioritize areas that needed improvement.

Te process also opened lines of communications between the department and elected officials and administrators, who in turn became champions for needed improvements. Following our accreditation, our elected officials approved funding for three new fire engines, decreased the amortization timelines

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Seal of Approval for our apparatus, and approved the building of a new fire station.

Te process also opens lines of communication between the department and elected officials and administrators, who in turn became champions for needed improvements. In part, this is because the accreditation process supports the use of factual data vs. personal opinions. Te accreditation peer review team verifies your data; this process causes your

Accreditation demonstrates that your department is committed to continuous improvement, serving the community efficiently, & providing a fair & safe work environment. department to look fairly at all your issues and allows for better decision-making processes. Using factual data will elicit greater trust and understanding from your elected officials and administrators.

Te bottom line: Accreditation demonstrates that your department is committed to continuous improvement, serving the community efficiently, and providing a fair and safe work environment for all personnel.

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The Company offiCer’s perspeCTive

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By Capt. Eric Jones, Lincoln (Neb.) Fire and Rescue Like any major change initiative, seeking accreditation requires the buy-in of members at all levels— something that’s particularly evident to company officers. My department, Lincoln (Neb.) Fire and Rescue, engaged all ranks within the department in the self-assessment process, creation of the strategic plan, and analysis and creation of the standard of cover document.

Engaging a large cross-section of the organization promoted an “accreditation philosophy” within the rank and file. Tis helped sustain us through the labor-intensive process, but it also promoted positive morale. Members who participate in the process are taking part in creating progressive change, and they are more vested as a result.

Participation should come from external stakeholders (citizens) and internal stakeholders (firefighters).

Obtaining input from both of these groups creates a well-rounded strategic plan and ensures that members and citizens have ownership in the department’s goals.

Personnel intimately involved in accreditation are often the most knowledgeable in terms of overall department processes, strengths and weaknesses— which in turn supports succession planning by

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Seal of Approval

Photo courtesy eric Jones

Accreditation can be key in securing approval for the building of new fire stations.

Photo courtesy Jeff eastman

ensuring that members of all ranks understand administrative processes and organizational improvement methods.

Pros Te pros to gaining accreditation definitely outweigh the cons; knowing them can help you build support for the process.

• Identifies high-risk areas. Te accreditation process requires the department to analyze risk within each response area. Tis gives the company officer valuable information for determining where to direct preplanning and public outreach.

Rather than proceeding blindly, you can begin with structures, facilities or neighborhoods that have been targeted as high risk. In an era where the company officer has a growing workload and

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departments have tighter budgets, knowing where to focus our efforts makes us more efficient.

• Improves safety and wellness. Accreditation also benefits the company officer and their respective crews directly. Te process ensures that safety and wellness programs are in place and comparable to identified standards. It ensures that we have facilities that are safe to work in and are designed with the organizational goals in mind. Accreditation also ensures that competent training programs are in place.

• Provides a rationale for funding. In the past, fire departments used the “babies will choke to death” and “old ladies will die in fires” philosophies to argue for new stations, increased budgets and new apparatus. Tat era is gone; communities are wary about where their dollars go. Accreditation provides the analysis of risks within the community and how well the department addresses these risks, which can be used to educate elected officials and citizens and build support for funding.

Our organization is finding this method of capital improvement much more successful.

Cons Tere are some cons of participating in accreditation as well; knowing them in advance can help you mitigate their effects.

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Challenges Te greatest challenge of accreditation for my organization has been to get labor and management to realize that accreditation benefits the department as a whole—from management down to the safety of the individual firefighter.

Accreditation also brings changes in technology and processes that can be difficult to adjust to. Departments must learn to use tools such as GIS to analyze performance and assess risk. All members must be comfortable with reporting software, including wordprocessing programs and spreadsheets.

Trough accreditation, many departments recognize a need to increase the capability of their recordsmanagement systems. Although we felt our system was robust, we discovered the need to revamp reports to express data in fractal terms as opposed to averages.

CPSE requires fractal analysis as it represents a more accurate picture of performance.

A Final Word As a company officer, participating in the accreditation process has been invaluable. Not only do I have more confidence that my crew’s efforts are well targeted, but I know the department as a whole has built a strong foundation for the future.

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• Time- and labor-intensive. As mentioned, accreditation isn’t an easy process; it takes lots of time and involvement from many members.

But I believe that’s how it should be. As our jurisdictions are increasingly aware of where their dollars go, we should be increasingly critical of the services we provide and how well we are providing them.

• Can result in recommendations members don’t like. Te organization must be willing to accept the accreditation analysis for what it is.

As members of this industry, we are passionate about what we do, and it’s often difficult for us to hear that we may not be doing it as well as we think we are. However, to improve our services we must be able to identify areas needing improvement.

• Comes with a price. Te costs of annual fees, training and overtime for accreditation teams, textbooks and external analysis can add up.

However, organizations will often see fiscal benefits that outweigh initial and ongoing costs.

Our department was able to place an additional front-line ambulance in service immediately after analysis through accreditation was provided to elected officials. We would likely be an ambulance short today without accreditation.

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The Labor PersPecTive

By David Stephenson, 13th District Field Service Representative, IAFF “Te delivery of our fire service is simply 200 years of tradition unimpeded by progress.”

For many years, this sentiment was not only whispered by firefighters across the country; it reaffirmed a safety net for both management and the union. Cities, districts and corporations concentrated on the bottom line of the annual budget process, ignoring progress in the delivery of their service, while the unions worked to obtain increased salaries and better health benefits.

Ultimately, the members of the fire service, both administratively and operationally, had a strong inclination to resist change.

However, in the last couple of decades, there has been a movement afoot by the international, state and provincial associations representing the fire service. Tis movement supports two principles: 1) promoting firefighter health and safety and 2) ensuring better working conditions through better hiring practices, improved labor legislation and better labor/management relations.

One result of the second principle: Te IAFF, working in concert with the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), has become involved in supporting the process of accreditation. Accreditation through the CFAI is a way for forward-thinking fire agencies to ensure the commitments of both the union and management are met through a process of self-assessment, strategic planning and continued improvement toward better business and operational practices.

Building Trust Te accreditation process is a journey of continued progress in which the corporation, including its elected officials, must be supportive from the very beginning. If the agency’s commitment is expressed and demonstrated in good faith, the union leaders’ commitment to the accreditation process should immediately follow. Te rationale for the union’s support comes from the methodology of the accreditation process: transparency of operations, involvement and participation of their membership from the bottom up, and the evidence of continued improvement toward the health and safety of their membership.

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Seal of Approval Te accreditation process provides an initial template involving the attainment of specific core competencies and performance indicators. What’s important to the union membership is that all core competencies must be met to attain accreditation.

Trough the self-assessment, the organization’s strengths and weaknesses are revealed.

It is through this discovery of weaknesses that trust begins to build between management and the union, because accreditation requires the agency to address its shortfalls through short-, mid- or long-term strategic planning. For this reason, labor relations between the parties should improve due to the similarity of their respective goals.

Moreover, the accreditation process has built-in accountability. Every 5 years, the agency must be re-accredited. Tese subsequent on-site inspections will demonstrate whether the agency was sincere in its commitment to change. Te union is quite aware that the accreditation system is indeed a process, not a project or simply a badge of honor.

Over time, the union leadership should see positive changes for the betterment of their membership in respect to health and safety, working conditions and the relationship between labor and management.

It would be difficult for any union leader to argue why their local wouldn’t want to be involved in the accreditation process when it brings such progressive and positive changes.

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Retired Fire Chief Jeff Eastman was a member of the Culver City (Calif.) Fire Department for 32 years, serving in progressive positions from firefighter to chief. He has a bachelor’s degree in business and an associate’s degree in fire science. Eastman is a California State Certified Chief Officer, Company Officer and Safety Officer. He is also past president of the California Fire Chiefs EMS Section and the Los Angeles Area Fire Chiefs EMS Section. He is currently serving as Chair of the Los Angeles EMS Commission.

Captain Eric Jones has been with Lincoln (Neb.) Fire and Rescue for 16 years, where he serves as the company officer for Engine 9. He is also the department accreditation manager and a search team manager for FEMA US&R Nebraska Task Force 1. Jones is certified as a hazmat technician and an EMT-P. David Stephenson is the 13th District Field Service Representative for the International Association of Fire Fighters and a 36-year veteran holding the rank of platoon chief with Ottawa (Canada) Fire Services. He also serves as a Peer Assessor Level 1 for the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.

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O

ver the past 20 years, the concept and practice of belaying in technical rescue have been controversial, to say the least. Two decades ago, it was rare to even see a belay line in the fire service. I’d like to say we’ve come a long way since then, but have we?

In this article, I’ll briefly review a training accident involving a belay and discuss the Phoenix-area technical rescue program’s in-depth belay training with real rescue loads. I’ll share what we’ve learned from that training and outline how to perform your own belay testing. If you’re like us, the belay testing was long overdue and very eye-opening.

The IncIdenT Last October, a local technical rescue company was performing some crew-level high-angle training when one of the participants became injured while rappelling. At the time, his second rope belay was managed at a second anchor with triple-wrap tandem Prusiks; this is the “true” belay that we’ve always been taught is the gold standard.

During the last 30 feet of the rappel, he lost control of the brake and entered what I call a partially controlled descent. Unable to grab the brake, he instinctively reached up and clutched the fixed rappel line with his left hand. He “sizzled” the rest of the way to the ground, sustaining a rope burn to the tendon on his left hand, as well as some sprains and strains.

Yes, this was a close call, so you’re probably asking, “What happened to the gold-standard tandem-Prusik belay?”

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After one of our rescuers sustained an injury during training, we decided to conduct a rescue belay study. Setting up a 400–600-lb. mass for the study was tricky. We used an old basket and eight 50-lb. sand bags superwrapped with stretchy film. In this photo, the main line and release are at the top and the belay station is in the room with the open window. More distance than this is preferable, but it’s what we had to work with. Note the tag line to help clear the wall.

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The most prevalent definition of a belay: “A second rope attached to the rescue load, which is connected to a separate anchor and is managed by a separate person or belayer. The belayer maintains a minimum amount of slack while taking in or letting out rope as the rescue load moves up or down.”

In this most common type of belay, or back-up line, there’s some device or system in place that actuates and arrests the belay line in the event of a main line failure.

For example, triple-wrap, 8-mm tandem Prusiks are commonly used to arrest a fall, but devices, such as the Traverse 540, the CMC multi-purpose device (MPD) and the Petzel ID, are all commonly used.

With the exception of the MPD, this type of belay isn’t normally under tension as the load moves up or down. The problem with a belay that’s held in reserve (without tension on it) is that we very rarely have main line failure, and the belayer very rarely has a belay actuate. It’s easy to get complacent when your success rate (in regard to main line integrity) is close to 100 percent.

Other problems with a non-tensioned belay line: slack and rope stretch. As more distance is covered with the span of rope, more potential slack and rope stretch will allow the load to move if the main line fails. For example, it wouldn’t be unlikely to see a 450-lb. load fall 10–15 feet due to rope stretch when the load is 250 feet away from the anchor. (Actually, I think that’s a conservative estimate since we saw 8 feet of movement with the load hanging on 20 feet of rope due to slack, belay technique and skill level.)

The other type of belay is simply a dual-tension system with two friction, or descent-control, devices while both ropes are under tension. In a dual system, if something happens to one rope or anchor, the other arrests and there’s very little movement since the remaining rope is under tension. A variation on the dual-tension system is to add a friction device (like a brake rack) above the tandem Prusiks on a traditional system. This removes all rope stretch from the belay, but it takes two people to operate.

We analyzed this incident pretty closely and concluded that it was 100 percent human error, but it seemed like those errors were awfully easy to make, and it pointed out what many of you already know: Te tandem Prusik belay is not always so firefighter-friendly. Tere are a number of ways to mess it up.

Partially in response to this incident, we decided to conduct an informal belay study as part of our regular technical rescue training and continuing education.

The STudy ObjecTive We wanted every technician in our system (more than 300) to belay a falling 450-lb. load. When I first suggested this at a regional meeting, safety concerns were raised, but I pointed out that 450 lbs. is actually a light load for us; we routinely belay loads exceeding 500 lbs. (Remember: A two-person load is considered to be 600 lbs.)

During this process, I hoped to document the belay drops and gather some data to help us evaluate our belay procedure and equipment. We were also interested in evaluating

the role of the load-releasing hitch and what problems, if any, the Prusik-minding pulley might cause.

The human elemenT Tere are two basic styles of testing: One is informal backyard testing, while the other involves a formalized scientific process with rigid control. Because the latter is very difficult to conduct, the informal method is what I thought would be realistic to pull off.

One big factor in any informal study involving people: the human element. For our study, I wanted rescuers to be operating the belay when the failure occurred. And I wanted to cut the main line both while raising the test mass and while lowering it.

Most of the published drop-test studies done on belay devices have involved a tightly controlled scientific process. Tese studies tried to minimize variables and the human element while focusing on testing the device or technique. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed reading reports like “Are You Really On Belay?” by John Dill, but now I realize that the controlled scientific process,

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while valuable, leaves out some important human-factor elements.

Because a main priority of our testing was to involve rescuers firsthand, it became clear that this would be a very loosely controlled human-factor experiment in which each rescuer would perform the test slightly differently each time. Tat being the case, I only recorded whether we were raising or lowering, whether there was a load-releasing hitch, the generated peak force and whether the load hit the ground.

SurpriSing reSultS We purposely did not introduce slack into the belay line during the test. We simply had rescuers prepare to belay and then confirm that the belay was ready. Te rescuers made every effort to keep slack to a minimum and operate the belay using their best technique.

We focused on the tandem Prusik belay (since that’s what we use), and we created most of our failures while belaying the load going down. In some of the drops, the belay was positive with very little movement. Te load barely fell, with the arresting force around 800 lbs. But in a surprising number of drops, quite a bit of rope fed through the Prusiks that were being minded, generating an arresting force of 1,600–2,000 lbs.

Remarkably, the basket often moved down

Our belay anchor was at chest height (which is not typical) but it worked OK. The belayer did not know when the release would come so it was greatly anticipated.

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On most tests, we saw about a 2' drop of the test mass.

However, the basket often dropped 6–8 feet, resulting in a bounce. Members who watched the tests were amazed at this degree of movement.

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2–8 feet and frequently hit the ground. In fact, the basket hit the ground about 10 percent of the time. Te rescuers involved had, on average, 8 years of experience as technical rescue technicians. Tey greatly anticipated the event and tried to do their best.

So, why was so much rope moving through the Prusiks? Why didn’t they lock off immediately every time? My non-scientific conclusion: If the event occurred when the belayer was in the act of minding the Prusiks with one hand free to pull out some of the belay line, their reaction time wasn’t fast enough to stop the minding action of the Prusik before a bunch of rope was pulled out. In the splitsecond before the rescuer stopped minding, a significant amount of rope moved through the Prusiks.

The Big Ah-hA

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Te big ah-ha of this study was the realization that a rescue load (450–600 lbs.) will likely fall many feet when a main line fails while you’re using an unweighted belay line technique. Tis occurrence will be compounded by the distance traveled and the length of rope that is out, since more rope means more rope stretch and therefore more downward movement of the load.

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July 2010

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5:1 Mechanical advantage for raising and lowering

Snap-shackle quick-release

18 kN

36 kN

18 kN

Prusik

Change of direction

Pull line for release

B Belay station Tips: - Change-of-direction for the main line should be a pulley or roller if possible to reduce friction. Belay should have a wide pad or poly sheet.

Test mass = 450-lb. sand bags. Connect belay with bowline for easy adjustment.

- Try to set up so that the belay station is out of sight of the quick-release.

- Pay special attention to safety, and anticipate what would happen if any part of the system failed.

Note: This illustration is not to scale.

Your own TesT Setting up a belay testing drill is actually pretty easy; however, you need a site with some specific features, such as a training tower with sturdy reinforced concrete since there are a lot of forces involved. A clean cliff will also work, but you need to be able to keep the belayer from seeing the quick release.

What You Need • A test mass: I used eight 50-lb. bags of sand and a sturdy steel litter with bridle. I wrapped the sand bags with film, and they never broke or leaked.

• A snap-shackle quick-release: You can purchase a good one from sailing supply stores.

I recommend the Wichard snap-shackle, which you can get for $60 on the Web. Te Wichard’s release string is kind of flimsy so you may need to rig something different, but the device itself holds up really well to repetitive use.

• Sacrificial gear: Put everything you use for testing in a special pile and mark it as such. After use, keep it separate or destroy it so you don’t accidentally use it during a real incident.

• A load cell to capture force data (optional): During our tests, I only used the arrest

force data to show the rescuers that dimension. Of course, there’s a direct correlation between free-fall and high peak force. Even a little slack in the system means bigger shock force, and the instances where the Prusiks didn’t grab immediately showed up on the meter in really big numbers.

This is one of several types of snap-shackle. If you’re going to do hundreds of drops with heavy loads, buy several or at least invest in a good one. These products are designed to release sails so they can become maxed out with this kind of weight.

Te Set-Up To set up the drill, connect your main line and belay line to the load. Ten attach the main line to the anchor with some slack in it.

Use a separate rope to build a 5:1 mechanical advantage (MA) to raise and lower the load. Attach a Prusik to the main line, which will be where you connect the MA. Attach

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To gather peak arrest force data, we used a 50-kN (10,000-lb.) S beam load cell with a Chatillon DFS digital force gauge. This combination costs about $2,000 and comes with software to send data to a laptop if you want high-resolution graphing. I use this device in many places and its very tough and versatile.

the snap-shackle release on the load end of the MA and connect it to the Prusik on the main line. Use a piece of small-diameter cord for the quick release.

Note: Te edge for the main line needs a roller or some type of friction reduction, which will be specific to your site. Not having a roller makes life pretty tough for the haul team.

Te belay station we used was located one floor below the haul so the belayers couldn’t see or hear the release, which is probably the best set-up for this type of drill.

One factor to consider is the edge changeof-direction for the belay. I used a piece of poly sheeting at the edge to minimize that friction factor. A more abrasive pad, like canvas, will absorb a lot of the energy, which is good for real-life incidents, but I wanted the true fall force on the belay.

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Performing the Test To run the test, position a controller at the haul station and another (preferably) to supervise the belay. Decide whether you will trip on the raise or lower. For added suspense, start at the bottom and raise up to the belay station. Ten have the haul team mind the ratchet and lower the load with the haul system. Drop the load at different points each time so the belayer doesn’t know when it’s coming.

Tip: Test your current system as well as others to see how the Münter performs with big loads compared to small loads.

Remember: Instruct the haul team to lower at a reasonable, consistent pace. If they lower too fast, the belayer won’t be able to keep up. Also, communicate your ready calls with the belayer as you normally do. Tape off the drop zone below with hazard tape to prevent Choose 57 at www.firerescuemagazine.com/rs

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For this test to be efficient, you need a system that can recover fast. A 5:1 MA attaches to the main line with a snap shackle. The haul team can raise or lower so you can test the belay in either direction (note the person kneeling to mind the ratchet).

Most people use a wide canvas pad to protect the belay, but for our test we used a slick poly sheet molded to the edge. This reduced friction and put most of the force on the belay device. A sharp or abrasive edge will damage the belay line and won’t make for an efficient system.

anyone from straying under the load during any part of the test.

Remind your team that this is how you should be belaying and operating anyway.

And as always, keep in mind that safety is the most important factor. Remind everyone to watch where they stand and anticipate what will happen if something breaks or fails. Perform a clear safety check before each test, and assign a designated safety person for the drill.

ConClusion After performing our belay study, I think I can safely say that the tandem Prusik belay is definitely one of the best means of belaying a rescue load; however, good technique is essential or it may not work as advertised, and even with the best technique, rope stretch may allow your load to move a lot. It’s well worth the time and trouble to set up belay training with heavy loads. It’s an eye-opening experience. Our personnel will be doing more testing to zero in on the technique that works best for us.

If you haven’t tested your system, your rescuers really have no idea about what will happen and how dramatic it can be. In the end, the best advice is to train consistently and frequently to develop solid fundamental individual and team skills to prevent the emergency from ever happening.

information on belay testing to come on Firefighternation.com

July 2010

Rescue Editor Tom Pendley is the Battalion Chief of Special Operations for the Peoria (Ariz.) Fire Department. Pendley teaches technical rescue for the Phoenix Fire Department and is currently a technical rescue instructor for the Arizona State Fire Marshal’s office. He is also the author of The Essential Technical Rescue Field Operations Guide. He can be reached at 623/533-1234 or tom@desertrescue.com. irerescue Magazine Choose 58 atF www.firerescuemagazine.com/rs

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GreG Jakubowski Picks

Bigwig Rescue Products’ Search Tool/Marker

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Like it or not, the 2009 edition of NFPA 1901: Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus says that fire helmets are not to be worn by firefighters in the cab of apparatus and that they should be stored in a compartment or securely mounted in the cab.

End of the Road makes a variety of equipment-mounting tools, and they’ve come up with simple helmet-mounting brackets ($24.95) designed to secure helmets with front and rear brims of at least ¾ of an inch. Te folks at End of the Road say that they’ve had the brackets tested to NFPA 1901 requirements by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). Tey add that the product isn’t affected by hot or cold climates and that it’s UV-, salt- and chemical-resistant. I got a set of them to mount my helmet in my fire SUV. I had little difficulty installing them, and they seem to work fine. You don’t have to install them precisely, and the rubber brackets bend so you can remove a helmet quickly. So if you’re interested in getting compliant with NFPA 1901, the Helmet Wedge Clamp can help.

end of the RoAd 2212 dortch Ave. nashville, tn 37215 615/828-2600 www.helmet wedge.com

Greg Jakubowski is a fire protection engineer and certified safety professional with 31 years of fire-service experience.

He is a Pennsylvania State Fire Instructor, serves as chief of the Lingohocken Fire Company in Bucks County, Pa., and is a member of the IAFC. Greg is also a principal in Fire Planning Associates, a company dedicated to helping fire departments, municipalities and businesses with pre-emergency training.

s

I was thinking recently about how I’d like to get my firefighters something to mark doors to rooms that they’ve searched. A plain lumber crayon works well, but it can break apart in the pocket of a fire coat. While walking around the exhibits, I stumbled across t h e guys from Bigwig Rescue Products. Not only do they have something that protects the lumber crayon quite nicely, but it also keeps doors from closing (and possibly locking) behind you while you search. Te Bigwig Tool ($20) was designed to be placed over a hinge on the door jamb, preventing the door from locking behind you and actually holding the door wide open. With the door wide open, you can quickly and easily find your entry point and move on to search the next area. Te wedge also keeps overhead residential garage doors from closing, and the design prevents it from being knocked out of the door.

Te lumber crayon fits inside the tool, and it’s easy to use, even with a gloved hand. Te crayon can be easily changed out if you’re searching enough rooms that it starts to run low. Te tool is durable, water-resistant and made of a compact polymer construction. Te hinge hook does stick out a bit, but the tool can be carried in many different ways: in a pocket, on your Bigwig Rescue helmet, using quick-break ties PRoducts or in a pouch (available for 30999 scott Park Rd. an additional cost from BigLong grove, iA 52756 wig) that can be placed on an 563/529-0891 air-pack strap or rescue belt.

Bigwig also makes a tool for www.buyabigwig.com “engine guys” with no marking crayon.

End of the Road’s Helmet Wedge Clamp

July 2010

BoB Vaccaro Picks

Paratech’s TVS TwistLock Vehicle Stabilizer

Paratech, one of the leaders in vehicle stabilization, introduced the TVS TwistLock Vehicle Stabilizer at FDIC this year. Te product features the TwistLock Collar that provides for ease of operation. It comes ready for action: You simply twist, extend and release the TwistLock Collar. Additionally, the stabilizer also features a multi-purpose head, a combined V-base, cone base and wedge base, which also accepts a 3" chain. It also has an integrated ratchet base for rapid deployment, and it folds flat for compact storage in a rescue vehicle. I saw a demo at the show, and this tool really is quick to deploy. As you know, speed is of the essence when you’re trying to stabilize a vehicle.

ParateCh P.O. Box 1000, Frankfort, Il 60423 800/435-9358; www.paratech.com

Bullard’s TrakLite Fire Helmet Light

Bullard’s TrakLite is a sleek, integrated fire helmet lighting system that can be retrofitted on all Bullard UST, FX and LT helmets. Its powerful LED lights last 6 hours on four AAA batteries, and its rearmounted, bright-blue buddy light can be used to track the wearer in low-visibility situations. Instead of adding bulky lights or clips to the side of your helmet, Bullard’s new design is lightweight and not cumbersome at all. I checked out the light at the show, and believe me, it works well!

Bullard 1898 Safety Way Cynthiana, KY 41031 877/285-5273 www.bullard.com

Bob Vaccaro has more than 30 years of fire service experience. He is a former chief of the Deer Park (N.Y.) Fire Department. Vaccaro has also worked for the Insurance Services Office, The New York Fire Patrol and several major commercial insurance companies as a senior loss-control consultant. Vaccaro is a life member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

WanT More HoT ProducTS? Visit http://tinyurl.com/morehotproducts for more FDIC product picks from Jakubowski, Robertson and Vaccaro.

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Homer robertson picks

Inforcer’s Overhead Door Simulator

One of the products that caught my eye while I strolled the exhibit hall was the Inforcer Overhead Door Simulator. Cutting an overhead metal door with a rotary saw is an acquired skill that requires training, and the skills must be routinely reinforced.

Tis type of training was hard to come by—until now. Fortunately, the Overhead Door Simulator is loaded with good ideas to make training a great experience for students and instructors alike.

Many departments have developed homemade units to teach and practice cutting overhead metal doors.

But this is the first commercially produced version I’ve seen. Te Inforcer group is great at solving some of The Inforcer the problems encountered with the P.o. Box 160907 homemade versions. First is the porAustin, TX 78716 tability issue. Tis unit can be moved quickly and set up with little effort.

512/964-5400; It’s great for training at the station or 888/49force even for taking to area fire-training info@theinforcer.com events that may not have fixed trainwww.theinforcer.com ing props. Plus, the door panels used in the prop are readily available—at little to no cost—from any local overhead door company that does repairs. Te simulator will accept any size door panel. Simply slide the braces in or out to fit the panel.

So if you need a prop for your training facility, especially something mobile, this is a solidly built and very functional training tool that any fire department could benefit from having in its training cache.

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Weldon’s D-Tek 6160

Another product that brings something new to the tech side of the fire service is the D-Tek 6160 from Weldon, a division of Akron Brass. D-Tek allows you to retrieve information about your apparatus wirelessly. Currently, most of us have to physically gather information, such as hours of operation, mileage or fuel used. With D-Tek, each time the apparatus returns to the station, a transmitter on the apparatus sends that information to a receiver connected to the station’s computer.

Te information can then be sent via e-mail to a central maintenance center and reviewed by the fleet’s service technicians. Other information Weldon Inc. that can be monitored: oil pressure 3656 Paragon dr. and temperature, voltage and coolcolumbus, oh 43228 ant temperature. Also, apparatus 800/228-1161; equipped with Weldon’s V-MUX 330/264-5678 System can remotely monitor seatwtisales@weldoninc.com belt violations and tire pressures. www.weldoninc.com Tis system can be retrofitted into existing apparatus.

Captain Homer Robertson has been involved in the fire service since 1978, starting as a volunteer with the Granbury (Texas) Fire Department, of which he is a life member. He has served with the Fort Worth Fire Department since 1985 and is currently in charge of the fire equipment division, which includes the apparatus fleet.

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July 2010

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President’s letter

“Marketing” Isn’t a Dirty Word How to market your service, personnel & apparatus to your community

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By Chief Jeffrey D. Johnson, EFO, CFO, MIFireE

t the bedside of an 80-year-old woman with a fractured hip, I learned my first lesson in marketing. As my crew—clad in bunker pants and T-shirts emblazoned with the word “fire”—began treating the woman, the local private ambulance crew entered the opposite side of the room. Tey were dressed in crisp uniforms complete with a badge, nametag and certification patches prominantly displayed. After just one glimpse, the woman rolled toward the ambulance crew and largely ignored what we were doing. Why? I believe it was the uniform.

What to Market Marketing is defined as the selling of products or services—the activity of presenting products or services in such a way as to make them desirable. You may think that marketing is best left to corporate giants, like those that sell tennis shoes and cell phones. However, today’s fire departments face the same threats as the private sector: competition for dollars and consolidation. Add the risk of privatization and, I believe, marketing our value has never been more important. So what does that look like?

Services: No one has a greater product than the fire service, especially when it involves saving someone’s loved one or their home. However, if you’re only counting on the job you do in people’s homes or businesses to market your value, you’re missing the bulk of your customers.

Te reality is, the people who pay the least (taxes) use our services the most, and the people who pay the most use our services the least.

In addition to cost-effective and efficient emergency response, we must create purposeful interactions with our customers so as to demonstrate the value and quality of our service. Tis was validated years ago for my home department, Tualatin Valley (Ore.) Fire & Rescue, when we conducted a public opinion survey. Te survey found that citizens who had interaction with TVF&R personnel were 11–20 percent more likely to support a tax renewal. You can bet we prioritize public education events, fire station open houses, serving lunch at the senior center, attending monthly neighborhood meetings, blood pressure checks and free training for our landlords.

In addition, we market “safety” through mass-media

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opportunities, including news stories, radio and television PSAs, print ads, and online and social media.

Personnel: One of the most important elements of our marketing is our people. People perceive uniformed personnel to be professional, trained, tested and part of a hierarchy that requires personnel to prove their competence. Tere’s a reason why airline pilots wear a full dress uniform as they greet passengers boarding their plane.

Teir uniform is meant to project professionalism and build confidence in the passengers.

We’re in the public eye every minute. Our chance for a first—and possibly only—impression is not only at the scene of an emergency, but also while staffing a display booth, installing a smoke alarm or shopping at the grocery store. What are the attitudes, grooming standards and uniforms of your personnel telling your customers about your department?

Apparatus: Our most visible means for marketing our department is our apparatus. Tere’s nothing more attention-getting than a fire engine traveling code three.

And even when sitting in a parking lot, it can’t help but get noticed. So why don’t more fire departments display their logos more prominently on these “rolling billboards”? Tip: Te letters should be large enough so that there’s no mistaking who serves their community.

At TVF&R, we even put our logo on our hosebed covers so news helicopters know who to credit in their news story. Apparatus can also be used to market your Web site, a community program or a safety tip.

Final thoughts So, how well is your department marketing itself? Do your customers know the value of your department? Or are you the area’s best kept secret?

Chief Jeff Johnson began his career as a firefighter in 1978, and he has served as fire chief of Tualatin Valley (Ore.) Fire & Rescue since 1995.

He is past president of the IAFC Western Division and Oregon Fire Chiefs Association. He is a member of the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association and has been active in many IAFC sections, including Fire & Life Safety, Volunteer & Combination Officers, EMS, and Safety, Health and Survival.

Chief Johnson is a National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer graduate and has received his Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Designation.

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Center PHoto: Glen ellman, truCk PHoto: mike meadows, fan PHoto: Glen ellman, CHainsaw PHoto: Cary ulriCH

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ou can’t walk into a fire station today without getting an earful about the issues and concerns that firefighters and fire officers alike are experiencing with their digital radios. Many departments complain that they can’t hear their firefighters because of digitized background noise, which overwhelms their voices and makes radio transmissions unintelligible.

Why does this happen? To some extent, background noise is a problem with any radio system. But many departments that upgraded their systems in recent years weren’t involved with their communication system design and/or the request-forproposal (RFP) phase. Tis was a major issue we found in our own department. We had little to no involvement, and then one day, we were told, “Here’s your new radio.”

As with all types of radio systems, it’s critical that digital systems be specced, designed and tested for how they will perform in real-life fireground situations, such as in below-grade operations or building penetration during interior operations. But tests should also include background noise, which is common on the fireground today. Background noise comes from a variety of sources, including SCBA voice boxes and amplifiers, PASS devices and our overall PPE ensemble. But did our RFPs mention that these items can be sources of background noise? If not, they should have, because all of them come to the fireground with us.

Because these new radio systems cost millions of dollars, it’s unlikely that they’ll be replaced anytime soon, so it’s critical to understand how your system is designed, where it works and how it works so you can minimize the effects of background noise.

What’s being done to address this issue, and what technology or studies are on the horizon to improve our current systems and to ensure that we’re at the table from here on out? Before we decide to throw away our current systems, let’s look at how we can effectively use them to communicate, and how we can improve fireground communications.

firefighters on the use of their portable radios.

Te best way for us to succeed at anything we do is to train on it, but training needs to go far beyond explaining how to turn on a radio and charge it. Tink about it: We train our firefighters on all their PPE. We even show them how to manage a problem while wearing all their gear in an IDLH atmosphere. So should we treat the radio any differently? No. Firefighter training should always include an introduction to the radio, the overall communications system, determining what the radio can and can’t do, radio discipline and policies, and drilled-in, hands-on conditions to minimize confusion and problems when operating on the fireground.

Simply put, we need to train firefighters on how to use their radios in the fire/rescue environment. Tey need to experience the giving and receiving of transmissions so that they can clearly understand the importance of established best practices, such as how to carry and maintain their radio, and how to use the accessories—such as microphones and microphone holders—that can have a negative or positive impact on their transmissions, depending on how they choose to use them. If firefighters practice these transmissions at the task level in a simulated IDLH atmosphere, they’ll gain an appreciation for why we train as much as we do, and why we adhere to best practices.

On the fireground, I often hear firefighters getting ready to go offensive with a chirping radio in their pocket, signaling that the battery is low.

(Are you kidding me?) To me, that firefighter is saying, “My radio is important to me, but not important enough to make sure it’s working properly before I go offensive.” Tis is just one example of how we need to be absolutely diligent about training our personnel on best practices and taking responsibility for their life-saving PPE— from helmets to hoods to SCBA, bunker gear to boots to portable radios.

How to combat

background noise

& wHat’s being done to correct it

By Chief Ott Huber

Training & BesT PracTices First and foremost, training our people on the effective use of their radio equipment will go a long way to ensure proper fireground communications. Te District of Columbia Fire and EMS Department (DCFD) printed an article in the November issue of “DC’s Bravest” illustrating the importance of training on fireground communications. Te article, written by Captain Dan Troxell, states, “Clear and concise radio transmissions are essential to ensure safety of all members operating on the fireground.” Te International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) also created a best-practices document that not only includes best practices for the use of radio communications systems, but also outlines the importance of properly training our July 2010

issue aT Hand: THe Vocoder Recently I attended a meeting related to digital radio issues. Te room was full of fire officials, but there were a staggering number of people who had never heard of the IAFC’s best-practices document and were bewildered by the fact that they were experiencing radio issues on the fireground.

I then realized that many people may be hearing of the problem with digital radios for the first time. Some readers may not have digital systems and may be wondering what the problem is all about. Te main issue with digital radio systems stems from a device called the digital vocoder, which basically takes your voice, digitizes it and sends it back out across the radio system (similar to how your cell phone works).

Te vocoder is designed to decode human sounds only and convert

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Sound off them to a digital output, filtering out any non-human background noise—as long as the voice isn’t overwhelmed by the background noise, which can come from PASS alarms, chainsaws, K-12 saws, PPV fans, etc. (See the digital radio noise report at http://tinyurl. com/2vslmfd for a more scientific explanation). With this type of background noise, the transmissions of firefighters on the fireground can be unintelligible at times.

CorreCtive Measures

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LSI

8 &16 Technology & Apparatus/ Equipment Safety For more, visit everyonegoeshome .com/initiatives.html

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Efforts to combat background noise have been under way for a while. Te Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) laboratories, housed with the U.S. Department of Commerce in Boulder, Colo., has formed a joint effort between the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Office of Law Enforcement Standards and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Institute for Telecommunication Sciences. Within this effort, or program, practitioners test how digital radios operate in the presence of loud background noise and how technological improvements can overcome background noise issues. Te practitioners also test mitigation techniques and have identified immediate behavioral, procedural and technical steps that agencies can take to avoid or minimize emergency response background noise.

Manufacturers have also spent considerable time

analyzing the problem and researching how technology and best practices can improve fireground communications to keep our firefighters safe. Harris, Motorola and several other vendors have spent hours working on software improvements. For Motorola, these improvements include an enhanced software upgrade to their XTS radios called “noise shield.” Tis software uses a series of algorithms in the digital signal processor to more accurately filter out a caller’s voice from the background noise.

Regarding the radios currently on the market, Motorola has provided documentation via its Web site that recommends adjusting the settings on their XTS radios for high background noise conditions. For example, they recommend setting the automatic gain control (AGC) to the “off” position, setting the analog/digital balance to the “on” position and selecting the advanced noise suppression setting.

Motorola also recommends that radios receive periodic preventative maintenance to ensure peak performance. Note: Tis is a service that should be performed by a radio technician and is not something that would be accomplished by the end user. What plan do you have in place at your fire department to regularly maintain your radios? Remember: Just as annual SCBA testing contributes to firefighter survival, so too does regular radio maintenance.

Te IAFC (along with the IAFC’s Safety, Health

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Sound off and Survival Section and the Communications Committee) has been engaged in the fireground communications issue since 2006, when it established the Digital Project Working Group made up of representatives from the public safety disciplines, government, other national fire service organizations and the private sector radio vendors. Since 2006, much has been learned about best practices and how digital radios work.

What Can We Do noW? It’s mission-critical that we continue to work cooperatively with the radio vendors to improve technology for our radio systems. In addition, it’s critical for fire chiefs, fire officers and firefighters to follow the guidelines listed below so that we can ensure optimal fireground communications.

• Firefighters: Follow the policies and procedures of your department. Complete the required training and remember to ask questions. Check your radio regularly, charge the battery and make sure it works.

• Fire officers: In addition to the above, conduct training specifically on and including the use of portable radios. Make sure all your firefighters are fully aware of every aspect of their radio, including mayday procedures, and what role the radio plays in that. In some systems, hitting the emergency button gives that user high-priority access to the

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system. What capabilities does your system have?

• Chief officers: In addition to the above, insist on being involved in the planning and design of any system purchases, changes or upgrades.

Make sure that there are written radio SOPs, and that all members are fully trained on how to use the radios, the system and its capabilities. Ensure regular testing of each portable radio, as well as system tests performed by your members (roll call, radio checks, etc.). Make sure contracted portable radio “tune-up” programs are performed regularly by a qualified factory representative.

ConClusion Each fire and emergency situation we respond to is different, so it’s impossible to plan ahead 100 percent for every situation. However, by providing the best possible tools, equipment and training, we make sure that we’re doing everything we can to achieve our goal of making sure everyone goes home after every incident.

Otto J. Huber is chief of the Loveland-Symmes (Ohio) Fire Department, an ISO 2, CAAS-accredited career department. Huber has served with the department for more than 32 years, and more than 20 of those as a chief officer. A graduate of the Ohio Fire Executive program taught at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business, Huber serves as vice president of the Northeast Fire Collaborative. He’s also a member of the Board of Directors of the Clermont County Fire Chiefs and serves on numerous state and national fire leadership committees.

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July 2010

safety

Do It Right the First Time!

Hasty decisions often compromise safe operations & create more work

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pproximately 25 years ago, as a young firefighter, I learned a valuable lesson at a fire scene: Actions taken in haste, as a time-saving gesture, may easily have the exact opposite effect. Hasty decisions often dramatically reduce safe operations and lead to increased work effort and bad outcomes.

By Chief Randall Talifarro

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My Learning experience Te fire that taught me this lesson occurred in an ordinary warehouse with standard brick and wood joist construction located in Flint, Mich. Te warehouse was a three-story building constructed in either the 1920s or 1930s. It had oil-soaked wood floors, and had once served as a minor equipment-manufacturing complex. It was now vacant with windows tightly boarded on the upper levels. Vagrants were known to inhabit the structure from time to time.

Te call came in the middle of a sunny summer afternoon. Temperatures were in the 80s to 90s, and a moderate wind was blowing.

Dispatch reported the fire with smoke showing, and by the time we arrived, police were already on scene.

(A passerby had notified police who were conducting routine patrols.)

Te building was situated equidistant from two fire stations, and pre-plan information required our engine and ladder companies to report to the B side of the building. A second engine company reported to the A side. We arrived shortly before that unit with the battalion chief (BC) and ladder company, as scripted.

A recently promoted lieutenant, who was known to be aggressive, served as my company officer. Te culture of the entire department—and that station in particular—dictated that we perform interior operations on virtually all incidents. On this occasion, however, the BC distinctly ordered the lieutenant to stand by with the engine and ladder companies while he drove to the A side to do a further assessment and meet with the arriving engine company and police who had initially made entry. At this point, smoke was observed pushing out of the boarded windows on the top story.

Almost as soon as the BC drove away, I received

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an order from my lieutenant to pull a dry 2 ½" line, and he and I would team up with the firefighters on the ladder company, who were also directed to pull a dry 2 ½" line, to make entry. I must admit, I was a bit conflicted because I was fairly new and had clearly heard the BC instruct us to not do this. But at the time, fire command was largely a vague concept, and freelancing was not altogether unusual. So, two large loading dock doors were forced, and we advanced the 2 ½" hoselines down the long, wide hallway, as instructed by our lieutenant.

Upon entry, we could see some smoke and flames about 30 yards ahead. We didn’t feel much heat, so we advanced nearly 20 yards, then charged the hoselines.

Suddenly, we saw a wall of fire coming directly at us.

We were in a significant flame rollover, and the water streams from the 2 ½" lines were unable to prevent it.

Conditions changed so rapidly that we had little time to react. My lieutenant, who only a moment ago was the picture of bravery, came diving over me, knocking off my helmet and very nearly my facemask! Honestly, I would have dove, too, but I was simply too inexperienced to know any better. We retreated on our bellies with the others and made it out of the building with fire raging over the top of us. We left our heavy hoselines behind. Shortly after exiting, we tried to drag the lines back out to perform an exterior attack, but had little success.

We then found ourselves committed to a failed initial attack, so we scrambled to set up the ladder and pull lines from it to try to contain the fire, retrieve the equipment and protect the engine that was within the building’s collapse zone. It was all downhill from there. In short order, the wall from the B side of the building failed, the engine was damaged and a great deal of equipment was lost beneath the rubble.

What Must change Why do I bring this up now? I had the opportunity to attend a pre-conference session offered by the IAFC’s Safety, Health and Survival Section at Fire-Rescue International last year in Dallas. Imagine my shock and dismay when the presenter asked how many departments July 2010

conditions, exposures, water supply, building size, life hazards and available resources, to name a few, before committing to tactical operations. Take the time to do things right the first time around, and you’ll save time by not having to correct anything. Te time you save and the life you save (your own) are well worth it.

Fire Chief Randall Talifarro has served the City of East Lansing (Mich.) Fire Department since March 2001. The department is a career department serving the residents of East Lansing as well as the students and campus of Michigan State University. Previously, Talifarro worked for the City of Flint Fire Department for nearly 17 years, retiring as assistant chief in 2001. Chief Talifarro is a Certified Professional Emergency Manager and has extensive training from both the National Fire Academy and Emergency Management Institute.

RIT to the Rescue

nEar miSS

Report 10-273: “We responded to a two-story, wood-frame residence with heavy fire showing at the B/C corner. The initial-attack line was advanced through the front door towards the B/C corner. A secondary back-up line was positioned by the front door by RIT. RIT was ordered

by Command to advance their line to the second floor. No additional RIT had been established prior to the order. While RIT was advancing their line to the top of the stairs, the building started to shake and a loud crash was heard. Conditions in the building changed from heavy black smoke to heavy fire over our heads and a mayday was called.”

Report 06-500: “Upon my arrival, I found a one-story, residential, 1,000-square-foot structure with smoke coming from the A/B side of the home. Flames were visible in the living room. RIT arrived and was informed of the situation. As conditions worsened, Command made two attempts to contact the interior crew with no response. Command immediately activated RIT. RIT followed the hoseline and found the two firefighters in the corner of the kitchen. The nozzleman had collapsed due to heat, and the company officer was attempting to pull him out and got turned around. RIT removed both firefighters.”

CommEntS In the first excerpt, RIT is committed to fight the fire when a mayday is called. Because RIT is in the building on a hoseline when the collapse occurs, it has to extricate itself from the situation, leaving the mayday company to extricate itself.

The second excerpt features RIT on the sideline and poised to act.

When called, they respond immediately, locate the firefighters in distress

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co

ire

f

EvEnt SummariES

w.

Rapid intervention teams (RITs) play an important, yet often maligned, role in the fire service. We have, as a profession, bred firefighters to be highly action-oriented; thus, many firefighters still scoff at the idea of “standing around and doing nothing as RIT” while their colleagues are engaged in the fireground action. Like the bench player on any sports team, there may be many periods when waiting on the sidelines is as good as it gets during an exciting game. However, a dedicated, disciplined RIT has to be fully prepared to go in at a moment’s notice when the “coach” makes the call.

w

w

2 reports underscore the importance of rapid intervention teams

By Deputy Chief John B. Tippett Jr.

fight

m

s.

represented in the session conducted a walk-around on a building before committing to an interior fire attack, and more than 50 percent of the attendees acknowledged that they did not. Te rationale given most often was that the company would be perceived as timid if they somehow delayed entry for this. Tat is unacceptable!

Te bottom line: We need to work toward changing this mindset. Not only is it potentially fatal, but clearly it’s also far less efficient. Have you ever tried to undo bad initial tactics? It’s not easy. Breaking down improperly placed hoselines and repositioning misplaced apparatus causes delays and, more importantly, puts firefighters at risk! Take the time to do a proper size-up. Consider construction type, occupancy, time of day, weather

ernearm

is

and remove them from the building.

RITs were created to assist firefighters in need. The great unknown is when, not if, RIT will be needed. Given that unknown and the benefits of a properly mounted interior attack, having RIT filled out and in position (i.e., immediately available on the “sideline”) is the best way to locate, confine and extinguish a fire—and get everyone home.

PrEParation

• Ensure your RIT procedures are followed at every incident involving interior attack.

• Review RIT procedures of different fire departments. Compare them with yours for efficiency and function. Whether you adopt “singleassignment RIT” or “on-deck RIT,” make sure the system gives your firefighters the best chance of survival when a mayday is called.

• Practice RIT activation drills frequently. Develop scenarios and implement a drill program that progresses from full-visibility to visionobscured operations.

• Stay abreast of RIT activations through electronic and print media.

Distribute materials to your companies and personnel to underscore the necessity of RIT. Note how many RIT-activation reports cite “without warning” activations.

• Develop a RIT checklist for officers. The checklist will assist RIT officers in practicing RIT size-up, potential RIT actions based on size-up factors, resource assessment and selection, etc.

in CloSing

Establishing, ensuring and insisting on a functional and dedicated RIT at every structure fire is more than just kowtowing to some standard.

When you really care about the lives and future of the people under your command, you’ll stop at nothing to give them the best tools, equipment and support to put the fire out and get back for the next run.

Be vigilant and stay focused! People are counting on you.

John Tippett is the deputy chief of operations for the City of Charleston (S.C.) Fire Department. He previously worked for the Montgomery County (Md.) Fire and Rescue Service. He is a program consultant for the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System.

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3 methods of attack for fighting WUI fires

By Thomas W. Aurnhammer & David Vega

B

y now, it’s no surprise that as development continues to increase in the wildland/urban interface (WUI), more and more structural fire departments have to learn and train on wildland firefighting tactics. Although structural and wildland fire suppression strategies may contain some similarities, the tactics are quite different.

In this article, we’ll provide a basic overview of wildland firefighting tactics for the structural firefighter.

The SafeTy Toolbox

3 aTTack MeThodS To determine which tactics to employ on a wildland/WUI fire, you must first determine what the fire is doing. Fire growth and behavior are based on several factors, including response time, weather conditions, topography and fuel types. If your initial size-up indicates that the fire can be safely attacked, there are three basic fire-attack methods that you can use either by themselves or in combination with each other.

Te objective: to control the head, flanks and heel of the fire.

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Before you step foot onto any WUI fire incident, your WUI “safety toolbox” should contain information on the 10 Standard Fire Orders, the 18 Watchout Situations, the 12 WUI Watchout Situations (see sidebar on p. 72 for complete list) and Lookouts, Communication, Escape Routes and Safety Zones (LCES). If proper LCES is maintained, the Standard Orders and Watchouts won’t be compromised. Note: For a complete list of the 10 Standard Fire Orders and the 18 Watchout Situations, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/safety/10_18/10_18.html.

Whether you’re a firefighter or an incident commander (IC), your safety toolbox should also contain the risk management process, which consists of the five following steps: 1. Maintain situational awareness. On a WUI fire, keep in mind that your surroundings aren’t confined to four walls. Te fire could spread across hundreds of acres, burn through entire neighborhoods and jump highways. Gather information—such as current fire behavior, wind patterns and weather forecasts—

from various sources to gain a complete understanding of the fire and how it may change and grow.

2. Assess existing and potential hazards. Determine fuel characteristics, fuel moisture, temperature and terrain.

3. Control any known hazards. Has LCES been established? If not, do so immediately. If you don’t, you might not be able to control any hazards because you might not know they exist.

4. Make clear and concise decisions. Are controls in place for identified hazards? Are selected tactics based on expected fire behavior? Have instructions been given and understood? If the answer is no to any of these questions, stop and reassess the situation.

5. Troughout the incident, evaluate firefighters’ experience level, as well as their fatigue and stress levels, and their attitude.

Other factors, such as exposures and the environmental value of the area (such as a watershed or timber region) should also be factored into your decision on how to fight the fire.

Photo Ed ShErman

During an indirect attack, firefighters utilize natural barriers, such as roads, to protect them from becoming surrounded by oncoming flames.

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Method 1: Direct Attack When performing a direct attack on a WUI fire, personnel and equipment start from a common anchor point, which include well-used roads; the banks of a creek, river, or pond; a rock scree (debris at the base of a slope); or a previously burned area that contains “good black.”

Working close to the fire’s edge, firefighters cut line and/or deploy hoselines to create a control line around the fire. Tis tactic is also known as “working with one foot in the black.”

Tere are many advantages to performing a direct attack, the biggest being that firefighters can usually escape into the burned area if fire behavior suddenly changes and threatens firefighters’ positions. Tere’s also no need to attempt backfiring, which minimizes the area burned.

The 12 WUI Watchouts 1. Poor access and narrow one-way roads 2. Bridge load limits 3. Wooden construction and wood shake roofs 4. Power lines, propane tanks and hazmat threats 5. Inadequate water supply 6. Natural fuels that are 30 feet or closer to structures

7. Structures in chimneys, box canyons, narrow canyons or on steep slopes (30 percent or greater) 8. Extreme fire behavior 9. Strong winds 10. Evacuation of public 11. Parking under power lines 12. Applying a straight stream to power lines

Tere are three different ways to perform a direct attack on a WUI fire: the flank attack, the pincer action and envelopment. During a flank attack, firefighters work along the side or hot flank of the fire, attempting to envelope the head of the fire and continue around until they reach the black area of the cold flank. Once they reach the cold flank, they can construct a control line back to the anchor point.

As the name implies, the pincer action allows fire crews to “pinch off” the head of the fire. To perform this maneuver, fire crews start out at a common anchor point, but then split into two separate groups that work both flanks of the fire simultaneously, attempting to reduce the head of the fire.

When attempting to envelope the fire, personnel operate from multiple anchor points and work the head of the fire and the cold flank.

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Method 2: Indirect Attack In some situations, the fire behavior, fuel types and lack of on-scene resources preclude an aggressive direct attack. In these situations, natural barriers can be used while additional resources are gathered. Tese natural barriers can include fuel breaks, such as streams, lakes, ponds, rock slides and any other areas that contain sparse fuels. Tey can also consist of constructed barriers such as roads or irrigation canals.

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Te indirect attack is accomplished by constructing fireline at a distance from the edge of the fire. Backfiring will be necessary to remove the unburned fuel between the edge of the fire and the fireline, which increases the safety risk to firefighters because more area will be burned than in a direct attack. Firefighters operating at a distance from the fire may also not have a good visual on the fire and its behavior.

Method 3: Parallel Attack Like the indirect attack, hand crews and bulldozers perform parallel attacks when a direct attack isn’t practical.

Crews and/or dozers can work anywhere from 5 to 50 feet off the hot flank, allowing fuel to burn out up to the control line. But this can be a risky tactic, as it allows for unburned fuel to be between personnel working on the control line and the fire. Tis method should only be used when winds are in your favor.

A Word About bAckfiring Both indirect and parallel attacks may employ backfiring or burning out; however, if you haven’t been trained in the use of these tactics, backfiring falls into the “high risk/low frequency” category. If the wind changes, the timing is off or the sequence and speed of the firing is off, backfiring can put firefighters’ lives at risk and create additional exposures. Due to the complexity of these tactics, only

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experienced firefighters trained in how to use firing devices and how to determine whether conditions are favorable for these operations should performing backfiring.

conclusion If your response area includes WUI or wildland areas, it’s imperative that you train for WUI/wildland fires. If your department hasn’t implemented WUI training, start by developing scenarios that can be used for tabletop or sandbox exercises, incorporating the three attack methods in this article. Preplan neighborhoods in the WUI, become familiar with the typical weather patterns in your area and always remember to maintain situational awareness.

A 34-year fire service veteran and fifth-generation firefighter, Thomas W. Aurnhammer is currently the Deputy Chief of the Los Pinos Fire District in Ignacio, Colo. He is a graduate of the NFA’s Executive Fire Officer (EFO) Program and holds an associate’s degree in Fire Protection. He recently received his Chief Fire Officer (CFO) designation, as well as the grade of Member in the Institution of Fire Engineers (MIFireE)–U.S. Branch. Aurnhammer is a Colorado Fire Officer III, as well as a Certified Fire Investigator through the IAAI. David Vega is the Wildland Fire Coordinator for the Los Pinos Fire District in Ignacio, Colo. Vega started his wildland fire career in 1999 in Pagosa Springs, Colo. In 2003, he received a permanent appointment with the U.S. Forest Service on the Safford Ranger District in Southern Arizona and was promoted to captain on a Type 6 engine in 2004. Vega holds certifications as NWCG Engine Boss, Type 4 Incident Commander, Task Force Leader (Trainee), Colorado EMT-B (IV), Firefighter 1 and 2, and Hazardous Materials Technician.

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COMPANYOFFICERDEVELOPMENT

Deep Impact Going the extra mile to help someone can affect your entire community

H By ray gayk

ave you ever thought about the impact your department has on the community you serve? Sometimes the impact is very clear, such as when we help save a life or make a great stop on a fire. We train hard for those moments, and when they occur, we receive recognition for doing a good job.

In reality, those truly life-saving opportunities don’t come around very often; however, as company officers, we have the greatest potential—and the greatest obligation—to make an impact on our communities every day. We probably don’t think too much about it, because we can’t always see the results of our work and it can be difficult to measure, but the opportunities are always there.

At most fire departments, company officers make decisions at the task level. In other words, company officers decide what their crew is going to do and how they’re going to do it on an emergency scene. Ultimately, these decisions can dramatically affect—or impact—many people’s lives.

Water Damage Consider this scenario: You’re the officer of a truck company that’s dispatched, along with two other engine companies and a battalion chief, to a ringing fire alarm at 0230 hrs. As you and your crew arrive on scene, you can hear the alarm sounding. Te business is closed, and there are no signs of a fire, but one of the engine companies notifies everybody that there’s a heavy flow of water coming from several roll-up doors at the back of the building.

Te battalion chief gives the order to force entry and investigate the problem. One of the truck firefighters makes access to the rear of the building and finds a very large sprinkler line has broken and is dumping a tremendous amount of water into the building. You shut down the system, but the damage has already been done.

Decision time I call this “decision time” because I’ve seen this exact scenario go a few different ways depending on how the company officer chooses to react. One way

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involves the company officer contacting the business owner and advising them that their business is flooded and that they need to call their insurance company. Tis is what I call the minimalist approach.

Some company officers may feel justified in making this type of a decision because businesses usually pay for insurance that covers water damage.

Te truth of the matter is flood insurance is an interesting animal; it’s often very specific and sometimes very misleading. What I mean by misleading is that business owners who own, rent or lease a space often think they’re covered for water/flood damage regardless of how the area becomes flooded or what’s affected. Often, this is not the case. As a result, business owners have a rude awakening when they find out what their policy really says.

So back to our scenario: Te business owner arrives on scene and is shocked by the amount of water pouring out of their business. You decide not to take the minimalist approach, however, and instead, you lay out a plan for water removal.

Te crews on scene then begin the arduous task of removing thousands of gallons of water while also protecting files, stock and some expensive machinery. Te crew completes the final touches around 0800 hrs and leaves the scene.

Best-case scenario vs. reality Your department did a good thing for the business owner, but you probably don’t even realize the true impact of your actions; the unrealized impact is actually quite significant. Many businesses don’t run on fat budgets, especially in today’s economy, but they employ numerous people.

If you had taken the minimalist approach, in the best-case scenario, the business owner would have a very good, comprehensive insurance policy that covers all the damage, so they could re-stock and replace any damaged equipment. Tey could also pay the entire staff while the business is being repaired.

From my experience, this scenario is extremely rare.

Most of the time, the stock, equipment and building damage aren’t covered by insurance, which puts the entire bill on the business owner. Te employees are July 2010

usually temporarily laid off and may even lose their jobs because the business owner can’t afford to re-hire the entire staff when they’re up and running again.

The Ripple effecT Te ripple effect of an incident like this can be significant to a community. What happens to the typical American employee who loses their job for a month?

We know most people live paycheck to paycheck, so the loss of one or more paychecks is often devastating. Te person’s spending ability is drastically reduced, which affects other parts of the community, because these people can’t spend money at other local businesses.

Today’s recession is a great example of how the ripple effect works on a very large scale. And while we may not be able to do much about our jacked-up national economy, we can have a major impact on our local communities.

How many lives are impacted from what we may consider a simple call? I bet most of us don’t even think that far ahead during one of these incidents.

Something that seems simple to us may have a very complex impact on our community. Te question you must ask yourself: “What is the possible impact and ripple effect of this emergency if I don’t do everything I can to help fix it?”

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July 2010

When we consider a particular incident and its ripple effect, realizing the possible outcome, we make better decisions—decisions that have a ripple effect of their own. Te decision to do an outstanding job may help someone who may not even realize what you did. In the fire service, company officers make these decisions every day.

conclusion On your next call, before you decide to act, ask yourself a couple questions: What decisions will you make today, and what is their potential impact? If you were on the receiving end of one of your decisions, would you be happy?

You probably won’t get an award for doing the right thing on a simple incident like the one I described, but knowing you made a true impact on people’s lives, whether they realize it or not, is a pretty good feeling.

Ray Gayk is deputy chief of Operations with the Ontario (Calif.) Fire Department (OFD). Gayk is an 18-year veteran of the fire service who has been actively involved with the OFD’s development of engineer and captain mentor programs. Gayk has also taught numerous classes on company officer development. Contact him at raygayk@verizon.net.

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QuickDrills

A Forcible-Entry Homerun The one-person “baseball swing” simplifies entry on inward-swinging doors

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by Homer robertson

f you read this column regularly, you know that we focus on the basics of firefighting and rescue ops. Being able to do the basics well is the trademark of great firefighters and great fire departments.

But let’s be realistic: For a training officer or company officer to successfully keep people motivated to train, you have to mix a little “new” in with the basics. And when I learn a new tip or technique, I’m excited to share it with someone else.

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A Two-Person Job Te single-family residential structure and the multifamily apartment make up the bulk of our firefighting work these days. Incidents in these structures are usually room-and-contents fires that can be handled with some good old-fashioned aggressive firefighting. But before you can get a handline on the seat of the fire, you must make quick entry.

Sometimes personnel on the first handline have to handle the task of getting into the structure; sometimes a member of the truck company is assigned the task of forcing entry for the attack team.

Whoever has the door-entry assignment must carry the right tools with them to get the job done right, and every fire department has weapons of choice based on their response area characteristics. One of the most commonly used tools is a “set of irons”—a Halligan bar and a flat-head axe or maul paired together to form a powerful forcible-entry duo. Te problem with using the irons: To use them to their full potential, you need two firefighters, one to hold and manipulate the Halligan bar (the barman), and the other to strike with the flat-head axe as commanded by the barman.

But two firefighters aren’t always assigned to forcible entry; in the first few minutes of an attack, the firefighter assigned the forcible entry duties may have to force the door without help from other

s

Photo Glen ellman

Kicking doors in can be hard on our bodies; ankles, knees, back and shoulders pay the price. By using the right tools for the job, we work smarter and look like true professionals. Plus, forcing entry in a controlled manner helps control the effects of ventilation.

Tis month’s Quick Drill covers the “baseball swing,” a simple, one-person forcible-entry technique that works great on lot of residential inwardswinging doors.

July 2010

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Quick Drills

The baseball swing is a Halligan technique that’s performed by one firefighter, without another person having to use the maul. It works best on inward-swinging doors in wooden doorframes. crewmembers because they’re performing other tasks, like stretching the hoseline or securing utilities.

Why Not Just KicK it iN? Tis is about the time that a lot of folks are going to say, “We just kick the front door in, or someone puts a shoulder to it.” I know that’s fun and macho;

kicking in a door definitely gives you a rush.

But there are several problems with doing that: First, kicking in a door can injure your knees, ankles or back. Second, when you kick in the door, you often lose control of it. You’ve essentially created a ventilation opening, which can lead to an uncontrolled venting of heat, fire gases and even flame.

Remember: Tose fire gases and heat follow the path of least resistance, which many times is the opening you just created. If you’ve ever been run off the porch of a house that’s on fire because you lost control of the door, you know what I’m talking about.

Te final downfall of kicking in the door is public perception. You don’t see a journeyman carpenter trying to cut boards by chopping them.

Of course not; they use the right tools for the job—and so should we.

the BaseBall sWiNg Te “baseball swing” is a Halligan technique that’s performed by one firefighter, without another person having to use the maul. It works best on inward-swinging doors that are set in wooden doorframes.

Here’s how it works: 1. Position yourself so you have a clear swing at the doorframe, making sure that no one is standing behind you that you could hit on the back swing.

2. Swing the Halligan like you would a baseball bat and drive the pike end of the Halligan into the wooden

A set of irons usually consists of a Halligan bar and a flathead axe or maul. The axe or maul needs to have some weight to it; most departments use one that weighs at least 8 lbs.

Photo courtesy homer robertson

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Photos courtesy craig walker

When using the baseball swing, drive the pike of the Halligan into the wooden doorframe. For left-hand swinging doors, the adz will be pointed down (above photo). For right-hand swinging doors, the adz will be up, or at 12-o’clock (right photo). Note: The ideal placement for the Halligan is above the locks, but as these photos show, with the baseball swing technique you might not achieve ideal accurate placement.

doorframe just high enough so the adz end lines up with any locks on the door.

3. By driving the pike into the doorframe, you achieve a pivot point from which you can use the adz to push against the door.

4. On right-hand swinging doors, the adz will be pointed up, or in the 12-o’clock position. Te length of the bar will give you leverage as you push down on the bar, thereby using the adz to push on the door, forcing it inward.

5. On a left-hand swinging door, the adz will be pointed down as you swing, forcing the pike into the doorframe. After you set the pike, you again use the leverage of the bar, but this time you push the bar up, forcing the adz against the door and defeating the locks.

Te baseball swing allows you to force the door with a certain amount of control using only one firefighter. It’s a down-anddirty trick-of-the-trade that’s much safer than attempting to kick doors open.

Captain Homer Robertson has been involved in the fire service since 1978, starting as a volunteer with the Granbury (Texas) Fire Department, of which he is a life member. He has served with the Fort Worth Fire Department since 1985 and is currently in charge of the fire equipment division, which includes the apparatus fleet.

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FirePrevention

Puppet Show Public educators will play a critical role in leading the fire service of the future

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By Jim Crawford

ow many times have you thought, “If I was in charge ...”? I think most folks have a pretty good idea of the things they would do differently if they “ruled the world” for a day. As I get older, I find myself thinking about this with a new twist—I think about the things I would do differently now, even though I WAS in charge back then.

Perhaps a better question: Who should rule the fire service world in the future? And what leadership skills and qualities are we looking for?

We Need eNergy!

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14 Public education For more, visit everyonegoeshome .com/initiatives.html

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When my son was younger, I used to volunteer occasionally in his kindergarten class. Te high point of the day for the kindergarteners was finger painting. Tey would get so excited, so “in the moment,” that I wished I could bottle their energy and use it later. When I returned to the office, the negative energy and attitudes would just sap the life out of me.

At a recent bi-state injury-control meeting of Washington and Oregon public educators, I caught a glimpse of that childlike energy. It was positive and palpable.

And it made me think that public educators just may be the future leaders that the fire service needs.

Hear me out. What skills are going to be most important for future fire service leaders? Te list could get long, but I think we can agree on the following: • Good communication skills. If we can’t articulate our issues and needs, we have no hope of gaining support for them. Tat includes writing and speaking as well as listening (which few of us practice!).

• Partnership and collaboration. Te fire service is faced with a “new normal”; we can’t function like we did before. We must dust off some of the old ideas and perhaps give them another try— things like self-inspections, or farming out some work with a blanket permit to a limited number of trusted fire protection contractors. Tese ideas might work, and they might not. But linking up with partners we like, and perhaps even those we don’t, will be key to giving such ideas a chance, especially as the recession continues to wreak havoc on local governments.

• Ability to demonstrate results. I don’t believe we can just declare the number of minutes in which we need to respond—though response time is indeed

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critical. Rather, we must consider the interrelationship between our prevention programs and emergency response. A building that has burned for 20 minutes before anyone noticed and called 911 isn’t going to benefit much from a 4-minute response. It will benefit, however, from a combination of early detection, fixed fire protection and effective emergency response.

• A refocusing of our efforts. We’ll need to focus even more of our efforts on residential properties where our ability to regulate people and enforce codes is severely limited. Tis is difficult, even for the most progressive in our ranks.

FiNdiNg Them Where do we find all these skills in the fire service?

Look to your public educators. If you’ve written them off because they’re friendly, outgoing and sometimes play with puppets, you’re making a BIG mistake. Tat kind of energy is hard to beat down, and it will serve them and you well when things get tough. Tey’re communicators. Tey’re collaborators. Tey’re used to doing a whole lot with little or nothing—because that’s what we’ve traditionally given them.

When things get economically tight, we cut them first. And still they work with heart and passion. It’s not like someone is going to picket City Hall when a public educator is cut, like they do for emergency responders. No, it takes enlightened leadership to save public education from the budget axe. Do the math— the votes are on the line, whether it’s your union or the community talking.

For the future of our fire service, we must recognize the leadership qualities exhibited by public educators and try to capture a part of their energy and their leadership. We might even try to emulate them.

Tat said, don’t bring puppets to your next City Council meeting! We can only stand a little out-of-thebox thinking at one time.

Jim Crawford recently retired as deputy chief and fire marshal with the Vancouver (Wash.) Fire Department and is chair of the NFPA technical committee on professional qualifications for fire marshals. He has written “Fire Prevention: A Comprehensive Approach,” published by Brady, and has also written a chapter on fire prevention in “Managing Fire and Rescue Services,” published by the International City/County Managers Association. Crawford is a past president of the International Fire Marshals Association and has served on the NFPA’s Standards Council. He is a member of the IAFC.

July 2010

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The Panasonic Toughbook 31 is a powerful, fully rugged notebook computer with an Intel Core i5 or i3 processor and 1,100-nit touchscreen display. The Toughbook 31 has rugged certifications beyond MILSTD-810G and IP65, enabling superior data access and productivity for firefighters facing extreme environments. The notebook combines Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth v2.1 +EDR, with options for WiMAX capability and Qualcomm’s Gobi2000 mobile broadband technology. By matching embedded mobile broadband with the Toughbook 31’s new optional built-in Webcam, first responders can easily transmit video in real-time from anywhere back to their field office or dispatch center.

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EF Johnson Technologies’ 51FIRE ES portable radio has standard yellow housing for visibility even in extreme conditions. The radio has MD-1200 and GE-Star Signaling to provide clear alerts to and from the dispatcher and meets hazardous environment requirements. It’s submersible to 1 meter for up to 30 minutes. With both blade knobs and round knobs included, the radio ensures that communications are transmitted even when wearing gloves. An optional out-of-range feature alerts the user when radio communications are lost with the EF Johnson IP25 Conventional System and works in both P25 digital and analog modes.

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The Eagle Eye obstacle detection system from Transportation Safety Technologies monitors side and rear “blind areas” or “no zones” for objects within 8 to 10 feet of the fire and emergency vehicle and reduces accidents by an average of 75 percent. It consists of up to seven weather-resistant sensors strategically mounted around the vehicle and a single driver-alert module inside the cab that visually and audibly alerts drivers to potential hazards. Eagle Eye is rugged and resistant to corrosion and impact damage.

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Firerescue Magazine, ISSN 1094-0529, including Wildland Firefighter, is published monthly by Elsevier Public Safety, 525 B St., Ste. 1900, San Diego, CA 92101-4495; 619/687-3272 (fed. ID #13-1958712). Periodicals postage paid at San Diego, CA., and at additional mailing offices.

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ResponseTime

The Pain of Leadership Increased authority brings increased stress

N

By Brian A. Crawford

ot many people talk openly in the fire service about the topic of this month’s column, but it’s something I’ve gone through and seen others struggle with when reaching positions of authority. I call it the “pain of leadership”—and its negative effects can accompany officers as they move up the ranks.

Te pain of leadership principle states that the physical and psychological pain caused by stress and pressure are proportional to an individual’s level of responsibility in an organization. In the fire service, this usually means the higher your rank, the more stress you have, and if you’re not prepared for it, your ability to lead and to live a healthy life can be compromised.

No LoNger oNe of the guys

Look for Chief Crawford’s program, “The Pain of Leadership,” at FRI in Chicago, Aug. 24–28. More info: www.iafc.org/fri

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13 Psychological support For more, visit everyonegoeshome .com/initiatives.html

Almost all firefighters who become company and chief officers experience the leadership pain principle at some point. A good friend of mine told me that when he became an officer for the first time, it made him physically ill. By anyone’s account he was an outstanding firefighter and engineer, but his new supervisory role caused him a great deal of pain, emotionally and physically.

Some of it was related to the fact that he was very much one of the guys and liked it that way; he was a “firefighter’s firefighter.” Tis was never a problem until he promoted to a supervisory role that required him to give orders and discipline his former firefighter “friends.”

In an attempt to maintain his good ol’ boy reputation, this captain made the classic leadership mistake—trying to please everyone. Tis is an impossible feat that will actually cause you more pain in the long run.

the higher you go Te higher the rank, the tougher the calls the officer must make and, unfortunately, the greater the potential pain. Tat is why there’s a difference in ranks, authority, responsibility and, yes, pay. As firefighters promote, their decisions—good and bad—have an effect on a greater number of people, internally and externally.

Tus, there’s a larger pool of those who will ultimately agree or disagree with the officer, which in turn leads to more opportunities for the officer to be second-guessed and criticized.

Someone once told me, “Leadership is difficult. If it wasn’t, everyone would be doing it.” I didn’t fully realize what that meant until I became a fire chief. Recently, I attended the Congressional Fire Service Institute (CFSI) dinner in Washington, D.C., and sat with a long-serving

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fire chief. As we compared notes on our experiences as chief, he affirmed what I’d heard from other chief officers: Te pain of leadership principle is very real.

Both of us had days when the only way to reduce the pain, stress and pressure seemed to be driving off the nearest bridge (my preferred choice) or jumping out a window (his method). Not that either one of us seriously contemplated this, but I know other officers in the fire service who have become incapacitated as leaders, turning to alcohol, drugs or sex, and even contemplating suicide as a way to deal with the pain of leadership.

But the pain of leadership can be managed. Consider these tips: • Recognize that it exists and be prepared.

• Know that as your rank increases, decisionmaking becomes more difficult, and stress and pressure will increase. But, experience and time will lessen the pain.

• Don’t bargain with yourself, saying, “If I can just get these two problems taken care of, I’ll have it made.” Believe me, two, if not three more, will quickly take their place.

• Never be afraid to admit you’ve made a mistake.

Believing you must be perfect will only increase the pain.

• On critical issues, strive to make the best decision based on all available information, for the betterment of the organization and the citizens.

• Last and most important, take care of yourself by having someone to talk to (spouse, partner, close friend, clergy, physician, etc.), getting consistent physical activity, cultivating interests outside the fire service, and maintaining a healthy diet.

Following these rules may not eliminate all the effects of the pain of leadership—there will always be days as a leader where you’ll feel overwhelmed and stressed—but remember what a wise person once said: “Never get too excited when things are good; they will get worse. And never feel too defeated when things are bad; they will get better.”

Brian A. Crawford is the fire chief for and a 25-year veteran of the Shreveport (La.) Fire Department. He is a National Fire Academy (NFA) resident instructor, a NFA Executive Fire Officer Program (EFO) graduate and an IAEM Certified Emergency Manager and Commissioner. He also holds the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) designation and is a member of the Institute of Fire Engineers. Crawford serves as chair for the Program Planning Committee of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. He holds a master’s degree in industrial psychology.

July 2010

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