FRM 2010 mar

Use stories to enhance recruitment & retention, p. 26 5 strategies to stem the volunteer exodus, p. 34

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March 2010 Volume 28, Issue 3 To subscribe, visit www.fire-rescue.com

38

Rural Fire Tactics 38 Proper Pumping

Plus!

44 Making New-Age Plans

M odern-day methods for determining appropriate pump pressures

D epartment’s emergency response is transformed by digital pre-plans

By Patrick Pauly

Recruitment & Retention 28 Saving Stories

H ow storytelling can help save the volunteer fire service

By Tiger Schmittendorf

34 Each One, Reach One

By James Langdon

The International Association of Fire Chiefs’ leadership section

50 P resident’s Letter

Wildland/Urban Interface 57

Use data to your department’s advantage

In the Zone A review of landingzone/fill-site operations & safety guidelines

52 L eadership Skills

D evelop & institutionalize your vision for change

By Chief Marc Revere

By Paul M. Ross, Jr.

54 S afety

R ecruitment & retention lessons from a pilot program in South Carolina

By Hanley Brite & Larry Sagen

About the Cover Firefighters from West Manchester, Manchester, Dover and North Codorus townships, as well as West York Borough—all in Pennsylvania— responded to a reported working structure fire shortly before 1500 hrs. Tanker 12 was first in and found a well-involved single-family dwelling.

Crews were hampered by water-supply issues, so additional tankers were called to the scene. Engine 5-1 laid approximately 1,500 feet of 5" hose back down the lane to the residence. Tanker 11 functioned as the water supply unit, while other tankers transferred their water to Tanker 11 to be pumped up the lane to Engine 5-1, Tanker 12 and Truck 1. Various other county tankers, as well as Air 35 and West York EMS, worked the fire.

The structure was a complete loss. TACTICAL TIP: While every fire presents its own unique challenges, rural firefighting presents challenges seldom experienced in the urban environment. Remote access, long setbacks and a lack of hydrants are critical issues that must be addressed prior to the fire. Pre-planning and district knowledge are the keys to success in rural firefighting. Do you know where your closest water supply is (lakes, pools, ponds, etc.)? Do you know how to position your drop tank for the quickest turnaround time? Is your engine set up to deploy multiple handlines for prolonged setbacks (long driveways or structures without a primary access point for apparatus)? Finally, how long will it take for additional help to arrive? Always remember, it’s a lot easier to turn ’em around. Call for help early. Photo Brian Bastinelli

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Firerescue Magazine

By Chief Jeffrey D. Johnson

Understanding the functions of the Command Officer Support Team

By David Fischler

55 N ear-Miss Reports The benefits of establishing command support teams

By Deputy Chief John B. Tippett Jr.

March 2010

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In This Issue …

12 From the Editor Personal sacrifice is a defining characteristic of the fire service

By Timothy E. Sendelbach

14 ToolsNewsTechniques • Gear Test: Providing protection from the elements, the CrewBoss Rehab Vehicle Kit is worth the cost & effort • Announcement: Guidelines & best practices in youth fire service program now available • News: NFPA report shows dangerous aging trend in firefighters protecting small communities • LODD: NIOSH reports recently released

18 Apparatus Ideas The Morrison Fire Department’s new brush truck is built for more than just grass fires

78 Classifieds

24 Fire Attack Apparatus positioning problems & solutions

By Greg Jakubowski

81 Ad Index

65 Company Officer Development One system can help solve both fireground problems & personnel problems

82 Response Time Harassment has no place in the fire station

By Brian A. Crawford

By Ray Gayk

68 Rescue Training The basics of proper lock-out/ tag-out procedures

By Steve Ness

74 New Products

Exclusively Online!

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

76 New Deliveries

Truck Company Operations

By Bob Vaccaro

Tips for truck companies operating at vacant building fires

18

By Michael M. Dugan

Fire Prevention Determining who’s qualified to test commercial cooling appliances isn’t easy, but 1 organization can help

By Jim Crawford

Quick Drills A drill to help members build familiarity on those lesser used tools & equipment

By Homer Robertson

Survival of the Fittest Work out for less

By Jeff & Martha Ellis

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editor-in-chief

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

Shannon Pieper - s.pieper@elsevier.com senior editors

Cindy Devone-Pacheco - c.devone@elsevier.com Janelle Foskett - j.foskett@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

Jason Pelc - jasonpelc@yahoo.com director of eproducts/production

Tim Francis - t.francis@elsevier.com WeB production coordinator

Neil Johnson - n.johnson2@elsevier.com production coordinator

Pippin Schupbach - p.schupbach@elsevier.com production assistant

Kevin Root - k.root@elsevier.com advertising department

Phone 800/266-5367; Fax 619/699-6722 advertising director/Western account manager

Sheri Collins - sheric@nevpacinc.com 520/825-3770 Western emedia saLes representative

Cindi Richardson - cindirichardson@sbcglobal.net 661/297-4027 eastern saLes representative

Joe Skey - joe.rhmedia@verizon.net 856/673-4000 cLassified saLes representative

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

Chris Hebert - chris@goforwardmedia.com director of audience deveLopment & saLes support

Mike Shear - m.shear@elsevier.com audience deveLopment coordinator

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

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

tEcHNical Editors aPParatus Fire Chief Bob Vaccaro (Ret.) Deer Park, N.Y. comPaNY officEr dEvEloPmENt Capt. Ray Gayk Ontario (Calif.) Fire Department firE attacK Chief Greg Jakubowski Lingohocken (Pa.) Fire Company Capt. Mike Kirby & District Chief Tom Lakamp Cincinnati Fire Department EXtricatioN Battalion Chief Todd D. Meyer Gig Harbor (Wash.) Fire/Medic One firE PrEvENtioN Fire Marshal Jim Crawford Vancouver (Wash.) Fire Department 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

Editorial advisors & coNtriButiNG Editors Chief Brian Crawford Shreveport (La.) Fire Department Dwight Clark FirstCare, Forsyth, Ga. Chief Scott Cook (Ret.) Granbury (Texas) Fire Department Battalion Chief Henry Costo Philadelphia Fire Department Assistant Chief Brian Fennessy San Diego Fire-Rescue Department Deputy Chief William Goldfeder Loveland-Symmes (Ohio) Fire Department Assistant Chief Todd Harms Phoenix Fire Department 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

coNtriButiNG PHotoGraPHErs Michael Coppola, Keith Cullom, Glen Ellman, Craig Jackson, Chris E. Mickal

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. District Chief John Sullivan Worcester (Mass.) Fire Department Deputy Chief John Tippett Charleston (S.C.) Fire Department Battalion Chief Matt Tobia Anne Arundel (Md.) County Fire Department

to suBscriBE, visit www.firE-rEscuE.com

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F i rChoose e r e s 17 c uat e www.firerescuemagazine.com/rs Magazine

March 2010

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FromTheediTor

Service Before Self Personal sacrifice is a defining characteristic of the fire service

S

By Timothy E. Sendelbach

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ervice before self. Tese three words speak volumes about one’s personal beliefs, decisionmaking and commitment to a specific cause.

In some cases they’re attached to a tragic event or an individual as a matter of reverence, but in every case, they represent the highest level of commitment that an organization can ask of an individual or team.

Te U.S. Air Force has adopted this phrase as one of its three core values. Te Air Force Core Values Booklet (aka “Te Little Blue Book”) says, “Service before self tells us that professional duties take precedence over personal desires.” Te booklet goes on to say that Air Force personnel must place the needs of others above their own personal comfort, that they must exhibit discipline and self-control in daily affairs, and that they must have faith in the system— the Air Force.”

Much like those in the military, upon entering the fire service, we all take an oath to uphold the core values of the organization we serve. We agree to protect our respective communities in the most effective and efficient manner possible. We agree to represent our department and our city leaders as professionals. We agree to make decisions and take actions that are reflective of departmental policies and procedures. And we agree to use the resources provided, coupled with the training and education we’ve received over the years, to provide the highest level of protection possible to our citizens—and when necessary, take calculated risk to save lives and protect property.

Having raised my right hand and taken this oath several times, I openly admit that the excitement of the moment has oftentimes overshadowed the depths of the responsibilities I’d assumed and the commitment I’d made to myself, my family and the community.

As public servants, we are oftentimes faced with situations that challenge our resolve and dedication to this oath. Our willingness to perform is seldom if ever in question when the ravages of fire or other emergencies strike our communities or directly affect our loved ones. But what happens when those disasters strike strangers, those with whom we have no direct connection? Do we exemplify the same courage and dedication we provide our immediate neighbors? Or, what about “emergencies” that aren’t life-threatening or related to natural disaster, but are rather administrative emergencies (with which we’ve become all too familiar in this

Firerescue Magazine

economic downturn)? Are those “non-life-threatening emergencies” addressed with the same courage, bravery and personal sacrifice we swore to provide?

On Jan. 12, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake shook an impoverished nation more than 700 miles south of our most southern border. With more than 230,000 dead and 300,000 injured in the aftermath, the calls for help were broadcast around the world. As is our longstanding tradition, the United States responded with caches of specialized equipment and some of our nation’s best Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams. Faced with a scene of devastation beyond words, these men and women worked in deplorable conditions, with scarce resources, racing against the clock, to achieve some of the most remarkable rescues in USAR history.

Tese men and women were deployed far beyond their respective city/county limits. Tey deployed to a nation where their personal health and safety could not be guaranteed. Tey deployed into the deepest of voids in a quest to save men, women and children whom they had never met, nor had any personal responsibility to protect. Tese men and women put service before self.

In a far different scenario here at home, the city of Tulsa, Okla., was faced with a financial burden of $10.4 million that would ultimately threaten the jobs of 147 firefighters. In a landmark vote, the union members of the Tulsa Fire Department voted overwhelmingly to accept a 5.2 percent salary cut for 17 months, 8 unpaid furlough days in the next fiscal year and the elimination of benefits such as fitness pay and a clothing allowance to protect the jobs of their fellow firefighters while at the same time ensuring that the safety of their city was not interrupted nor compromised.

To the credit of the Tulsa firefighters, not a single job was lost. Although each member will be burdened with a degree of personal sacrifice, the message was clear: Te men and women of the Tulsa Fire Department put service before self.

Service before self is not a catch phrase; it’s a lifestyle. It’s the characteristic of truly dedicated individuals and it’s the purest representation of brother and sisterhood.

To each of you who have put service before self, I say thank you—you have raised the bar of professionalism for us all. You have proven that despite the toughest of challenges, foreign or domestic, emergent or nonemergent, our nation’s firefighters stand ready to serve.

March 2010

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Tools News Techniques How To

CrewBoss Rehab Vehicle Kit

Pros

+ Comfortable internal climate; + Portable; + Ability to expand; and + Interchangeable.

Cons

- Very large (needs a dedicated vehicle for transport); and - Cost (but remember, you get what you pay for).

Western Shelter Systems—CrewBoss 815 Conger Street PO Box 2729 Eugene, OR 97402 800/971-7201 E-mail: wss@WesternShelter.com Web: http://crewboss. westernshelter.com

14

Training

People

Gear Test

Web & Media

Events

Rehab Ready Providing protection from the elements, the CrewBoss Rehab Vehicle Kit is worth the cost & effort

By Jim Schiller

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enerally, most incidents to which we respond are mitigated within a couple of hours; however, we occasionally respond to incidents that take considerable time to complete. On those longerThe 16' x 16' shelter is very duration incidents, it’s always nice to see some spacious. There’s enough room to place three to four cots inside with shade to sit in or a place to get out of the plenty of room to move around. wind and/or cold.

In my organization, rehab isn’t something we look for or expect. UnforMedical tunately, it’s usually an afterthought.

Organizer bag However, we have neighboring agencies and writing Cooler with towels that are currently implementing rehab surface into their incident command system—a great idea. After all, as we come to better understand Folding stools (4) human physiology and the stresses of the firefighting enviornment, rehab has taken on a new importance. site, it looks big—and it is. When it arrived, it was I have friends who’ve suffered from heat-related packaged in two large, heavy boxes. But don’t be injuries, and know of several others who have died. intimidated by its size. One box contained the side Further proof: Te Orange County (Calif.) Fire walls, top and floor and the various rehab compoAuthority conducted a heat-stress study and found nents. Te other box contained the “structure” of the that we don’t get rid of internal body heat as easily walls and top, as well as entrance ramps and a vent as once thought. If relief isn’t provided, the increased top for the roof. In all, the CrewBoss Rehab Vehicle stress and exertion can and probably will lead to some Kit came with the 16' x 16' shelter, a White Board form of a heat-related illness. Supervisors must there- kit, traffic cone covers, barricade tape, a cooler with fore provide relief from climate conditions. (Note: towels, a hand-wash station, collapsible seating, four Check out NFPA 1584: Standard on the Reha- folding stools, a medical organizer bag and writing bilitation Process for Members During Emergency surface, and a toilet with pop-up shelter.

Te instruction manual and accompanying DVD Operations and Training Exercises, which further underscores the importance of rehab and outlines for erecting the shelter are simple to follow. Tey show three firefighters setting up the shelter, and specifics for setting it up on the fireground.)

As if the firefighting gods knew our department they make it look very easy. In fact, the DVD shows needed some rehab equipment, I recently had a a clock on the screen with them setting it up, and chance to review a prepackaged rehab shelter kit they were done in less than 5 minutes. So set-up

by Western Shelter Systems—the CrewBoss Rehab would be our first test. If these guys could do it in 5 Vehicle Kit. If you look at it on the company’s Web minutes, I figured I could do it too with the help of

Firerescue Magazine

March 2010

Photo Jim Schiller

Equipment

March 2010

makes it a valuable piece of equipment, for use as an aid station, warming/cooling station—the possibilities are virtually endless. Although the cost isn’t insignificant ($5,990), the many uses make this a cost-effective product in the long run.

Jim Schiller is a 22-year veteran of the fire service, currently assigned to ME 133 C as a captain/paramedic in the City of Ontario (Calif.) Fire Department. He is an educator and former EMS coordinator.

Announcement

Youth Movement

Guidelines & best practices in youth fire service program now available

T

he International Association of Fire Chiefs’ (IAFC) Volunteer & Combination Officers Section’s (VCOS) Silver Ribbon Report, Opening New Doors: Guidelines and Best Practices for a Successful Youth Fire Service Program, is now available online.

Te fifth in the Ribbon series of reports, Opening New Doors is a comprehensive best-practices document on mentoring youth in the fire and emergency service. Fire departments may access and download the document free of charge at www.iafc.org/vcos or www.vcos.org.

Opening New Doors balances non-prescriptive model practices and recommended guidelines, with a core emphasis on the need to understand and adhere to current local and state laws—which vary widely— and federal regulations.

“Most departments are eager to engage young people who want to be of service, but the IAFC recognized there was no national-level guidance on how to effectively form and operate a youth program,” said Chief Timothy S. Wall, VCOS Chairman. “Our

s

two others. Not so much. It took us 40 minutes the first time. I did set it up several other times, though, each time with people who had never seen it before, and we were able to consistently put it up in about 10 minutes.

Te first two times we set up the shelter, it was warm outside and we needed some shade. Te shelter was at least 10 degrees cooler inside—a great relief from the sun. Te last time we set it up, it was cold and windy. Te shelter cut off the wind and allowed the sun to heat the sides and make it comfortable inside. Everyone really seemed to like the product, commenting on how much more comfortable it was inside the shelter.

Te 16' x 16' shelter is very spacious. Tere’s enough room to place three to four cots inside with plenty of room to move around.

Once the main structure itself is set up, the rest of the shelter only takes a few minutes to assemble. You can place a vinyl floor down, if you wish. Te walls are secured to the base cross members, keeping the walls tight. Each wall has several windows with a flap that will allow in sunlight when open. Te windows can be opened or closed for ventilation, and each window has an unmovable screen to keep out dust, dirt and critters.

Te walls of the shelter come in two sections, with a distinct inside and outside, top and bottom. Each time we put it up, we initially attempted to put the walls up outside-in. Oops. Te first time, I tried to put them on upside down. Another oops. Note: If you buy this product, I recommend labeling each wall top/bottom, inside/outside. Another thing to consider when placing the walls on is putting the door in the center of the legs; there’s also a mark on the inside of each cross support top rail indicating where to place the door. Each wall has a door, several windows and ventilation inlets and outlets. Te Rehab Vehicle Kit has the ability to have additional components added for ventilation, heating and air conditioning, all of which help create a comfortable climate for someone in rehab.

Te top portions of the walls are secured to the structure by Velcro, and the top is then secured to the walls by additional Velcro, creating a very sturdy connection. Tere was a slight breeze outside each time we assembled the shelter, and the Velcro stayed connected. A high-wind tension system is also provided so the shelter can be secured in the ground.

Note: We did have one problem on a cold day. Te walls attached without a problem but the roof didn’t attach on all sides; the vinyl just wouldn’t stretch far enough so we could attach it. A company representative said this was likely due to the simple fact that vinyl isn’t great for stretching—but it will last significantly longer than other materials.

Bottom line: I really liked this product, as it can serve as much more than just a rehab station. Its versatility

NIOSH Reports Recently Released To read the complete reports, visit www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/ F2009-04: One career firefighter dies and another is seriously injured in a singlevehicle rollover crash Date: Dec. 31, 2008 Location: Georgia F2009-20: Fire chief suffers sudden cardiac death after stretching a hoseline at a structure fire April 12, 2008 Location: Mississippi

F2008-11: A career firefighter dies and a career engineer is seriously injured investigating smoke resulting from a manhole fire Date: March 26, 2008 Location: California F2009-15: Captain suffers sudden cardiac death just after physical exercise and one day after fire training Date: Jan. 31, 2008 Location: Maryland

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goal was to take a proactive approach in order to reduce the risk of litigation, serious injuries and even death, which can be a reality when youth are engaged without a structured program in place.”

Opening New Doors helps fire departments avoid potential pitfalls and provides a step-by-step guide for initiating a youth program. For those with a program in place, the document offers an opportunity to review the national-level guidance to ensure all critical elements are covered. Te report provides recommended practices and sample documents, along with an overview of administrative, legal, recruitment/ retention and marketing, safety, and education and training issues.

News

Gettin’ Older

NFPA report shows dangerous aging trend in firefighters protecting small communities

F

or the first time since the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) began tracking the age of firefighters by community size in 1987, the majority of firefighters protecting communities of fewer than 2,500 are 40 years of age or older. In 1987, more than 63 percent of firefighters protecting communities of 2,500 or less were under the age of 40. Tere are slightly more than 400,000 firefighters (out of 1.15 million total) protecting communities with populations of 2,500 or less, including 399,000 volunteer firefighters.

“For years, volunteer fire departments across the country have been reporting that it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit and retain new members,” says National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. “Given what we have been hearing from our members, this report is disheartening but not at all surprising.”

Tere are a variety of reasons that younger people aren’t joining volunteer fire departments in the same numbers as in the past. Many young people leave rural areas for better employment opportunities in more densely populated areas. Tose who remain in small communities are often forced to commute long distances to and from work, reducing the free time that they have available to commit to the volunteer fire service. Perhaps most significantly, more stringent training requirements in recent decades have dramatically increased the initial time commitment for new volunteer firefighter recruits.

“Increased training standards make firefighters more effective at their job and ultimately reduce losses of life and property from fire,” said NVFC Health and Safety

For more information about volunteer recruitment and retention issues, read “Saving Stories”

by Tiger Schmittendorf on p. 28, and “Each One, Reach One” by Hanley Brite and Larry Sagen on p. 34.

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March 2010

Committee Chairman Kenn Fontenot. “At the same time, we have to be realistic about how we structure training delivery—how it is funded, where and when it is offered and attitudes toward training—to ensure that volunteer fire departments aren’t forced to choose between adequate staffing levels and adequate training.”

In recent years, many communities have begun incentive programs to improve recruitment and retention efforts, providing modest benefits to volunteer personnel in the form of stipends, pay-per-call and training, length of service award programs (pensionlike programs), and non-monetary benefits ranging from awards banquets to gym memberships. Te NVFC supports several federal bills that would make it easier for local communities to provide recruitment and retention benefits, including the following: Te Volunteer Emergency Services Recruitment and Retention Act (H.R. 1792), Te Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3666) and Te Fire Grants Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3791). (For more information about these bills, visit www. nvfc.org.)

In addition to working on federal legislation, the NVFC operates several national programs designed to increase the capacity of fire departments. Te Fire Corps program assists departments in the recruitment and retention of non-operational volunteers, who perform various fire department tasks and functions, allowing firefighters to focus on emergency response. Te National Junior Firefighter Program helps volunteer departments engage young people who can potentially become active firefighters when they reach the required age.

“We need creative solutions to recruit and retain the next generation of volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel,” Stittleburg said. “Te world that we live in is changing and if we don’t adapt to meet new challenges, fire protection in thousands of communities across the country will suffer for it. Hopefully, reaching this unfortunate milestone will serve as a wake-up call for fire service leaders and elected officials across the country about the importance of re-doubling efforts to recruit and retain volunteer firefighters.”

NVFC Releases White Paper on Training in the Volunteer Fire Service The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) is committed to ensuring that volunteer firefighters have an appropriate level of training to safely and effectively carry out their responsibilities. As part of its efforts, the NVFC has released a white paper concerning training in the volunteer fire service and the need for improvement. The NVFC white paper focuses on the need for proper training to ensure the safety and effectiveness of firefighters and also examines several barriers to implementing basic training in volunteer fire departments. These barriers include lack of resources, lack of convenient training options for volunteers, and a lack of emphasis on training from leadership within fire departments. Download the white paper at www.nvfc.org/training.

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March 2010

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apparatusideas

Monster Truck The Morrison Fire Department’s new brush truck is built for more than just grass fires

I

By Bob Vaccaro

f you had the chance to visit FDIC 2009, you most certainly came across a really large vehicle in the Alexis display area. Te truck caught my eye and, of course, I had to find out more about this huge apparatus. After looking over the vehicle, I wasn’t disappointed.

I’ve written positively about other Alexis vehicles, and this one was no exception in terms of quality and workmanship. Built for the Morrison (Ill.) Fire Department (MFD) to replace its aging brush truck, the end result is an apparatus built for the wildland/ urban interface, capable of a lot more than just putting out grass fires.

Speccing it Out

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Te MFD was founded in 1876 with 10 volunteers; it was originally called the Jackson Hose Company.

Today, the department has 30 volunteers and operates not as a tax district with a board of directors, but as a non-profit corporation that survives by collecting operating expenses generated through direct billing of rural subscribers. Te MFD also contracts with the City of Morrison, which provides an additional source of revenue.

Te apparatus committee consisted of five members—the chief, a captain and three firefighters; they began planning in September 2007.

“We had a 1969 International John Bean brush truck that we were in need of replacing,” says Scott Allison, one of the apparatus committee members.

MFD 1st Asst. Chief Joe Bielema had the idea to “design a vehicle similar to the John Bean type of operation, but meeting today’s standards,” Allison says.

Te vehicle they designed was to be used primarily for brush fires, but also for relay pumping on the fireground. “Our response district serves and protects the city limits of Morrison and a rural area of 160 square miles,” Allison says. “Te area consists of hilly and flat terrain in both an urban and rural environment, and the truck had to work well in both areas. Our biggest target hazard is the Union Pacific Railroad’s main east-west line running through our response area.”

Te MFD sent out a request for proposals to five different apparatus manufacturers, but Alexis was the only apparatus manufacturer to come close to meeting the specs.

All photos courtesy Alexis

The Morrison (Ill.) Fire Department’s new brush truck is built on a 2009 International 7400, two-door, 4 x 4 chassis.

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apparatusideas

Working With Alexis

The rear of the vehicle includes an electric rolldown compartment.

Big Brush Truck Specs

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• Chassis: International 7400 two-door 4 x 4 • Engine: 330-hp MaxxForce 9 diesel • Transmission: Allison 3500 EVS automatic • Body: Heavy-duty 3/16" aluminum • Length: 22 feet, 11 inches • Wheelbase: 177 inches • Height: 9 feet, 9 inches • 300-gallon UPF body with 20-gallon foam tank • Top operator’s panel • 500-gallon Waterous CP-3 two-stage pump • 9,000-lb. Ramsey QM winch • Freecom foam proportioner system • Foam Pro Power Fill foam tank refill system

Following a preconstruction meeting with Alexis, the committee decided to have the manufacturer build a mock-up of the body so they could see the overall height of the vehicle. “It worked to our advantage, because once we saw it, we realized we had to redesign the vehicle and cut off 1 foot of the height,” Allison says.

Te MFD found a willing partner in Alexis. “We made nine changes to the vehicle during the construction process,” Allison says. “Tey were receptive and willing to make the vehicle fit our standards.”

Another good fit with Alexis: Te manufacturer is located just 90 minutes from the MFD’s response district, allowing for frequent visits. “Teir opendoor policy allowed our apparatus committee access to their factory at all times,” Allison says. “Tey also provided us with weekly e-mail updates and photos so we could see everything that was going on with the build.”

Tis is no ordinary brush truck. It features a twostage Waterous pump that provides 500 gpm at 150 psi for volume and 60 gpm with 500 psi for pressure—just about equal to the MFD’s old John Bean.

Te whole vehicle can be operated from the cab with the exception of the valves. It also has a drive-control differential lock, rear doors with electric shutter controls and an electronic tank-to-pump valve.

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apparatusideas

mock-up proved critical, since they had to make a major height modification for the vehicle to fit their needs. I’ve heard many horror stories about departments failing to measure correctly during the speccing and building processes, only to have the vehicle delivered too long or too high to fit in their station.

Check all your specs before and during the construction phase of your apparatus. Doing so after it’s completed is definitely too late. Note: Although you might not have the convenience of the manufacturer being located close to your area, you can hire outside consultants to make several trips to the factory to check on the status. If cost is a deterrent to that, then at least have weekly photos sent to you for review.

Remember: Tis is a large investment for your department. In some cases the vehicle might be in service 20 years or more. Get it right the first time with proper planning.

The officer’s side features a portable 9,000-lb. winch and high-pressure hoseline.

As with any apparatus purchase, service after the sale was an important part of the equation, and the MFD wasn’t disappointed. “We couldn’t be happier with Alexis,” Allison says. “Tere were no major problems with the vehicle. It’s one of the easiest trucks to operate in our station.”

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.

CheCk Your SpeCS Te MFD covered all of its bases with the design and delivery of this unique vehicle. Requesting the

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Fireattack

The Wrong Place at the Wrong Time Apparatus positioning problems & solutions

I

n the past few Fire Attack columns, we’ve focused on identifying engine company problems on the fireground, as well as possible solutions to those problems. Te discussion has included problems/issues related to crew cohesion, understanding personal tasks and expectations, and knowing what your crewmembers are doing on the fireground. In this column, I’ll focus on problems related to apparatus positioning on the incident scene and their potential solutions.

By Greg Jakubowski

PositioninG Errors Tere are a number of errors engine companies can make regarding positioning. Engine companies can position in locations that put them in danger of exposure to the fire or incident, or in a place that’s not optimal for using engine company equipment. Te rig may start out in a perfect position to perform the initial attack, but if the crew doesn’t consider the progression of the fire, they may need to deploy the deck gun or aerial master stream. If your deck gun isn’t designed to operate 360 degrees around the apparatus (and many aren’t), you have a problem.

LSI

16 Apparatus/ Equipment safety

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Photo Cary UlriCh

For more, visit everyonegoeshome .com/initiatives.html

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Improper positioning can also result in: • Inability to access the fire department connection or another water supply; • Difficulty deploying the appropriate hoseline, whether pulled from the front, side or rear of the apparatus; • Inability to deploy aerial ladder jacks or access ground ladders from the aerial or other engine companies; • Inability to protect the scene or personnel; • Deployment of hoselines that block access for the truck, EMS or other special service company (rescue squad). (Patient transport presents special challenges at the scene, as EMS units must not only position on the scene to access the patient, but they must also be able to quickly and easily load patients into the unit for transport.)

• Positioning of headlights or other clear primary lights that doesn’t effectively illuminate the area for oncoming traffic, or causes a distraction for oncoming traffic.

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Engine companies can make a number of errors when trying to position their apparatus at the fire scene. Forgetting the needs of other responding apparatus is one of them. When working with water tenders, as shown above, it’s critical for engine companies to leave room for them (or lay hose) so they can move through the scene, and turn around if necessary, to either nurse or dump their load.

March 2010

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Photo Fireground 360

fireattack

Always consider taking a position that allows you to not only stretch handlines, but also to effectively bring your master stream device(s) to bear.

Consider the Possibilities Engine companies, as they arrive on scene, must size up not only what’s currently happening at the incident, but also what may occur during the incident. Does a seemingly small fire have the potential to grow? Will you need to stretch larger attack lines, or place master stream devices into service? If so, make sure that the engine company is in a position to provide access for as many attack lines as possible—particularly the larger attack lines as well as the master stream—so they can reach the fire building and/or protect any exposure buildings if needed.

Is there the potential for failure of utility services, such as natural gas, propane or electric lines? Could the fire cause a collapse of the structure, possibly placing the engine company in harm’s way?

Consider positioning clear of the collapse zone, but be sure your attack lines are set up to be long enough to reach into the building from those locations.

ConneCt to FdCs

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Besides enabling the deployment of attack lines, engine companies also need to position so they can utilize fire department connections (FDCs) on buildings equipped with them (for more on FDCs, read “Make Connections,” FireRescue magazine, September 2009, p 28).

Not every arriving engine company will need to connect to FDCs, but one or more engine company must be assigned to this task. It must also be made clear which companies are assigned to this task, and they must position themselves in such a way that they can gain a water supply and pump the connection safely.

ProteCt the sCene One of the most important engine company tasks: protecting the scene of a vehicle accident. Companies can do this via proper apparatus placement. Tere have been multiple articles published, classes presented and Web sites dedicated to the issue of protecting personnel on scene.

Engine company chauffeurs must consider where their crews will be operating and the direction of traffic, and position the apparatus so that it protects as many operating positions as possible. Apparatus can be angled across one or more lanes, or the entire road, if road closure is required.

Engine companies must also look out for oncoming traffic. Chauffeurs

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should shut off headlights once they park the apparatus at the scene, particularly when headlights will be aimed at oncoming traffic. Headlights can blind drivers in oncoming vehicles, making it impossible for drivers to see personnel working around the apparatus.

Make RooM foR MoRe

Photo fireground 360

Lastly, the chauffeur must consider additional arriving apparatus and where they will need to set up. EMS transport units will need to get in and out of the scene. Heavy-rescue units and apparatus with aerials and light towers will need to get close to the incident if their equipment is needed.

Aerial apparatus are likely to take the direct front, the direct back or the corner of a building. Engine companies that frequently work with the same aerial apparatus will quickly grow accustomed to that.

Engine companies that don’t frequently work with the same aerial apparatus may need a little help.

Allowing room directly in front in the rear of the fire building enables the aerial apparatus driver to put the turntable in the best position to sweep the entire face of the building. If a corner is available, the aerial apparatus may want to position the turntable on the corner of the building so that the aerial can sweep two sides of the building. Remember: To place the aerial device into service, the apparatus must lower its jacks, so be sure to leave extra space on both sides of the apparatus.

Remember to leave room for the ladder where appropriate! Many departments like to leave Side A or the AB or AD corner for the ladder truck.

ConClusion Positioning your engine company on the scene isn’t a difficult task, but it does take some thought. You must not only consider the current situation on the fireground, but what might happen as the situation unfolds.

Making a positioning mistake with your engine company can severely hamper your ability to perform, as well as the ability for additional apparatus to perform. Tis can create ongoing difficulties at an emergency scene. To avoid these and other issues, take some time with your crew to walk the target hazards in your area, preplanning the most effective operating locations.

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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photo istock.com

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he Evans Center Fire Hall was just around the corner, a few hundred yards from my house, as the crow flies.

Growing up so close, the firehouse was an obvious choice as a place to hang out with my friends. We helped out at the carnivals and other fundraisers, and when they added a banquet hall, we helped the contractors move supplies. My initials are carved in the sidewalk they poured. I was 8.

And, of course, we ran to the curb whenever the fire siren went off.

It was loud, and it seemed to cycle forever. With the windows open on a warm summer night, you could hear a siren from a fire station 10 miles away.

Whenever we heard its distinctive wail, we would run out and look to see if the fire trucks were coming down our road. We watched them race out of the station, lights flashing and sirens whining. Te firefighters in their rubber coats and boots and metal helmets were strapped to the tailboard of the fire engine by a coarse rope belt that had a sharp hook on the end that would gut you like a fish if it ever caught you. I still have one of those.

Oh, how we wanted to be those guys.

Every firefighter I meet speaks of how, from the time they were very young, they dreamed of being a firefighter. I was one of those kids. I call them “run-to-the-curb”-type kids.

So where’s the lesson in these childhood memories?

Storytelling & “the loSt yearS”

Made to Stick Very early into their book “Made to Stick,” brothers Chip and Dan Heath point to the fire service’s success in sharing stories as a means of sharing experiences, passing down critical information to their successors. Te book focuses on why some ideas survive while others die.

“Firefighters naturally swap stories after every fire, and by doing so they multiply their experience; after years of hearing stories, they have a richer, more complete mental catalog of critical situations they might confront during a fire and the appropriate responses to those situations,” they say in describing the sixth principle of their “stickiness” theory.

Te Heath brothers are not firefighters.

Chip is a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford. Dan is a former researcher at Harvard. Te book is about many businesses, including the business of delivering emergency services. But you don’t need to be a Stanford or Harvard graduate to figure out that they’re right.

“After years of hearing stories, firefighters have a richer mental catalog of critical situations they might confront during a fire & the appropriate responses to those situations.”

Te need for storytelling in the fire service has never been greater. We may be winning the battle of fire prevention, but as our fire load goes down, so does our experience level.

Many volunteers describe their departments as consisting of a stable cadre of firefighters with 5 years of experience (or less) and a dwindling cache of responders with 15 years of experience or more. However, we lack personnel with 5–15 years of experience. We lack depth and qualified “bench strength” in our organizations.

Let’s first take a look at what transpires after our first 5 years in the fire service. Te next 10 years are supposed to be the officerdevelopment phase. We’ve captured their attention; they’re getting the hang of things and hopefully growing toward a position of increased responsibility and leadership.

If we match this same 10-year niche against the common 25–35year-old demographic that fills this slot, we come up against another obstacle. In this time warp I affectionately call “the lost years,” most volunteer firefighters are going through a time of significant personal and professional growth—marriage, career advancement, families, home ownership, etc.

Furthermore, it’s my belief that this 10-year gap in experience directly correlates to a 10-year spell in the 1990s and beyond when, in an effort to elevate our status in the community, we focused more on appearing, sounding and being professional—and less on our people.

Some of us even dropped the word “volunteer” from volunteer fire department. Worse yet, we let our trusted position as the social epicenter of the community run out the end of the hoseline.

We viewed storytelling as boring bragging. We disregarded our senior March 2010

firefighters. Our answer to retention was to increase our recruitment efforts. People became disposable. We didn’t value our values.

Let’s face it: Every time a senior member of your department steps out of the line, retires or dies, we lose years and years of valuable experience—years you can’t put a price on and may never regain. In the past 10 years, our turnover rate skyrocketed until, like the stock market, the bubble burst.

What did that buy us? We invested heavily in things that are useless without the right quantity and quality of people to staff them.

I often say that you can tell the difference between those who have the fire service in their blood, and those who don’t. It’s an addiction.

And like anything else that can get in your blood, it can hurt you if you let it. Tis harsh reality reminds us to prioritize our first family first, and to balance our love for the fire service with our love for those who love us and the other important things in our life.

What We need Te first thing I do in the leadership conversations I hold with firefighters around the country is to bring them to consensus that 95 percent of the challenges we face are back at the firehouse, not on the fire scene.

Despite this revelation, we invest our time, energy and our money, in the exact opposite proportion. I have yet to find a volunteer fire department that invests as much as 1 percent of their net budget back into the one asset required to make every other resource work: their people.

What does that buy us? Apparatus we can’t staff, calls we can’t cover and other functions of the fire department that are dysfunctional.

So what do we do? Conduct a needs assessment. Break down your membership by age, years of experience, training level and skill sets.

You might be shocked at what you find. Ten complete a skills assessment of your people and match it against your needs assessment.

Identify and address your gaps.

Invest heavily in education—yours and theirs—and not just tactics and strategies but organizational management, too. Take notes. Talk to people who’ve had success in successful organizations. Learn from their experiences.

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photo Brian Meroney

Truly train and nurture your replacements. Mentor, model and mold the future of your fire department. Motivate and cultivate.

Te Heaths finished their fire service analogy with, “Research shows that mentally rehearsing a situation helps us perform better when we encounter that situation in the physical environment. Similarly, hearing stories acts as a kind of mental flight simulator, preparing us to respond more quickly and effectively.”

Call me crazy, but it’s almost as if they’ve figured out our business.

I just hope we can, too.

Our ability to share information and experiences through effective storytelling will be a critical skill set in sustaining the future of the fire service.

Find the Passion inside

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I think the next 10 years are pivotal to the survival and success of the volunteer fire service as we know it today. Without smart investments in our people, we’ll never see a return on any of our other investments.

For those who were run-to-the-curb kids, remember what it was that attracted you to the fire service in the first place. Re-instill the old excitement, curiosity and fun that takes you back to your childhood, and makes you run to the apparatus floor.

If you weren’t one of those kids, you’ve got your work cut out for you, but like everything else in the fire service, we can adapt and overcome.

Start by reminding yourself of what brought you to the fire service and use that as a jumping-off point to self-motivate your passion for the job.

And, if you can invigorate that kid-like level of enthusiasm in others, you’ve got a new firefighter fulfilling their life-long dream—or an experienced firefighter fanning new flames of eagerness for what we do.

Become a storyteller Our ability to share information and experiences through effective story telling will be a critical skill set in sustaining the future of the fire service. It’s a form of mentoring, of teaching and of leading.

Our contagiousness, our ability to spread our fever for the fire service, our “love for the job,” as Chief Rick Lasky calls it, is critical to the survival of the fire service as we know it, now.

Storytelling passes on our traditions, conveys our values and protects the rich heritage of the fire service. So become a great storyteller, a trusted source. Share your knowledge and experience. Give back.

Demonstrate a real desire to develop your replacements. Become more engaged with your people than ever before. Be a real leader. Care.

And run to the curb!

Tiger Schmittendorf serves as deputy fire coordinator for the Erie County Department of Emergency Services in Buffalo, N.Y. He created a recruitment effort that doubled his own fire department’s membership and netted more than 500 new recruits countywide. Schmittendorf is a nationally certified fire instructor and has been a firefighter since 1980. Connect with him on FirefighterNation. com, visit his blog at www.tigerschmittendorf.com and tell your story at www.runtothecurb.com.

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Photo courtesy chief Billy GiBson

Photo courtesy Larry sagan

Left: Facilitator Hanley Brite works with Sumter County (S.C.) fire personnel during a series of exercises to map the demographics of their communities and identify the formal and informal recruiters as well as new potential sources of volunteers.

Opposite Page: Anderson County (S.C.) Fire Department volunteers participate in training. Volunteer fire agencies in South Carolina are taking part in a pilot program designed to increase volunteer recruitment.

olunteer fire and EMS departments comprise one of the largest volunteer corps in the country, with a workforce of more than 820,000. Tey’re an invaluable asset for public safety, prevention, EMS, national security and survival and support during natural disasters. Yet the volunteer fire service may be headed down the path of extinction. Te economy, generational shifts and increased training requirements, at a minimum, have all contributed to a “perfect storm,” challenging the existence of volunteer fire and EMS departments.

In many respects, this is a “risk management” question. As risk management guru Gordon Graham reminds us, “If it’s predictable, it’s preventable.” Rather than simply continuing what we’ve always done, it’s time to assess the situation. Like risk management on the fireground, we must determine whether we make an offensive attack or hold a defensive position: Do we live or let die?

RecRuiting & Retaining VolunteeRs Finding, training, inspiring, developing and keeping volunteers are essential aspects of the volunteer fire service. However, recruiting and retaining volunteers are challenges that plague most volunteer departments. Part of the problem is that we may be our own worst enemy, so we must examine our current recruitment and retention practices, and make changes where needed.

FIRE 20/20, a nonprofit organization working with recruitment and retention in the fire service, recently developed the Each One, Reach One volunteer recruitment and retention program for the South Carolina Firefighters Association (SCFA). Te goal of the program: to explore and address the underlying issues in March 2010

volunteer recruitment, and go well beyond just developing a media campaign to try to get more people to come in the door.

Te program addresses volunteer fire department culture barriers, leadership challenges, changes in management strategies, targeted recruitment design and new ways to connect with communities to overcome volunteer recruitment and retention barriers.

Carter Jones, a retired South Carolina fire chief and an icon in South Carolina’s volunteer fire service, and Joe Palmer, executive director of the SCFA, were instrumental in bringing the program to South Carolina.

Tey enlisted FIRE 20/20’s help because they realized the need to come at the problem from a new direction.

As they noted, media campaigns get the word out, but they’re short term and aren’t measurably effective. Tey wanted to get to the heart of what’s essentially a cultural issue, and then develop a systemic solution.

FIRE 20/20 conducted a 2-day focus group with volunteer and combination department leaders from around the state to identify the challenges, successes and unique qualities and traditions of South Carolina’s fire culture that impact volunteer recruitment and retention. Te focus group realized that recruitment and retention were completely intertwined.

Recruitment efforts and results directly affected retention of both veteran and rookie firefighters. Likewise, job satisfaction, firehouse environment and a sense of belonging affected the departments’ ability to recruit new firefighters.

5 Key stRategies Te focus group identified and agreed on five key strategies that can improve recruitment and retention, which are outlined below.

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1. Revitalize a sense of purpose.

Once again, it comes down to leadership. When a volunteer department is facing funding challenges, old equipment, volunteer recruitment and retention issues and retirements, to mention but a few, it’s easy to focus on the challenges and lose a sense of vision, values and purpose. Kitchen-table energy grows negative. Playful banter turns into personal digs. Tis kind of atmosphere makes it difficult, if not impossible, to find and enroll potential future volunteers who are excited about investing their time, energy and commitment. Leading on the fireground is a very different skill set than what’s required and needed to revitalize and lead a volunteer department in today’s changing environment.

Departments must be willing to look in the mirror & ask hard questions about how approachable & inclusive they are.

2. Be approachable and inclusive.

What happens when we run out of friends and family?

Te focus group identified that volunteer departments still have a “good ol’ boy club” mentality. Tey vote people in or out, and the selection process is not necessarily based on skills needed to do the job. It’s difficult for newcomers or those who are “different” to feel like they belong. With a strong majority of volunteer firefighters being white males over 40 years of age, the culture may not feel inviting for women, minorities and people under 30. To be successful in finding and retaining qualified, inclusive and safe volunteer firefighters, departments must be willing to look in the mirror and ask hard questions about how approachable and inclusive they are for the next generation of volunteers.

3. Better compete for discretionary time.

Everyone is busy today. Time (or lack thereof) is the great equalizer—and the challenge to finding and keeping qualified volunteer firefighters. From the fire department side of the equation, it takes a great deal of time to go out into the community to actively recruit the next generation of volunteer firefighters. Most volunteer firefighters didn’t come into the fire service to be recruiters, and they see time spent recruiting in conflict with other aspects of their lives, such as their firefighting training, their primary jobs, their families and their extracurricular activities.

From the potential recruit’s perspective, it takes a lot of time to get trained before they ever get a chance to fight a working fire. One of the disservices we do to potential volunteers is we sell the sizzle and not the realities of being a volunteer firefighter. We show them the pictures and tell them the hero stories, creating a disconnect between what they imagine and the reality of the experience. Because we’re competing for their time, when this dissonance takes place, many young volunteers decide

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they’d rather spend their discretionary time in other meaningful activities.

4. Ensure incentives meet individual needs.

Incentives for our parents’ generation or even our generation may not be what motivates the next generation of volunteer firefighters. T-shirts, logo gear and new trucks may be important for some, but may not be for a new generation. During the Each One, Reach One training in South Carolina, we invited cadets and new volunteer firefighters to tell us what was meaningful to them. For some, it was that they were invited to the table to be asked their opinions. Te simple answer to the incentive question is: Don’t assume. Ask what’s meaningful to new firefighters.

5. Adapt training to fit volunteers.

Volunteer firefighters have never before faced the myriad required training, certifications and standards they face today. From a safety perspective, this training is critical, but it presents challenges for both the volunteers and the department. If we’re going to appeal to a new generation of volunteer firefighters, we must find a better way to offer training that meets the needs of both the volunteers and the departments and ensures that volunteer firefighters are well trained and safe on the job.

Tis is an issue that will need to be solved at a higher level in each state. South Carolina and other states are looking at online solutions to provide basic knowledge and use face-to-face/classroom training for how-to, experiential training. Te word is still out as to how effective this model will be. But one thing is sure—the next generation of volunteer firefighters is more comfortable with technology and more likely to embrace alternative methods of learning.

The PiloT Program Based on the five strategies identified in the focus group, FIRE 20/20 developed and delivered a statewide training program piloted with 25 departments during four regional, 2-day sessions. Note: Regional sessions were selected to reduce travel and expenses and also to build regional coalitions so departments could support one another.

Each of the participating departments was invited to come as a team of three (the fire chief and two other leaders in the department). Tis strategy helped to develop a leadership team during the training and build a base of support for action when returning to their department.

Evaluations showed this team training design was an important component of the program.

Day one looked at recruitment and retention from the inside out. Teams filled out a self-evaluation recruitment and retention “report card” to assess what was and wasn’t working. Tis served as a baseline for evaluating the success of their new efforts.

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becoming volunteer firefighters. Tis was an eye-opening experience and an opportunity for two-way learning for both the leaders and the young recruits.

A section of the workshop focused on the elements of a successful recruitment campaign, including: • Discovering the leaders’ and departments’ mindset about recruitment and retention.

• Identifying key leaders and organizations in the community that will assist with recruitment efforts.

• Developing and implementing a mentoring program.

• Identifying “recruitment messengers” both in the department and in the community.

• Setting up and convening productive community meetings with people who know nothing about volunteer fire departments.

• Identifying and capitalizing on other community activities or events that increase momentum.

• Choosing the most effective medium to reach the target audience.

• Developing messages that are meaningful for the target audience and move them to action.

Teams participated in a series of exercises to map the demographics of their communities and identified the formal and informal leaders who they might enroll and ask for help with volunteer recruitment. Tey also identified new potential sources of volunteers.

On day two, participants began constructing a strategic recruitment and retention plan for their departments that included a 1-year vision, 90-day goals and 30-day action plans.

Other aspects of the Each One, Reach One program included: • Two follow-up Webinars to coach participants, document successes, build the support network between departments, identify implementation challenges and explore future needs.

• A recruitment and retention Web site with successful volunteer profiles, volunteering information and volunteer department contact information.

• Six targeted radio PSAs. • Print collateral, including posters and materials about volunteer firefighting that can be easily and inexpensively customized by a department.

• Two recruitment videos.

What We Learned An underlying component of the program that contributed to its success was that the SCFA and FIRE 20/20 entered the project with open minds. Our goal was to gain a more in-depth understanding of the recruitment and retention challenges in South Carolina. Tis mindset created opportunities for all involved. Following are a few of the lessons we learned: • General media campaigns alone have little measurable long-term impact.

• Te most powerful and effective recruitment involves outreach through personal relationships.

• Volunteer leadership and firefighters are neither selected for their ability to recruit, nor have they ever received training in developing and implementing strategic recruitment programs.

• Local communities are unaware of the breadth and depth of services provided by local fire departments. Local departments do a poor job of establishing robust identities within their communities.

• Te new generation of recruits may have different values and desire different incentives than Boomers and Gen-Xers.

• Retention and recruitment are closely tied. We must address cultural issues. If the culture of the department is not welcoming and inclusive, it impacts both retention and recruitment.

Te SCFA has taken the next steps to sustain the program, forming an ad hoc committee that is identifying funding opportunities and strategies on how to train and support more departments. Teir successes will pave the way for other departments.

For more information on the Each One, Reach One program, go to www.fire2020. org or contact lsagen@fire2020.org.

Larry Sagen has worked with fire and emergency service departments throughout the United States and Canada in the areas of community-based prevention, change management, diversity, and volunteer recruitment and retention. In 2005, he started the non-profit FIRE 20/20 to help fire and EMS departments more effectively connect with their multicultural communities to increase the reach and effectiveness of prevention and targeted recruitment programs.

Hanley Brite is an independent consultant. He heads up leadership and change management for FIRE 20/20. Brite developed and facilitates the Each One, Reach One Volunteer Recruitment and Retention program and the Mastering Change in the Fire Service Workforce program, and is the co-developer of the Recruiting & Retaining Diversity in the Fire Service program.

He brings 35 years of experience from his work with fire, military, corporate, non-profit and government organizations.

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By Patrick Pauly

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Modern-day methods for determining appropriate pump pressures

As we all know, one critical task of any fire department is putting enough water on the fire. More specifically, a good pump operator knows the right pressures for each and every attack line, hose lay and water-movement function the apparatus is expected to perform. Making the pump do what you want it to do takes proper training and years of experience.

Fire departments will post the two or three most commonly used fire flows and corresponding pump pressures close to the pump panel. If the pump operator looks at the chart, they can easily find the number they need. Photo Doug Watson

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I’ve often heard apparatus operators remark that they operate the pump at the pressures they were taught by someone in their department. Although this may seem to be the right way to do business, too often the wrong methods were used to determine pump pressures in the first place, and those incorrect pressures are passed down from operator to operator. Additionally, automatic nozzles are often misunderstood, causing basic fire attack procedures to suffer from improper pump pressure.

Te bottom line: Te fire service serving rural North America relies upon pre-connected handlines to extinguish about 90 percent of their fires, and if the pump pressures aren’t correct, these firefighters are working in situations that are less safe, less efficient and far more challenging.

Then & now

Tricks of The Trade Another interesting change has occurred in rural fireground water movement. Until the 1970s, most fire departments relied upon 2 ½" or maybe 3" supply hose to move water through long hose relays.

Today, in most parts of the country, the fire service relies heavily on large-diameter hose (LDH). Most fire departments today use 5" hose, but some use 4" hose and others even use 6" hose.

Friction loss is greatly reduced with LDH, making long relays much safer and easier to accomplish. Although different brands and styles of hose will produce different results, many people use the friction loss figures of 6.6 or 7 psi per 100 feet of hose for 1,000 gpm moving through the hose. Tat makes calculations fairly easy when operating relays with 5" LDH. Note: Don’t forget that elevation is a factor; allow 5 psi for every 10 feet of elevation. (Add if pumping uphill and subtract if pumping downhill.)

Another neat trick is to place the commonly used figures on a chart near the pump operator’s panel. Tis is a good idea not only for fiction loss figures in different sizes of hose, but it’s also popular in many rural Pennsylvania fire departments for their pre-connected attack lines. Fire departments will post the two or three most commonly used fire flows and corresponding pump pressures close to the pump panel. (As stated earlier, our pre-connects handle about 90 percent of our fires.) If the pump operator looks at the chart, they can easily find the number they need.

Sometimes pump operators struggle with proper pump pressures when filling tankers/tenders. Te cause of the problem is

s

I’ve often said that just looking at the pump panel causes confusion because of all the gauges, levers, knobs and other “crap.” But once you’re shown what these items do, it becomes clear that each serves a vital function. Safety is the pump operator’s major concern, and all these items help make the operation safer.

A look at fire apparatus from the 1960s or early 1970s reveals pump panels without a pressure gauge for each discharge. But since then, NFPA 1901: Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus was created, requiring gauges for each discharge. And the increase or decrease of the revolutions per minute (rpms) of the motor was previously controlled with a Vernier-style hand throttle cable, but this is now done electronically with a switch or button.

Nozzle pressures were relatively simple for a long time: A smoothbore or solid-steam handline nozzle required 50 psi at the nozzle to operate correctly; a smooth-bore master stream tip required 80 psi at the tip; and a combination nozzle on a handline or master-stream device required 100 psi at the tip—pretty easy to remember. If you knew the size of the tip, you knew the gallons per minute (gpm) if you supplied the correct pressure to it. In-line foam equipment, in most cases, required 200 psi at the inlet side of the eductor to

operate correctly. If that wasn’t accomplished, foam was not picked up by the tube.

Today’s technology and research have provided us with many variations. Many combination handline nozzles operate at 50 or 75 psi.

Manufacturers also make mid- and low-pressure foam equipment.

Te key to making nozzles operate correctly is first understanding how to get the water into and out of the pump, then knowing what equipment is on the end of the discharge.

Photos Doug Watson

Above: Just looking at the pump panel can cause confusion because of all the gauges, levers and knobs. But once you’re shown what these items do, it becomes clear that each serves a vital function.

Right: It’s the responsibility of training officers, chiefs and other experienced operators to make sure that all of their personnel can safely and effectively run the pump.

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The fire service serving rural North America relies upon pre-connected handlines to extinguish about 90 percent of their fires, and if the pump pressures aren’t correct, these firefighters are working in situations that are less safe and less efficient.

Photo Fireground360

the lack of a nozzle or restriction on the end of the fill lines. When filling tankers/tenders, hoselines are typically hooked to and flowing through a line or valve that may be 2 ½ inches to 5 inches in diameter. Tis doesn’t produce the same results we’re used to seeing when pumping through a hoseline with the nozzle on the end. Te lack of a restriction makes it difficult to find the right pump pressure. Te solution: Have your pump operators reference the test plate on the apparatus, usually near the operator’s position. If the operator sets the pump at the listed rpm that was used when the pump was tested at 100 percent capacity at 150 psi, pump capacity can hopefully be obtained. Of course, you must make sure there’s enough water entering the pump through the necessary intakes to reach capacity.

Practice Makes Perfect Most volunteer fire departments rely heavily upon pump operators who are unable to attend as many training classes as they would like. Unlike a full-time job, the operators cannot get enough on-the-job experience to become very proficient. It’s therefore the responsibility of training officers, chiefs and other experienced operators to make sure that all of their people can safely and effectively run the pump.

Like most things in our lives, practice will increase your knowledge and ability to correctly operate the fire department’s pump.

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Patrick Pauly has 40 years in the fire service. He is employed full-time as a fire service education specialist at the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy, teaching on-campus classes and coordinating other training programs.

As a volunteer, he spent 31 years in the Lewistown (Pa.) Fire Department, the last 7 as deputy chief. He is currently chief of the West Granville Fire Company, located in Granville Township, Pa. Pauly is nationally certified at several levels and is a Pennsylvania state-certified EMT. He holds an associate’s degree in computer science technology.

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The fire service is slowly but surely embracing new technology to expedite fireground operations. One type of technology that can greatly improve overall response: digital pre-plans. Digital pre-plans can be used while en route to the scene and while on the scene. They allow responders to have updated building plans at their fingertips—information that can alert firefighters to pre-existing hazards and save lives.

Photo Ryan BaBRoff

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MakIng new-age PlanS Department’s emergency response is transformed by digital pre-plans

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The SIgnIfIcance of goIng DIgITal Firefighters at the NCFD advocated for a digital pre-plan system for 6 years before it was implemented. Why? One night, an elementary school in North Charleston caught fire. No students were present, but about an hour into the situation, we finally located the pre-plan and discovered it was 2 years old and useless.

early reSISTance Despite the obvious need, many people initially resisted the idea of switching from paper to

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By James Langdon

n October 2008, the North Charleston (S.C.) Fire Department (NCFD) implemented a mobile digital pre-plan system as well as a dispatching and mapping program. Te technology, called CommandScope, has made a major difference in how we respond to emergencies. We no longer need to rely on the pre-plan binder stored in the truck, which is usually outdated. (At times, it took us up to an hour to find crucial information at the scene of an incident.)

Now, we have all the information we need before we even leave the station. It takes just seconds to locate a building and pull up its digital pre-plan, which typically includes floor plans, hazardous materials, photos and much more vital information.

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making new-age plans digital pre-plans. In our department, many firefighters were “oldschool”; they weren’t used to working with computers and thought that our paper plans were adequate.

In reality, they were anything but. As I mentioned, our paper plans were often outdated and difficult to locate once on scene. In addition, the NCFD had a policy to keep paper pre-plans to one page per building. As a result, critical information was often missing or excluded.

Binder vs. Computer I was an advocate of moving to a digital system, but we couldn’t make the move unless we had the money to do so. So I took the idea to a member of our city council. Once I showed her the importance of switching to digital, she allowed me to present the idea to the other city council members during an arranged meeting.

At the meeting, I brought both the paper pre-plans and the preplan software on the mobile computer. I gave the huge binders to the council and told them we were both going to look up a building pre-plan by address, me via the computer and the council via the binders. Of course, I found my address within seconds, so it didn’t take much longer for the committee to be convinced. Te NCFD got the funding it needed.

How it works

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Before using digital pre-plans, we’d try to listen for the address number and street name as they were announced over the PA system.

Of course, the tones were going off at the same time, so getting the address correct was much more of a challenge.

Now, as soon as we get a 911 call, our dispatchers send the address and map directly to the mobile computers on our vehicles and apparatus. At this point, the digital system kicks in. En route to the incident, we can pull up a pre-plan and get a complete overview of the building’s layout, allowing us to immediately respond to the conditions at the scene upon arrival. Overall, we have access to so much more information than we ever did before. Te electronic preplans give firefighters details on everything from whether we should use offensive or defensive tactics when fighting a fire, to the type of material a building is made of, to what’s inside a building. Tere’s even a detailed hazmat section, which is invaluable.

keeping tHe system updated

Photo courtesy realView

Because the software is mobile, our crews are often out in the community, taking photos, making drawings, inspecting buildings and entering information directly into the database from mobile tablet

En route to an incident, fire departments can pull up a pre-plan and get a complete overview of a building’s layout, interior and exterior. As this photo shows, responders can view the interior of Loyola University Chicago’s first floor commons area.

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Image courtesy realVIew

Digital preplans can be as detailed as you make them. Here, our department not only uploaded an aerial shot of the Sheraton Hotel North Charleston Convention Center, but it has also marked the locations of hydrants near the building.

computers. Tey specifically look for structural details that can create unsafe conditions for firefighters. For example, we make note of which structures are truss buildings and which ones aren’t, and what the trusses are made of.

As a result, crews have the opportunity to become familiar with each property and analyze how they’d respond to an incident involving specific structures. It also allows us to know before we step into a situation whether there are trusses inside a given building, and if so, approximately how much time we’ll have before a truss fails, and whether or not we should fight the fire defensively or offensively. When these updates are uploaded, they’re available to all of our computers within minutes.

But we haven’t totally abandoned our old paper pre-plans. Our light-duty firefighters have taken our paper pre-plans and input the information into the digital system on desktop computers at the stations. Although the information is generally insufficient, it provides a starting point to the crews performing the on-site inspections.

Impact on command So far, our chiefs say that the system has impacted them primarily by enabling them to have information right at their fingertips. In addition to the overall speed of the system, there’s no paperwork, so there’s nothing to file, copy or distribute.

It’s also much easier for command to coordinate on scene. Te first officer on scene can pull up the necessary pre-plan. Ten when the battalion chief arrives, there’s much less explaining to do and it’s much easier to transfer command. By the time both officers arrive on scene, both have seen the same critical information about the building’s structure and hazards, so they can immediately start focusing on and discussing what’s taken place since the department first arrived.

a Work In progress

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Although we’ve completed a lot of digital pre-plans in a short time, we still have a ways to go. Tere are more than 6,000 businesses in the North Charleston area, and thus far, there are about 1,200 business pre-plans in the system.

Currently, 12 fire stations and 22 vehicles are equipped with this new technology, but we hope to roll out the system county-wide

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Making new-age Plans so dispatch services and other emergency services will have access to the same information. Our police department has shown particular interest in the system. Having the same pre-plan information will help them in multiple emergency situations.

Te NCFD continues to work with the city council to open a Web portal that will require businesses to submit pre-plan information in order to get their business licenses; homeowners will also be required to give information about their residences. Tis would of course add a great deal of valuable data to the system. Te technology is there; at this point, it’s just a matter of working with the city council to implement and promote it.

As a department, we continue to learn how best to use the system. Every day we discover a new way to enter information or new types of information. But we’re also constantly thinking of ways to improve the software. One of our firefighters suggested that we add information about fire flow, which will be included in the next version.

ConClusion Although the idea was difficult to push through at first, and we still have challenges with staff members adapting to the technology, the NCFD’s move from a paperdependent pre-plan system to a mobile, digital one has resulted in a dramatic decrease in time spent locating, using and updating pre-plans. For that reason alone, we

Factors to Consider If your department is thinking of implementing a digital pre-plan system, consider the following tips: • Realize that there will be people who resist moving to a digital system.

Some people won’t want to abandon the way they’ve always done things.

• Find advocates in your department and in your city council or a funding source.

• Show potential advocates how easy it is to use the program—don’t just tell them. My demonstration to the North Charleston City Council was critical in getting our funding.

• Create an action plan for uploading data into the system. In our case, the light-duty firefighters and field crews have made a large dent in entering pre-plan information for our city’s buildings.

could recommend purchasing a digital system.

But it’s more than that. We don’t yet have statistics on the number of people who’ve been rescued, or how many dangerous situations we’ve prevented or how much time we’ve saved by decreasing the amount of paperwork. But we do know that if a digital system had been in place during certain incidents, such as the Sofa Super Store Fire, the tragedies surrounding those incidents might never have occurred.

LSI 8 Technology For more, visit everyonegoeshome .com/initiatives.html

James Langdon is a captain with the North Charleston (S.C.) Fire Department.

He’s happy to provide additional insight and advice on implementing a digital pre-plan system and can be contacted at fflangdon@yahoo.com.

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PresiDenTÕs LeTTer IAFC BoArd Jeffrey D. Johnson PresiDent & chairMan of the BoarD John e. “Jack” Parow first Vice PresiDent al h. GillesPie seconD Vice PresiDent

By Chief Jeffrey D. Johnson, efo, Cfo, Mifiree

The Science Behind Our Business

Use data to your department’s advantage

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or decades, the fire service and most fire departments have collected data, such as call types, response times, fire loss, and EMS survival and discharge. But while many of us are good at collecting data, how good are we at analyzing and applying that data to improve our operation and, more importantly, to save lives?

To become and remain accredited, Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI)-accredited departments must demonstrate a solid data foundation and continuous improvement in key categories. But what if your department hasn’t reached that point yet?

Let’s take a look at how data used by fire departments around the world is making a difference.

iMProVinG serViCe & CosTs You can’t deny the fact that fires are diminishing and EMS and public service calls are growing. Faced with this data, doesn’t it make sense to look at alternative deployment models that include units other than 25 tons of steel and four firefighters on every call? Wake County (N.C.) EMS, the Shreveport (La.) Fire Department and a growing number of other departments are now using non-traditional units to respond to non-fire calls. Wake County’s program also conducts home visits to high-risk individuals with certain medical conditions with the goal of decreasing EMS response and ER visits.

Another great example: the Lancashire (United Kingdom) Fire Authority uses demographic and incident data to reduce fire risk in its most vulnerable communities.

With detailed risk information for each of its neighborhoods, Lancashire has reduced its number of high-risk neighborhoods by 50 percent in 2 years.

Life-sAVinG PUBLiC eDUCATion Using consumer data to develop messages that change behavior is nothing new to the private sector. Years ago, my home department, Tualatin Valley (Ore.) Fire & Rescue (TVF&R), took a page from the private-sector playbook following a rash of fatal apartment fires.

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TVF&R secured a Fire Act Grant and hired a private company to conduct research with local landlords and tenants. Te research highlighted the fact that landlords play a significant role in reducing fires and motivating tenant behavior. Armed with that data, TVF&R implemented a multi-faceted program that offers strategic resources and training for landlords. Today, not only have apartment fires decreased overall—while the number of apartments increased—but 98 percent of participating landlords have not suffered a significant fire after attending the training.

sUsTAineD fUnDinG A growing number of departments today are reliant upon voter-approved funding. How would you like to increase the odds that you maintain that funding? In 2004, TVF&R did just that by conducting a public attitude survey before asking its constituents for a local option levy (tax) renewal.

Te research showed that when someone knew more about TVF&R and its EMS role, they were more likely to support a tax renewal. In addition, the research highlighted that those who had interaction with TVF&R were 11–20 percent more likely to support a tax renewal. Te research helped us develop strategic messaging and underscored the value of our firefighters and staff interacting with the community on a regular basis. (Note: In the end, our renewal had a 71 percent voter-approval rating.)

in sUM Are you taking charge of the science behind our business?

Our organizations will ultimately be defined by data. Te issue is whether we choose to use it in determining our destiny. chief Jeff Johnson began his career as a ÞreÞghter in 1978, and he has served as Þre 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 ofÞcers, eMs, and safety, health and survival. chief Johnson is a national fire academy executive fire ofÞcer graduate and has received his chief fire ofÞcer (cfo) Designation.

larry J. GroruD PresiDent 2008–2009 williaM r. Metcalf treasurer richarD carrizzo Missouri Valley DiVision 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 Mark w. liGht, cae chief executiVe officer & executiVe Director ann DaVison, cae strateGic inforMation ManaGer FIrereSCue StAFF Jeff BerenD PuBlisher/Vice PresiDent tiMothy e. senDelBach eDitor-in-chief a.J. heiGhtMan eDitorial Director shannon PiePer ManaGinG eDitor cinDy DeVone-Pacheco Janelle foskett senior eDitors Jason Pelc art Director Mike shear Director of auDience DeVeloPMent & sales suPPort DeBBie Murray Director of MarketinG

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LEADERSHIP SKILLS BY cHIEf mARc REVERE

See the Future Develop & institutionalize your vision for change

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he fire chief is the person responsible for moving the organization in the right direction; their role as a visionary is crucial. Working with others inside and outside the organization, fire chiefs must scan the realm of future possibilities, while seeking clues to a more desirable destination for the organization. With that understanding, the chief can point the way to a new tomorrow by clearly communicating the organizational vision, preferably one so compelling that others will be inspired to follow.

But what does this process look like in more detail? To understand it, we need to look at the concept of transformational leadership.

DEfInIng TRAnSfoRmATIonAL LEADERSHIP When Chief Ron Coleman was the California State Fire Marshal, he created the Fire Chiefs Workshop for newly promoted fire chiefs. His goal was to provide them with all the resources the state had to offer and connections to key state personnel. Te workshop continued after his retirement in the mid-1990s, and I was later asked to take over the class. Due to a surge in chiefs retiring, we changed the name of the class to the Executive Leadership Institute and focused the content on transformational leadership in order to quickly develop new fire chiefs and their second-in-command officers.

Te foundation of this course was built upon the work of James MacGregor Burns. In the late 1970s, Burns developed the concept of transformational leadership for political leaders, which was later embraced by businesses.

He outlined four competencies: the ability to influence; the ability to inspire; the ability to see ideas and values that transform an organization; and the ability to help people meet their needs.

In the next decade, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner further refined this definition: “Transformational leaders attempt to raise the level of consciousness of followers by appealing to higher ideals and values and not emotions such as fear and greed. Transformational leadership uses charisma, provides individualized consideration and develops intellectual stimulation (to renew and reinvigorate the organization).”

PuTTIng IT InTo AcTIon OK, so now we have a definition for transformational leadership. But what does such leadership look like on

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a daily basis?

Leadership is often about where you focus your attention and how you balance various roles. To bring about transformation, the fire chief must spend equal amounts of time focusing on the inside and the outside of the organization.

Inside the organization, the chief focuses on inspiring, encouraging, motivating and empowering members; ensuring high-quality operations and organizational effectiveness; and anticipating trends and developments that will shape the future direction of the organization.

Outside the organization, the chief seeks assistance or support, recruits potential allies and forges connections with other community leaders.

In carrying out these functions, the chief employs different roles. Kouzes and Posner outlined four main roles leaders use: 1) visionary/strategist, 2) politician/campaigner, 3) coach and 4) change agent. Fire chiefs must be able to play each role and move seamlessly from one to the other.

Let’s think about this in another way. If you have a vision, then you need a strategy to facilitate it. Furthermore, you need to sell it (the politician’s role), and then coach or mentor members to accept and implement it.

All of this takes the organization (or an engine company) in a new direction.

Remember: Leadership (and this should never be underestimated) is about taking people or organizations where they need to go, not necessarily where they want to go.

THE cHAngE PRocESS We can describe the process of transformation simply, from start to finish: 1. Develop a vision; 2. Communicate it; 3. Develop an implementation strategy; and 4. Institutionalize the change.

In the book “On Leadership,” author John W. Gardner notes the importance of the first part of the process: “An important part of leadership involves casting vision. Some leaders forget to cast vision because they get caught up in managing. True leaders recognize a difference between leaders and managers. Managers are maintainers, tending to rely on system and controls. Leaders are innovators and creators who rely on people. Creative ideas become reality when people who are in a position to act catch the vision March 2010

of their innovative leaders.”

However powerful the vision, neglecting to sell it is always fatal. Once you have the buy-in of members, implementation becomes key. It’s not enough just to impart to members your vision of how the organization will look following the change; you must also break down the change into strategic initiatives—bits and pieces that make the change real and specific.

Institutionalizing the change may be the most difficult part of the process. People resist change (as discussed in my February article, “Te Challenge of Change,” p. 96), and without careful attention, the organization may revert to the status quo.

In the final analysis, a vision will inspire, renew or transform an organization only if it can be translated into action. As Will Rogers once said, “It isn’t enough to be on the right track; if you’re not moving, you can still get hit by a train.”

of that organization.

Te bottom line: Te best leaders have great visions, and great visions—when they are widely shared—fuel organizational growth and progress.

Marc Revere is the fire chief of the Novato Fire Protection District, an Internationally Accredited Agency in Marin County, Calif. Chief Revere’s 33-year fire service career includes over 17 years as a chief and fire officer. He has completed executive education at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and holds a bachelor’s degree in management from the University of Redlands. Chief Revere is a certified Chief Fire Officer and an Executive Fire Officer graduate and serves as one of 12 members representing the Professional Development Committee for the IAFC.

GettinG Personal Bernard M. Bass added a personal element to the Burns model of transformational leadership when he identified what changes occur in individuals during effective transformation. Bass noted that members become more aware of the importance of their tasks, more aware of their needs for growth/accomplishment, and more motivated to work for the good of the organization vs. personal gain.

Authors Noel M. Tichy and Mary Anne Devanna further refined the model by identifying characteristics of transformational leaders: Tey identify themselves as change agents and are courageous individuals; they believe in people and are valuesdriven; they’re lifelong learners and have the ability to deal with complexity; and they’re visionaries.

Today, the transformational change model is driving change throughout the fire service.

Bass, Tichy and Devanna’s contributions are incorporated into the “Officer Development Handbook” (available on the IAFC Web site) produced by the IAFC Professional Development Committee. In addition, the Commission on Professional Accreditation (which accredits fire officers and chiefs) recently introduced a National Mentoring Program based on these concepts.

a Final Word Like early explorers who used stars to guide them from the start of their journey to a safe return, the vision you have for your department’s future is your “leadership compass.”

To be effective, you must visualize a better organization and encourage members to dream about how they can succeed as part March 2010

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SAFetY

BY DAVID FISCHleR

What’s It Going to COST You? Understanding the functions of the Command Officer Support Team

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t’s 0200 hrs. Te fire siren and home pagers belonging to members of the local volunteer fire department have just activated for a barn fire. Te fire department responds with all its equipment: two engines, a ladder and an ambulance. Upon his arrival, the first-arriving chief establishes command and transmits a working fire in a three-story, wood-frame barn. Other responding firefighters include an assistant chief, a captain, two lieutenants and 20 firefighters, of which only 15 are SCBA-qualified. Te chief wants to establish a good command structure with both direct and support command for the safety of the firefighters. However, only his officers and former chiefs are trained in the incident command system (ICS).

Every day, small rural fire departments, both volunteer and career, respond to fires and other emergencies. Most incidents are small enough to be handled by the responding fire department, but occasionally, the department responds to a fully-involved barn fire.

What happens to command when these departments respond with limited personnel, and all hands are needed to handle the incident? Tere may be only one chief on scene, and that person will need to serve as an operations, planning, administrative, medical, rescue and water supply officer.

ImplementIng ICS Certain fire/EMS/rescue incidents require an extensive command structure. Tere are two levels of command: direct command of the firefighting/EMS/rescue personnel and command of support functions.

No one questions that chief officers or company officers need to be in direct command of all personnel. When firefighters are operating on scene, they need the guidance and direction of the incident commander (IC), the division or group supervisor, interior command officers, etc.

At times, these command positions may go unfilled due to the lack of chiefs or company officers. Te commitment of officers to the direct supervision of the operation will cause some very critical command support functions to remain unstaffed and, therefore, non-functional.

Support functions exist to assist the IC in accomplishing the firefighting/EMS/rescue operations. Not every incident requires command support functions. Command

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support functions include, but are not limited to, staging, accountability, IC aide, safety, public information, liaison, logistics, administration, communications, rehabilitation and technical assistance. Te large incident means ramping up both the direct command functions and the support command functions.

Without sufficient (or sufficiently trained) personnel on the scene, critical support functions may be inadequately staffed or not operating. Tis failure will detract from the operational functions and decrease firefighter safety.

Bottom line: If you don’t operate within the guidelines of command every time, sooner or later, it will cost you.

COSt 411 Te Command Officer Support Team, or COST, can be effectively and efficiently implemented by qualified personnel. Whether the rural department is career or volunteer, two options exist to meet these command support functions.

Te first option is to develop a regional fire incident management team to support fire/EMS/rescue operations.

Te key term is management. Te regional COST concept is similar to the incident management team concept developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, except that COST is strictly a fire-related operation.

Many fire departments have robust local mutual-aid plans. Te regional COST is an extension of the mutualaid plan to include chief officers. Under COST, the fire department would be able to request mutual aid specifically for chief officers who have been trained in ICS support operations. Although in some areas the response times of COST members may be extended due to distance, the IC knows that their command support personnel are en route.

Te second option in forming COST is to use former fire chiefs of the fire department. Tis option is particularly useful for volunteer fire departments where chiefs cycle through the ranks on a regular basis.

Tese former chiefs have command training and the practical experience that allows them to understand what command support is required. An added benefit: When a new, former chief becomes a member of COST, they bring new ideas to the COST operation.

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nEar-miSS rEportS

orGanizinG CoSt To effectively organize COST, there must be regularly scheduled training and meetings. I suggest approximately 20 hours of initial training for members to understand their roles and to understand the function of each support unit. Te following chart represents an hourly breakdown for training. Tese hours are a minimum recommendation that can be changed based on local requirements.

FUNCTION Communications Safety Staging Accountability Administration

HOURS 2 5 1 2 1

FUNCTION IC Aide (Command Technician) Logistics Public Information Liaison Rehabilitation

HOURS 2 2 2 1 2

Yearly refresher training is necessary to review procedures and policies, to re-familiarize on the above topic areas, to discuss the past year’s operations and to implement changes for system improvement. Five hours of annual refresher training could be accomplished at the COST’s regularly scheduled meetings.

morE DEtailS Each COST member will be identified with an insignia on their turnout gear or on a vest that indicates their assignment. Members will report to the IC to be assigned a duty. Te assignments are based on the magnitude of the incident and the expected work periods. Te advantage of COST is that personnel will be available to rotate through the different work periods when extended operations are projected. Te system is easily expanded or contracted.

Te performance of these command support functions by COST members provides the IC with experienced command officers in an advisory and command support position. COST provides the maximum command support at minimal costs. In addition, the implementation of command support functions is a component of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as well as the national fire service standard.

Implementation can be easily accomplished through an initial meeting with interested regional chiefs or a department’s former chiefs or a combination of both. Te group would identify objectives and develop response and operational plans.

Final thouGhtS Te COST offers a cost-effective, personnel-rich response group that will continue to maintain a fire department’s command structure for the wellbeing of the on-scene firefighters. COST creates an organized command system where limited personnel resources exist. COST will allow the IC and direct command officers to devote more time to the command and control of the actual incident without ignoring the necessary command support functions, thus contributing to the overall successful outcome of the incident with appropriate firefighter safety.

David H. Fischler served in the career fire service for 29 years, most recently as the commissioner (ret.) of the Suffolk County (N.Y.) Department of Fire Rescue and Emergency Services. He has served in the volunteer fire service for 43 years with the St. James (N.Y.) Fire Department, working as an assistant chief and chief for 8 years. Fischler is a graduate of the University of Maryland Staff and Command course. In 1998, he received a fire service fellowship to attend Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government.

He is a nationally designated Chief Fire Officer and a practicing attorney with emphasis in fire/EMS and emergency management issues.

March 2010

Who’s Got Your Back?

The benefits of establishing command support teams

By Deputy Chief John B. Tippett Jr.

Managing an incident requires the right combination of knowledge, skills, experience and personnel. A strong incident command team, formed early in an incident, is a good indicator that an emergency will be handled smoothly. The challenge with incident management: getting the right number of people with the proper qualifications on the scene in a timely fashion.

EvEnt SummarY: rEport no. 06-046 “We were called for mutual aid for a fire in a three-story assisted-living complex approximately 1 hour into the incident … Upon arrival, we were directed to establish a rehab area and for five of our seven personnel to assist with search and rescue … there wasn’t an official staging area or command post … the host department was operating off of one channel. There was no check-in process for firefighters entering the building; an accountability system had not been implemented, nor was there anyone providing clear direction on the tasks that needed to be completed … 14 mutual-aid fire departments responded to this incident.”

CommEntS Smaller departments face two challenges in today’s incident-mitigation environment.

The first is assembling enough hands to fill out the necessary tactical responsibilities for incident control. The second involves the arrival and placement of members in key strategic positions to fulfill basic and advanced command functions.

Many small departments adopt mutual-aid agreements to ensure enough resources can be obtained rapidly to meet strategic and tactical objectives. Other departments move to the next level of support and enact automatic-aid agreements. Resources under automatic aid are interwoven seamlessly into each other’s response models, fostering better working relationships, joint standard operating procedures and more people available to fill positions at all levels— strategic, tactical and task.

Filling command-level functions among departments most efficiently requires joint training and plenty of “face time” between department members. Years of barriers can be broken down quickly when chiefs and officers find common ground to mutually support each other. The companies on the street often develop good working relationships with their counterparts before departments form formal agreements. This paves the way for smoother transitions down range.

Mutual-aid, automatic-aid, cooperative response agreements or any rules you have to operate under pay huge dividends when departments are too small to meet the requirements of a sound incident command system. It’s an accepted practice that roles and functions can be doubled up, and one commander can perform several functions on small incidents.

Even on small incidents, forming a command team improves the incident commander’s ability to manage the incident. Such action provides valuable experience for rapidly dividing an expanding incident into groups and divisions to keep the span of control manageable and enhance a commander’s performance.

prEparation & prEvEntion • Assess your department’s ability to assemble the following incident command positions: incident commander (IC), deputy IC, safety officer, accountability officer, entry control officer, staging officer, water supply officer and two division or group supervisors.

• If your department cannot field these positions within your own command structure, you should consider partnering with other fire departments.

• Schedule joint training sessions with neighboring departments, especially commandlevel officers.

• Be prepared to compromise while working toward mutual best practices in the command functions. Countless departments across the country have entered into mutual/automatic-aid agreements and work seamlessly. Keeping your eye on the bigger mission—safer emergency scenes and more efficient operations—will help you reach the goal of assembling a competent incident management system.

John Tippett is the deputy chief of operations for the Charleston (S.C.) Fire Department. Tippett retired from Montgomery County (Md.) Fire and Rescue after 32 years, the last 7 as a battalion chief. He has served as project manager for the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System since 2004. In 2007, Tippett was awarded the International Society of Fire Service Instructors’ George D. Post Instructor of the Year award.

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Landing-zone operations require the use of specific operational and safety procedures. For example, select a landing zone that’s on level ground and free of debris. Also select a two-way helispot that allows the aircraft to land and take off into the wind. Remember: The pilot has the final say on choosing an LZ.

Choosing the site

photo paul M. Ross, JR.

When selecting an LZ (also called a helispot), choose the most level, open area possible. Ideally, it should be free of trees, towers, power lines and other obstacles. Avoid using roads as helispots, but locate near enough to a road so vehicles can quickly access the site for water fill ops. Ensure tarps, plastic, rope, trash can lids and other loose debris are secure and unable to fly into the rotors.

Choose sites that allow the aircraft to land and take off into the wind. Tese are known as “two-way” helispots. With the added weight of water or personnel, an aircraft needs all the help it can get from the wind.

A landing zone that forces the pilot to hover in and depart straight up is likely too confined and threatens everyone’s safety.

Tat said, you should also be somewhat conservative in the amount of room you leave for the aircraft, using the interagency Safety Circle parameters for a medium helicopter like a Bell 412, 205/Huey or 212 used in many WUI initial-attack air ops. Leaving a solid, level, 20' x 20' area for skid touchdown within a minimum 90-foot-diameter circle

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hile many of us are fighting frozen pump panels and slick roads this time of year, it’s easy to forget that the fire season—and therefore the wildland/urban interface (WUI) fire season—is right around the corner in many parts of the country. But the potential for incidents that require the response of fire helicopters exists nationwide nearly year-round.

No matter your locale, your training program should include a regular review of the basics of landing zone (LZ) safety and water fill-site safety when dealing with firefighting aircraft.

In this article, I’ll discuss LZ safety and provide insight from fire aviation experts that will help your operations go smoothly this fire season. Many of the lessons I discuss here regarding WUI LZs can be applied to our more frequent year-round responses that involve managing helicopter air-ambulance LZs.

March 2010

Standard Landing area Size Type III and IV (Light Helicopters) • Safety Circle - 75' Diameter • Touchdown Pad - 15' x 15' Type II (Medium Helicopters) • Safety Circle - 90' Diameter • Touchdown Pad - 20' x 20' Type I (Heavy Helicopters) • Safety Circle - 110' Diameter • Touchdown Pad - 30' x 30'

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is a good practice.

Lastly, consider the approach/departure path to minimize flying over homes at low level.

Marshalling Dos & Don’ts Much of our interagency fire helicopter training ingrains in us that a firefighter must be out on the LZ “marshalling” or monitoring the pilot and the LZ during takeoffs and landings. Firefighters must monitor and manage the LZ actively, communicate with the pilot and secure the LZ from bystanders or other responders. However, if we’re marshalling or standing on the LZ, close to the touchdown area, we’re setting ourselves up for a mouthful of rotor-driven grit.

In firefighting ops, LZs can be almost any open space: ridgelines, dirt roads, fields or a parking lot.

Don’t Forget Wind indicators If you don’t have a roll of blaze-orange flagging/ surveyor’s tape in your rig, be sure to add it to your glove box today. Tie a series of flagging strips 4 feet in length to the antenna of your truck, a street sign or other nearby pole to help the pilot judge wind conditions. Note: One strip of flagging is not as visible as several fluttering in the breeze.

Because of this, helicopters operate in what we call the “dust belt,” which is caused by their hovering takeoffs and landings. You can assist yourself, the pilot and the mechanic who oversees the aircraft by wetting down the touchdown area to reduce flying dirt and sand, which not only can get into your eyes and mouth, but also reduces visibility and can damage the aircraft engines.

Another way to reduce your exposure to the elements and reduce distraction to the pilot is to stand well away from the touchdown area and out of the flight path. Te pilot will normally land and take off into the wind, which gives him more lift and more control. Put your back to the wind, and you’ll see the aircraft on approach or takeoff.

Ensure you’re able to maintain visibility and radio contact with the pilot, but keep in mind that less is really more; the pilot knows how to land the aircraft without you flapping your arms.

If you do choose to use interagency or locally established hand signals, make sure you use them as trained and do not deviate into unknown signals, which may confuse the pilot or give him the false indication that there’s a hazard on or near the LZ. Finally, recognize that the pilot may land initially in an area he deems better than the one you’ve chosen.

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LZ Security/Safety If you use a city park or urban field to cycle the aircraft through, it’s a sure bet to draw spectators. Make sure the public’s experience is a positive one by keeping them safe.

“Engine companies know that aircraft attract crowds, so they may also request law enforcement assistance. We want to ensure that the helispot is secure,” says San Diego FireRescue (SDFR) Air Operations Chief and Flight Paramedic Perry Esquer. Over the past few years, SDFR has established a successful helicopter program throughout the county.

“Te companies also keep an eye out for loose items and foreign object debris [FOD] that weren’t there when

San Diego’s Helo program San Diego Fire-Rescue Department’s (SDFD) Air Operations Division has worked hard during the past decade to build a successful helicopter program. Part of their success stems from partnering with engine companies in all city districts to help develop a network of suitable, safe helispots. “We asked companies to go out and choose potential LZs, such as parks, ball fields, etc.,” says SDFD Air Operations Chief and Flight Paramedic Perry Esquer. “Then the companies gave us their location choices, and our air ops personnel went out and looked at each one. From there, we’ve been able to put together a helispot directory that’s carried in each engine and input into our dispatch system.”

the LZ was originally designated,” Esquer notes.

Important: When working near aircraft, never walk around the tail. Work from the aft end of the skids forward as a rule; don’t stray past the rear of the skids into the danger zone toward the tail. Should you see someone walking toward the tail rotor, stop them immediately, even if it means tackling them to the ground. Tat may be your one chance to save them from disaster.

tank-fiLL Site/Dip-Site tipS

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When engaging in repetitive fill operations, keep in mind a few tips that can help save minutes in your evolutions.

First, if filling aircraft belly tanks, remember that it’s better if the engine company leaves its hoseline dry until the aircraft arrives. “We ask our companies to wait to charge the line so they can see where the touchdown area will be when the pilot sets the aircraft down,” Esquer says. “Ten there’s no time spent dragging a fully charged line. Just advance it to the ship after landing, charge it and start the evolution.” Note: Don’t leave a dry hoseline unattended, as it can become blown into the rotors.

It’s also a good idea to get assistance from the air crew and have a quick face-to-face talk if needed. “Our flight medic will get off the ship after landing and help the firefighters establish tank-fill operations,” Esquer says. “Ten he’ll coordinate with the engine captain on bigger LZ issues and operations.”

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Finally, if setting up a dip site using portable tanks, keep the tanks or soft-sided “pumpkins” topped off without leaving hoses in them. Ideally, pumpkins and tanks are plumbed from the bottom to prevent anything that’s resting on the top lip from snagging the aircraft’s bucket or snorkel.

LZ CommuniCations Identify your local air-to-ground frequency well in advance of operations. When radioing the aircraft, do so away from the ship to avoid rotor noise.

Also, when directing the ship or communicating hazards, remember to use the clock references from the pilot’s point of view (e.g., 12 o’clock is off the nose, 6 o’clock is off the tail).

As with hand signals, less is more, so minimize or eliminate your radio traffic while the pilot lands and departs, unless communicating an imminent hazard or other major issue.

aCCident Response No matter how much effort we make to reduce risk, accidents can and do occur during aviation operations.

As a ground-based responder, it’s your duty to know how to best respond to an accident involving a helicopter at the LZ you’re manning.

Local agencies typically have their own aviation

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accident response plans and training for their personnel. (If you don’t presently have a plan, good response guides are available in interagency aviation training materials and the Incident Response Pocket Guide, which can be found at www.nwcg.gov/pms/pubs/ nfes1077/nfes1077.pdf ).

Response plans or not, your reaction to an unfolding aircraft accident must be immediate, as you may have just seconds to take cover. A helicopter crash from low altitude is stunningly violent and happens in the blink of an eye. If a crash occurs near you, go to the ground immediately, because parts will be flying as the rotors impact the ground, creating potentially lethal shrapnel.

After ensuring you and your crew are protected, remember to radio dispatch regarding the incident and get additional assistance en route to the scene.

Next, focus on extricating the air crew. If they’re conscious, the pilot(s) will shut down the fuel supply and battery in the cockpit—vital procedures to reduce risk of post-crash fire. Tip: It’s well worth your time to review your local fire aircraft’s configuration with the pilot so they can point out the location of shut-offs in the aircraft cockpit. Knowing shut-down procedures can provide valuable time and safety when extricating trapped air crew personnel.

Several years ago, helitack crewmates of mine witnessed a fire helicopter crash at a dip site. As they saw the aircraft

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crashing, they dove for cover. When it was safe, my crewmates accessed the cockpit. Tey found the pilot hanging upside down, unconscious and cyanotic, being choked by his seatbelt harness. While one firefighter restored the pilot’s airway, the other shut down the battery, fuel and other systems in the Bell 407. Teir familiarity with this aircraft was key to saving the pilot’s life.

Training OppOrTuniTies Training is imperative when it comes to performing LZ ops safely and efficiently. Training courses, such as the National Wildfire Coordinating Group’s (NWCG) S-270: Basic Air Operations and S-271: Helicopter Crewmember, are typically taught at regional wildfire academies or fire schools throughout the year.

One academy in particular, the Grand Canyon National Park’s Helicopter Training Academy, presents an unsurpassed training opportunity for responders pursuing their helicopter crewmember or helicopter manager qualifications; LZ training is also part of the program. If you’re unfamiliar with the academy, visit the park’s Web site at www.nps.gov/grca/parkmgmt/heli_program.htm.

COnClusiOn Pre-plan for WUI LZ ops regularly to identify weaknesses and training needs. Remember: Te goal is to keep your LZ ops simple and safe. “Rely on good pre-planning,

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March 2010

Wear Your Helmet!

Our PPE standards typically dictate that we wear a helmet with chinstrap, Nomex gear, gloves, eye protection and hearing protection, particularly when working around aircraft.

But does wearing a helmet keep you from getting killed by a drooping main rotor blade or tail rotor? Certainly not.

Situational awareness, crouching to avoid overhead blades, approaching from downhill up to the ship and always approaching the aircraft in full view of the pilot can mitigate your risk of injury and death—not to mention all the paperwork your captain or cohorts will have to fill out if you cause an accident.

You absolutely must fasten your helmet chinstrap under your chin when around aircraft. Period, no excuses.

take your time handling the LZ, get it right and you should have smooth sailing,” Esquer says.

Practice will pay dividends when the winds fan flames through your WUI response area.

Paul M. Ross, Jr. is a former helitack squad leader/EMT for Grand Canyon National Park Helitack with 19 years of experience in both Western U.S. wildland firefighting and urban fire-rescue. He lives outside St. Louis where he’s a firefighter/EMT for the Eureka Fire Protection District. Ross is also a longtime writer/photographer. If you’d like to discuss LZ safety, operational feedback and interagency fire aviation training, please contact Ross at prossjr@yahoo.com or visit www.moyercreek.com.

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COMPANYOFFICERDEVELOPMENT

Keep It Simple One system can help solve both fireground problems & personnel problems

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hen I was training to become a captain, I felt overwhelmed at times, thinking of all the different challenges I’d face as a company officer. (Ever thought about it? If you have, it might make you consider going back to cleaning toilets and pulling hose.) Company officers must know how to deal with a seemingly endless spectrum of problems ranging from fireground emergencies to personnel issues.

Te truth is being a company officer isn’t overwhelming at all if you put it in the right context and develop a system that allows you to deal with a wide assortment of problems.

Many ProbleMs, 1 systeM When I first tried to simplify things for myself, I started by breaking down just a standard fire problem, such as a residential fire simulation. I also studied numerous officers whom I really respected and who could run the hell out of a fire. What I realized was that all the officers did things differently, but they also shared some similar characteristics and problem-solving methods. So I adopted some of those characteristics and methods.

Being a simple-minded person, I can’t apply a different algorithm to every problem. (When I see a follow-the-boxes-and-arrows problem-solving matrix, I get an instant headache and start twitching.) So I developed a system for myself that covers a whole host of problems.

Below, I outline my system, which gives step-bystep instructions on how to deal with a fire-related problem. Ten I apply that same system to an employee-related problem.

the Fireground ProbleM 1. Stay calm: Te first thing any successful fire officer must do when dealing with a fire problem is stay calm. Call me crazy, but it doesn’t look great when the people who are supposed to be professional problem-solvers are frothing at the mouth and screaming like lunatics. Remember, you didn’t start the fire. You’re there to help.

2. Get the facts: What’s burning? Where’s the fire March 2010

going? What resources do I need to take care of it? Gathering the facts at the beginning of any emergency is crucial to the success of the operation. If you rush into solving the problem before you have enough information, there’s a high probability that you’ll be playing catch-up later.

3. Determine the severity of the problem: Is this fire big or small? How soon do you think you can control it and/or extinguish it? Big fire equals big hoses and lots of people.

4. Determine which resources you’ll need: Based on the severity of the problem, do you have enough resources to take care of it? I was taught to always anticipate what I’d need if things turned ugly.

Remember: Don’t let a small problem become a big one.

by ray gayk

The truth is being a company officer isn’t overwhelming at all if you put it in the right context & develop a system that allows you to deal with a wide assortment of problems.

5. Develop a plan: Steps 1–4 address thought processes and information gathering involved in this system. Te fifth step is the beginning of the system’s “action phase.” Whenever I develop any plan, I always start off with what I know will work based on my own experience. If I don’t have enough experience to handle the problem, I ask another officer who I respect and trust for their opinion or direction.

6. Execute your plan: You can develop the perfect plan, but it won’t do you any good if you miss your opportunity to use it because you waited too long to put it into action. Te good thing, and the bad thing, about fighting fire is eventually, the fire will run out of fuel. Gather enough information to develop a good plan so you can put it into action at the right time—before the fire burns out of control or before the fire burns out.

7. Make sure your plan is working (and adjust if necessary): Sometimes plans work and sometimes

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A simple plan will help keep you on track & provide you with good outcomes, both on the fireground & back at the firehouse. they don’t. Te worst thing an officer can do is fail to adjust a bad plan. Sometimes we get locked into a plan and hold on to it until the very end because our pride won’t allow us to admit we were wrong. One good indicator that your plan isn’t working on the fireground: the building continues to burn.

8. Pay attention to the details: One of the biggest mistakes we make is overlooking the small details at the conclusion of an incident, such as implementing a good overhaul plan, conducting an investigation, implementing scene security, completing the proper documentation, etc. Te company officer’s job isn’t done until the paperwork is done.

Like I said, I use this system because it’s a simple way for me to work through a variety of problems with a high level of consistency and organization.

Now I want to show you how I use this same process for another challenge faced by company officers: the always-fun personnel problem.

The Personnel Problem (same sysTem) 1. Stay calm: Just like a fire problem, if you can’t stay calm, you lose. Just because someone made a mistake or a bad decision doesn’t mean you should take it personally, or make it personal.

2. Get the facts: Ask the basic “who, what, when, where” questions about the situation—what happened, who was involved, etc. One of the most embarrassing mistakes I’ve made as a captain happened because I didn’t get the facts first. I thought I knew what was going on with a particular personnel situation, so I jumped to a conclusion, which was the wrong conclusion, and as a result, I looked like an idiot in less than 5 minutes. If I had followed my rule of gathering the facts, I would’ve avoided a really embarrassing situation and wouldn’t have had to apologize for being a moron.

3. Determine the severity of the problem: Employee problems, just like emergency problems, can vary widely in their severity. If it’s a serious employee problem, it may require input from several people.

Conversely, if the problem isn’t very complex, you may be able to handle it with a simple conversation.

4. Determine which resources you’ll need: As I noted above, the severity of the problem will give you an idea of which resources you’ll need. If the issue is a small one, you can probably handle it with a quick talk and redirection. If it’s a larger issue, you may need to bring in your supervisor for some help. If nothing else, let your supervisor know what’s going on so they don’t find out about it from someone else.

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5. Develop a plan: Once you’ve gathered all the information, you can develop a plan to take care of the problem. Remember your objective when developing a plan for an employee problem: changing personnel behavior. In other words, you don’t need to give someone days off without pay if a simple counseling session will do the trick.

6. Execute your plan: A plan works only when it’s implemented. But when dealing with employee issues, this is the most difficult part of the system because it means we have to deal directly with the person at fault or involved in the issue. Tis can make company officers uncomfortable, so they may avoid dealing with the issue, hoping it will go away on its own. But if you can’t do this part of the job, you probably shouldn’t be a supervisor.

7. Make sure your plan is working (and adjust if necessary): Remember, if the building is still burning after implementing your fantastic plan, you need to adjust the plan. So, if the employee doesn’t change their behavior after you’ve implemented a plan with them on how to correct their behavior, you must change up the plan and take further steps, which may include further discussion, disciplinary actions, etc.

8. Pay attention to the details: Just like a fire, the job isn’t done until the paperwork is done. Not all employee problems require documentation, but make sure you know which ones do. Te last thing you want after doing a great job on solving an employee problem is to mess up the documentation or, worse yet, not do it at all. Remember: If you don’t document it, it never happened.

Ray Gayk is a company officer with the Ontario (Calif.) Fire Department (OFD) and is currently working as the training captain. Gayk is an 18year 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.

ConClusion I use this system for taking care of a wide variety of problems because it works for me. I’m not saying it works for every problem in the world, but it gets me going in the right direction and helps me think through problems in a consistent manner.

Any system that helps you do those things is a helpful management tool.

Tis system, or one like it, may or may not work for you, and that’s OK. But it’s a good idea to develop a process that helps you think through some of the challenges we face as officers within the fire service.

A simple plan will help keep you on track and provide you with good outcomes, both on the fireground and back at the firehouse.

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RESCUETRAINING

Do You Know LOTO? The basics of proper lock-out/tag-out procedures

T story & Photos by steve Ness

he OSHA standard, 29 CFR 1910.147, is the place to go if you want to find the final rule on controlling hazardous energy. Tis rule is more commonly known as the lockout/tagout rule, or the LOTO rule.

Te opening sentence of the LOTO standard reads: “Tis standard covers the servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment in which the unexpected energization or start-up of the machines or equipment, or release of stored energy could cause injury to employees. Tis standard establishes minimum performance requirements for the control of such hazardous energy.”

You may be thinking, “We don’t do any maintenance of equipment in our normal, day-to-day routine, except for a little station and apparatus maintenance.”

Right you are, but there are many incidents that can expose us to a source of hazardous energy. Hazardous energy can be found in industrial buildings, pumps, lift stations and elevators, to name a few.

Picture this: You respond to a report of a person trapped in an elevator. You arrive and send one of your crew to the elevator room to shut off the breaker,

Lock-out/tag-out (LOTO) procedures involve the use of several tools as pictured in this LOTO kit. LOTO is a method of controlling hazardous energy that involves using a system of locks and tags to prevent the equipment from being reenergized before those exposed to the equipment are clear of it.

which he does. Upon his return, you and the crew head to the reported floor to find the elevator stuck, with about 18 inches of the car door still visible. You use your elevator keys to open the door and start the process of removing people trapped inside the car.

Meanwhile, a building worker goes into the elevator room and notices the breaker turned off. He innocently flips the switch, and you instantly become faced with a live elevator and no quick way to disconnect the power without running back to the basement and throwing the switch.

OSHA expects that in the course of our work, we as first responders will control hazardous energy and not put our crew and the people we serve at any additional risk. LOTO is the means by which we control some sources of hazardous energy.

What’s LOtO?

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LOTO is a method of controlling hazardous energy that involves using a system of locks and tags to prevent the equipment from being re-energized before those exposed to the equipment are clear of it. It involves placing equipment in a zero mechanical state or, to put it simply, shutting it off.

Padlocks are physically placed on switches, valves, breakers or any other source of energy in such a way that no one can activate the energy source until the locks are removed.

It’s important to note that the LOTO system is a one key/one lock system. Tat means that there are no spare keys to the LOTO locks hidden on the BC rig somewhere.

And who do you think holds the key? Te person(s) who will be exposed to the hazards. If that person somehow loses the key, they must use a set of bolt cutters to cut off the lock themselves (with a witness, of course).

If multiple personnel will be exposed to the hazards, then each person needs to apply a lock to the switch. If there are one or two

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switches and a couple valves, then each point of hazardous energy should be controlled with a lock, which means there should be a lock for each exposed rescuer. You must be thinking, “We’d need 50 locks to pull that off!” Later, I’ll discuss a system to minimize the number of locks and to speed up the whole operation.

GoinG LoTo

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Although it’s easy to get tunnel vision and forget to lock out energy sources in the face of competing priorities, when responding to any call that involves machinery, the company officer must be thinking about LOTO from the beginning. Te best way to accomplish LOTO is to assign one crewmember to the LOTO function and then have them report back with the keys when they’re done. Tip: Be sure to have a site worker assist the LOTO person, as the workers will know exactly where to disable the right equipment.

In the meantime, other crewmembers can size up the scene, gathering other needed rescue equipment and getting a plan together.

When the LOTO person returns with the keys, they just hand them to the crew that’s going into the exposed area, and that’s it.

You are locked out and tagged out.

RemoTe ConTRoL Te above procedure works well if you have only one person going into the exposed area.

But what if a crew of four personnel is entering the hazardous area? Can you really expect the LOTO person to hang four locks on each energy source? Tat can add up to a lot of locks. One alternative is to station a crewmember at each energy source to make sure it’s not turned back on, but that's not a great use of manpower, especially if it’s limited.

To solve this issue, the fire service has adopted the “remote lockbox” procedure from industry. Te LOTO person goes to all the energy sources (with a site rep) and applies one lock to each. Tip: To ensure the LOTO process is successful, try to start the locked out equipment after applying the locks (if/when safe to do so).

Te LOTO person then brings all the keys back to the incident area and drops them into a red group lockbox.

Next, the personnel entering the hazardous area apply one personal lock (as I mentioned earlier) each to the remote box, effectively securing all the keys to the lockouts. No lockouts can be unlocked until all the rescuers have removed their personal Choose 70 at www.firerescuemagazine.com/rs

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locks. Remember: All personal locks should include the person’s name and their department name for easy identification, as well as a wrist loop for easy key storage.

Usually, the entry team applies their locks just prior to entering the space, and the box stays at the entry point for the duration of the operation. Te keys to the original lockout locks must remain in the possession of the LOTO person until the entry team is ready to lock out. Te keys cannot sit unsupervised in the corner while waiting to be secured in the group lock box.

(called turnarounds), the plant will hire hundreds and sometimes thousands of contract workers to complete the job. In these situations, the energy sources are usually locked out, so you’ll find a large lockout board in the operator’s area.

When gathering information for the rescue, immediately ask the site rep about the LOTO location. It could be far away from the actual rescue site.

You may also encounter some sort of inhouse emergency response team. Preplan with this team whenever possible to optimize your teams’ rescue capabilities.

IndustrIal sItes If you have a large industrial installation in your area, you may get called in for a rescue that occurs during the installation’s planned maintenance project. During these projects

lOtO traInIng All personnel must be trained in the application of and the need for the LOTO method.

Training should include the following:

The Standard LOTO Kit Not sure which tools you’ll need to complete LOTO procedures?

Here’s a list of what’s included in the standard LOTO kit.

• Extension cords: Bring as many as you think you might need for the incident.

• Breaker/switch lockouts: These come in various sizes. Use small ones for light switches or single-pole breakers and large ones for double polebreakers.

• Locks: Long-shank, single-key locks work best.

• Tags: Each lock applied should have a “do not operate” tag on it that includes the name of the person who applied the lock.

• Universal cable: This cable can be used for valve handles of any size. You can also run it through a series of breaker locks so you only have to use one padlock for several breakers.

• Gas valve handle: These can be difficult to secure without using a tool that can grasp and hold onto them properly.

• Multi-lock hasp: The hasp can accommodate six locks. Hasps can also be stacked to hold as many locks as needed.

• Valve Locks: These locks come in many different sizes and fit around valve handles so you can’t turn them.

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March 2010

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REscuETRaining

This is one simple prop you can build for use during LOTO drills.

• A review of OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.147; • Use and application of all LOTO equipment carried on the apparatus; • A practice session using a LOTO prop or actual LOTO equipment; and • Documentation of the training.

Important: Any time a new piece of equipment is added or a change in procedure is made, training must take place. I also suggest adding an annual LOTO refresher to your training schedule as this is one of those skills that doesn’t get used often, but needs to be done right when the time comes.

ConClusion LOTO is an important safety function in any incident involving machinery or hazardous sources of energy. It may be as simple as taking the keys out of a backhoe or disconnecting a vehicle battery. But it may also involve a complex process of shutting off breakers and valves, and then using a series of padlocks and various devices to ensure that these sources of energy cannot be activated while personnel are working in the hazard area.

Recall the incident I described earlier involving the person trapped in an elevator.

If the original responder had simply applied a lock to the elevator breaker and took the key with him/her back to the incident area, there would be no chance of the elevator being turned back on.

Te bottom line: Make sure everyone goes home safe. Practice and use LOTO. Steve Ness is an 18-year veteran of the fire service, currently serving as a captain with Snohomish County (Wash.) Fire District No. 1 assigned to Ladder 20. He also serves as the training coordinator for the Snohomish County rescue task force and is owner of/instructor for Life Rescue Inc., which specializes in industrial rescue and safety.

March 2010

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You TRAIN YOUR STUDENTS to perform under EXTREME CONDITIONS. FIRERESCUE MAGAZINE gives you the resources to help TRAIN THEM SAFELY. FireRescue Magazine arms you with vital information to help guide your students’ careers and help them stay safe.

Each monthly issue includes: • Safe & Effective Fire Attack Strategies • Rescue & Extrication Training • Advice for New and Developing Company Officers • Wildland/Urban Interface Tactics • New Products, Apparatus Innovations & Technology IF YOU’RE AN INSTRUCTOR, CALL TO ENROLL IN OUR STUDENT SUBSCRIPTION PROGRAM.

(800) 266-5367 ext. 6832 or FirefighterNation.com

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73

NEWProducts Wind Control

Undercover Calibration

The K.O. Fire Curtain is designed to control the wind and, therefore, protect ďŹ reďŹ ghters battling high-rise ďŹ res. The 6' by 8', 26.5-lb. device is deployed in 4 seconds from the window above the one that has failed on the ďŹ re oor, starving the ďŹ re of wind-driven fuel, stopping the blowtorch effect and reducing hallway temperatures by 50 percent in under a minute. This allows ďŹ reďŹ ghters to proceed to the ďŹ re and apply water. In testing, the K.O. Curtain withstood temperatures of more than 1,700 degrees F for an hour.

K.O. Fire Curtain 516/662-3900; www.koďŹ recurtain.com Choose 200 at www.ďŹ rerescuemagazine.com/rs

The Wahl Heat Spy Portable Calibration Black Body from Wahl Instruments is an ambient temperature black body used for single-point calibration veriďŹ cation and checking of thermal imaging cameras and point infrared thermometers. With an accuracy of 0.3 degrees F (0.2 degrees C) over the entire range, it reliably conďŹ rms the accuracy of instruments in house and in the ďŹ eld. Housed in a watertight IP67 carrying case, the Portable Calibration Black Body is lightweight, portable and easy to use.

Wahl Instruments 800/421-2853; www.palmerwahl.com Choose 201 at www.ďŹ rerescuemagazine.com/rs

Get the Complete Picture

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS

Pictometry Critical 360 from Pictometry International Corp. is a visual technology designed for building interiors. It combines Pictometry’s aerial oblique imagery with an image-capture system designed to produce 360-degree views of building interiors and provide fast retrieval of information about the interiors and exteriors of buildings. Users can pre-plan for crisis scenarios and train using actual information from jurisdictions.

Pictometry International Corp.

888/771-9714; www.pictometry.com Choose 202 at www.ďŹ rerescuemagazine.com/rs

74

*/5&3/"5*0/"- 5&$)/*$"- 3&4$6& 4:.104*6. /07&.#&3 Ĺą t ."33*05 %&/7&3 8&45 t (0-%&/ $0 The Technical Rescue Symposium brings together a wide variety of people involved in rescue, including those in mountain rescue, law enforcement, military, park service, water rescue, outdoor recreation, fire service and rescue teams, along with equipment manufacturers and distributors. ITRS is the leading forum for up to date, state-of-theart, technical rescue information. Rescuers representing mountain, cave, fire, industrial, and swiftwater gather to discuss ways to improve safety and performance.

From Theoretical Presentations...to those with Practical Applications t /FX %FWFMPQNFOUT JO &RVJQNFOU t "OBMZTJT PG )JHI "OHMF "DDJEFOUT t *NQSPWFE 5FDIOJRVFT t &RVJQNFOU 5FTUJOH t .FEJDBM $POTJEFSBUJPOT JO 3FTDVF t %FWFMPQNFOU JO )FMJDPQUFS 3FTDVF t $PNQBSBUJWF 5FBN 5FDIOJRVFT t *OEVTUSZ 4UBOEBSET 1SFTFOUBUJPO QSPQPTBMT NBZ CF NBEF CZ TVCNJUUJOH B POF QBHF BCTUSBDU BOE POF QBSBHSBQI QSFTFOUFS CJP CZ +VMZ UP -PVJ .D$VSMFZ t D P 1.* 8FTU t ,JQMJOH 4U t 8IFBU 3JEHF $0

t & NBJM MNDDVSMFZ!QNJSPQF DPN or 5PN 7JOFT t 1 0 #PY t 3FE -PEHF .5 64"

7PJDF BOE 'BY t & NBJM UWJOFT !NTO DPN " QSFTFOUFS BHSFFNFOU XJMM CF QSPWJEFE PO SFRVFTU 'JOBM 1SPDFFEJOHT QBQFST QBHFT XJMM CF EVF 4FQUFNCFS *534 13&4&/5"5*0/ "8"3%4 5P FODPVSBHF RVBMJUZ QSFTFOUBUJPOT *534 GFBUVSFT UIF #FTU PG 4IPX BXBSET "GUFS UIF GJOBM QSFTFOUBUJPO BUUFOEFFT XJMM WPUF PO QSFTFOUBUJPOT CBTFE PO TFWFO DBUFHPSJFT JODMVEJOH #FTU 0WFSBMM 1SFTFOUBUJPO .PTU 1SBDUJDBM 1SFTFOUBUJPO PS #FTU /FX 3FTFBSDI &BDI XJOOFS XJMM SFDFJWF B IPOPSBSJVN

Firerescue Magazine

ˆ

March 2010

Go Ahead & Jump 5.11’s TDU Jumpsuit has a double-layered seat, knees and elbows and includes removable neoprene knee and elbow pads. It features an adjustable waist and built-in belt-keepers, bi-swing shoulders and back vents for easy air flow.

To help organize and store bulky gear, the jumpsuit incorporates 5.11’s Back-Up Belt System-compatible cargo pockets and hidden document pockets, plus front chest pockets with Velcro-backed flaps for additional storage. It’s Teflon-treated for stain, liquid and dirt resistance and is triple-stitched and bartacked throughout.

5.11 Tactical 866/451-1726; www.511tactical.com Choose 203 at www.firerescuemagazine.com/rs

Inside & Out The Industrial Drying Cabinet from Staber Industries safely dries turnout gear from the inside and outside at the same time for faster drying and conforms to NFPA 1851 standards. It features multiple accessory options, including suit hangers, glove hangers, boot hangers, hose shelving and small item hooks. The cabinet also includes a lockable slam latch and built-in floor drain.

Staber Industries 800/848-6200; www.staberindustries.com Choose 204 at www.firerescuemagazine.com/rs

March 2010

Rapid Knockdown ARA Safety’s FIT Pro is a powerful handheld fire knockdown tool specifically designed for use as an initial-attack tool. It enables firefighters to rapidly knock down flame and temperature without entering a structure, making it much safer to fight the fire and reducing property damage. ARA Safety’s Fire Interruption Technology removes the fuel from the equation at the molecular level, interrupting the fire tetrahedron, and knocking down flame and heat.

The FIT Pro can be effectively deployed in a wide variety of structure fire scenarios, from incipient to fully involved, and in defensive, offensive and transitional modes.

ARA Safety 888/955-8883; www.arasafety.com Choose 205 at www.firerescuemagazine.com/rs

Firerescue Magazine

75

NEWdElivEriEs Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue in Silverdale, Wash., has taken delivery of three North Star Ambulances from Braun. Built on 2009 GMC G4500 chassis and powered by Duramax 6600 turbo diesel engines, they feature Bilstein shocks, customized exhaust placement, Optima 12-V halogen roof-mounted spotlights, Whelen LED emergency and module interior lighting, engine hour meters and electric door locks.

Braun Northwest 800/245-6303; www.braunnorthwest.com Choose 206 at www.firerescuemagazine.com/rs New Tecumseth Fire Rescue in Ontario, Canada, has taken delivery of two customized Rosenbauer America stainless-steel Centurion rescuepumpers. Built on Spartan MetroStar MFD chassis with 10"raised roofs, they’re powered by Cummins ISC-400 engines and Allison 3000 EVS transmissions. Each pumper is equipped with a 1,750-gpm Waterous CSUC10 single-stage pump, a 750-gallon United Plastic Fabricating poly water tank and a 50-gallon foam cell.

Rosenbauer 651/462-1000; www.rosenbaueramerica.com Choose 207 at www.firerescuemagazine.com/rs The Milltown (Wis.) Fire Department has taken delivery of a tanker from CustomFIRE. Built on an International Paystar chassis, it’s powered by a 435-hp Cummins ISX engine and an Allison 4000 EVS transmission. Features include a 500-gpm Waterous CLK PTO-driven fire pump, a Class 1 captain pressure governor, a 4,000-gallon United Plastic Fabricating water tank, drop-down portable tank storage and three gravity dumps with telechute and drop-chutes.

CustomFIRE 800/443-8851; www.customfire.com Choose 208 at www.firerescuemagazine.com/rs

76

Firerescue Magazine

March 2010

The Greenfield (Calif.) Fire Protection District has taken delivery of a pumper from Smeal. Built on a Spartan Gladiator chassis with a 10" raised roof, it’s powered by a 485-hp Caterpillar C-13 engine and an Allison 4000 EVP transmission. Features include a 1,500gpm Waterous pump, a 500-gallon United Plastic Fabricating water tank and a Foam Pro foam system.

Smeal Fire Apparatus 402/568-224; www.smeal.com Choose 209 at www.firerescuemagazine.com/rs The Forestville (Pa.) Citizens Fire Co. No.1 has taken delivery of a mini-pumper from KME. Built on a GMC 5500 4 x 4 chassis, it’s powered by a 300-hp Duramax diesel engine and an automatic transmission. Features include a 1,000-gpm Hale DSD split-shaft pump, a 250-gallon poly tank, Whelen warning lights, an ASA Voyager rear-vision camera and 12V/150W Optimum telescoping lights.

Choose 74 at www.firerescuemagazine.com/rs

KME 800/235-3928; www.kovatch.com Choose 210 at www.firerescuemagazine.com/rs The Ponderosa (Texas) Fire Department has taken delivery of a 100' aerial from Pierce. Built on a Velocity chassis, it’s powered by a 500-hp Cummins engine. Features include a 2,000-gpm pump, a 300-gallon tank, a 10-kW Harrison generator, a Lyfe rescue system, TAK-4 independent front suspension and Command Zone advanced electronics.

Pierce 920/832-3000; www.piercemfg.com Choose 75 at www.firerescuemagazine.com/rs

March 2010

Firerescue Magazine

77

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Webcasts: Learn about hot topics in fire-rescue!

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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. subscription information: Send $39.95 for one year (12 issues) or $69.95 for two years (24 issues) to P.O. Box 17049, North Hollywood, CA 91615-9247. Or call 888/456-5367. Canada—please add $20 per year for postage. All other foreign subscriptions, please add $30 per year for surface and $70 per year for airmail postage. For new orders only, call toll-free 888/456-5367. Single copy: $10.00. advertising information: Rates are available at www.fire-rescue.com or at 525 B St., Ste. 1900, San Diego, CA 92101-4495; 619/687-3272. editorial information: Direct manuscripts and queries to FireRescue Editor, 525 B St., Ste. 1900, San Diego, CA 92101-4495. For editorial and photography guidelines, visit www.fire-rescue.com. For information on FireRescue reprints or permissions, visit www.fire-rescue.com. copyright © 2008 Elsevier Inc. No material may be reproduced or uploaded on computer network services without the expressed permission of the publisher. Postmaster: Send address changes to FireRescue Magazine, P.O. Box 17049, North Hollywood, CA 91615-9247. Claims of nonreceipt or damaged issues must be filed within three months of cover date. Canada Post International Mail Product (Canadian Distribution) Sales Agreement No. 1247921.

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ResponseTime

Civil Service?

Harassment has no place in the fire station

I

By Brian a. crawford

’ve been following the story of the female Houston firefighters who last year made claims of sexual and racial harassment against the department. Such cases provide important lessons learned.

Firefighters, particularly officers, must possess a firm understanding of issues involving potential harassment and the actions required of supervisors in such cases.

Harassment at any level has no place in today’s fire service and should be met with extreme diligence by officers to eradicate it from the workplace.

Deciphering the Law

Read a related blog

by Chief Reason on the Houston situation at FirefighterNation.com: http:// tinyurl.com/houstonharass

82

Unlawful harassment is a form of discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1962. It involves the creation of a hostile work environment through unwelcome verbal or physical conduct based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age or disability (although not listed in Title VII, most jurisdictions now include sexual orientation as well).

When broken down, harassment cases usually come back to a few critical but simple points involving the supervisor’s actions: Who knew what? When did they know? And what did they do?

If one of your subordinates reports that they’re being harassed, it’s not a matter of whether you believe them, it’s a matter of their right to due process under the law.

In my department, all claims of harassment result in the separation of the accuser and the accused, and the complaint is sent to my office the same day. I forward a copy to the city’s HR director/Equal Employment Opportunity Manager. We then begin an immediate inquiry to determine if the harassment claim has merit.

As an officer, if you’re thinking, “hear no evil, see no evil” will absolve you from responsibility on harassment, think again. As the supervisor at the station, you are responsible for the work environment. Due to recent changes and judicial rulings, it’s no longer enough to require an employee to bring a harassment claim to you.

If you’re aware of or have cause to believe that harassment is happening—or if the court finds, due to overtly hostile conditions, you should have been aware—you are legally required to take appropriate measures to address the situation, just as though the person being harassed had brought you a complaint directly. Fail to do so, and be prepared to be listed as a co-defendant.

Te other legal issue in harassment cases: retaliation, which can originate from the individual(s) being accused or the organization itself. Either way, if you or the depart-

Firerescue Magazine

ment retaliates against a person who filed a harassment claim, you could be signing your guilty verdict.

another Look at houston In the Houston case, the most disconcerting and incomprehensible misstep involved the department’s so-called “team-building” efforts to transition one of the female complainants back into her station. Te meeting was arranged and attended by the fire chief at the fire station where the alleged incidents occurred. Also at the meeting were the chief’s command staff and the station crew—all males. It was, expectedly, a train wreck.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the crew was allowed to berate the female firefig hter, questioning her mental stability and accusing her of having a negative affect on their marriages. Finally, after 4 hours of this treatment, the fire chief stopped the meeting and she left the station in tears, probably for good. Gee, you think?!

Maybe the fire chief’s motives were well intended, but this attempt at reconciliation quickly descended into a classic example of retaliation. Te fact that the fire chief or anyone in his inner circle didn’t know better is a troubling sign that as an entity, the fire service has a long way to go in ensuring our officers are held accountable for understanding harassment and reacting appropriately.

too high a price Although harassing a woman (or anyone, for that matter) to the point that they leave the fire department may seem like a victory for those doing the harassing, it’s not only wrong, but it can be expensive. Lawsuits brought by harassment victims can cost fire departments millions—not to mention the price they pay for losing the respect of the citizens they’re sworn to protect.

For officers, here’s the harassment takeaway: Maintain a zero-tolerance policy for harassment, know the basic EEO laws and procedures for dealing with complaints, understand that the fire station is a workplace and not a college dorm, act like an adult and a professional at all times, and treat everyone with respect and dignity.

It’s not rocket science folks; it’s called civility.

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.

March 2010

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