Not Everyone Makes It Home

By David Rhodes

from www.fireengineering.com

Not Everyone Makes It Home

..... and some get thrown away in the pursuit.

It has been a decade now since the 16 Life Safety Initiatives were developed and dispersed throughout the fire service. Undoubtedly, there has been change as a result as departments, officers, and individual firefighters reexamined a host of cultural, policy, training, design, and other factors contributing to line-of-duty deaths (LODDs). Some say that these efforts didn’t go far enough while others argue that they have gone too far and the safety movement is out of control.

The thought of everyone going home in our profession strikes an emotional reaction in each of us, because we truly want that. No one wants to see a member, or the family of a member, suffer and certainly, barring the few psychotic case studies, no one wants to be injured or killed themselves. So where are we a decade later?

Preventable LODDs

According to the National Fire Protection Association Web site, from 1997-1984 the average number of LODDs was 137, 1985-1994 it was 110, 1995-2004 was 100 (excluding 9/11 deaths), and 2005-2014 was 82. What do these numbers really tell us? Are we looking at the right things when it comes to risks? Those who worked (and are still working) on educating and challenging us are to be commended for the holistic approach. I certainly want to see the decline in numbers continue, and I want to ensure that we remain focused on understanding that the 16 Life Safety Initiatives were developed to eliminate “preventable” deaths.

I recently heard someone using the “Everyone Goes Home” slogan, then making the comment that all firefighter deaths and injuries are preventable. This is not the first time I have heard someone say that but the frequency of hearing it is increasing. Caution: All firefighter injuries and deaths will never be preventable unless we shut the fire service down.

In our admirable course to reduce LODDs, we have to be careful not to create unrealistic expectations or become obsessed with the numbers game. There is no way to know that a person has stored a propane cylinder in a house on fire that will explode and kill one of our members. There is no way to know that someone may lose his footing and fall off a ladder. Risk management is a process to reduce and help eliminate these possibilities-but it is not a guarantee.

Hindsight Bias

If we create a belief that all injuries and deaths are preventable in our profession, then we also create the culture of hindsight bias that immediately places blame on the individual, the officer, or the incident commander. Hindsight bias is the tendency people have to view past events as more predictable than they really were before the events took place. After an event occurs, people often believe they could have predicted the outcome of the event before it actually happened.1 The belief that all are preventable translates to blaming individuals for actions or inactions when we are looking retrospectively with all the information, information that in many cases our member, officer, or incident commander did not have or did not understand in the full context of its importance.

When this type of culture (hindsight bias) emerges, many of our best and brightness will be thrown away and shunned as if they have committed some great crime against humanity, when in fact whoever was working that day would have made the same decisions and had no impact on the outcome. As that happens, the culture of inaction will emerge because any decision to engage in anything will be a risk that most won’t be willing to take. Internal investigations will take on a new mission to seek and destroy anyone who has anything bad happen on their watch so the “cover your butt” culture can thrive. Your people will stop using common sense and wait for you to tell them everything to do.

Mayday-Myth vs Reality

From www.firefighterclosecalls.com

Last week we had a old friend visit our region to do training. Don Abbott is a well respected, retired Chief Officer who is truly one of those “just the facts maa’m” people. You may remember his from Abbottville, Command School, FDIC, Firehouse and so many other programs.

Unfortunately I was out of town spending time with Firefighters in New England, but thanks to some friends, including neighboring Chief StevieP, I want to share with readers of The Secret List WHAT Don spoke about. These are just a few highlights of what Don has discovered as FACT related to Firefighter Maydays-in no particular order (Don reviewed this TSL and we are sending it out with his blessings) and I added a few thoughts as well.

If nothing else, this Secret List is a helpful checklist to determine how “ready” your training and response plans are for a first alarm assignment, and in in the event of a MAYDAY. 

These statistics are from approximately 1,000 significant Mayday events that have been studied and evaluated in-depth across the United States. 

The Ten Percenters

By Joseph Kirtchen

From www.fireengineering.com

“The Ten Percenters; An Exclusive Club but its Doors are Open”

                        The best of the best. The hall of famers. The top performers. The ones you can always count on. The elite. Call them whatever you want, they are our best firefighters. Not only skilled and proficient; they are ethical, they don’t complain, and they unfortunately are often overlooked. Sometimes these guys do such a good job that we don’t even notice. We just expect them to be great. Instead, we focus on the underperforming employees or volunteers. Every department has a few firefighters who are in what I call, “The 10% Club.” As supervisors, we need to not only acknowledge and thank these top performers for their contributions; we need to figure out how to grow this “club” within our organizations. As I have indicated, the club is exclusive, its only filled with our very best, but, any firefighter can join. Here is a self assessment survey for firefighters to determine if they qualify for membership in the “club.”

1. Training is considered an essential part of the job, not chore.
2. “Early” is on time. “On time” is late.
3. Compassion is shown for every fire victim and EMS patient regardless of how tired we are and how “routine” we consider the call.
4. The day is spent checking and maintaining equipment and readying for the next call; not in the recliner.
5. Fitness and nutrition are a normal part of their lifestyle. They recognize that firefighters are athletes.
6. They are focused on teaching and training other firefighters. They serve as department mentors.
7. They have the department’s S.O.G.s and pre-plans memorized.
8. When gossip and negatively is being spewed at the kitchen table; they are nowhere to be found.
9. They believe in the mission and always set a great example.

    10. They love the fire service. They live and breathe this career.

    11. Brotherhood is demonstrated; not just a t-shirt slogan or tattoo.

    12. They are leaders regardless of their rank.

    13. They show up every day with a great attitude.

    14. Operational excellence and an outstanding knowledge of fireground strategy and tactics is the norm.

    15. They are always honest and can be counted on to always make ethical decisions in the best interest of the organization.

    16. They are well read, lifelong learners.

    17. They don’t feel that they are “owed” anything. They work without any sense of entitlement.

    18. They want everyone to be successful and often help others achieve their goals.

    19. They have gratitude for the opportunity to put on the uniform every day.

    20. They understand that it’s all about service.

     So, you want in? You want to join the club? There are no forms to fill out, and no dues to pay. Just show up on your next shift and give it your best. Have bad habits? Change them. Have a poor attitude? Fix it. You are part of the greatest profession on the planet, why not be the very best at it? Start today; and welcome to the club. Chief officers; seek out these “Ten Percenters”, recognize them. Praise them. Thank them. Figure out how to duplicate them. Keep in mind, you can’t expect to have a “Ten Percenter Club” if you aren’t willing to lead it and be a member yourself.

What's In It For Me?

By Jarrod Sergi

From www.fireengineering.com

Over the last few months I have heard some conversations about seeking out additional training/certifications or additional responsibilities in the department. I have heard these conversations lead into statements such as “what’s the department going to give me in return for obtaining these things.” I have heard the “what’s in it for me” statement also thrown around a few times. There are a number of things out there that could potentially infect our fire service in a negative way. To me, the “what’s in it for me” mentality is a potential disease and we need to head it off as soon as possible.

I think sometimes this way of thinking could stem from an organizational leadership problem, but largely falls on the individual. It takes our focus off of the mission of the fire service and in the end hurts the service to our community.

Mostly, people are looking for extrinsic rewards for doing the things mentioned above. Extrinsic rewards could be something tangible or physically given to you for your performance. I am not saying that these rewards aren’t good or even deserved, but they should not be the driving force in our performance.

There have several studies conducted by Psychologist Richard Ryan from the University of Rochester that looked at various types of employees and their work performance. It was found that extrinsic rewards can actually erode intrinsic interest. People who see themselves as working for money, approval or competitive success find their tasks less enjoyable, and therefore do not do them as well.

Mental Poison

From www.ironsandladders.com

This one has been brewing for years, and I think it is time to get it out in the open for everyone to share. I really struggle with this topic and it creates a lot of frustration for me to try and comprehend that this is something we are even talking about. Lets just start it out bluntly.
If you’re already set in your ways, and have long ago decided that not only are you going to just simply gather a paycheck but at the same time hold a deep never ending grudge for the guys that are trying to move forward and make this job better, then go ahead,  hold on to that mediocre mentality, sit back for the ride and finish your career in that state, but by all means KEEP IT TO YOURSELF!

Why We Go Inside

What Does Vacant Mean?

 

What Does Vacant Mean?

by David Rhodes

The word vacant in the fire service has taken on a life of its own. By definition. as it relates to a structure,  it would mean that it is unoccupied (no one in there... for you vocabulary challenged guys). Many departments generalize the term vacant. I have even seen research papers on "vacant" structures and firefighter injuries. Unfortunately this has added to the developing risk aversion culture that tends to generalize the job. I even catch myself misusing the term due a normalization of deviance.

Vacant for the fire service now means several different things. It describes the appearance of the structure to some, it means that no one is currently paying rent or a house payment to others and in some areas it mean an old dilapidated structure that has weeds growing out of the siding.

In many urban areas there is rarely such thing as a vacant structure. Most structures are occupied by someone even if they are not supposed to be there. In many cases these structure are likely to have fires and have individuals trapped. They have no power (unless it’s being stolen) so, how did the fire start?

I propose banning the use of “vacant structure” from fire service terminology prior to a primary and secondary search by the fire department. I am in favor of identifying buildings that may be structurally unsound as “high risk” but not “vacant”. It is the fire departments job to determine if a structure is occupied or not when there is a fire in it. The fire department does not make decisions on when to rescue based on the economic status of the individual. A life is a life. The determination of when to “go or not go” should not be based on a self-imposed classification of building as “vacant”.

The overall victim survivability and structural risk profile is the determining factor for “go or no go” once on scene. Front loading a perception of “vacant” has a harmful side effect of creating a nonchalant, slow, not a big deal “just another vacant structure” mentality. All the while, someone may be inside.

One of my crews rescued a 60+ year old man out a structure that the initial crews took for “vacant” based on appearance and had been operating in the exterior defensive mode for over 25 mins. When we arrived we could see areas of the structure that we determined could be and needed to be searched. So we asked to change from defensive to offensive based on our assessment and sure enough a victim was rescued and he lived. In fact he only spent one night in the hospital and was released.

Please stop front loading the term "vacant" and use another descriptor to identify potential risks. Once you have search the building the declare "all clear". Let's leave the term vacant to the real estate brokers. They are not interested in searching a building and saving anyone. It just means no one is paying right now to them.