Concrete Training

Nothing beats real world, on-the-job training; particularly in the fire service. 

It has always been a major challenge of the fire suppression providers to simulate real world scenarios.  How do you create a potentially deadly, deteriorating atmosphere in an unknown location with the urgency of saving a life (while preserving your own) without destroying property and killing recruits? 

There are hundreds of ways to development skills needed to function in an actual burning building.  We negotiate mazes with blanked out SCBA masks (like blind mice looking for cheese), repetitively practice with our equipment to hone technical skills into thoughtless reflexes (while sitting on a chair in the engine room), we flow nozzles (onto sunny parking lots) to give pump operators and nozzle jockeys time to develop natural reactions and thought processes.  We watch videos, we tell stories, and we read articles and books.  We pre-plan, chalk talk, and “what if” ourselves to death.  We participate in scheduled drills, we attend structured classes, and we obtain “certifications” by jumping through some carefully monitored and well documented “hoops”.  While these tasks may prepare us for the real deal, they certainly don’t recreate it. 

Many will argue that live burn sessions are the only way to properly prepare a firefighter for the real action he or she may face, and in many way, this type of training is very helpful to measure one’s abilities in certain areas.  Certainly, a live burn will assure that a candidate understands the purpose of the PPE, and the importance of maintaining it and wearing it properly.  It is an important tool for measuring one’s ability to remain calm, tolerate heat, and negotiate with limited visibility.  There is also no better way to drive home the lessons about staying low, NOT opening a fog pattern into a superheated space that you occupy, the importance of good timing with your ventilation techniques, or why proper radio use is so very important. 

Then there are the drawbacks to this type of training… The things it can’t teach...  Worse yet, are the habits we can develop when we train in a concrete prop more than we fight real fire.  Such as:

·         Real fire doesn’t check your schedule…or the weather

·         Real fires require overhaul… LOTS of overhaul

·         Real fires threaten property that can be SALVAGED

·         Real fires aren’t over in 4 minutes

·         Real fires decompose buildings in short periods of time

·         Real fires should be completely extinguished the first time

·         Real fires don’t wait until your crew, back-up crew, vent team, RIT team and water supply are all set and ready to go

·         Real fires don’t let you try it again

·         Real fires don’t show you the floor plan and escape doors

·         Real fires ignore the safety rules

A live burn session is a great tool to use to help teach a firefighter, but FAR from a simulation, and certainly not the ONLY tool that should be used to measure a firefighter’s ability…that’s what certifications are for, right?  More on that powder keg topic next time…

Stay safe Brothers and Sisters!

Son of a…

Even a casual glance across the rosters of the volunteer fire service reveals a pattern of family involvement.  Family values and traditions play a large role toward an inherited desire to volunteer in the local fire department.  It is not uncommon to see at least one father/son or brother/brother tandem on any fire department roster.  In fact, I recently examined my region (60+ fire suppression agencies) and discovered a family tandem in over 75% of those departments.  Many had more than one pair of relatives actively serving.  The longevity and commitment to the fire service created by this type of family-based value shows in the number of these relationships that included one or more leaders of their respective organizations.  My family, for example, includes a grandfather, father, mother, sister, cousin and daughter who either serve, or served the organization in some capacity, most rising to a successful position of leadership.

 

On my sixteenth birthday, I got a fire helmet from my parents.  While that may seem a bit presumptuous, it was one of my most memorable gifts I ever received.  I had already spent several years watching and learning.  You see, my father was the fire chief; it was fairly certain that I would follow in his footsteps. 

Those of you who have followed your parents into an “occupation” understand that often means more hurdles than advantages.  The volunteer fire service is no different.  The expectations are set much higher, and you can’t simple “stay home” if you didn’t feel like participating, without lots of explaining and guilt.  Please understand that these represent the “good” part of having family in the business; built in motivation, insights into the behind-the-scenes issues, etc.  It makes me appreciate the “generic”, non-family connected volunteer even more!  Choosing to serve the fire department takes a lot of guts and commitment…and sacrifice!

The challenges that are even more difficult are the ones that come from outside the family, and outside the scope of evaluation of a traditional member.  It is the expectation and assumption of the masses that an offspring of a leader has greater opportunity for advancement and acknowledgement, yet nothing could be farther from the truth.  While I will admit that having a family heritage in the fire service certainly made me aware of the opportunities available to me, the path to success was certainly as difficult, and even MORE difficult because of the perceptions of nepotism that needed to be overcome. 

I knew from the beginning of my career in the fire service, that I would have to work harder, study more, attain more certifications, practice more intently, be more uniquely creative, and set my own personal bar higher than most simply to overcome the assumption that I got something I didn’t earn.  Hearing the phrase “…because you’re the chief’s kid” was something that made me so angry I could spit!  That phrase was my motivation to rise above the presumption through endless hard work and personal accomplishment. 

My father didn’t make it easy either.  His fire service career is adorned with many great accomplishments that have made the Hostetter name well known in the emergency services network.  I marvel at the number of people who I meet who give me that awestruck look as they ask, “Are you related to Glen?”, as if I am some sort of heir to a throne.  It is a bittersweet feeling of being directly associated with such a great community leader, while never being able to step clear from the shadow he casts. 

THAT, however, remains my goal.  In the words of Napoleon Hill, “The strongest oak of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It's the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun.  In an effort to be that mighty oak, I have become so resistant to accepting help from the trees around me.  I have steered away from the support and protection of one of the mightiest oaks I know in an effort to be strong, resilient, and self-sufficient.  I have done so with such resolve that I have carried that independent characteristic into professional relationships beyond those between my father and me.  Sadly, this independent drive is sometimes misinterpreted as isolation, unwillingness to work within a team, or “standoffishness”.  Wow, spell check didn’t underline that word; I am glad someone understands me!

While it may seem noble and honorable to desire acknowledgement and reward based solely on individual measurable achievement, I have, once again, discovered that the world doesn’t always work that way.  There is more than just black and white, there are many shades of gray that come from blending the measurable with the immeasurable.  I can only hope that before my career ends, I learn to dip my fingers in the paint and smear myself a new opportunity that mixes my personal accomplishments with all those career boosting, wheel greasing traits that I have trained myself to avoid for the past 32 years.  I just hope after all these years, my paint hasn’t dried up!

Finders Keepers

Two very important words in the vocabulary of fire service leaders today are recruitment and retention.  I don’t care if you are a career, volunteer, or combination station, finding quality people, and subsequently keeping them is one of the greatest challenges we face.  In fact, the old grade school axiom “Finders keepers, losers weepers” is the basis for today’s blog post.

To begin, I researched the word “recruit” and was reminded that it is both a noun, and a verb.  We need to recruit recruits!  How catchy!  There are other interesting words that come up with that definition: enlist, draft, enroll, strengthen, supply, recover, replenish, renew, restore.  I never considered the “re-“ to be a prefix, since as a prefix it means “to do again”.  Then I thought, “Of course, we are always re-casting the net for new members”, or, I suppose, “CRUITS”.  But what bait do we use to catch these “cruits”? 

If they were fish, we would study what they eat, where they eat, and when they eat.  Then we would tempt them with their favorite snack attached to a barbed hook, and snag them through the lip and reel them in.  I suggested this at our last staff meeting, and we collectively decided this would not have any positive long term effects on our membership ranks.  Not literally, anyway.  I wanted to focus on young men and women and the volunteer fire service, so I set out to study these little guppies to see what “lures” them to join.  Like puppets, they said all the correct canned answers: help my community, be a good citizen, yada, yada, yada.  I immediately called “bullshit”!  Young people join the fire department because they are the leftovers, the outcasts, and the visionless who have not been able to carve another social niche for themselves.  They know the fire service, in general, is starving for warm bodies and willing souls.  Let’s face it, we pretty much believe we can mold any of these bewildered humanoids into mean lean firefighting machines, so we sign them up, and take them in.  We attract them with bright shiny trucks full of really cool tools, promise to dress them up in an awesome set of protective equipment, and take them “beyond the yellow tape” where mere mortals seldom trod, and let them break stuff in the name of public service. 

THEN, they discover they actually need to learn stuff… lots of stuff… hard stuff.  Science and physics and math and reading and all the other things they loathed in school are all part of the business.  Then there is the discipline!  In school, they were herded around in groups of people very similar to themselves, and the teachers and school officials made and enforced rules made popular by guards at a reformatory.  Discovering that the fire service is a very diverse group of ages, races, educational levels, shapes and sizes, and is run by several sets of rules (emergency rules, and non-emergency rules) is enough to scare away the weak-hearted.  This is why retention begins immediately after recruitment.

Retention: to continue, keep, hold, and preserve the ranks.  After learning that “re-“ in recruitment meant to do again, I tried that same rule with the word retention and immediately realized how messed up the English language really is.  Why can’t we just use “Obtain and Retain” or better yet, “Finders Keepers”.  Retention of the ranks is an ongoing tactic that we sadly do not put enough effort into.  I could staff 2 or 3 good-sized stations with the quality people I know who have left the fire service for one reason or another. Sadly, I am sure that my actions or even my mere presence may have contributed to one or more of those departures, but I digress.  The best way to retain an individual is to continue to satisfy that individual’s appetite for what bait got him hooked in the first place.  That’s right, every individual needs a bit of specifically designed, personalized “atta boys” or “atta girls” to maintain their desire to continue service with the department.  On a larger scale, a clear and precise departmental vision must be developed, defined, and communicated.  Clear organizational goals must be shared with every member so they can each feel like an important part of the whole puzzle.   It is leadership’s responsibility to outline the specific points of that plan and steer the group’s actions toward the accomplishment of that pre-planned greatness.  THAT is what will help retain membership.

So, to review:

FINDERS:  Look everywhere, discount no-one, open your doors, sell your organization.

KEEPERS: Once you begin to invest in them, protect your investment so interest is compounded.

LOSERS: Passing up a potential piece of the puzzle is a mistake.  Don’t let the big one get away.

WEEPERS: Those who failed to focus on recruitment and retention as a vital resource. 

Your turn… GO FISH!

Lead, Follow, AND Get Out of the Way!

We have all heard the phrase, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way”.  It has many kin, such as the more crude, “Shit or get off the pot”, or the touchy-feely “Don’t walk ahead of me; I may not follow… yada, yada, yada”.  But as a fire service leader, one must realize that this is not an all or nothing proposition.  In fact, a good leader will lead, follow, AND get out of the way.  A great leader will know exactly when to do which.

Certainly, a leader must lead!  That is the very purpose of leadership.  But leading comes in many forms and styles.  One of the more common and reasonably successful ways of leadership involves leading by example.  The “do as I say not as I do” method only last for a brief period before the subordinates catch on to the inequality of the situation.  A leader must demonstrate the desired characteristics of his troops.  “Do as I do” is the most primitive method of leadership, and one of the easiest to enact.  People look to leadership and often mimic the actions and behaviors of that leader.  It is not necessary for that leader to say “do this” or “act this way”.  Setting the example with consistency is the most effective method to teach a particular behavior.  These passive “decisions” must also be complimented with active decisions.  It is the roll of a leader to make clear, committed directives that are based on knowledge and experience.  Whether choosing a fire ground tactic to initiate, or creating a policy to enact, a quality leader must decide on a plan and direct its completion, making adjustments and modifications based on feedback and re-analysis along the way. 

Following is another characteristic that a leader needs to employ.  The most obvious aspect that needs to be followed is the leaders’ supervisor.  Yes, folks, no matter how high up the ladder you climb; there is always someone on a higher rung.  Whether that is a superior officer, a municipal manager, or some other “higher authority”, we all follow somebody.   Less apparent, is the need for a leader to follow his troops.  This does not imply that a leader needs to stay on his subordinates heels, watching their every move (although I know a few leaders who do this).  This means a leader should keep track of the personnel in their unit.  By following their activity and project progress, a good leader will be able to keep the group on the right track and on the proper pace.  Timely support of their activities will enable the leader to maintain accountability while maintaining a respected supervisory role. 

Somewhere between leading and following is where the real action is.  It is the meat and potatoes of the operation; where the “real” work gets done.   It is where the well trained crew knows their job well, and often better than the supervisor.  It is the place where seasoned crew members call upon years of experience and repetition of a task.  It is where the finely tuned tricks of the trade are employed by the veterans, while the fresh new technology of the recently-schooled probies is tested.   It is where teamwork is tested, under battle conditions.  It is not the time to teach or explain, or describe.  Nor is it the time to critique, analyze, or discourage.  This is the time and place for the leader to get out of the way!  It is not always easy to assign a task and let it go, but trust in the crew at this moment in time is paramount.  If a leader has done his job well, getting out of the way will be easy.  When properly prepared, equipped, trained, and  protected, a leader’s crew will safely and successfully accomplish any reasonable task it is assigned with a high degree of confidence and competence. 

You Gotta Be "All In"

There seems to be some people that believe the notion that you can be a “part-time” firefighter.  I am not talking about the volunteer who has two-jobs and a family, and needs to budget his time wisely.  I like that guy.  You know that when he is there, he is there with a purpose.  I am also not referring to the volley that belongs to multiple fire departments and flips his alliance based on where the glory is and where the work is.  I have an entire post about clowns like that.  I am talking about the guy that thinks he can serve as a firefighter part of the time, but “turn it off” when he finds it convenient.  Have I confused you?  Please allow me to explain.

Becoming a firefighter is a commitment.  Whether you are career, or volunteer, when you join the brotherhood of firefighters, you have made a life choice.  On duty or off duty you are always a firefighter.  There is an expectation of behavior that is laid upon every new department member that includes a degree of decorum that extends well beyond the boundaries of the fire station.  Once you are known as a “firefighter”, everything you do will be a reflection on firefighters everywhere.  If you sport a blue whacker light, three scanner antennas and a dozen fireman stickers on your car and you drive like an ass, guess what everyone’s perception of firefighters is.  Act like a slobbering jack-wagon at a bar room in your FD t-shirt, and what would you suppose everyone in the place will think of the fire service?  And my new recent favorite is the knuckleheads who use the internet and their 1^st Amendment to spew garbage from their pie hole without any consideration to the embarrassment they are causing to the rest of the “brotherhood”.  They insult brothers (or their brother’s mother), threaten retaliation through violence, or flex their cyber-muscles against the very authority they are too cowardly to confront face-to-face. 

The way I see it, you ALWAYS carry “the banner”.  Often I have heard the excuse, “But I am a volunteer, you can’t make me…(fill in your favorite complaint here)”  Really??  Your volunteer act occurred when you walked into the fire station and joined.  From that point forward, you have enlisted yourself to behave in a manner that fits a rigid expectation of the department you joined. When you get in your car and drive away from the station, the department leadership still considers you to be an ambassador of their organization. But do you respect that honor?

Do you wave at passing vehicles with firefighter plates, or do you check to see what department it is from first, then decide if you are going to salute that brother?  Do you hold doors for strangers while you are sporting your fire company job shirt, because that old lady just might be your Lieutenant’s grandma.  Do you Tweet with dignity and respect, knowing the world is reading, and judging?

This “being a firefighter” is a full-time responsibility.  Thinking it is anything less is simply “irresponsible” 

On Any Given Sunday

As I relaxed by my fireplace watching football games today, I started thinking about how much football and firefighting have in common.  In fact, I will describe one, and let you decide which one I am describing:

The most notable thing is the personal protective gear.  Before heading into “battle”, the team members don an ensemble of equipment to protect their bodies from damage.  Helmets, eye shields, gloves, padded clothing, and special footwear; all designed for efficiency and comfort.  This equipment is so important, that there are penalties that are assessed if you do not wear your gear properly.  Members of each team wear the same uniform, which shows unity and togetherness, but personal preferences may slightly alter an individuals equipment styles.  It doesn’t matter whether you are a well paid “starter”, or a part-timer working for next-to-nothing, you wear the same insignia as everyone else on the team and are expected to excel to your potential on every event.  Almost everyone wears their names on the backs of their apparel, and part of what they wear indicates the roll they serve during the period of activity. 

Every group has a specific “game plan” they like to follow, but when circumstances are dictated by the enemy, plans B and C sometime need to be put into action.  Sometimes it takes an aggressive offense to take control of the event, and there are times when a defensive posture will make you the winner of the day.  When all else fails, you can always “punt”.  Watching the clock is a must, time is very important.  If you don’t do enough things right in a timely fashion, you get beat.

Not everyone participates at the same time.  There are capable back-ups ready to step in when called upon, and there are specialists for almost every specific situation.  There is a hierarchy of leadership that makes split second personnel and strategic decisions based on the problem they are facing at that moment.  Some of these leaders do not engage directly with the “enemy”.  Only one is ultimately in charge, while the subordinates may direct operations in a specific task or sector.  From the captains on down is where the dirty work gets done, and the guys in the “trenches” seldom get the credit they deserve. Rosters are often changing.  Leaders who are ineffective get replaced, members retire, and some simply choose to take a different career path.  Free agency has caused “players” to change teams; loyalty isn’t what it used to be. 

Once underway, rehab areas become active with members cooling off in front of misting fans or warming their limbs in front of portable heaters when the weather is cold.  Hydration is important to keep everyone from cramping up, and the event doesn’t stop if someone gets hurt.  The injured are helped out of the action circle, and their role is replaced by another team member by medical specialists.

Groups that practice often, study the opponent carefully, and stick with the game plan go home happy.  Organizations that make mistakes, are improperly prepared, and do not give their best effort every time, often have lots of trouble in the locker room. 

Only one thing appears certain…If your fire department shows up with fans wearing cheese on their heads, you can pretty much expect perfection.

After Rights, What’s Left?

Two great things about being an American are the Bill of Rights, and the Internet.  One gives us the right to say or write anything we want, and the other gives us a platform for the entire world to view it.  That is a powerful tool, or a power weapon, depending on how it is used.  I am a big fan of both!  I love to babble, and love when someone is listening.  It is my long monologues at home alone that never give me any satisfaction. The truth is, I don’t think the fish understand English; they just stare at me, then turn their backs and swim away.    

I am tickled that technology has given me the opportunity to blog my thoughts and have some fire officer in England send me an e-mail saying, “Same here, Chap!”  It also reminds me that if I threaten someone, crack an ethnic joke, or insult someone in a foreign country, I am very likely to end up facing uncomfortable consequences, from someone close by or on the other side of the globe.  Sure I can SAY anything I want, but that is where the protection from the first amendment ends.  There is no language in any law that says that the object of my written poison must be loyally swallowed without opposition.  I could SAY that I am going to blow up a grade school, but I am smart enough to expect that federal agents will be following my every move before I even log off. 

These communication tools are like any ordinary tool.  Misuse will cause problems.  As I love to do, I will draw a rather grotesque analogy to explain my point.  I can own a table saw and I am permitted to sever my arm with that table saw if I really, really want to.  That is my right!  But obviously, the result of exercising my right to sever an appendage will create lasting results that I may not wish to endure.  Push-ups are hard enough with both arms, and since I do not have the financial backing of the Def Leppard drummer to trick out my kit the way he did, I would likely need to give up my monster set, and kiss the dream of drumming on stage for Van Halen good-bye!

So, what is the point to all of this?  If you speak, plan to stand by your words.  You OWN everything you say.  If what you say causes anger or hostility toward you, do not be surprised if someone gets angry or hostile toward you.  If what you say is illegal, expect to be arrested.  If what you say is libelous, expect to be named in a lawsuit.  If you saw off your arm with a table saw, expect a nickname like “Stumpy”.  Do you understand my point?

Rights do not shield us from harm.  In fact, in many cases, our rights give us just enough rope to hang ourselves.  Of course, hanging yourself is your right, too.  Just don’t expect your life insurance to pay your next of kin.  That is THEIR right!

The Look is lost.

Remember the good old days in the fire service?  Life was simple back then.  I'm not talking about riding the tailboard in hip books or leading off with booster lines and Hardie guns, I am talking about the way people used to respond to leadership.

One thing that was seldom an issue was the respect for authority.  The chain of command was "Queen Mary anchor" chain.  It was strong , solid, and unchallenged.  The Fire Chief, Assistant Chiefs, Captains and Lieutenants maintained a hierarchy of leadership that was well defined, and not to be questioned.  We followed orders from those above you in rank whether they wore your company number, or that of a mutual aid company.  Colonel Jessup said it best in "A Few Good Men", "We follow orders or people die!"

The Chief wasn't always right, but he was always the Chief!  His plan was the only plan that was followed, and his officers carried that message through to the troops.  We did not fear the man in charge, we feared DISOBEYING the man in charge.  Disobedience led to consequence.  That consequence may have been as simple as "the look".  You may have gotten one in the past that you recall.  That straight stare, crooked eyebrow, flared nostril look of disapproval that sank your heart into your gut.  You never wanted to be on the receiving end of that...or worse.  You especially didn't want to have your peers to see you get "the look". 

The shame of letting the team down was more than enough to keep us in line.  We all knew we were in the same boat as well.  NO ONE was immune from "the look".  If we screwed up and deserved to have one cast upon us from an officer, we hung our heads in shame, and accepted the (imaginary) scarlet letters that we would wear for awhile.  Unlike the novel, however, this "A" stood for ASS, instead of Adulterer.  You usually "wore it" until someone else deserved it more than you, relieving you of its heavy burden. 

Today, it seems like everything is questioned.  Not directly, mind you, but by social and organizational manipulation.  People can hide under their covers with a laptop and instantly rally up a posse of support against a directive without ever fearing "the look".  Authority is losing its, well, AUTHORITY!  There is a virtual arsenal of liberal movements that protect people from "the look".  Think about it... you can always find a support group, organization, union, club, "lawyer", parent, or block bully to tell you that you don't deserve "the look", you should not fear "the look", and if someone ever tries to give you "the look", whether you deserve it or not, will fight on your side. 

Please don't misinterpret what I am saying.  There are some leaders that barely deserve to be respected, particularly those that do not respect the people they lead.  There are also many people in the fire service that understand the value and importance of the chain of command.  Lets be honest, a blog about the obedient and deserving ones would be a yawner, and they wouldn't expect to be stroked constantly to keep them dedicated to the commitment they make to the fire service.  It's the toxic, disrespectful cowards that need to be stroked repeatedly ... with a rusty wire brush dipped in kerosene!