Brevard County Fire Rescue Divides & Conquers

Volume 2, Issue 4 Winter 2012 CONTENTS

In this Issue! 18 Florida’s Space Coast Brevard County (Fla.) Fire Rescue manages an eclectic array of challenges. By Larry Collins

24 Controlling Chaos When responding to collapse situations, think control before command. By VIncent Dunn

30 Personnel Best 18 Personal improvement agreements offer a collaborative solution to subpar perfromance. By Forest Reeder

Leadership & Management Opinions 16 Be Nice 4 The Chief’s Aloha B Shifter toasts a Texas department’s By Alan V. Brunacini efforts to help the hearing impaired. By B Shifter Staff 6 Random Hallucinations Sector. Divison. Group. Tomayto. 36 Functional Boss Behaviors Tomato. What’s really in a name? The old rules don’t work anymore, and By Nick Brunacini you are tasked with updating them. By Alan V. Brunacini 60 The 360 How to avoid a seemingly unavoidable 40 Career Strategies & Tactics Zombie Apocalypse. What not to do during an interview. By Johnny Peters By MC Hyyppa

42 Managing a Fire Company The IAFF’s Survival Training Program can help your company prevent & manage maydays. By Chris Stewart

46 Personnel Problem Online leadership simulation. Is one guy’s “early” another guy’s “late”? By B Shifter Staff

B Shifter® is owned and published by Across the Street Productions Inc. Copyright 2013. All rights 6 reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the expressed written consent of Across the Street Productions. Requests for permission should be directed to [email protected].

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Fire Attack Standards & SOPs 10 Structural Components 58 Blue Card SOPs Part II: Fight fires in dangerous commercial Download the Hazard-Zone Management buildings & get out alive. Standard: Communications. By Vincent Dunn Download Here! Hazard Zone 48 Incident Review Incident Command Standard A fire incident in the Pacific Northwest Click the paperclip at right to proves that classroom training improves download your copy of the Hazard our real-world response. Zone Incident Command Standard. By Pat Dale Sexy Pictures 54 Command Training Like the U.S. Constitution, SOPs are 64 The Rear Axle living documents that should evolve as A 1953 Packard Henney gets a much-needed our needs change. makeover after years of military service. By Nick Brunacini Drills & Training 60 14 Trainer’s Workout Honor your 2013 training resolution with this helpful training schedule. By Forest Reeder

52 The Drilldown This issue’s interactive Drilldown discusses how we put companies to work when they Blue Star Items Complement arrive on scene. & Support the Blue Card Hazard- By B Shifter Staff Zone Incident Command Training

WINTER 2013 3 THE CHIEF’S ALOHA

No End in Sight You heard it here: The world isn’t ending, so keep on training for your day job.

BY ALAN V. BRUNACINI

reetings, B Shifters! Thank you for tuning in to another edition of our humble publication. You Gmay have noticed we like to have some fun with our covers. This issue is clearly no exception. This month’s cover art is a B Shifter wink and nod to those who have gotten wrapped up in the Mayan doomsday prophecy. What better way to pay homage to the end of days than a Mexican sugar skull—one of the items traditionally used to celebrate the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) in Mexico. We certainly hope all of our readers make it to Dec. 22 unscathed. Since you all probably will, it’s a good idea to keep training and learning as usual. This issue will help you do that. This issue’s department profile highlights the Brevard County (Fla.) Fire Rescue Department (BCFR). In Florida’s Space Coast, BCFR Chief Larry Collins describes the multitude of challenges his members face year-round—wildfires, Click the play button above to launch ocean rescues and space launches, just to name a few. (One of Bre- Big Al’s video greeting. vard County’s area codes is 321, as in “3, 2, 1 LIFT OFF!”) Despite a large and varied response area, BCFR makes sure its members are well-trained, well-prepared and professional. Click here! Visit B Shifter’s When dealing with an underperforming team member, one great new forums! might be tempted to take swift, drastic measures (my mind wan- ders to those ancient Mayan human sacrifices...). I’m much more in favor of a humane, proactive and cooperative approach, and so is Forest Reeder. Forest writes a training column in each issue called the Trainer’s Toolbox, but in this issue he’s also written a feature on performance-improvement agreements. In Personnel Best, Forest discusses how training officers, company officers and other department leaders can work with employees to create a sound performance-improvement plan. His methods and suggestions encourage a healthy teamwork approach to improving performance. We have a short and sweet incident review in this issue that details how classroom training translates to the real world. Olym- pia (Wash.) Fire Department Assistant Chief of Operations Pat Dale describes a fire response with a happy ending due some recent command training. So many of us wonder how-why-when-where the stuff we learn in a classroom will actually apply—much like an 8th grader wonders why he needs to know algebra. In Training Hits the Streets, we see first hand how all that classroom mumbo jumbo makes us better on scene. Thanks again for joining us one more time. Have a safe and happy holiday! See you on the other side of the apocalypse!

4 B SHIFTER Brunacini Leadership Seminar in cooperation with The Center for Public Safety Excellence In Beautiful North Las Vegas

Imagine having a personal chat with one of the most esteemed leaders the fire service has ever known, Alan Brunacini. A chance to discuss the leadership challenges your department faces today. The Brunacini Leadership Seminar is exactly that. You and other fire service leaders will get a chance to talk about the tough topics in a frank, honest, and open format with Chief Brunacini and his Leadership Team. Regardless of how long you’ve been in the fire service, if you’re in a leadership role this experience is priceless.

Brunacini Leadership Seminar in cooperation with The Center for Public Safety Excellence Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa 2300 Paseo Verde Parkway Henderson, NV 89052 Hotel Reservations: https://greenvalleyranch.sclv.com Register at http://brunacinicpsevegas-eac2.eventbrite.com

March 3rd 2013 $200.00 www.publicsafetyexcellence.org RANDOM HALLUCINATIONS What’s in a Name? You can call a turd a tulip, but it will still smell like poop.

BY NICK BRUNACINI

have fond memories from the early days when our Class A uniform Iincluded a short-sleeve cranberry- colored button-up shirt with a black clip-on tie. Chief officers wore a white long-sleeve dress shirt with a dark cranberry-colored jacket. The polyester suit coat was adorned with a round patch that depicted a golden POONEY PICKERING ILLUSTRATION Phoenix rising from flames. It looked like the coaster from a really nice Chinese food restaurant. The outfit screamed for a fez. Our union countered by dressing the members of its executive board in gold jackets. They looked like the inner circle of Century 21 real-estate agents. I remember being scolded by a small herd of cranberry and gold jackets at one of the union-sponsored fire department mixers. They looked like the USC marching band while they railed over our department’s new customer-service obsession and the sunset of the true-man era. Their bored wives had ditched the whole sorry group to look for some young A-shifters to rub up against. When our department decided to print each firefighter’s name on their uniform shirt, it directly endangered the lives of hundreds of firefighters and their families. This happened during the early 1980s, a decade best known for serial-killer cannibals who preyed on public-safety employees and their families after reading the name on their uniform. I believe names on uniforms should read first name, last initial. People refer to one another by first names. “Mike H.” provides instant information we can use to launch a successful relationship. On the other hand, “Captain M. Hunt” does nothing for anyone. Most of the citizen complaints I processed didn’t include names. The offend- ing members were generally identified as that “asshole officer” or “arrogant little prick.” The truth of the matter is those descriptions always seemed to accurately identify the key players. Before mandating names on uniforms, we referred to one another as “pard,” “buddy” and “pal.” Despite dire predictions from the roaring minor- ity, it was tough to bitch about our new identification system because the name was going on a T-shirt of all things. Our uniform didn’t include buttons, ties, braids or silly hats. The sweet frosting was the fact we received a very generous uniform allowance. Eventually the uniform allowance was slightly reduced, but that was offset with half a dozen uniform shirts and a couple pairs of uniform pants every calendar year. This system was automated and caused us to collectively look better because faded, tissue-paper-thin uniform shirts were forced out of service. The combination of new uniform shirts twice a year, washers and dryers in the stations and department-issued navy blue

6 B SHIFTER brush pants gave us a rugged, professional look. The buttoned-down never came to embrace it. In an effort to keep our casual look on the up and up, it was strictly taboo to use nicknames on uniform shirts. I think this was a very bright move because otherwise, Billy Big Sac would proudly be displayed on a certain engineer’s uniform shirt. Nicknames tend to be very edgy and come with colorful stories. They also can be distracting and too revealing. The biggest problem with the new policy was you could use an initial for your first name. If you didn’t know the person by name, you were forced to call them some derivative of their last name. Being able to identify each member of the organization correctly has a unifying effect. Name confusion in our department became a thing of the past. The last time I suffered name confusion was in a convenience store. It is my deeply held belief that convenience stores are mankind’s greatest achievement. These The crowd favoring corner markets will be the truest reflection of our civilization thousands of years from now—a place where both rich and “division” & “group” look poor came in from the cold to form an orderly line and pay at the word “sector” like a after making their nutritional, tobacco, ice, gas or lottery ticket choice. It is the best combination of socialism and capitalism. third nipple— something There was a Utotem convenience market around the corner from the high school I attended. Back in the 1970s, a fresh- to be hidden away... man could leave campus at lunch, go to Utotem and purchase a .32-caliber semi-automatic handgun, a box of ammunition, a German bondage magazine and quart of cherry-flavored vodka for less than $50. The imperialist bankers and their dirty plutocracy can take a lesson in the Jesus-blessed freedom of our corner markets. I waited my turn in line in rapt fascination of a landscape crew putting together their lunch. One of the outdoor workers had packed a half-gallon drink cup with hot dogs. This gypsy then ladled his nine yards of wieners with a liter of nacho cheese. When you divide the total number of calories by the .79 price of his Big Gulp, you are left with a number where you could feed the entire continent of Africa for around $20. The cashier of this bazaar was a 20-something, urbanite, African-American female. She was a combination of bored and aloof yet strangely approach- able. Her orange smock shouted, “There’s only $40 in the register, but rob me anyway!” The name tag pinned to it was engraved with a pedestrian white woman’s name. Something like Joan or Kelly. In large flourishing script, the word “Daiquiri” was tattooed in 4” letters at the soft junction where her neck and chest met. When it came my turn to pay, I ask her how a drink affected her life in a way that she forever immortalized it on the neck that holds her head to her body. It is the very first time I’ve had counter help instruct me to “mind your own fucking business.” A weaker man would have pursued the sweet and sassy Daiquiri until the police intervened. The most troublesome name in the fire service belongs to the tactical level of the incident organization. The words “sector,” “division” and “group” all claim lineage to the most basic and useful hazard-zone organizational subdivi- sion. The crowd favoring “division” and “group” look at the word “sector” like a third nipple—something to be hidden away until the shame generates enough rage to chew the offensive thing off and spit it into the Abyss of Despair. People who call “tissue” “Kleenex” belong to the sector crowd. When my brother put together the second edition of Blue Card’s online program, we didn’t use any of the tactical qualifiers of sector, division or group. Calling it Alpha, Roof and Delta didn’t change anything and has pretty much gone unnoticed. Most people just shake their head and wonder, “It’s just a name. Really, what difference does it make?” Words are the tools we use to communicate with other humans. A Kleenex is a tissue, making those two words synonymous. Alpha Division is the same exact thing as Alpha Sector, while Alpha Sector and

WINTER 2013 7 RANDOM HALLUCINATIONS Delta Sector are two completely different places. Name confusion on the fire ground creates unsafe hazard-zone situations. If the guys in the front think they are operating on the first floor of a two-story building while the guys in the rear know they are attacking a fire on the first floor of a three-story structure, it creates a potentially lethal communications snafu. Two is not three but tres is. Allow me to elaborate further. My father was the second son, the final member of his nuclear family. Due to some snafu, the newly birthed AVB came home from the hospital without being legally named. It becomes a mysterious piece of family lore when you consider that my father’s parents called him “Bob” for their entire lives yet legally named him Alan Vincent Brunacini. This gave life to a curse that was passed on to me. I was christened “Robert Nicholas Brunacini.” My father was called “Bob,” yet he bequeathed me with the formal version, “Robert.” Bringing this circus full circle, neither one of my parents has ever called me “Robert” or “Bob,” only “Nick.” I would have preferred “Daiquiri.” This is no more than a sweet little piece of family history up until the moment one must identify themselves to any official branch of society. This had only been an issue when conducting business requiring a legal signature. Occasionally reams of signed documents have had to be resubmitted because Nick is not Robert. This went from a minor inconvenience to a huge pain in the ass in the wake of 9/11. When it became apparent that “Robert” continued to haunt me more and more, I took action to put a sword through this curse forever. I turned to the trusty Internet and in the period of 15 minutes, down- loaded and filled out all of the necessary forms required to legally change my name. I attached a check for $300 and left the promise of name clarity stapled together on my desk. I had the address to the court where I was going to file my paperwork the next day. Later on that evening, my wife reminded me that one should not make hasty decisions when angry. When I asked her what she was talking about, she produced my name-change paperwork and a stern lecture. I sat and patiently listened. When she was finished, I told her that it had to be done. I was striking back the only way I knew how. The next time some banker, broker or TSA agent wanted to give me shit over my name they would be forced to publicly enunciate “Mr. Nick %$#*&% Brunacini.” My father reacted more strongly than my wife. Back to more pedestrian matters… It turns out that placing names on uniforms didn’t cause the wholesale butchering of firefighters and their families. Pinning another bugle to some folks’ uniforms has caused much more grief and needless blood-letting than the wearing of our names. It turns out that a name is just like a uniform in some ways—it’s just something we wear. It is intended to be filled out by the individual who wears it, not the other way around. Rank, like a name, takes its meaning by the actions of its owner. People follow leaders, not names or titles. Click here! Visit B Shifter’s saucy new forums! Nick Brunacini joined the Phoenix Fire Department (PFD) in 1980. He served seven years as a firefighter on different engine companies before promoting to captain and working nine years on a ladder company. Nick served as a battalion chief for five years and in 2001, he was promoted to shift commander. He then spent the next five years developing and teaching the Blue Card curriculum at the PFD’s Command Training Center. His last assignment with the PFD was South Shift commander; he retired from the department in 2009. Nick is the author of “B-Shifter—A Firefighter’s Memoir.” He is also the co-author of “Command Safety.”

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STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS The Keys to Commercial Success, Part II Additional tips to help fire crews stay safe in commercial structures.

BY VINCENT DUNN

n the last issue, I discussed several dangerous elements that exist in commercial structures. The following is Part Two of this two-part Iseries that details commercial-building components that present additional challenges for firefighters.

Danger: Falling Glass Modern windows have specialty or unbreakable glazing. But some older

residences and commercial buildings still have breakable glass. The win- PHOTOS COURTESY VINCENT DUNN dow glass in commercial buildings is much thicker and heavier than the glass in residential structures. For example, residential glass is usually 1/8” thick; in commercial buildings, it can be ¼" thick and weigh 2.5 pounds per square foot, or ½" thick and weigh 5 pounds per square foot. A large 8’ by 4’ section of ¼" thick glass can weigh 80 pounds, and a ½” thick section of glass the same size can weigh 160 pounds. Window venting is necessary when firefighting in both residential and commercial buildings. During venting operations in a residential building, the falling shards of 1/8” thick glass can make pinhole leaks in hoselines. In commercial structures, broken ¼” glass pieces can completely severe hoselines and cut through a firefighter’s protective clothing. If large enough, a falling piece of heavy commercial glass can be deadly.

Don’t Get the Shaft Older commercial buildings often contain several long shafts for elevators, lights, electric wiring, plumbing, mail, conveyor belts, trash and air- Old commercial buildings often have long flow. These shafts can run the entire height of a building. Usually, they have shafts for elevators, wiring, plumbing or safeguards, such as railings, signs, enclosures, self-closing doors or trap doors, air flow. In most cases, doors or railings that prevent people from falling into them. However, sometimes the safeguards prevent people from falling into these dark spaces. Tread carefully, as some- are left open or are missing, or they become obscured or destroyed during a times these safeguards are not in place. fire. They can even get blasted away by powerful hose streams. In some cases, a firefighter might need to remove these safeguards. In a dark or smoke-filled environment, firefighters can fall into these unprotected openings. Some have fallen into elevator shafts when door locks fail. They force open a door and enter what they think is a room and fall into the shaft. In older commercial buildings, elevator shafts are located at outer walls and have windows, providing light. These shaft windows must have warning signs on the outside indicating the window opens into a shaft rather than onto a floor. Unfortunately, sometimes these signs are missing. Firefighters climbing from an aerial ladder through a window—expecting a floor—may fall down an open shaft.

10 B SHIFTER On rooftops, firefighters have fallen into shafts when climbing over a parapet wall at night or when heavy smoke reduces visibility. Sometimes, a parapet may encircle a shaft instead of dividing buildings. When visibility is limited, always use a tool to determine if there is a floor or shaft on the other side before climbing from a ladder through a window, before opening a door in a hallway or when crossing a parapet wall at roof level. Firefighters should strike the floor with the tool or drop it and listen to the sound hitting the floor. Don’t expect the usual safeguards in a commercial building to be in place during a fire.

Terrazzo Floors Terrazzo flooring is often seen in churches, restaurants, hallways, lobbies, bath- rooms, kitchens and stores. Terrazzo is a thick, highly polished marble-chip surface set in 4 to 5 inches of cement atop an old wood-beam floor. The marble surface makes the old, sagging wood floor look very stable and elegant, but it can be deadly if there is a cellar fire below. In fact, terrazzo flooring contributed to the deaths of 12 FDNY firefighters fighting a cellar fire on Oct. 17, 1966. Although these fatalities occurred many decades ago, the factors contributing to this tragedy still exist today. This type of flooring is only as stable as the old wood floor below it. Sometimes terrazzo flooring can conceal or block warning signs that would be obvious in other circumstances. For example, the thick concrete and marble blocks heat rising from the cellar. Firefighters searching the first floor might have no idea the cellar is on fire. If the wood floor is sagging and about to collapse, the marble tiles will conceal this warning sign. In addi- Terrazzo flooring appears sturdy, but tion, smoke from the cellar fire will not rise up through a terrazzo floor as it will these decorative surfaces often mask through a wood floor. the old, decaying wooden floors If a terrazzo floor collapses after the wood beams below have burned beneath. away, it falls in large sections. The presence of terrazzo flooring above a cellar fire should be considered a collapse danger. It is not possible to detect the weakening of a terrazzo floor by inspecting it visually. In some instances, however, if there is a hot cellar fire below, a small amount of water from a hose stream sprayed across the terrazzo floor will quickly turn to steam, which will indicate a collapse danger.

Beware Cast Iron Columns Cast iron is an iron alloy containing so much carbon that it is too brittle to bend and can be shaped only by casting. Used primarily for columns in commercial structures built at the end of the 19th century, cast iron has great compression strength, but is weaker under tension loads. In fact, failing cast-iron has contributed to several commercial-fire structural collapses and firefighter deaths. Many believed cast iron would crack and collapse when heated by a fire and then struck with cold water from a hoseline. However, research revealed the cause of collapse was improper casting. These cast-iron columns, designed to be hollow, require uniform thickness throughout to maintain strength and stability. Post-fire investigations discovered the hollow walls weren’t uniform; one Cast iron columns are still present in broken column showed a ½” to 1 ½” variance in thickness between sides. older buildings. If not casted properly, Today builders more commonly use steel for structural framing, but these columns can fail when exposed older commercial buildings with cast-iron columns still exist in older city to heat. centers through the country, where they support wooden girders or beams. Unprotected cast-iron columns should be covered with fire-retarding material to protect them from the heat of a fire. Use the defensive firefighting strategy in unoccupied buildings when you suspect cast-iron is present.

WINTER 2013 11 STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS

Don’t Trust Bowstring Truss Truss construction is often used in commercial structures because it creates large, open spaces. A bowstring truss comprises large wooden members joined in groups of triangles fastened with metal bolts and arranged in a single plane so loads applied at intersecting members create only direct stresses—tension or compression. Bowling alleys, churches, supermarkets, garages, auto dealer- ships, movie theaters and places of assembly often have long-span, truss-roof construction, such as a bowstring truss roof. During a fire, a bowstring truss roof collapses without warning. This type of roof can kill firefighters working below the truss, while working on top of the truss and when working outside the building. For example, in Clifton, N.J., a bowling alley’s timber truss roof collapsed, causing a secondary wall collapse that pushed out a bearing wall and buried mutual aid firefighters from Ridgefield, N.J. More recently, in 2010, Chicago Fire Department firefighters Corey Ankum and Edward Stringer died while battling a commercial-structure fire when the truss roof collapsed suddenly.

Suspended Ceilings & Voids Commercial buildings often have suspended ceilings—a second ceiling suspended below the original ceiling. The space above a suspended ceiling might contain a combustible wood framework or electric/computer cable with combustible insulation. When a suspended ceiling fails during a fire, it is because fire spreads into this void space, weakening the hanger or vertical supports. A suspended ceiling and its entire grid system can weigh several hundred pounds, and a firefighter caught below such a collapsing ceiling will either crawl out from under the ceiling through a void, be pinned to the floor or remain trapped inside a small sealed space beneath the ceiling. Firefighters can suffer severe smoke and burn injuries following a suspended ceiling’s collapse. Here’s why: At the moment a suspended ceiling collapses, pressure builds up in the Bowstring truss construction can space below the falling ceiling, creating a slight vacuum in the space above, collapse quickly and without warning. Many firefighters have lost their lives where the fire is raging. This pressure difference transfers air from below the working under or near bowstring falling ceiling to above it, increasing the fire’s size. The combustible gases that truss roofs. have built up above the ceiling will suddenly ignite when exposed to the inrush of air. To prevent firefighters from being trapped by suspended- ceiling collapse, open a small area of ceiling or lift a ceiling panel and check for fire. Another way to protect crews from suspended- ceiling collapse is to extinguish the fire before it spreads through the ceiling. Extinguish the blaze in the contents before it consumes the structure. As soon as a contents fire is extinguished, open the ceiling above the fire and check for extension. Keep opening sections of ceiling until there is no visible char in the wood or metal above the suspended ceiling.

Counterbalance Fire Escape Stairways Some commercial buildings have fire escapes with counterbalance stairways on their external walls. Counterbalance stairways are designed to Counterbalance fire-escape stairways can provide access between the lowest fire-escape balcony and street level. They be very heavy and drop quickly. remain raised, balanced by weights and pulleys, to allow easy sidewalk travel for pedestrians. They can be lowered to the sidewalk when a fire occurs. Unlike a simple drop ladder on the lowest balcony of a standard fire escape, the counterbalance stairway has a complex arrangement of weights, steel cables, and pulleys that are dangerous to operate. Supported on a pivot, these moving stairways are balanced in a horizontal position by heavy, cast-iron counterbal- ancing weights. Several hundred pounds of metal are either attached to one end of the stairway or held up by a pulley and steel cable against the side of

12 B SHIFTER the building—there are many variations. Most have a simple bar that prevents the ladder from descending. Moving that bar from beneath the stairway acti- vates the counterbalance and allows one end of the stairway to descend to the street, providing access to the sidewalk. A firefighter with a pike pole can lower a counterbalance stair from street level. Some of these heavy stairways have not been tested or operated for decades. When the stairway starts to descend and the cast-iron balancing weights start to rise, watch out! Any moving part of the fire escape can collapse and strike a firefighter or person standing in the vicin- ity. There have been incidents in which the entire metal stairway has collapsed onto the sidewalk; the heavy weights holding up the fire escape have fallen off the counterbalance ladder; the steel cable holding the cast-iron weights has snapped, becoming a deadly whip; and the entire pulley assembly holding the cable and weights has pulled away from the building wall and dropped to the street. When you arrive at a fire where people are awaiting rescue on the lowest balcony of a fire escape with a counterbalance stairway, use a ground ladder instead of the stairway to reach them. Climb up the ladder, calm the waiting people, and, if possible, take them inside the second-floor window and down the interior stairs or down the department ladder.

Conclusion Commercial building firefighting is inherently more dangerous than residential firefighting. Do not confuse the two. For one thing, the only life hazard in the building may be the firefighter. Commercial fires place more emphasis on firefighting than rescue, and more emphasis on property protection than lifesaving, so there should be more caution than risk-taking. Be wary when entering a commercial building to fight fire. The fire service is effective at extinguishing residential building fires because we respond to these fires more often and have become pretty good at combating them. We are familiar with residential interior layouts and furniture fuel loads. Fortunately, there are not as many fires in commercial buildings. Preplanning inspections should be conducted in your local commercial occupancies, and inspectors should record any unusual occupancy and structural dangers. Develop strategies and tactics based on the findings.

Click here! Questions or comments for Vincent Dunn? Join the discussion at B Shifter’s new forums.

Chief Vincent Dunn, FDNY (ret.), is a 40-year veteran. He is the author of “Collapse of Burning Buildings” (Fire Engineering, Revised 2010); “Safety and Survival on the Fireground” (Fire Engineering, 1992); “Command and Control of Fires and Emergencies” (Fire Engi- neering, 2000); and his most recent textbook “Strat- egy of Firefighting” (Fire Engineering 2007). He can be contacted at [email protected] or 800.231.3388. Visit him online at www.vincentdunn.com.

WINTER 2013 13 THE TRAINER’S WORKOUT 2013 Training Schedule In this issue, the Trainer’s Workout helps map out the new year’s drill schedule.

BY FOREST REEDER

hat’s the drill today, Lieutenant?” How many times has someone posed that question in the fire station? Well, maybe not as often as Wa training officer, instructor or improvement-minded professional firefighter would like, but I’m sure it’s floated out there once in a while. At many fire departments, the training calendar leaves much to the individual officer. When developing an annual training plan, I’ve always thought that outcome-based programs yield the best results. The goals of a training division and the department’s training program should guide which drill topics you cover. As a company, maybe these outcomes would include anything that makes us better, faster, safer, smarter or more effective. Using the above list of training-program goals as an example, you can conduct a training drill on donning SCBA with the goal of decreasing the time it takes members to don their SCBA. If you are doing sets-and-reps on initial radio reports, the goal could be to make members better at transmitting the radio report. Consider looking at the desired end result or outcome when developing your drills. If the drill you are planning doesn’t meet your goal, redesign it until it does. In this issue, I hope to assist in planning your company or department training for the next calendar year by suggesting training topics. The training calendars are attached as PDFs so you can print them, and as MS Word documents, so you can edit them to suit your needs. You’ll notice I only give you the general topic and a suggested frequency. The rest is up to you. You know your company, your department and your resources. Do some audience analysis and skill-level assessments to determine the specifics for your fire department. I want this to be a “no member left behind” training program, designed and implemented at the company level. Each of these topics will get you started, but they are just jumping-off points for you to expand upon based on the job-performance requirements you regularly use when developing your training sessions. For our purposes, I will suggest job-description-based drills for the most common positions around the apparatus. In some cases, we can incorporate firefighting skills within the pump-operator training, because hoselines need to be manned and hydrants need to be dressed. You get the idea: Design the core-skill drill for the pump operator and include content for each company member based on the skills they must perform simultaneously. In the end, the whole company will get better, faster, safer and smarter.

Pump-Operator Training Drill Suggestions As illustrated below, pump operators need a balance of driving, maintenance, pump operation and safety skills and abilities. This block of training could take a pump operator up to two hours per month, or 24 hours per year, to complete—that provides a lot of great training opportunities for one of the least-drilled areas of fireground operation. Click the red paperclip to download the PDF. Click the blue paperclip to download the MS Word document.

14 B SHIFTER Quarterly Company Drills This next series of drills is divided into quarterly blocks, as they may take more time to complete. For these quarterly drills, you’ll probably have to include more than a single company for an effective training session due to their complexity and the types of resources required. Click the red paperclip to download the PDF. Click the blue paperclip to download the MS Word document.

Company Drill: Special Fire Suppression Topics Special fire suppression topics might not apply to all departments. If you don’t have one or more of these types of occupancies, maybe a neighboring mutual-aid department does. If so, are you ready to respond? Some of these topics might lend themselves to great tabletop tactical discussions and provide material for an excellent sets-and-reps training packages. Click the red paperclip to download the PDF. Click the blue paperclip to download the MS Word document.

Self-Survival Another core essential that lends itself to great impromptu training is self-survival. It has been said—correctly—that we should spend more time training on how not to get into trouble in the first place, but we still need to be prepared for worst-case scenarios. Consider making these topics a must do for each member of your company. How about establishing “Survival Sundays” featuring these Everyone Goes Home drills before having that traditional Sunday brunch? Click the red paperclip to download the PDF. Click the blue paperclip to download the MS Word document.

Officer Training Officer training is often missing from many internal training calendars. This series of drills should reference your department’s procedures, but you can add value to them by identifying a case study or LODD report that illustrates how failure to perform this skill had tragic consequences. The list below should give you a great start on your planning; you could even make these self-study exercises for you to work on personally when you want to up your game. Click the red paperclip to download the PDF. Click the blue paperclip to download the MS Word document.

Conclusion I hope you’ll find these blocks useful for your 2013 training planning and development. Let’s build a training program that members enjoy. Good luck, now grab a calendar and start dropping in the topics and make sure there’s something for everyone!

Click here! Questions or comments for Forest Reeder? Join the discussion at B Shifter’s new forums.

Forest Reeder began his fire-service career in 1978 and currently serves as a division chief of Training & Safety with the Des Plaines (Ill.) Fire Department. Forest writes the weekly drill feature at www. firefighterclosecalls.com and www.fireengineering.com, and was a contributing author of “Fire Service Instructor, Principles and Prac- tices,” published by Jones and Bartlett. Forest was awarded the ISFSI’s George Post Instructor of the Year at FDIC in 2008.

WINTER 2013 15 BE NICE A Good Cause for Alarms Houston Fire Department arms hearing-impaired citizens with strobe-enhanced smoke detectors.

BY B SHIFTER STAFF

n this quarter’s “Be Nice” column, we acknowledge the Houston (Texas) Fire Department for the great work it’s Idoing to keep hearing-impaired citizens safe in the event of a fire. Smoke detectors designed for the deaf are expensive and hard to find, so firefighters in Houston had to go that extra mile to acquire these lifesaving aids. PHOTO COURTESY RUY LOZANO Bright Idea for the Hearing Impaired The Houston Fire Department (HFD) knows smoke detectors save lives. To help keep its citizens safe, the HFD launched the “Get Alarmed! Houston” program, which has firefighters install smoke detectors in citizens’ homes free of charge. Recently, the HFD has expanded this important program to address a previously ignored demographic: the deaf and hearing impaired. Specialized smoke alarms for the deaf, which rely on Houston Mayor Annise Parker and members of bright, flashing strobe lights in addition to an audible alarm, are the Houston Fire Department gave hearing- expensive and not readily available at the local hardware store. impaired students lifesaving specialty smoke detectors for their homes. HFD’s Assistant Chief Thomas Muñoz recognized the problem and solicited FEMA to help bridge this safety gap. With FEMA grant funds, HFD fundraising efforts and corporate donations, the department managed to purchase 2,000 smoke alarms for the deaf—valued at more than $200,000. The Mayor’s Office of People with Disabilities helped identify citizens in Houston and the surrounding area who would benefit from these special smoke alarms. The HFD kicked off its “Smoke Alarm for the Deaf” program by giving smoke detectors to the amazing students at the Center for Hearing and Speech (CHS), a full-service resource that teaches hearing-impaired children to speak and read rather than use sign language. Many of the children at the center can hear with the help of hearing aids and cochlear implants, but most of them must remove these aids at night in order to sleep. This leaves the students extremely vulnerable to nighttime fires because they cannot Click the play button to launch Bruno’s video response to this issue’s submission. hear traditional smoke alarms. The CHS kickoff event featured a special guest, Houston Mayor Annise Parker. Together with HFD members, Mayor Parker gave each child at the CHS at least one detector for their room and another for hallways and/or common Are you nice? Tell us about it! Please e-mail areas in their home. Although the “Smoke Alarm for the Deaf” a brief description of your positive service- program took a lot of time, cooperation, effort and generosity, it delivery experience to [email protected]. was well worth it—no amount of hard work is too much if it can Please write BE NICE in the subject line. Dead- save a life. line is March 15, 20013. Please include your mailing address with Capt. Ruy Lozano your submission, and we will send your com- Public Information Officer pany a set of nifty BE NICE helmet stickers. Houston Fire Department Houston, Texas

16 B SHIFTER STRIVE, FOCUS, DELIVER EXCELLENCE

2013 CONFERENCE

CPSE 2013 Excellence Conference

March 4-7, 2013 Location: Green Valley Ranch and Spa, Henderson, NV Who Should Attend: Chief fire agency executives and all levels of fire officers A convenient conference offering insightful programs on fire agency administration, key issues, leadership, accreditation and officer credentialing. Terrific networking and outstanding social programs.

More Than 30 Seminar Topics in 4 Days Strive for Excellence A sample of the three hour programs includes: Focus on Quality • “Self-Assessment: Roadmap to a LODD Recovery” presentation by Scott Deliver on Outcomes Burnette, Chief, Asheville (NC) Fire Department • “The Power of Five” - presentation by Mark Revere, CFO, Novato Fire Protection District, Marin County, CA • “Making Accreditation an Integral Part of Your Organization” by Mark Brunacini Leadership Seminar Puknaitis, Chief, Naperville (IL) Fire Department Sunday, March 3 • “Recruiting and Retaining Diversity” presentation by Larry Sagen, Direc- This year, the Excellence Conference will tor, Fire 20/20, Bremerton, WA again feature the Brunacini Leadership Semi- • “Firefighter Safety and Best Practices” presentation by Rich Gasaway, nar. Imagine spending a full day with one Chief Scientist, Public Safety Laboratory, St. Paul, MN of the most esteemed leaders in today’s fire service, Alan Brunacini. You’ll have a chance Plus Keynote Sessions and Networking Events to discuss the leadership challenges that face your department today. You and dozens of There is a special fundraising event on behalf of the National Fallen Fire- colleagues will have a chance to share your fighter Foundation, plus other networking events and intriguing keynote tough issues. Regardless of how long you sessions at the beginning of each day. have been in the fire service, you will gain from this discussion. Registration is separate Register Today! from the CPSE Excellence Conference registration. For more information or to register, Conference registration includes keynote speakers and mini-workshops visit www.brunacinicpsevegas.eventbrite.com delivered on a rotating schedule to allow you the greatest opportunity to participate in all the sessions you are interested in. Regular Registration: $675 (Ends December 31st) Late Registration: $700 (Starts January 1st) CPSE/Blue Card Check-Off Registration: For those who have completed the Blue Card 50-Hour on-line course, the three day check-off program will be offered March 5-7. For more information or to register, visit www.bluecardcheckoff.eventbrite.com

For more program information or to register, go to www.publicsafetyexcellence.org/development-training/excellence- conference/registration-hotel-information.aspx Brevard County is home to several space launch sites. Here, the now-retired Space Shuttle blasts off into a beautiful Florida sky. revard County (Fla.) Fire Rescue (BCFR) provides fire protection to one of our country’s most varied and complex regions. Located 35 miles Beast of Orlando, Brevard County is affectionately known as the Space Coast and serves as home to many of the nation’s greatest space-launch sites, including the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Patrick Air Force Base. World-famous Cocoa Beach and Port Canaveral—the second busiest cruise port in the world—also claim Brevard County as their home. BCFR serves a diverse urban-suburban-rural area covering more than 1,000 square miles and serving more than 550,000 residents. The department provides all-risk fire and emergency services to unin- corporated areas of the county, along with several towns that contract with BCFR for this service. BCFR operates from 31 fire/EMS stations organized across five response districts and employs 559 full-time members and approximately 200 part-time fire reserv- ists and volunteer members. In addition to space stations and coastal regions, the protection area presents myriad challenges, including residential, commercial, high-rise and industrial structures; airports; intracoastal waterways; beaches; and several wildland-urban inter- BCFR personnel are trained as both faces. Additionally, Interstate 95 and a Florida East Coast Railway bisect the firefighters and EMS professional. county. These major transportation arteries move a variety of products (including hazardous materials) to destinations throughout North America.

Organization Such a broad and varied response area requires a well-planned and organized department structure. The Office of the Fire Chief serves as BCFR’s executive branch and comprises the fire chief, the Medi- cal Director, the Public Affairs Unit and the Planning & Research Unit. The deputy fire chief reports to the fire chief; three sections managed by assistant fire chiefs—Emergency Operations, Support Services and Strategic Programs—and the Administrative Services section, managed by a civilian, report to the deputy chief. (For a description of BCFR’s units and sections, see the sidebar on pg. 20). BCFR responds to approximately 100,000 incidents per year with personnel trained as both firefighters and EMS providers (EMTs and paramedics). In addition to structural fires and medical calls, BCFR responds to special operations dispatches (hazmat, BCFR responds to about 100,000 technical rescue; marine and wildland firefighting units); and ocean/waterway incidents annually. rescues. BCFR staffs 18 engine companies, four ladder companies, a hazmat unit, 29 ALS transport units (rescue units) and five district chief positions daily. The rescue units are staffed with two firefighter/paramedics capable of providing both ALS transport service and fire suppression activities. The department also maintains a state-certified light technical rescue team as part of its special operations mission. The light technical rescue team is available to respond across the region—throughout the Southeast when necessary—for a variety of events including man-made, natural, and WMD disasters; trench and excava- tion collapses; structural collapse; and industrial and construction accidents.

WINTER 2013 19 Brevard County Fire Rescue Divides & Conquers BCFR’s many units, sections & offices work together to get things done.

The Fire Chief’s Officeserves as Brevard County Fire-Rescue’s chief executive branch. Members of the executive team/senior staff report to the fire chief, along with the managers of the Planning & Development and Public Affairs units. The chief’s office provides vision, guidance and direction, defines standards of performance and bears fiscal responsibility. The Planning & Research Unit helps manage the constantly evolving challenges BCFR faces (population changes, natural disasters, potential terrorist incidents, dwindling fiscal resources, etc.). It ensures that department assets are properly applied to support community and mission requirements, both operationally and fiscally. Consequently, the BCFR Planning & Research Unit serves as the department’s research and development component. The Public Affairs Unit provides community outreach and education. It functions as the PIO for the department, working closely with the local media to communicate the department’s message, and also serves to keep internal customers informed of important news within BCFR and the county itself. The Deputy Fire Chief provides day-to-day administrative oversight to BCFR while also coordinating and managing large-scale projects, including the department’s $80 million annual budget. The deputy chief also assists with union- contract negotiations and local government partnerships, such as automatic- and mutual-aid agreements. This office is also responsible for managing and coordinating special projects and provides daily oversight to the other section chiefs. The Emergency Operations Section is the largest and most visible section within BCFR. This section manages BCFR’s approximately 100,000 incidents per year with personnel trained as both firefighters and EMS providers (EMTs and paramedics). This section also directs the department’s dispatch function, which is dedicated to fire and EMS operations. BCFR also provides dispatch services to several area fire departments; all departments in the county share the same radio system, which increases operational efficiency during large interagency operations. The Strategic Programs Section manages non-emergency services that are critical to BCFR’s mission. Strategic Programs prepares and supports mission-critical skill positions to enable them to perform their responsibilities safely, efficiently and effectively. This includes employee training and skill development (new and on-going); Fire Prevention Bureau activities; the Professional Standards Bureau activities; and Employee Health, Safety and Wellness Bureau responsibilities. The Support Services Section ensures all BCFR facilities are environmentally safe, secure and in good repair. This is accomplished through an aggressive building repair program and long-term planning utilizing a Facilities Capital Improvement Program. This section also manages the entire department inventory of supplies and materials, and provides goods and services to the BCFR in a timely manner. The Support Services Section is also responsible for fleet management. The Business Services Section, managed by a civilian, oversees the daily finances of the entire Brevard County Fire Rescue Department. The department operates fiscally as a special revenue fund, receiving funding from three primary sources: a fire assessment on improved property as defined by a property hazard class; a Municipal Service Tax Unit, essentially a property tax; and County General fund dollars that supplement EMS billings. The Business Services Section manages budget preparation and monitoring, forecasting of revenue and expenditures, billing for all services, labor- agreement financial analysis, and the processing of all purchases. They also serve as liaison with the County’s Finance Office, the Office of Management and Budget, and the county’s Purchasing and Contracts Division. Click the paperclip at right to see BCFR’s Organizational Chart.

Challenges: Land, Air & Sea missile and space launch. As an integral member of the Because BCFR’s geographic response area is vast and launch team, the district chief monitors pre-launch contain- varied, the department encounters a number of unique ment and hazard-risk models and provides immediate sup- challenges. For example, very few departments manage port as a hazmat-response advisor should a catastrophic space launches. With so many Air Force stations and Space event occur during lift-off. In the unlikely event that a Centers in its response area, BCFR is called upon to pro- hazmat release occurs and moves over populated areas of vide launch support for a variety of manned and unmanned Brevard County, the department works closely with industry rocket launches, including the Space Shuttle before that experts and takes a lead role in mitigation efforts to protect program ended in 2011. A district chief serves as depart- its citizens. ment liaison at the Morrell Range Operations Control Cen- Brevard County’s unique mix of urban, suburban and ter, which provides flight safety, weather, scheduling, and rural communities creates a consistent wildland interface instrument target designation support in real time for each challenge. The department responds to numerous wildland

20 B SHIFTER FLORIDA’S SPACE COAST

fires annually, and because these fires remain a major threat year-round, the department supports a fleet of Type 3 and Type 6 brush trucks and several 3,000-gallon water tenders. In addition, all department members receive basic National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) Wildland Firefighter S-130 and S-190 training. Additionally, members of the department take part in an annual pack test to maintain the Florida Forest Ser- vice Standard, or they can elect to recertify in the National Red Card program. The department also partners with the county’s Mosquito Control Department in an interesting way to cross-utilize their Another view of a Space Shuttle take-off. helicopter fleet for aerial wildland firefighting operations, A BCFR District Chief ensures area citizens resulting in increased cost efficiency for both departments. remain safe during and after space launches. Typically, the wildland fire threat for Central Florida is greatest from April to June, when relative humidity is low and available ground fuel is dry. Fortunately, those conditions coincide with a low occurrence of mosquitoes, allowing the fleet of helicopters to remain geared up and ready to fight fire. As necessary, two helicopters are retrofitted with equipment needed for aerial fire control and extinguishment. Once the rainy season returns, the helicopters are reset for their primary mission of mosquito control. It takes nearly three hours to transform the aircraft. Helicopters are placed on standby to minimize the response time when the potential for a wildfire is high. Primarily, air support is called upon when fire impacts the urban-wildland interface. This unique partnership has resulted in the preser- vation of countless homes and property. A unique part of its apparatus fleet, BCFR maintains two 23' fire-rescue boats. The boats respond to water-rescue situations within the county’s intracoastal waterways, as well as boat fires at the dock or on the open water. Each boat packs a 500-gpm fire pump, a deck gun and a manifold for supplying water to on-shore crews and apparatus. BCFR is also responsible for ocean rescue throughout the county. The department’s Ocean Rescue Bureau (ORB)—managed by an ocean rescue chief, an assistant chief WIldland fires threaten the BCFR response area year- and six captains—protects more than 72 miles of beach along round. The department partners with the Mosquito Control Department, using its helicopter fleet to help the Atlantic Ocean. Overall, there are 26 full-time employees douse wildfires when necessary. in the ORB, however, there are more than 100 part-time life guards hired every year (mostly trained high school and college students) during the peak beach season, March through October. On average, BCFR lifeguards make nearly 600 rescues annually.

Training BCFR strives to meet or exceed the needs of the customers it serves and to do so in a courteous and professional manner. To that end, the department is working diligently to ensure that its members are well trained, well equipped, safe, healthy and otherwise prepared so that they are able to deliver on that commitment. BCFR’s goal is to be “best in class” in all that it does and to never deter from that vision. Maintaining a highly prepared team of emergency responders and keeping them safe on the job requires proactive training and continuing BCFR’s Ocean Rescue Bureau employs 26 full-time education. The department’s safety officer/chief training officer employees and 100 part-time life guards annually.

21 B SHIFTER WINTER 2013 21 FLORIDA’S SPACE COAST

works to ensure the overall safety of BCFR personnel primarily through the prevention of injuries and accidents. The safety officer strives to improve firefighter safety both on and off the incident scene through proactive training, education and development. Further, the safety officer receives and reviews all injury reports, vehicle accident reports and provides assurance that all employees receive proper medical care. Recently, the department’s Training Bureau was reorganized and expanded with the addition of one district chief and three lieutenant positions in order to help BCFR meet one of its biggest challenges: the size and scope of the response area. Brevard County extends 72 miles from north to south and averages roughly 30 miles inland from the seacoast at any point. Operationally, the Frequent hands-on drills and leadership training are part of BCFR’s efforts to department had a tendency to “split” into three groupings—Northern ensure members are always ready. Brevard, Central Brevard, Southern Brevard—with each group adopting its own identity and its own ways of doing things. The revamped Training Bureau has focused on creating and implementing consistent training courses and fireground exercises based on the department’s SOGs, which has all but eliminated this “geographical freelancing” from its operations. In order to increase the consistency and frequency of single and multi-company training sessions, the department recently added both a new flashover chamber and a Class A live-fire burn structure at a centralized location easily accessible from I-95 to all stations and crews. Fire suppression crews are now involved in live-fire training at least twice annually. The Training Bureau has also revamped its fire academy for new hires; they now must attend an extensive 10-week program at the academy before being assigned to the field and a company. Company officers are required to attend an annual 40-hour management and leadership-training program designed to help them perform better on the line, both administratively in the station and operationally at the incident scene. The adoption of the Blue Card Command System is one example of how the department has helped its fire officers perform better on the incident scene. As part of its revamped training initiative, BCFR has put all of its chief and company officers (around 150 personnel) through the entire certification process. In fact, BCFR is one of only a few metro fire departments in the United States to have all of its fire officers Blue Card certified. All line firefighters and support staff complete the first- responder module to ensure a basic understanding of the system. The department has created its own command training center (CTC), where members report for their initial certification in Blue Card. The CTC at BCFR is comprised of several components, each interconnected and designed to provide the most realistic environment possible for a BCFR recently adopted the Blue Card maximum learning outcome. The elements include: the CTC classroom, Command system. It is one of the first the control room and dispatch center, the Strategic IC (DC) command metro departments to have all of its fire officers certified. The department’s new response vehicle, company level officer positions (computer kiosks), Command training Center allows members and the mobile command unit. Dispatchers also review the Blue Card to engage in realistic simulation-based unit on communications and are actually brought into the CTC as part training. of their training during each session (BCFR also offers Blue Card Certi- fication and Train-the-Trainer classes for outside personnel). Thereafter, they report to the CTC for on-going command training based on inter- nally developed scenarios using local structures and common conditions

22 B SHIFTER while still applying the Blue Card Command concepts to the various situations encountered. An EMS patient-care simulation lab is nearing completion and will focus on high-risk, low-frequency skill sets. Along the lines of high-risk activities, four Emergency Vehicle Driving Simulators, acquired with the help of a Fire Act Grant, are being installed adjacent to the EMS lab. The simulators can be configured to recreate driving conditions for staff vehicles, ambulances, fire engines, ladder trucks, and tillers. All emergency-vehicle drivers will rotate through the lab annually, and new driver-operators will be trained, tested and certified here.

Conclusion Like all large fire departments, BCFR represents a complex organization comprised of numerous individual systems that must function as one to meet customer expectations. Organizational structure, leadership and management, combined with committed, able-bodied, dedicated employees and strong community support, make this possible on a day-to-day basis. Its structure supports its needs well, helping the department synthesize the complexities of competing service demands efficiently and effectively. The BCFR leadership and management team is well-educated, experienced and dedicated to making the organization better and to meeting challenges head-on. Its personnel are professional, well-disciplined, eager and and, more important, competent and committed to the departmen and the community they serve. It is for this reason that BCFR has enjoyed strong community support even as the “new normal” fiscal environment emerges for emergency service organizations everywhere. Collectively, the deparment finds new ways to meet tomorrow’s challenges while serving its citizens and visitors in a professional and responsible fashion.

Click here! Visit B Shifter’s new forums to discuss fire-service issues with your peers.

Larry L. Collins, a 34-year veteran of the fire service, currently serves as the fire chief for the Brevard County (Fla.) Fire Res- cue Department. Chief Collins began his fire service career as a cadet firefighter in the Harrison Township Fire Department, a volunteer department just outside of Dayton, Ohio. Collins was hired as a full paid firefighter by the Dayton (Ohio) Fire Department (DFD) in 1978 at the age of 19. He retired from the DFD in 2008 after spending his last 11 years as the chief of the department. During his fire-service career, Chief Col- lins held all ranks within the department. He is a certified fire safety inspector, state fire instructor, EMT-B, and a Level II firefighter in the state of Ohio; he is also certified as a Level II firefighter in the State of Florida. Chief Collins holds an associate degree in fire-rescue administration, a bachelor’s degree in public safety management and a master’s degree in operations management (with a business concentration) from the University of Arkansas.

WINTER 2013 23 Control & Command for Collapse Incidents When responding to a building collapse or explosion, the IC must control the scene before commanding rescue operations.

By Vincent Dunn

PHOTO JOHNSON13/BIG STOCK PHOTO An assistant chief shouts into the face of a battalion chief in command of a vacant six-story tenement that suddenly collapsed during overhaul. “I swear if you don’t get those guys off that pile, I am going to have you fired!” The battalion chief quickly climbs up on several floors’ worth of dangerous rubble and begins shout- ing: “Get your guys back! Back! Back! Get off this pile! Get back down! Get back on the sidewalk! Get out from under this collapse area!” Shocked and confused, the firefighters back down from the pile. The assistant chief calls over the radio: “Rescue, get your guys up there and start the rescue digging. Captain, shut off the building’s gas, electric and water supplies. Lieutenant, have your people perform a 360, and let me know what’s happening around the back of the building. Let me know if there’s a second collapse danger and whether there is any access to the cellar. Tell me if you see any fire spreading back there. Get some rope, jacks and shoring at the command post.”

s the above scenario illustrates, an incident commander’s (IC) initial actions upon arrival at an explosion or collapse should be called “control and com- Amand,” not “command and control.” This is because an IC must firstcon - trol the scene—which can be unfathomably chaotic—then begin commanding a search-and-rescue plan. Immediately after the incident occurs, bystanders and first responders arriving on scene will rush onto the rubble pile and begin rescuing victims. Instinct takes over. Scurrying to save victims is a noble yet ineffective action, especially in today’s world, where we must consider any explosion or collapse a terrorist act. The IC must establish control and restraint before command can begin. They should approach the scene as if a secondary bomb and/or chemical/ biological/radioactive agent is present, further endangering responders. Despite the unknown challenges and the dramatic nature of these types of events, an IC can take defensive action. The following are things the IC can do to gain control of an out-of-control explosion or collapse.

24 B SHIFTER Secure the Area An IC must have a police officer secure the streets and sidewalks around the explosion or collapse area. At the very minimum, Exposure A’s side street should be closed to traffic. If damage involves a large, 360-degree area, the scene should be declared off limits and must be secured and restricted to prevent entry. Parked cars will have to be removed by police tow trucks, and police must order bystanders to leave the area for their safety. Access streets must be designated to allow heavy machinery to enter and exit (see “Establish a Command System,” pg. 26). The restricted area around an explosion or collapse must be continually closed to all but police, fire and construction workers, who will help with rescue operations. If the site is declared a chemical, biological, nuclear, radiological or explosive danger, the entire area must The IC must secure the collapse area. be declared hazardous and off limits. Set up hazard zones: cold zone, hot zone Set up hot, warm and cold zones, and and restricted zone. All entries and exits must be restricted and restrained. restrict entry into high-hazard areas. Police must prevent anyone from leaving until decontamination procedures have been completed.

Conduct a Size-up The IC should order firefighters to conduct a 360-degree size-up or reconnais- sance of all surrounding areas. They must identify and report areas where fire is spreading, any dangerous secondary collapse structures that could threaten rescuers and any possible means of entry to the building—especially the cellar or below-grade areas. Some access areas to look for include rear cellar stairs, sidewalk cellar doors and basement windows—even coal chutes from the sidewalk to the cellar. Adjoining cellars in commercial buildings may allow access to the collapsed structure’s cellar. It is important to have access to the area below a rescue operation to assess its stability and, if necessary, to shore up the area from below. If access to a below-grade cellar area is discovered, have responders enter and search this area carefully, as people sometimes take refuge in the cellar and might be trapped.

Secure Utilities Shutting off the utilities can save more lives after an explosion or collapse than any other action. Therefore, the gas, electric and water supplies should be one of the IC’s first considerations. If these utilities are not controlled, rescuers and victims could be injured or killed. Gas leaks can quickly ignite or explode. Miles of exposed live wire snaking throughout the rubble can elec- trocute unsuspecting firefighters or people trapped in the debris. Rescuers using metal hand tools can even hit exposed wire and be electrocuted. As mentioned above, people often take shelter in the cellar or basement during tornadoes or other collapse events; if they remain trapped in this space following the building’s destruction, gushing water leaks can drown them. You can shut off the gas supply by closing a street-curb gas valve with a wrench. Sometimes, the utility shut-offs are in the cellar, which emphasizes the importance of below-grade access. A note on utility companies: We can’t depend on them to respond quickly and shut off utilities for us. On weekends, most utility companies take hours to respond. A fire department must conduct training sessions on utility shut-off

WINTER 2013 25 CONTROL procedures and have the tools to accomplish this task. If a utility company cannot guarantee reasonable 24/7 response, they must provide the fire department with the appropriate tools and training so we can do the job safely. The fire chief should ask the local utility company to provide written guidelines for firefighter actions during a life-threatening utility incident. If a person in the community dies because the utility company could not respond and firefighters lacked the proper training or tools, this written document will explain the firefighters’ inac- tion to the community and the press and will help defend against legal action should the victim’s family file suit.

Give Companies Specific Assignments As mentioned earlier, the IC may arrive on scene and find first responders already atop the rubble pile, digging for victims. To control this, the IC should give specific assignments to each company officer. For example, have the first and second engine companies stretch a 2½” hoseline to protect rescuers working the rubble pile from fire—even if fire isn’t present at the time. This hoseline team must be ready to extinguish a fire should one erupt. The first- arriving tower ladder company must position the apparatus near the rubble pile and raise the ladder for aerial master-stream use. The second- and third- arriving engine companies must stretch a large-diameter hoseline into this tower ladder so the stream can protect nearby exposures from possible fire spread. If there is no fire, the tower ladder’s bucket can be used as an overhead observation platform to supervise operations from above and to check dangerous overhead structures. Stretch a second hoseline to the rear of the collapse area if required.

Establish a Command System/Divide into Sectors An IC must divide a scene into manageable proportions and delegate areas of responsibility to chiefs or company officers: 99 The IC should assign an operations officer to supervise victim rescues on the rubble pile (see “Use Trained Personnel,” pg. 27, for more info). 99 If the 360 identified issues or access at the rear of the operations site, the IC should assign a sector/division officer to this area. 99 Any downwind exposures threatened by smoke or fire might also require a sector/division officer. If the explosion or collapse occurs in a row of similar buildings (e.g. a mall), the IC must assign a sector/ division officer to each one of the exposure sides to assess fire spread and secondary collapse danger and to look for avenues of entry to the involved building. 99 Next, assign someone to serve as a planning officer to start tracking victims. This planning officer determines which victims are in triage, which ones are being treated in ambulances, which have been trans- ported to local hospitals and those who left the scene and are safe at home. With this information, the planning officer can start determining who is missing and/or buried in the collapse. This is very important. The first question the press asks is usually, “How many victims remain missing or trapped?” 99 After any explosion or collapse, there will be a lot of rubble—sometimes tons—that must be moved to access trapped victims. A logistics officerhelps determine how much heavy equipment is required and figures out how to get this equipment on scene. Logistics will also manage, along with the police, how this equipment will access the scene and where it should stage nearby. 99 Assign a finance officer to document all operation times and costs incurred by outside contractors, mutual-aid fire companies, and lost or damaged equipment.

26 B SHIFTER Divide Operations into Fire & Collapse The IC cannot manage a collapse-rescue operation while simultaneously commanding a firefighting operation. Recent experience at structural-collapse operations where fire spread after the initial incident proved these command functions should be divided, with a separate command officer responsible for each one. For example, in 2008 in Brooklyn, N.Y., a floor collapsed in a three-story wood-frame structure, killing Captain Scott LaPiedra and Lieutenant James Blackmore. There had been major fire spread to the Collapse Search exposure buildings each side of the collapse building, & Rescue Plan and responders had to conduct collapse rescue and fire attack simultaneously. At an explosion or collapse, When a fire department responds to a terrorist bombing hoselines must be stretched and tower ladders posi- incident, a gas explosion, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, tioned and supplied for master-stream use to quench renovation/demolition, accident or other collapse/ any fire before it spreads uncontrollably. Keep in mind explosion scenario, they should already have a collapse that the threat of fire is greatest in Type 5, 4 and 3 build- search-and-rescue plan in place. The collapse-rescue plan used during the 16-day operation at the Oklahoma City ings, which usually comprise a large amount of wood bombing in April 1995 and the 8-month operation at the and other flammable materials. World Trade Center in September 2001 was the following: Only Use Trained Rescue Personnel 1. Secure the area. Have police close off the streets and remove unauthorized persons. An IC must ensure that only trained rescue person- 2. Conduct a 360 size-up. nel—USAR teams, rescue squads, hazmat crews or 3. Order firefighters to shut off utilities and call the specially trained ladder companies—dig or search for utility company to the scene. buried victims. These people have the special skills and 4. Remove surface victims you can see, hear or knowledge required to work safely and efficiently at who are calling for help. explosion and collapse scenes. For example, they have 5. Check voids and crevices for trapped victims. the expertise to recognize whether it is better to dig a Examine shelters created by the collapse rubble. trench to reach a victim vs. tunneling down. They know 6. Regroup. Take a time out, withdraw from how to identify hazardous substances. They have expe- searching and conduct a risk-benefit analysis of rience shoring secondary collapse dangers, and they the entire collapse site and determine locations know how to search collapse voids, crevices and small of reported buried victims. spaces to remove anyone who might remain trapped. 7. Tunnel or trench to specific locations where Each of these processes and tasks requires specialized buried victims have been identified. tools and training. Civilians and firefighters without spe- 8. Remove all rubble. After all victims are cific search-and-rescue education can be ineffective and accounted for, use cranes and bulldozers to might even prove dangerous to themselves or to buried remove the remaining debris. victims. The IC must manage on-scene personnel and This collapse search-and-rescue plan is not a rigid ensure the minimum number of rescuers operates in step-by-step procedure where you do not start one any dangerous area—think quality, not quantity. Assign phase until the prior one is completed. Several stages trained search-and-rescue personnel to the rescue activ- of the collapse rescue may occur simultaneously if ities and have firefighters without rescue training serve personnel are available. However, every stage must be in support roles. Support personnel are the unsung completed at some point. For example, when the IC heroes at collapse rescue operations, assembling tools arrives on scene, civilians and rescuers may have already and carrying them to and from an operation or staging rushed onto the collapse pile to help victims. This action area. They cut wood for shoring, clear debris from the is Step 4 of the collapse plan. Still, the IC must order scene, observe rubble deposited by a crane bucket for firefighters to complete Steps 1, 2 and 3. Police must bodies, assemble medical supplies and set up lights. As secure the area, firefighters must conduct a 360 and a general rule, there should be three support personnel firefighters must shut off utilities. for every one rescuer on scene.

Take a Time Out to Reassess the Situation Collapse search and rescue is a high-risk operation that presents many dangers. The risk is greatest for those first on the scene. Experience and statistics show that 75 percent of survivors are pulled from a collapse pile during the initial stages of a rescue operation, shortly after the collapse or explosion.

WINTER 2013 27 CONTROL

Most victims rescued alive are either found on the surface of the pile, half buried in the rubble or wandering around in a shock. The early stages of a rescue are extremely dangerous, but they are also the most productive. After these initial rescues are complete, the risk to firefighters increases greatly while the likelihood of finding survivors decreases. That said, people have survived up to two weeks buried in a collapse, and rescuers must never give up hope of finding a buried victim. After the initial wave of rescues, the IC must order everyone off the pile to conduct a safety survey. This is the time to add more shoring, demolish certain sections, set up lighting, conduct another 360 and confirm all utilities have been shut off. During the time out, the IC can analyze the collapse configuration and more accurately identify the location of buried victims. After the time out, tunneling and trenching toward deeply trapped victims can begin. Appropriately trained firefighters can dig to specific areas identified by the planning officer, who bases their information on survivors’ accounts and how the collapse configuration might have shifted and moved trapped victims or contents. During this stage of the rescue, fewer firefighters work the pile because it is unlikely to locate survivors.

Conclusion Control and organization are the two most important objectives at any collapse rescue operation; without them, you’ll have a mob scene. An IC must control and then organize a rescue. It is the quality of effort, not the quantity of responders, that makes the biggest difference.

Click here! Questions or comments for Vincent Dunn? Join the discussion at B Shifter’s new forums.

28 B SHIFTER

Discipline isn’t the only solution to on- the-job performance challenges. Take a smarter—and kinder approach—with additional training and mentoring.

remember dreading parent-teacher conferences in elementary school. Although I never knew for sure, but I usually had some idea of what the teachers were going to tell my par- Ients about my school performance. Did I behave well, did my effort reflect my abilities, were my grades on par with the rest of the class, or was I the stinky kid like the one in Adam Sandler’s movie, “Big Daddy”? After the parent-teacher conference was over, I had to then wait for justice to be served, or to be rewarded for a job well done. More often, it was the former. How well I did or didn’t do certainly had some consequences, and changes in behavior were in store: Less time swimming and riding bikes, and more time hitting the books and doing extra homework. Looking back, it seems my teachers were my first association with something like a fire academy or training officer, and my parents were the first company officers I knew. These early training officers set up a curriculum for me to follow; in later years, this curriculum would be a fire-certification course—and my homework, frequent tests and quizzes were like in-service fire training used to drill and reinforce what I had learned in daily classes. A company officer, acting like a parent, would make sure that daily training assignments were completed; the really engaged ones would check work, review key concepts and apply the work and lessons to real life. As an elementary-school student, you realized early on that practice makes you better, and if you didn’t improve, more conferences and meetings were held and you faced the possibility of being held back—the fire service’s version of extending a probationary period. It was almost always clear throughout elementary school that if your performance didn’t meet the clearly defined expectations, there would be pre-defined consequences that, most of the time, actually did occur. Kids were kept back a grade, moved to a different learning-level class group or assigned a special educator or tutor for extra help.

30 B SHIFTER I squeaked by and made it out of high school (being a cadet firefighter was far more interesting and relevant than government and economics classes for sure, but that’s another story). Upon graduation I joined the local volunteer fire department at the urging of some guys I played softball with who had dads on the department. This allowed me to realize the early childhood dreams that many of us had and were gratefully able to achieve. On-the-job and weekly Tuesday night drills—much of them conducted by well-meaning and goal-driven senior members— were the only forms of formal training I received. They wanted us to be ready, stay safe and learn as quickly as possible using the basic standards for their program. Their methods worked. If I screwed up on a drill, a nickname or on-going ribbing would ensure I remembered the screw up. If I screwed up on a call, it jeopardized my chances of being asked to step up on the rig. I was going to be left behind like kids in grade school. I think I might have expected more; I know my parents were always concerned about who was teaching me how to fight fire and be safe. Most of us probably thought that higher education or technical school would offer the same level of supervision, progress reporting and defined consequences that we had in elementary school. Maybe these principles exist in the academy setting, and perhaps they can be enforced up to termination or dropping you from a program, but once on the job, a system like the parent-teacher conference doesn’t exist. Moreover, the current system allows for average, fair and even below-average members to simply tread water for their entire careers. Our training programs are designed to accomplish three main objectives: • Everyone goes home; • Nobody gets hurt; and • We deliver excellent service. Personal improvement agreements require the member and his mentors If we can agree that these are attainable goals reached through proper to put in additional training time. training, then we should be able to see the clear need for a process and documentation system that allows us to measure an individual’s knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes and progress. NFPA 1500 Standard on Fire Department Occupational Health and Safety Programs has long defined a department’s responsibility to provide a training program and curriculum that address the department’s organizational goals and objectives. It also includes language that says members have personal responsibility to stay trained and prepared. Soapbox Rant: Personal accountability is becoming increasingly absent from society every day. People have been conditioned to wait for someone to do for them instead of taking initiative. This will never work in our business. Indi- viduals must know what is expected of them and then be given the opportunity to work with the system as well as on their own to improve their individual performance issues. Stepping down from soapbox now… Let’s look at a simple-to-use example and put some stock in how we can positively use this method to meet our three training goals.

A Different Approach For most of my career, I have been able to attend FDIC and collaborate with some of the best minds in our profession. In most cases, these folks had the tools and experience to guide me through almost any challenge or situation. One year, I was intrigued by a seminar titled, “Personal Improvement Agreements,” as I was the coordinator for a regional entry-level fire academy,

WINTER 2013 31 PERSONNEL

the program coordinator for a community college fire-science program and a career training officer on a full-service fire department. Previous attempts to document performance were based in memo form, or in a chain of emails between students and different levels of supervision. This FDIC class changed all that. A very confident, experienced training coordinator named Capt. Kath- erine Ridenhour of the Rocky Mountain (Colo.) Fire Academy was the lead instructor, and she professionally delivered a great program on developing personal improvement agreements (PIA) that I have used and seen in many different for- The current system allows mats since that class. This form and a locally designed policy for its use can go a long way toward documenting and guid- average, fair & even ing corrective actions aimed at meeting our training goals. below-average members Through the years, I’ve had to use this form/process in a variety of situations, ranging from entry-level class issues, such as to simply tread water for low test scores, and poor emergency-incident performance, such as the mysterious malfunctioning SCBA syndrome that their entire careers. plagues so many fire grounds. Their use has caused contro- versy among labor locals and the members receiving them, who fear that written documentation may prompt discipline and eventual discharge. That could be the end result, but the form’s primary intent is to outline a framework and a defined course of action to remedy an objective performance problem. Instructors and others who use the form must avoid subjective or “in my opinion” language, using instead clearly defined JPRs or objective-based evaluations. Let’s look at some situations where this form/process can be useful: • Behavioral situations, such as attitude, teamwork, professionalism or conforming to codes of ethics. • Situational issues, such as incidents where conditions, actions and outcomes can be used to define better actions and decision-making. • Objective performance issues, when specific objectives, skill sheets and evaluation tools are being used. You are probably familiar with the skill sheets provided as part of a curriculum, such as Firefighter I certification or driver-operator certification programs. These skill sheets provide specific step-by-step criteria that can be used to objectively evaluate performance. Using one of our communications-order models, the CAN Report, will allow the person initiating the PIA to define clearly the: • Conditions that are unacceptable based on an established reference point. • Actions that are necessary for the organization, such as providing resources (time, extra study, mentors, or a different learning delivery or atmosphere). • Needs of the individual in terms of what they feel they need to improve their performance. (As this takes the form of an agreement, the initiator and person held accountable in the agreement will oversee and perhaps collaborate at this step.) This was a huge “oh wow” moment for me when I first saw the PIA presentation. It reminded me of parent-teacher conferences where, as a child, I needed someone to tell me the best corrective actions. With adult employees, especially when the stakes are high (either improve or you can’t progress in the program), we must engage them in the process. I think that most human resources departments would appreciate this element greatly, as it allows the plan to be expressed not only by the organization but also by the individual.

32 B SHIFTER PIAs in Action So let’s walk through a PIA from beginning to end using a fictitious scenario to help us understand each component of the process. Charlie Brown is a five-year firefighter assigned to your company. Charlie has just completed an academy-delivered driver-operator course, which upon completion has allowed him to act in the driver-operator or engineer position. Charlie does not have an extensive background in Personal Improvement Agreement driving fire apparatus, and he has struggled during recent company-level Agreement Initiated By: Lt. Bruno Today’s Date: 12/25/2012

Members Name Firefighter Charlie Brown Department ID#: 12345 training where you gave him the chance to pump. On a recent car fire, he I. Concerns/Area Needing Improvement: (Description of behavior, situation or objective causing PIA) Charlie has been functioning as a pump operator since completion of the academy course. He has struggled in performing his was very slow to pump the line, and a quick discharge-lever pull created duties during training evolutions and is slow to calculate discharge pressures. During a recent car fire incident, he was very slow sending water. He also caused a water hammer to the nozzle and crew due to rapid charging of the line. a water hammer so strong it sent the nozzleman into the air. Once stabi- II. Standard Reference: (What is the acceptable level of performance, attitude, conduct or ability?) Department hose chart and nozzle pressure standards. FD#220-221 Nozzle Pressures lized, the line’s pressure did not flow at a consistent or correct rate. The car III. Shift Commander/Station Officer Action Plan: (What will the officer do to help improve the performance?) Lt. Bruno will assign FF Green to mentor him during open training time using flash cards and hydraulic calculations found in fire was a total loss in an empty lot before you arrived, and no exposures student workbook from academy class. Weather and schedule permitting, Company 1 will conduct at least one pump evolution per shift for the next 30 days with Charlie as the pump operator. A comprehensive evaluation of his skill sets will or other damage occurred—this time. Charlie says he has struggled a bit be administered by the training division in 30 days.

IV. Personal Action Plan: (Written by the member describing what they will do to improve themselves.) with the hydraulic calculations and with memorizing the standard formu- I will spend additional hours after station work is completed studying our friction-loss charts and nozzle-pressure standards to improve my ability. I will ask more questions of senior and experienced engineers and work toward smoother operation of las and flow rates. He also says his class was very full and the academy had pump controls in training evolutions.

V. Document Action Plan Progress: (How are we doing and progress check dates) limited resources available for him to perform hands-on skill work. He did 12-31-12: Charlie is improving his retention on hydraulic calculations. 1-5-13 Completed a single, multiple and master stream evolution, and Charlie flowed all lines at proper pressures. 1-9-13 Follow-up assessment conducted by Lt. Bruno was satisfactory. 1-20-13 Progress continues to be seen in each area. 1-25-13 A comprehensive assessment completed by the pass the class test and the final practical skills test. Your crew is looking to training division was satisfactory on all areas. you for action, and the battalion chief has directed you to work to improve VI. Has the area of concern been corrected? (Has improvement been seen in this area?) Yes: ☒ Charlie’s performance is now acceptable. Completion Date 1/25/2013 Charlie’s skill level, as all members of the company must be cross-trained. No: ☐ Click here to enter text.

VII. On-Going Monitoring: (Describe how monitoring of issue will take place and for what duration) The training officer instructs you to prepare a PIA with Charlie to improve Lt. Bruno will continue to monitor skill sets and assign additional study monthly to ensure retention. PIA will be removed from training file on 12-15-13. his skills. Firefighter Name (print): FF Charlie Brown (signature) Firefighter Charlie Brown Agreement Date: 12/25/2012 The goal is to outline the time and mentoring necessary to improve Station Officer Name (print): Lt. N. Bruno (signature) Lt. N. Bruno Charlie’s skills while giving him a sense of direction and individual respon- Shift Commander Name (print): B/C M. Sutton (signature) Battalion Chief M. Sutton sibility. So let’s write up a PIA based on Charlie’s situation from the per- spective of Lt. Bruno, Charlie’s company officer. You can click on the Click the paperclip to open a paperclip shown with the image at right to view a filled-in, sample PIA. For a sample of a completed PIA. blank MS Word copy of the form, see pg. 34. The form starts with the Initiator and Member Names. This sets a collaborative tone and communicates this is a process aimed at improvement and does not have punitive implications. The Concerns/Areas Needing Improve- ment will state, in objective terms, the reason(s) for the initiation of the agreement. Be as specific as possible, citing direct examples such as test scores, incidents or other behavioral, situational or objective criteria. These statements should make the PIA’s purpose perfectly clear. The Standard Reference identifies the acceptable level of performance. If there are any supporting documents, such as department JPRs, skill sheets or test scores that should be reviewed or used as an example, attach them as part of the documentation and make a notation of such in this area. The Shift Commander/Station Officer Action Plan (substitute your local rank or position here in your form) identifies the partnership needed to improve success. I have seen situations where a member who is struggling is not provided the extra time and attention needed to be successful, so no progress occurs and the member eventually fails. This portion of the agreement should detail the extra time necessary to work on the action plan, indicate skill sets for review based on actual incidents and assign a mentor to help facilitate the process. It’s also important to note timelines for progress reports. It’s clear in this situation that Lt. Bruno needs to provide many hands-on opportunities for sets and reps that will give Charlie much-needed confidence and help him develop muscle memory through application. The member writes the Personal Action Plan in their own words. Allow them to discuss ideas with the initiator of the agreement and to help select the plan’s elements that show the most promise for success. In this case, Lt. Bruno should assume a very high-level coaching position and encourage Charlie’s positive input. Additional study, online resources, and case material/research of problems that will help develop critical thinking would prove beneficial. In

WINTER 2013 33 PERSONNEL Charlie’s case, Lt. Bruno should encourage Charlie to create flash cards with hydraulic problems and to work with certified engineers to help him learn field hydraulics and memory cues. It is important for everyone to view this form as a progress report as well as a remediation process. The Document Action-Plan Progress section (regres- sion, progress or status quo?) tells us whether we are reaching our improve- Free ment goal. Progress report dates should be predetermined, and as Lt. Bruno watches and participates in the process and observes Charlie’s actions and Download! performance, he should make notations to track outcomes. As the process The Personal Improvement Form concludes, a determination of final progress is made stating whether improve- is simple, straightforward and ment has been seen. If the answer is yes, then you can determine any longer easy to use. Click the paperclip range progress checks. This is a fairly intense process, so you might want to revisit newly refined skills that can quickly become dull if not repeated fre- to download a fillable MS Word quently. If the answer is no, the organization must then make other determina- version of the PIA form. tions regarding an extension of the PIA or refinement of the action plans. In some cases, the organization will make judgments regarding assignments and responsibilities. oes your organization have something that Helpful Tips & Experiences allows for a teacher (training officer) or a parent 1. Establish a realistic timeline for progress reports. Try D(company officer) to guide and correct perfor- to catch any ongoing deficiencies early and modify mance issues in a positive and member-involved man- or expand the plan well before a deadline arrives. ner? If you’ve already been down this road and have 2. It may be a best practice to establish one point something of a policy or document that can help, send person or mentor so that progress notes are made them to us at [email protected], and we’ll stock- sequentially and based on a progressive series of pile them and make them available to our readers. check-ups and re-evaluations. 3. Establishing evaluation criteria is a whole conversation to itself. Simple scores might work for written examinations. However, hands-on skills based on checklists might require evaluations that differentiate between those who can pass because they met all of the steps while also identifying highly skilled individuals who can naturalize behaviors and incorporate other tasks simultaneously. Click the paperclip to launch a table that offers evaluation criteria for hands-on skills.

Conclusion There are no guarantees that improvement can always happen. This process will only be as successful as the member’s input and follow through and other company members’ support. Charlie will be successful once additional time and hands-on training and multiple sets and reps allow him to gain confidence in his newly acquired skill set. Organizationally, the department may want to adopt a process for other members who attend the academy pump-operator program to get extra training time before assignment as an engineer. I hope this form and process help you develop your crewmembers and makes a difference in your ability to serve. Good luck!

Forest Reeder began his fire-service career in 1978 and currently serves as a division chief of Training & Safety with the Des Plaines (Ill.) Fire Department. Forest writes the weekly drill feature at www.firefighterclosecalls.com and www.fireengineering. com, and was a contributing author of “Fire Service Instructor, Principles and Practices,” published by Jones and Bartlett. For- est was awarded the ISFSI’s George Post Instructor of the Year at FDIC in 2008.

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www.globalriskinnovations.com FUNCTIONAL BOSS BEHAVIORS Mr. Cranky Pants Readers offer solutions for a cranky naysayer who hates change & tells anyone who will listen.

BY ALAN V. BRUNACINI

n the last issue, we shared a case-study about a cranky battalion chief who is resistant to the changes a new deputy shift com- Imander is trying to introduce (click the paperclip to download last issue’s scenario). We invited readers to submit a solution to the problems outlined in the case study. Congratulations to Deputy Chief Jason D. Horning and Battalion Chief Joe Squier. We selected their submissions, printed below, as good examples of how to tackle the problems presented in last quarter’s case study. You can hear Bruno discuss their responses in the video at right. For our latest case study, please flip to pg. 38.

Case Study No. 3/Autumn 2012 Responses: Cranky Old Codger Flatter His Inner Leader Click the play button above to hear I think this is a relatively common problem for many fire department. There is Bruno’s response to our case study. usually at least one member who fits the description outlined in this case study. Change without reason is not necessarily a good thing. However, when considering operations, there is usually room for improvement. I have told my officers that if we do something a certain way because “we have always done it that way,” then there is likely room for improvement. Firefighters generally resist change—especially if they have been doing something for many years and it generally works—even though it may not be the most efficient way for the department or the customer. Sometimes change causes initial growing pains. I would first share with our cranky codger the short-term and long-term goals. It might help to give them an end result to look forward to. Some people are naturally shortsighted, and it is very difficult for them to see the forest for the trees. Back them up and try to give them the big picture, which will not only include the program’s goals, but will also show the affects on the firefighters and the customers, as well. It will also be beneficial to compare the results of maintaining the status quo vs. embracing the change. This alone will probably not be enough to get their total buy-in if their heels are dug in deep. Assuming this person is a well-respected officer, my second action would be to explain the importance of their buy in. I would reiterate the affect they have on their company officers and firefighters. Simply ask them, “Do you want to have a positive or negative impact on the people who look up to you as their leader?” Most people want to be considered a good leader and positive role model. Some don’t care. If they do not care, then they are probably not in position to be a leader. I’m not advocating popularity contests because sometimes we have to make tough decisions. However, when you have the respect of the people who work for you, they can generally respect your decisions without letting it affect their overall opinion of you. I would point out the lack of communication I have noticed on his shift and explain how it affects his crews. People want to be informed, and when they lack the necessary information, they tend to get upset. I would also point out the direct reflection of

36 B SHIFTER his attitude and the performance, or lack of, by his companies compared to the other two. I would also remind him of the integrity required for an officer in his position when it comes to passing down information. It is ok for him to disagree with me in my office. However, when it comes to interaction with his subordinates, he needs to carry out his supervisors’ missions, whether he agrees or not. He is not only hurting the administration’s ability to get new programs in place, but he is actually hurting his accountability with his crews. This is truly a golden rule with any officer position. I would summarize these things as a lack of performance as an officer. I would put him in my shoes for a moment with a hypothetical situation that resembles the current situation. I have found this to be an eye-opener at times for hard-headed individuals who want to rebel. It hits home even more when you actually trade seating positions in the office and make them sit in your spot. In the end, I’m the boss, and he will do what I have told him or he won’t be in that position. I don’t like to go that route, but sometimes you have to draw the line in the sand. Some individuals will require progressive discipline to open their eyes and realize you are serious. Unfortunately, the underlying problem might just simply be that he is going to test you as the new boss to see how far he can get. This is childish, but it happens. Follow up with this individual on a regular basis after the meeting. They need to know you are serious and dedicated to the program and that the change is going to happen with or without them. Let him see you talking with his companies; it shouldn’t be a secret to him that you are keeping your thumb on the situation. Hopefully after the honeymoon or trial period, he will fall in line and support the new administration and its direction. If that is not possible for him, then demotion, retirement or reassignment to Chief of Cleaning Supplies may be in order. Asking someone to fall in line should not be misconstrued as asking them to act like a bobble-head doll. You don’t want that either, because differing opinions behind closed doors are healthy. But when the doors open, there must be unity! Jason D. Horning Deputy Chief of Operations Greenfield Fire Department Greenfield, Ind.

The Smart Way to Boil a Frog We can all be change agents, but some of us are in a position to do something more forcefully. I was in this position three years ago when I was promoted to training officer. We often hear the rank-and-file workers say, “We need change!” Then when change begins to unfold, we find that what they really meant was, “We need change…for everyone but me!” The movers and shakers, the positive change agents, will quickly become frustrated and overwhelmed when they realize their efforts are seemingly futile. We often see organizations that support change until it becomes difficult or until there is backlash. Too many organizations give in to the backlash and abandon their plans for change—even if they are the right things to do—because we all want to be liked. What separates good leaders from great leaders is the ability to gauge your people. There is an old saying, “How do you boil a frog?” The answer may seem simple, but in reality there are two choices. One is to bring the pot of water to a boil and throw him in. Yes, he will get burned, but if the frog has any sense at all, he will jump out. The other choice is to put him in the pot first and then slowly turn up the heat. The frog will become comfortable with his surroundings and will not realize the process that is taking place until it is too late. We see this in our people all the time. If we throw them in the pot of hot water, they jump out. “It’s too hot!” They resist. “They’re just trying to force this down our throats!” We’ve all heard

WINTER 2013 37 FUNCTIONAL BOSS BEHAVIORS it before. If we lead them into change, implementing it a little at a time, they become comfortable. “Hey, this isn’t so bad! What else you got for us?” Many a great leader has been quashed because he or she tried too hard too quickly. In the case of the “Cranky Old Codger,” we see a person who is used to doing things a certain way, and the way he thinks is right: “This is the way we’ve always done it! Nobody’s got hurt yet.” As two good friends have told me, we cannot measure our success by our lack of failure. We may not have done things “wrong” all these years, but we have certainly found better, safer and more efficient ways of doing things. I cannot comprehend why someone who occupies one of the most dangerous professions in the world wouldn’t want to find a better, safer way of doing it. We were given a brain and the ability to think freely and act accordingly. We cannot force our people to think a certain way. We must show them our methods are better. This comes from leading by example. We must also respect the differences of opinion. Opposing viewpoints keep us on our game. We have to engage in participative management. Many times I have made decisions that have later been proven not feasible, or there was a better way. Did I have the best interests of the department and the people involved in mind? Absolutely! Was I doing what I thought was right? You bet! But somebody else saw something I didn’t. The fire service is one of the most dynamic professions in the world. Our processes are constantly being changed by both external and internal influences. This situation requires buy-in from all levels. As upper-level management, you must believe in the ideas yourself and be able to sell the concepts to the lower levels. A car salesman can’t sell Fords while driving a Chrysler. It also requires a lot of commitment from those above you (Chiefs, listen up!), and sometimes a lot of thick skin. Will you be attacked personally? Yes! Will you be attacked professionally? Absolutely! But you must remember this: You have to separate your emotions from the situation and ask what the resistance is really all about. Is it you, or is it the situation? In my department, my challenge was that we did not follow state and national certification standards in our training program for a long time. When we started to do so, the younger members thought it was great. Some of the older personnel didn’t think so much of it. They couldn’t believe they were being asked to take tests in subjects they had learned so long ago, even after some review. Eventually, even some of the opponents looked at it and the direction of the program. Each certification built on something else. I also fell into the trap of trying to do too much too quickly. I am fortunate to have one of those chiefs who supports the program, but also isn’t afraid to pull in the reins when I need it. Turn up the heat a little at a time. When it gets too hot, briefly turn it down a little and give it another go. You will begin to get a few followers, and then some more. Some you’re just not going to reach. Eventually, your goal will be accomplished, maybe not as quickly but with a lot less heartache and headache. Lead- ership doesn’t have to come from the top down. Sometimes the best change comes from the bottom up, and this will hopefully drive the “cranky old codgers” to change as well. Develop a good support network to lean on when things get rough. And remember: Aren’t we all be “cranky codgers” sometimes? Joe Squier Battalion Chief—Training Bureau New Albany Fire Department New Albany, Ind.

Winter 2012 Case Study: Rule Reversal You are the human-relations assistant fire chief in a medium-sized urban fire department. You have worked in every position on a fire company, have been assigned as a field battalion chief for five years and have been in your current position for the past three years. Your boss has been the fire chief for three years. He is a practical, serious, smart, sort of tough, no-nonsense character. You have a very

38 B SHIFTER good relationship with him and have worked together throughout your careers. The fire chief is concerned about the department’s current rules of conduct and behavior. These rules are long-standing and were written in a traditional, control-oriented kind of way. They have evolved into their current form because each previous chief expanded the rules to cover any behavior they did not like. Many of the rules were adopted as the result of a single mistake or screw up. They are long, outdated and difficult to read. Everyone pretty much ignores them or works around them. The chief asks you to produce and implement a revised set of department rules for conduct and behavior. He reflects (to you) that his approach to writing and enforcing the rules: He regards them as sending a sensible, modern, human- centered message to everyone in the department. He reinforces his non-rule- oriented approach by instructing you to develop a list of rules that fit on one side of a 8.5” x 11” piece of paper(!). He tells you he is very serious about producing and then maintaining and managing the rules, but he is not committed to wor- shipping them. He asks you to write a trial list of rules (no more than 20) to discuss with him.

our assignment: Determine who you will assemble to help you produce the rules. Describe how you will introduce the new rules to the members Yand discuss how you will enforce/maintain the rules in an ongoing way. Please send your response to [email protected], writing FBB in the subject line. Deadline for submissions is March. 15, 2013. Remember, we can’t win if you don’t play. If your response is chosen, you win a cool T-Shirt.

WINTER 2013 39 CAREER STRATEGIES & TACTICS What Not to Do During interviews, knowing what you shouldn’t do is just as important as knowing what you should do.

BY M.C. HYYPPA

nterviews by nature are ways to interpret our work. Unfortunately, the interview process has an annoying habit of moving you completely away from the reality of what that work is. It places you—the “doer”—

I PHOTO TIM OLK into a land of metaphor. Keep the following information in mind before your next interview for a new job or promotion, and you will offer stronger, more relevant responses.

Don’t Dwell on Metaphors or Clichés In the majority of interviews, most candidates don’t talk about the work they have completed, mastered, suffered through and hope to leave behind in order to do new work. This is a mistake. In formal interview settings, the conversation tends to become trivial and idealistic. People fall back on words and key phrases they think the interviewers want to hear: You “want to work with the best.” You’re “ready to go 24/7” You “give 110 percent.” What does any of that really mean? These words don’t effectively answer an interview question. They say nothing “real” about you or anything else. For example, everyone likes to talk about how much pride they have in their service. But is “pride” work? Has pride ever done the dishes? Even the word “professional” is dicey. What would the work of “being professional” look like? Is “professionalism” effective in and of itself? Where does it happen? Who are you with? What are you doing? What does that word mean? Consider the saying, “I’m a people person.” Well, in a lot of ways, John Wayne Gacy was a people person, too. In your interview, you must describe During an interview, resist the temptation to speak in clichés or to use touchy-feely what it looks like to work as a people person. Some examples: I watched a metaphors. Don’t just say you’re a “team captain hold a grieving widow’s hand for three hours because she just could player.” Describe how you are a team not let go. I know of a crew that replaced the drywall in a customer’s bathroom player and give real-life examples. after they had to damage it to extricate her after a multiple sclerosis-induced fall. Another crew covered a co-worker’s shifts so he could care for his wife while she went through chemo. If you aren’t offering real, tangible examples in your answers, then what are you doing? If you are tempted to discuss something that hasn’t happened in a real-life situation, please don’t talk about it.

Don’t Fight Out of Your Weight Class If you are testing to be a recruit firefighter then only talk about the work a recruit firefighter does. If you have never been a firefighter, don’t throw firefighter punches. Talk about work you have done and connect it to the job you want—even if all you’ve ever done is take out the trash. Answer questions from the viewpoint of the position you are pursuing. The team suffers when the players don’t hold to their positions. There is only room for one captain at a time. Only one person should drive the truck at a time. Every member of the team may be capable of completing the work of any position, but they should only occupy one position at one time. If you are interviewing for a promotion, and they ask about something you haven’t done before (a fight you’ve never fought), say you’ve never done it.

40 B SHIFTER Any questions regarding escalating discipline are tough. Throw the escalating discipline policy out there so they know you’ve studied it, but tell the truth. If you have witnessed the escalating discipline process, consider sharing what you learned. As a firefighter, I watched one of my captains go through hell trying to move something through the disciplinary chain; it was a nightmare. I referred to it in my chief’s interview, and I found out later it went a long way toward my earning the promotion. That was as much of that kind of fight as I had ever experienced, and it was enough because it was real.

Don’t Run with Scissors If a question comes across like a scary-sharp-pointy-shiny pair of scissors, close them and slide them into their scabbard. Scissors aren’t bad when used properly. But if you desperately grab at them as though you are in a slasher movie, throw your dress over your head and make a naked dash out into the darkness, can you honestly expect anything good to happen? Don’t let negatively worded (scary-sharp-pointy-shiny) questions prompt negative answers. You want to do the work. You want to be part of this team. You want to work for this employer. All of these facts are enormously positive. Keep them that way. Some interviewers pose questions laced with negativity: What if the engineer doesn’t like you? Suppose the crew wanted someone else to take this available spot, and they tell you that during the interview. Perhaps they ask what you’ll do if it appears someone is stealing or if someone gets a customer complaint. Your answers should suggest the first (and best) real consideration: You want this job. You want it because of the engineers you have met and not despite them. You want it because you fail or succeed together as a team. You want this job because once you earn a spot, it’s ok to let your work win over the crew. You want this job because the members you have met don’t steal from each other or anybody else. Being positive and staying positive is a lot like taking out the trash. No one else is going to do it for you. Start paying attention to how quickly frater- nity, kindness, patience and the like are sold down the river because someone caught a menacing glint of sharp, dangerous silver. Do not under any circumstances allow a question to remain, morph, or escalate into a pair of scissors. They usually end up buried into someone’s back.

Click this link! Discuss this article and other at B Shifter’s new forums. The author of “You’re Hired”: What you need to know about your job interview questions and answers,” MC Hyyppa left the Phoenix Fire Department as a BLS captain to work for the Glendale (Ariz.) Fire Department as a responding battalion chief. Hyyppa currently lives on the Central California coastline.

WINTER 2013 41 MANAGING A FIRE COMPANY Are You Mayday Ready? The IAFF’s Survival Training Program outlines how to prevent & manage maydays.

BY CHRIS STEWART

ello, B Shifters. I hope my air-management for company officers column caused some of your synapses to fire. Air man- Hagement is critical to our survival, and it really is a trainable skillset. I appreciated the RIC, RIT, DIC (or whatever your department calls it) discussions in the last issue. Full disclosure: I am an on-deck guy. Continuing on that theme, I’d like to discuss maydays at the task level. Specifically, what we can really do to prevent them, and how we should respond to them if we find ourselves or a crewmember in an “oh shit” moment. My views on maydays are based on data, scientific evidence or well-documented experiences that are repeatable and trainable. I am writing this article under the assumption that gravity, time and other laws of physics are always present and consistent. My department underwent a significant renaissance after Brett Tarver’s death at the Southwest Supermarket fire in 2001. We tested many different methods for managing firefighter maydays from the strategic and tactical levels. We developed PPE features, rescue equipment and tools for our firefighters to utilize when rescuing a fellow firefighter. We also proved these systems made a huge impact on our effectiveness when a mayday occurred in the hazard zone. In hindsight, we spent the least amount of time on the task-level operations that begin with the individual having a problem. This is not a criticism of our department, because we truly focused on making improvements from all directions. I have ownership in this process because I was present and actively participating as a company officer during the testing after There is no magic way to the incident. I’m not casting stones from outside the circle. determine whether each crew member is mayday ready. Eleven years after the Tarver event, I was asked to plan and manage our department’s implementation of the IAFF’s Fireground Survival Training program. I knew very little about this training beyond the snippets I picked up during my last stint as a recruit training officer at our academy. The IAFF Fireground Survival Training Program was developed as a way of providing a consistent training curriculum to the members of the Interna- tional Union regarding the prevention and recognition of maydays, as well as actions taken during mayday scenarios. The planning and implementation process of the Fireground Survival Training has given me a lot of time to think about mayday events, including their prevention and response. During my reflections, I realized the actions that have the greatest impact on safety occur at the task level. This has lead me to repeatedly ask; “What is mayday ready?” “What does it look like to be mayday ready?” and finally “How can we train individual firefighters as well as companies to be mayday ready?” In my mind, there is no checklist or set of behaviors that determines whether an individual or crew has reached this nebulous stage and is supremely mayday ready (I realize this is not a belief held by most A shifters). Fireground operations

42 B SHIFTER present infinite variables. All we can do is evaluate these variables consistently and repeatedly against a standard that drives to one important conclusion: All firefighters should leave the scene alive and intact. For example, when faced with a burning structure, we must utilize our standard decision-making model, evaluate critical fireground factors, apply the standard risk-management plan and select a strategy and actions that match our abilities to the problem. For my department, this includes fighting offensive, interior fires as aggressively as the conditions will allow. Given the above standards, what does it look like to be mayday ready for me and my firefighters?

Prevention Is Key The most important component in becoming mayday ready is learning to prevent maydays in the first place. To do this, we must utilize sound decision- making principles based on realistic expectations of what we can accomplish on a given fire scene. I fully believe in the “green” level of my department’s risk-management plan: “We will risk a lot, in a calculated manner, to save a savable life.” Given appropriate conditions and the assumption that a significant life hazard exists, my crew and I will bust our asses to make that happen. In order to be successful in this game (success = reasonably healthy retirement for me and my crew), I have to be good at determining how far we will go and still live to tell about it. I have to be comfortable giving a sector officer or incident commander accurate reports that will drive their decision-making. I also must be comfortable saying, “No,” “Let’s back out” or “Not this time” to my crew or bosses based on our life safety and conditions. This is NOT a test of my masculinity; it is a test of my intellect and experience. Preventing a mayday is an important consideration for individual firefighters, as well. Much like the air-management plan we discussed last month, a company officer must lead their crew, but it is impossible to expect company officers to control their crews’ brains during an incident. We can set expectations, train to those standards and remind them during the incident, but we can’t make decisions for them. We can consistently train to the point of familiarity with our vital equipment, such as our SCBAs. We can train firefighters to slow down, look around and assess the critical factors for themselves prior to entry. We can train them to assess each incident for not only how we are going to get in, but also how we are going to get out—especially if something bad happens. Ultimately, the individual firefighter must choose to make these decisions when operating at the scene. Obviously, this is advanced firefighting. This can’t be done if we haven’t mastered the simple tasks of our work. If you can’t train a firefighter how to stretch an attack line or take a hydrant (doesn’t matter if you suck at teaching or they suck at learning), I am confident they will not be able to prevent a mayday with good decision-making based on their training.

When Prevention Fails Even when we train to an enlightened state of mayday readiness, bad things can still happen—things that may have gone unnoticed or that were not obvious or predictable. However, we can train to make appropriate response decisions and take the right actions in these cases, keeping in mind that this training is perishable and requires repetition. For example, after the 2001 Southwest Supermarket fire, 1,500 firefighters participated in our drill tests on two separate occasions. The tests were monitored, documented and calculated by Ph.D statisticians The results showed that it took roughly 12 firefighters to rescue 1 down firefighter. Of the 12 rescuers, 1 in 5, or roughly 2.4 of the 12 rescuers, required their own mayday intervention. It doesn’t take those same PhDs to realize this is bad cycle. Given this reality, it is still necessary to train on response to a mayday

WINTER 2013 43 MANAGING A FIRE COMPANY

situation for the individual. This is critical if we agree there are conditions and situations when firefighters will be operating on the interior of a burning structure. Any mental or physical skill that can be demonstrated should be practiced to improve the possibility of a successful resolution and outcome. This is the strength and foundation for the IAFF Fireground Survival Training. The practical portions of this training program are based on real firefighter near misses or deaths that have been developed into actual, trainable skills. These skills involve SCBA familiarization, individual actions during a mayday and methods for self-rescue during specific situations. These skills are taught individually Save Lives with and then a standard few are put together in the end for a competency or confidence course. Due to my department’s GRAB LIVES size, it is taking a full year to train all of our members in all IAFF Mnemonic reminds firefighters phases. There are three specific skills that are critical to firefight- what to do in dicey situations. ers in all interior firefighting situations. The first is SCBA familiarization. We know that in order to become even remotely G—Gauge (air gauge) mayday ready, firefighters must be able to operate and man- R—Radio (give mayday over the radio) age their SCBA and all of its functions. This includes donning A—Activate (activate your PASS device) their mask, reading their gauge, activating the PASS device B—Breathing (control your breathing) as well as partially or fully removing the SCBA secondarily L—Low (stay low) to being entangled. It is critical that firefighters do all of this I—Illuminate (turn your light on) with their firefighting gloves on their hands. This component V—Volume (make some noise) trains the firefighter to become intimately comfortable with E—Exit (find your way out if you can) their SCBA. It teaches the firefighter to untangle it and don S—Shield (protect your airway, as a last resort) and doff the pack/harness in zero visibility as well as operating the emergency functions including the bypass valve and the PASS device. All firefighters in the hazard zone must have intimate knowledge of this critical piece of equipment. The second and third components that are critically necessary to improved mayday readiness are the GRAB LIVES component and, more specifically, the communications component. GRAB LIVES is an IAFF-developed mnemonic of tasks that should be performed when a member finds themselves in a mayday situation. GRAB LIVES stands for: G—Gauge (air gauge) R—Radio (give mayday over the radio) A—Activate (activate your PASS device) B—Breathing (control your breathing) L—Low (stay low) I—Illuminate (turn your light on) V—Volume (make some noise) E—Exit (find your way out if you can) S—Shield (protect your airway, as a last resort) This list of tasks is neither new nor magical: It illuminates items that have been identified for some time across the North American fire service as important to improving survival. The mnemonic enhances what we have already been teaching because it gives the individual a mental focus and helps minimize the panic a firefighter can experience in a mayday situation. When this becomes standard terminology for firefighters, company officers, incident commanders and dispatch personnel, it can be an effective tool in improving the firefighter’s survival as well as their mental acuity during the situation. The R for radio is the mayday communication component. The value of this portion of the training is that every single firefighter is given the opportunity to practice mayday communication to an actual incident commander and/ or dispatch operator. We felt it critical that when these are practiced at the

44 B SHIFTER task level, an actual strategic-level officer and an actual dispatcher should be on the other end responding. We are requiring all of our command officers and dispatchers to participate in this component of training. When orienting our prospective instructors during the selection process for this training (least amount of experience of this group was 22 years), I asked the entire group of all field ranks (company officers, apparatus operators and firefighters) how many had actually given a mayday over the radio. Not one had done it. I know for a fact that many members in this group had been in what we would now identify as a mayday situation, but had never actually given a mayday report. This component of training became that much more important for all of our members: Identifying the situation and then commu- nicating it is critical to their survival. The first time a firefighter gives a mayday communication over the radio it should not be in a real situation. We teach our members to communicate their mayday in a specific way and then require them to practice it. The information they have been instructed to give is who, what and where. An example is; “Mayday, mayday, mayday! This is Firefighter Smith on E1. I am lost and separated from my crew. I am working in West Sector.” At this point, they have been instructed to continue with their GRAB LIVES procedures and decide if self-rescue or staying in place is the most appropriate action. This decision is based on their immediate interior conditions and air supply. We are also challenging our company officers to train regularly (i.e. every shift) on this specific component. It should be easily communicated when the mayday occurs, and this comes with practice. Again, any skill that is perishable should be practiced regularly at the company level. It doesn’t take any equipment, out-of-service time or permission. It could be critical if you only have one shot at it in a real situation. I don’t think I can say this too much: The only guaranteed mayday success is preventing one. Our decisions as company officers are the beginning of this prevention. Consistent training of perishable skills for the company and the individual is invaluable. Training to consistent operational standards will allow you to predict and manage the actions of your firefighters during dynamic situations. Finally, practicing critical functions prior to the mayday will drasti- cally improve the odds of a successful mayday intervention. The prospects of a successful resolution are limited at best, no matter the system your department plans on enacting when a mayday occurs. Train, retrain and make decisions that allow you to stay out of trouble.

Click here! Visit B Shifter’s new forums to discuss your opinions with other company officers.

Chris Stewart began working for the Phoe- nix Fire Department (PFD) in 1991. He became a firefighter in 1993, and has spent the majority of his career working on busy engine companies. In 2000, he became the company officer of an engine company. Chris has served as a recruit training officer at the PFD training academy. He has developed multiple procedures and training for the PFD including high-rise operation, air management and bulk fuel storage facilities. He is currently assigned to Battalion 3 on B Shift. Chris was fortunate enough to marry his high-school sweetheart and is proud to have two sons who take after their mother.

WINTER 2013 45 PERSONNEL PROBLEM The Time Twisters Are you a company officer who considers one guy’s “late” another guy’s “early”? FREE! Leadership BY B SHIFTER STAFF Simulation!

n the surface, this quarter’s personnel problem seems attendance-related. We all know that we’re supposed to Oshow up to work on time, ready for another busy shift full of car accidents, structure fires and ill diabetics. Most of us have been relieved by the full gamut of firefighters, including the overly conscientious who get up with the sun and have swapped our gear off the rig, replaced it with theirs and checked out the apparatus all before the ceiling witches give us morning lights. We have also been held hostage by the chronically tardy who clock in just 1 second prior to being late. Some argue that firefighters must be ready to make their first run prior to their shift’s scheduled start time. This requires making all of one’s morning checks before that designated daily start time. Others claim that an 8 a.m. start time means you have to be in the station by 8 a.m. and all of the morning checks occur while being paid (on the clock). In a perfect world, we are self-disciplined enough to arrive to work on time. In this make-believe Eden, we never have car trouble, sick kids or passion-fueled emotion-fests with our significant other 10 seconds before we walk out the door for work. In this fantasy world, company officers only have to work the siren Scolding a company member for being tardy and air horn because their crew is from heaven. one time while another can show up late habitually without consequence is not OK. This quarter’s Personnel Problem takes place in the real world—one filled Click the play button above to learn why. with bell-ringers, stragglers and divas. The problem really isn’t so much about getting to work on time, as it is being the officer responsible for managing the station/shift’s attendance. As we continue to produce these Personnel Prob- lems, it is becoming more apparent that company officers manage the day- to-day activities for the entire fire department. Click on the picture at right to visit our imperfect world.

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www.globalriskinnovations.com INCIDENT REVIEW Training Hits the Street A recent incident in the Pacific Northwest proves that command training transfers to the real world.

BY PAT DALE

he City of Olympia (Wash.) Fire Department is an all-career orga- Tnization with 96 members total— 81 in operations. Olympia is the capital of Washington state, so our department faces some interesting challenges, including occasional political demonstra- tions and protests that occur at the capital campus. The department deploys four engines, one truck, two medic units and a battalion chief. The engines and the truck staff three people, and the medic units staff two; our minimum on-duty staffing is 20. The city covers approximately 25 square miles, and in 2011, the department responded to 11,747 calls. For years, our department managed the initial deployment to structure fires Click the play button to launch the way many departments do. We would assign a third-arriving company to a video that shows what happened RIT, which would effectively delay the second and third companies from enter- at this incident. ing the structure until RIT was fully in place and ready for activation at the scene. Recently, we underwent an intensive command-training process that changed our way of thinking and our initial actions on scene. In this article, I will discuss a multi-unit residential fire my department experienced. This incident clearly illustrates that our department’s new approach to incident command results in more streamlined operations and successful outcomes.

The Call The fire building within the complex was a medium-sized, three-story apartment with a pitched truss roof. It was accessible only from the A Side. There was a fence and a large rock retaining wall separating the building’s A Side from its C Side. We initially dispatched our standard commercial-structure deployment: five engines, two trucks, two medic units and the battalion chief (BC). The apartment building sat approximately one block from our west-side fire station, which houses an engine (Engine 2) and a medic unit (Medic 10). Both companies were in quarters at the time of the call, which resulted in a response time of fewer than 4 minutes. We deploy the engine and medic unit from the same fire station to act as a five-person company in order to comply with the 2 In/2 Out mandate. On arrival, Engine 2 and Medic 10 found a working fire in one unit on the third floor with obvious extension to the attic. The fire was visible from the deck area on the C Side. Life hazard was our primary critical fireground factor for this multi-family residential unit, so the first-in officer gave an initial radio

48 B SHIFTER report, took command as a fast-attacking IC, and chose the offensive strategy. All other incoming companies staged per SOPs. The initial incident action plan (IAP) had Engine 2 and Medic 10 members quickly establishing their own water supply. Engine 2’s engineer accomplished this by overhauling the large- diameter hose to a yard hydrant right next to the engine. The next step was to stretch two attack lines to the A Side front door of the third-floor fire unit for primary search and fire control of that apartment. A 360 was not possible due to the fence and retaining wall. However, the driveway to the apartment complex entered from the building’s C Side, giving Engine 2’s crew an unob- structed view of the fire on that side. The three members of Engine 2 and the two members of Medic 10 posi- tioned themselves in our standard way, as follows: • Medic Unit members on the attack line; • The officer (incident commander) and firefighter from Engine 2 on the standby line (2 out) on the front-door landing; and • Engineer as the pump operator of Engine 2. When the second engine company, Engine 01, arrived at Level One Staging (an uncommitted location not beyond their last hydrant), the incident commander assigned them to the on-deck position. After assigning the on- deck crew, the officer and firefighter on the standby line immediately moved into the fire unit to address the next critical fireground factor, which was the fire’s extension into the attic. Once inside, the officer and firefighter drove the nozzle through the sheetrock ceiling above the kitchen—the area of origin— and quickly extinguished the main body of fire in the attic. The next to arrive was the BC. A standard transfer of command took place over the radio, relieving IC No. 1 of the burden of command. In fact, at this time the incident was stabilized due to the fact that the fire in the kitchen, deck and attic had been confined to these areas and was extinguished. There was no fire extension to the adjacent apartments or any further extension in the attic space.

The Outcome This incident outcome was successful due to the following reasons: • The initial attack line was in place for primary search and fire control very quickly, in fact, the initial line was entering the apartment 1.5 minutes after arrival. • The initial attack was reinforced by the second line, which addressed the fire in the attic very quickly. The second line entered the apartment just 45 seconds after the initial line had made entry. • The use of the fast-attacking IC allowed the initial company officer to be a part of the working team that addressed fire confinement and extinguishment as opposed to taking a command position outside and not working. This act has a great impact on the duration and severity of the incident because the fire is extinguished sooner. • The second-arriving engine company assigned to on deck instead of RIT/RIC. Assigning the second-arriving engine company to on deck as opposed to our legacy assignment of RIT allowed the second line to enter the apartment and address the next most important critical factor (the attic fire) sooner.

A New Approach The approach employed by the first-arriving companies is in contrast to our former approach. The recent Blue Card training conducted within our department—as well as our automatic and mutual aid partners—has created the following tactical enhancements: • Previously, the reinforcement of the initial line would have been

WINTER 2013 49 INCIDENT REVIEW delayed due to our practice of assigning RIT to the second-arriving company (when the first-in engine is accompanied by a medic unit). The members on the standby line would have delayed entry until the company assigned to RIT had completed a 360, gathered a cache of tools and possibly “softened” the structure’s openings. Once these tasks were completed, the members on the standby line would enter the fire unit. That practice at this incident would have allowed the fire to take a hold of the attic and expose additional occupants of adjacent apartments as well as additional firefighters. This fire may have escalated to a second-alarm utilizing our previous tactics. • Our recent training has also heightened our awareness of the critical fireground factor of the most dangerous direction of fire extension— into the attic. Our standard actions are evolving to move on-scene resources to interior positions to reinforce initial attack lines much more rapidly. This enhanced tactic has produced more successful outcomes in our structure fires where fire that has extended to the attic.

Lessons Learned The lessons learned at this incident are largely positive reinforcement of newly enhanced tactics. In short, with the initial eight firefighters on-scene (two engines and one medic unit), we previously would have had two firefighters inside for fire control, and six firefighters outside preparing for bad things to happen. Given our revised initial tactical deployment, with eight firefighters on scene initially, we now have four firefighters inside addressing critical fireground factors and four firefighters outside. This has enhanced our effectiveness while still maintaining a tactical reserve “on deck.” Another practice that this incident reinforces is that of utilizing a fast- attacking IC. This concept is frequently controversial within the Puget Sound area of Washington state. Many people have told me this practice is not possible and places the initial IC in a poor position on the inside of a building. Although I agree that it is a compromised position, the trade-off of quick fire confinement and extinguishment outweighs the disadvantages of the fast- attacking IC position. The video and accompanying audio of this incident prove that it can be done.

Conclusion The company officer of Engine 2 had been recently promoted. As luck would have it, he and his company members were at our Command Training Center (CTC) earlier in the day prior to this incident. The Blue Card curriculum uti- lized at our CTC has given many of our new (as well as veteran) fire officers a standardized system to develop strong habits for incident communications, as well as a standardized model for actions at the incident. This incident proves that skills learned during training CAN transfer outside of the training room and into the street environment—a positive transfer of training.

Click here! Start or join a discussion about this article at B Shifter’s new forums.

Pate Dale is the assistant chief of operations for the Olympia (wash.) Fire Department. He has more than 30 years of fire service experience in numerous disciplines, including fire suppression, EMS, hazmat, training and management. Dale currently serves as an IMT Type 3 incident commander for Homeland Security Region 3.

50 B SHIFTER

THE DRILLDOWN Assigning Units This issue’s interactive column reviews how we put companies to work when they arrive on scene.

BY BLUE CARD STAFF

his issue’s “Drilldown” column examines the role SOPs play in incident-action planning and assign- Ting units. There are multiple schools of thought regarding how to manage assigning companies to structure fires. These vary from all-out freelancing to tightly scripted, pre-determined deployment systems. The former has the entire initial response arriving to the incident scene and taking independent action; the latter has each company responding to specific positions, locations or functions based on arrival order. Both of these attack phi- losophies have inherent strengths and weaknesses. The majority of successful fire attacks are carried Freelancing out with one or two well-placed attack lines. In many vs. instances, coordinated support work directly impacts the overall safety and effectiveness of these incident operations. The attack advantage of freelancing is that SOP-Based it places companies into action the quickest way possible and takes the quickest, most Deployment direct route to the fire. Freelancing is com- vs. pletely uncoordinated and typically begins with the first person arriving declaring they are on the scene of a working fire. Each subsequent company auto-assigns to the scene until the fire goes out. This approach routinely eliminates the fire during the first 10 minutes most of the time. Once the fire goes out, everything gets better. Assignment Systems that use predetermined assignments for the by the I.C. initial wave of responders (typically determined by arrival order and type of company) tend to cover multiple attack positions. Freelancing, on the other hand, places most resources through the same entry point. When these initial-arriving units stick to the SOP, it enables the IC to control the position and function of units operating in the hazard zone. Some systems verify these assignments with the IC directly contacting each unit over the tactical radio channel to confirm their position, the conditions they are operating in and the actions they are taking. The third deployment model is assignment by the IC. This system utilizes a size up of the critical factors prior to taking action. This approach allows us to customize an Click the image to launch this month’s incident response for each incident we respond to. This interactive Drilldown column. is one of the core competencies of the Blue Card system. Click on the graphic to launch this issue’s Drilldown.

52 B SHIFTER

COMMAND TRAINING For the People, by the People Like the U.S. Constitution, SOPs are living documents that should evolve to keep us safer as times change.

BY NICK BRUNACINI

t has been said we are only as good as our standard operating procedures (SOPs) and training. SOPs lie at the core of any effective Itraining program. In fact, it’s impossible to train without SOPs. At the end of the day, we train individuals around the SOP. This is why simulation-based training is so effective—it allows us to realistically practice the procedures outlined in our SOPs. The airline industry is a good example of successful simulation-based training. During the past year, there have been approximately zero fatalities as a result of this commercial airplane pilot training program. This is in large part because commercial airline pilots must successfully complete their simulation-centered training program prior to lifting off. They also must successfully complete yearly continuing education to maintain their license. Click on the video at right for more information on pilot-training programs. Many fire-department training programs, specifically the paramedic- training program, mirror the airline pilot-training program. Paramedics Click here to watch a description of airline are trained and certified to deliver a certain standard of care. Over the years, pilot training requirements. this has evolved into a national certification. A Command Training Center (CTC) was the first place where my former department was able to effectively revise the SOPs that connect the strategic, tactical and task levels of the organization. We owe much of this success to the fact that the Operations Division managed the CTC. The benefit of conducting command training with all of the officers in the same room, at the same time, cannot be overstated. Each training session included the Operations Division’s high- est ranking on-duty members, the shift commanders, plus battalion chiefs, company officers and firefighters competing for and acting as company officers. Another thing that made this training system so powerful was that the group was empowered to review, revise and refine the SOPs we use to manage our day-to-day operations. The effect of validat- Image 1: The majority of our fires occur in ing our SOPs against realistic, high-fidelity structure simulations forces us to residential buildings like the one shown here. clinically examine best practices as they relate to actual incident conditions. This command-training model provides the most authentic training venue to improve our ability to connect standard actions to standard conditions in order to achieve a standard outcome. We found that the 15-minute simulation fueled the two-hour review and discussion. The most authentic way to process the science being developed by NIST and UL is through command training. As an example, let’s look at something as innocuous as air-management procedures. Responsible fire-service professionals advocate never running out of air while operating in an IDLH atmosphere. Most of us include this

54 B SHIFTER requirement in our SOPs. Key information required for crafting effective air- management procedures includes the average working time for a bottle of air, the length of time required to advance the standard attack line into the wide variety of structures in your department’s response area, the standard company work cycle, the department’s deployment capability and the length of time to complete the Image 2: It’s a bad idea to wide variety of tasks required at the incident scene. apply residential search- Each of these factors contributes to ensuring the and-rescue tactics to large member CANNOT run out of air while working in commercial buildings. an IDLH atmosphere. Air-management procedures have a profound and lasting effect on our members’ health, safety and survival. This makes them more critical than grooming standards, elevating our air-management SOPs into rules. Now let’s take a look at how these air-management procedures connect with and affect all of our other procedures. We place a very high value on completing a primary search for structural firefighting operations. The No. 1 tactical priority is life safety. Most of us have SOPs that describe search and rescue methods for the task level: wall searches; managing doors in the search area; oriented searches; and vent, enter and search, etc. A comprehensive set of procedures would include the requirements for managing search and rescue activities on the tactical level. These procedures include searching areas above the fire, providing ventilation and fire control in support of the search and proactively staffing attacking positions to maintain the personnel required to sustain and complete the primary search, etc. Strategic search and rescue SOPs typically make broad statements such as, “Conducting and completing the primary search is the No. 1 priority and a standard element for all structure fires.” On paper (which is where all of our SOPs live), all of these procedures appear to be in harmonious agreement. The majority of our tactical activity occurs in houses that look like the one pictured in Image 1, pg. 54. Nothing in our air-management procedures conflicts with our search-and-rescue SOPs for these type of structures. Problems, confusion and unsafe practices can occur when we apply these same search-and-rescue SOPs to a large commercial building around the corner from our single-family residence (see Image 2, top right). We learned this firsthand in 2001 when firefighter Brett Tarver died during a commercial fire after running out of air. A review of our SOPs revealed many procedures conflicted with one another. This is typical Image 3: You can fit approximately 66 houses within a big-box superstore. The for an operations manual that is more than 30 years old and 500+ pages long. tactics used for any of these houses do not After Tarver’s death, we ran every member of our department through a set apply in these huge warehouse spaces. of hands-on drills that revealed the average working time for the 30-minute SCBAs we used during this era was 16 minutes and 37 seconds.

WINTER 2013 55 COMMAND TRAINING

Entrenching Tradition The biggest challenge with maintaining a set of operational procedures is keeping them up to date. Most SOPs were written by ranking members of the organization. When the original author(s) view their SOPs as a child they actually birthed, there is a tendency to sanctify the procedure, turning it into scripture. Maintaining out-of-date SOPs screws up the other SOPs that connect to them. Organization- ally, we should never place the members in the position where the safest, most effective action is to not follow the SOPs. Well-crafted and up-to-date SOPs institution- alize best practices. A recurring issue we all face is the dilution of organizational experience that comes whenever a senior member retires from the department. When we involve these members in the ongoing review and maintenance of our SOPs, it institutionalizes their experience for future gen- erations. When we take this a step further and incorporate these members in training material and incident critiques (via video), it immortalizes the member and their experience. This material serves as the roadmap for why we do things the way we do them. It is sad when a senior-ranking member cannot answer the junior officers’ questions regarding where a procedure comes from. I could never get the B-Shifters to believe the stork brought them. Image 4: Here is an example of an SOP for search and rescue in large Using SOPs to Drive Training Programs structures full of smoke. We use a critical-factor-based size-up system to develop the incident action plan (IAP). Search and rescue is a smaller part of the plan. We put the plan together by sizing up the critical factors for the incident. As the building, occupancy and the fire change, so must the way we conduct search and rescue. The search- and-rescue methods designed for 4,000-square-foot single-family residence do not apply to a 100,000-square-foot commercial building full of smoke. It drives the point home when you can show the disparity of using the same exact set of tactics when one building is 66 times larger than the other (see Image 3, pg. 55).

Develop Officers while Refining the Organization The ability to craft and customize an IAP for every incident is based on the incident’s actual critical factors. Ideally, this skill is developed in training and refined in actual application. Our most effective training programs are rooted in effective SOPs. Over time, these programs can evolve into certification-based training programs. As an example of organizational inefficiency, my former department reinvented our high-rise program every five to seven years. We were constantly recreating it because some people moved to different stations, others became bored with it, or we ran out of money. During that same era, the hazmat, technical rescue, paramedic and EMT programs all sustained themselves over time because they were certification-based (despite having members moving to different stations, becoming bored with it or running short on money). Each of those programs connected to a standard and a curriculum. This institutionalized each program. One could keep the program current because each program connected to a standard, corresponding curriculum/training program. It took the mystery out of it. The high-rise program was the property of the members who controlled it. When we connect it to an actual training program it institutionalizes the program, making it the property of the department. Most of us use the same selection process to promote our officers. Each candidate studies a mountain of procedures, books and other material to prepare for taking the written exam. A tactical exam, which includes a fire problem,

56 B SHIFTER follows. In many instances, the “correct” answers for the tactical portion of the exam are based entirely on a combination of the author’s personal preferences and their interpretation of those SOPs. For some departments, a major byproduct of the promotion process is the avalanche of law- suits—filed by members who took the test—citing well-meaning, yet seriously flawed, testing practices. In many instances, the promotional process doesn’t connect to the real world. The captain’s exam I took was more suited for the battalion chief’s position. My battalion chief’s exam was designed for a hybrid position of ops chief, fire chief, Nelson Mandela and MacGyver. The testing process starts to run into rough legal ground when it supposes the candidate should be operating at a “meets standards” level for the position they are considering. This implies the test-takers have all been trained. Certifying officers removes much of the bias that comes with the traditional promotional process. It also provides new officers with the training and tools needed to begin a successful career. This is an organizational responsibility that falls to the department, not the member. Certifying the member to operate in the new position requires training for that position prior to promoting them into the new position. It also eliminates the time, expense, stress and associated legal hassles resulting from conducting tactical promotional exams. It is better to invest in training our members than testing them. To finish our example, organizationally, we come to agreements during command training. We agree on our chosen tactics and tasks as they are applied to the diverse set of incident conditions (or critical factors) we find ourselves operating in and around. Image 5: Pictured here is a sample simulation It’s no more complicated than that. See Image 5, right, for an example of an for a large building full of smoke. SOP for search-and-rescue in large structures full of smoke. It is a good practice to review simulations prior to actually running them. It’s training, not an Eas- ter egg hunt. Our example is a large tire warehouse full of smoke. Discussion points include air management, resource requirements, risk vs. gain, and which areas we will perform a primary search (the offices), and which areas we will not be conducting primary searches in (most of the smoke filled warehouse). These discussions and ensuing tactical agreements must end up being reflected in the department’s SOPs. The goal at the end of the day is to be as effective as possible without injuring and killing ourselves. Our SOPs should reflect this.

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Nick Brunacini joined the Phoenix Fire Depart- ment (PFD) in 1980. He served seven years as a firefighter before promoting to captain and working nine years on a ladder company. Click the image above to watch a Nick served as a battalion chief for five years and description of Incident commander in 2001, he was promoted to shift commander. training requirements. He then spent the next five years developing and teaching the Blue Card curriculum at the PFD’s Command Training Center. His last assignment with the PFD was South Shift commander; he retired from the department in 2009. Nick is the author of “B-Shifter—A Firefighter’s Memoir.” He is also the co-author of “Command Safety.”

WINTER 2013 57 STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES Command Function 5 This month’s free SOP download highlights Communications.

his quarter’s SOP focuses on communications. The main theme of Blue Card communications is that the hazard-zone portion of the incident Toperation lives on a single tactical radio channel. The IC manages the strategic level of the incident organization. The IC connects the strategic level with the tactical and task levels of the incident organization over the tactical radio channel. The IC is also responsible for managing the strategic-level safety of the entire incident organization. They do this by controlling the position and function of all hazard-zone units. The IC uses the critical factors to make the strategic determination. If the incident conditions (critical factors) indicate the offensive strategy, the IC develops an IAP based on firefighters advancing a fire attack to the interior of the structure. If the fire conditions are beyond our offensive capability, the IC switches to the defensive strategy and makes sure that firefighters are operating in exterior positions (out of harm’s way). The IC must maintain an instantaneous connection to firefighters operating in a hazard zone. This is connection is the tactical radio channel. The IC cannot actively monitor three radio channels and expect to always be available for tactical-channel radio traffic. If the IC is talking to the regional Dis- patch Center over the mutual-aide channel when Engine 1 declares a mayday over the tactical channel, chances are the mayday will get lost in the noise. This is unacceptable, and it is the reason the IC doesn’t monitor and manage multiple radio channels. Communications is uniquely tied to the incident organization. The IC builds an effective incident organization to manage their span of control and to reduce the the total number of communications partners to a manageable number. We build command teams to increase our communications capability. If the incident will eventually require more than one radio channel we expand the command post and the command team to accommodate the increased communications requirements. We provide these SOPs in a PDF format. (Please click the paperclip to the left to open the file.) We have also provided them in Microsoft Word format so you can customize the content for your department’s needs. (Please click the paperclip to the right to access the Word document.) The next installment will cover Function 6: Organization.

58 B SHIFTER Click here to own the T-Shirt that proudly displays the most beautiful piece of art ever made.

A Boy, His Dog & His 1952 L-Model Mack

Wear it with pride. It is more American than Fox News. THE 360 Zombies Among Us To defeat operational zombies, double tap into your brain’s ability to reason.

BY JOHNNY PETERS

ore than a thousand years ago, a Mayan calendar com- Mpany went out of business, leaving to posterity a calendar ending on December 21, 2012. Unfortunately, the Mayans today possess a reputa- tion of being competent prophets and astrologers. So as the date approaches, KEITH ROBINSON ILLUSTRATION speculation increases on the various apocalypses which may befall mankind: drought, famine, rapture, pestilence, solar flares or asteroids, to name a few. If I could pick an apocalypse, though, it would be the Inevitable Zombie Apoc- alypse. Maybe it’s the potential to go on massive shopping sprees in aban- doned shopping centers, my pick of unclaimed dream cars, or an increased chance of meeting Bill Murray. Or maybe it’s the familiarity of fighting a mindless, soulless, all-consuming force. Actually, that sounds familiar. What is fire, but a mindless entity bent on endless consumption? The advantage we have over zombies is the same one we have over fire: Our capacity for reason. But I think this is the tool we most commonly leave behind. It would be unthinkable to divest ourselves of our glorious trucks, sirens, axes, saws, helmets—the inanimate tools of the trade—yet we will surrender our reason to futile and deadly efforts, to inefficient procedures. The call of the zombie is “Rrghrrrr.” Translation: “But we’ve always done it this way! Sometimes, we sum up that sentence with the word tradition, sometimes SOPs, but it’s always the same, mindless moan. No one is immune to the zombie virus. In fact, we’re all infected. The only thing you can do is fight the infection.

Build Your Immune System You’re reading B Shifter, so you’re already doing this. Continuing education from all areas (not just the officially approved, mandatory material) engages your brain. But beware: The virus has a defense against this. “But we’ve always done it this way” is ready to flare up the moment you are exposed to something new. New ideas are sometimes regarded as peasants bearing torches. This fire of knowledge will cause the zombie to recoil and retreat to the rote patterns we’ve learned. Ironic, considering firefighters pride themselves on plunging headlong into the fire. We love it so much that many of our mascots are con- demned to eternal combustion in our logos. The idea is disturbing. I don’t know about you, but I want to avoid becoming a burning, screaming skull. But such

60 B SHIFTER is our mythology. To boost your immune system, resist the urge to swat down new ideas. It’s fine to critique a new idea, but don’t simply dismiss it. We like kicking in doors, we like breaking stuff. Our revered traditions and procedures, if they are worthy of our reverence, will survive a beating. If they break, then whatever broke them is tougher. So welcome the slings and arrows of outrageous ideas. Drilling can help build up your immunity to the virus, as well, but it can also provide a warm host in which it can blossom, for the zombie virus thrives on vain repetition. Keep this in mind when you’re drilling on the basics. Throw in those monkey wrenches. Ask “what if?” because that is the strongest antibi- otic against the infection of “But we’ve always done it, this way.”

Stay Alert & Avoid Complacency The virus comes in endless forms, and it has numerous paths into your brain. On-the-job monotony provides the the virus easy access. Most of our emergencies are routine to us. Experience tells us when we can sit back on our heels, a little. But to stay strong, we must put to use even these mundane moments. On the 3 a.m. headache call, we can mindlessly shamble through the motions of patient assessment, or we can take in information about the territory. Even babysitting downed power lines or managing a controlled gas leak gives you a chance to read buildings from the outside, spot plugs, imagine where you would spot apparatus if something exciting happened, for a change. This sort of impromptu preplanning is common on my crew. I am confident my firefighters can identify the general layout of houses by looking at the pipes coming out of the roof and the types of windows they see. Famil- iarity does not have to breed contempt. But it can. A few months back, a respectable storm blew through Houston. My regular chauffeur, Engineer Buonarosa, was riding up as captain on the engine, which had been dispatched to downed power lines. Of course, there were downed lines all over the city, sapping the power company’s strength. It’s a recipe for an extended on-scene time, making sure Mrs. Smith doesn’t ride the lightning. After a few hours, we took the truck down to relieve the engine company so they could eat dinner. Dispatching a ladder truck on a downed- power-lines call exhausted my capacity for thinking outside the box. Mr. Buon- arosa refused to believe that the only option we had was to call dispatch and make sure (again) that the power company had been notified. “Rrghrrrr,” I reassured him. Thankfully, he was not content with my wisdom and eventually found a number that got him to a living dispatcher for the power company. It turns out that our dispatch office calls the same number as everyone else, putting our report in the same long queue. This is fine if there’s not a fire crew sitting around on scene for hours. Mr. Buonarosa aimed for the brain, and took out the zombie, in this case in the form of procedure, and now we can clear our scenes far faster. The power company is more than happy to secure downed lines so we can get back in service. Repetition can be deadly. Looking at our situation through new eyes, through different perspectives, can be just what we need. Remember in “Dead Poet’s Society,” when Robin Williams had the students stand on the desks to see their ordinary classroom from a new angle?

Better Experiences through Toys Like your body, the apparatus compartments are a wonderland. Whoever first married the irons was a mad genius, but think of where we’ve gone from there. My personal favorite is the thermal imager. Sure, it sees through smoke and darkness, aiding search, but why stop there? Inserting it into other situations can result in delightful experiences. It can help you pick a place to cut a hole, for instance, or let you see which way joists run in a cockloft, giving you an early

WINTER 2013 61 THE 360

(and non-destructive) clue to anticipating how fire will travel through voids. There are limits, of course, and not every tool will yield infinite uses. But if you get bored, pulling one out and asking “What else could we do with this?’ can stimulate an otherwise tepid day.

Success Zombie I can’t pass up an opportunity to knock what I believe is the absolute worst zombie phrase: “Everybody went home.” I can think of no deadlier words in the fire service. It’s a corruption of the laudable goal of “Everyone goes home.” But instead of an operational guideline encouraging smart actions on scene, “Everybody went home” is a snake oil we rub on the bruises we get from operational errors, and it just makes the infection worse. It’s not enough to be successful. You need to be successful for the right reasons, not just dumb luck. If you haven’t read “After Burn” in the Summer 2011 issue of B Shifter, go immediately back in time via Internet sorcery and do so. It’s not enough to gather in a horde and celebrate not being dead (or undead). Any zombie can do that. Bring your brain with you, and use it, don’t eat it. Click here! Visit B Shifter’s saucy new forums!

Johnny Peters is a captain with the Houston Fire Depart- ment, and one of maybe five members who actually live in Houston. He is capable of hiding in an open locker for several minutes in order to frighten a co-worker coming out of the bathroom, but only uses his power for good.

62 B SHIFTER

THE REAR AXLE The Fast Track Once stationed at a domestic U.S. military base, this pretty Packard Henney spent part of its life in the fast lane.

BY NYLE ZIKMUND

Owned by Nyle Zikmund of Blaine, Minn., and Tom Brace of Falcon Heights, Minn., this 1953 Packard Henney has a Packard chassis and a 150BHP, 288-cubic-inch straight 8 engine.

his 1953 Packard Henney, built by the Henney Motor Coach Company, was as one of 200 ambulances ordered Tby the Department of Defense for use at domestic U.S. military bases. This model is a “junior,” which means it is shorter No one looking at it today would know this car in length and only has two doors. We hypothesize the car was spent several years hanging out at a dusty, dirty originally stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Station. Only two racetrack. Careful restoration made this sweet other vehicles from the original 200 are registered with the Packard Henney look like new. Packard National Registry, making this one somewhat rare. Purchased at auction in the 1970s by the Sycamore (Ill.) Speedway, this vehicle was used as the track ambulance. Syca- more Speedway was (and still is) an oval dirt track. The Henney performed just once during its tenure, transporting an injured driver who—despite being given his last rights—recovered from his injuries.

64 B SHIFTER Top: Although most of the car was restorable, a few new old stock parts were used to upgrade and improve the vehicle’s condition. Bottom: Things look good! All that’s left to find is a Top: The ambulance has been military green and bright orange. She 1950s-era medical bag. wears her new colors—fire-engine red and white—quite well. Bottom: Restoration took three years total.

Sycamore Speedway sold the ambu at auction in the early 1990s to a Minnesota auto restorer who hoped to use the Henney for parts. Luckily, he changed his plans. We eventually purchased the ambulance in 2004. Since then, we have worked in earnest to restore it. The restoration took three years, as it was a frame-off project. The vast majority of the car was restorable, but we purchased a few new old stock (NOS) parts to upgrade and improve the vehicle’s condition, as the years at Sycamore took some toll. Other than the addition of a high-speed rear end to facilitate modern highway driving, the car is original. It is powered by a flat-head eight-cylinder engine and features a three-speed manual transmission. The lights, siren and all other car components still function. The individual we purchased the car from performed the body and paint work. Originally painted military green, Speedway painted it their trademark orange when they took ownership. Being fire-service professionals through and through, we painted it the only colors that made sense to us: red and white. We would still like to locate a 1950s-era medical bag and supplies, but other than that, the project is complete. In June 2007, we showed the vehicle at the Packard National Meet with hopes of winning Best of Class. To our pleas- ant surprise, the car won Best of Show—the National Championship—and represented the first time a commercial/professional car has ever won the Best of Show at the National meet.

Does your restoration project o you have a gorgeous restored emergency vehicle? rival Bruno’s beloved Mack Tell us about it! Please e-mail us a brief write-up that pumper? Prove it! Ddescribes how you acquired the vehicle, what you’ve done to restore it and its original and current specs. We need several before and after pictures to help tell the story, so please include jpgs. Send your submissions to [email protected], writing “Rear Axle” in the subject line.

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