The Kitchen Table

Thanksgiving Update at TKT

2009-11-24T13:34:00.000-08:00

We've been at this virtual Kitchen Table just over a year now, and we're thankful to be going stronger than ever.

We're very happy to be welcoming a new member this week: Douglas Cline. You can read his first post just below this one. Welcome to the table, Doug.

In anticipation of the holiday, FireRescue1 has created a Thanksgiving-themed quiz to test your firefighting and EMS knowledge of situations you might encounter this week... have fun!

And have a happy and safe Thanksgiving, everyone.

Getting on the Wall - Part 1

2009-11-23T19:14:00.000-08:00

Some Individuals would look at a pile of rubble and say “what a mess” while others will look at the same pile and say “what an opportunity”. Which one of these individuals would you want leading the fire department in your community? Most would say the one who has a vision of what that “mess” could be. I recently had the opportunity to spend some time in the great State of Vermont training with a group of outstanding emergency services professionals in. What a breath of fresh air. The amount of energy that was delivered to my starving body was incredible from spending just 48 hours with such great fire service leaders. I was able to see 50 years of leadership that was still going strong. That’s right; the fire chief of Vergennes Fire Department has been the Chief for 50 years. The best part is he still looks at everything in a progress, proactive philosophy of saying “look at that opportunity”.

As leaders of the fire service we must look at opportunities with vision. We must be able to decode the “mess” into “opportunity”. It is paramount that we focus on the concepts that it shouldn’t be this way, but we can make it something else. These are truly hectic times we live in. Times that can challenge even a seasoned leader.

A successful leader must have a clear and well defined vision of where the organization is going. Through outstanding mentors like John Leahy, Harry Carter, Robert Flemming, Daniel B. C. Gardner, Dan Jones, Christopher Naum and many other fire service leaders this same concept of vision; I was taught to see the opportunities in everything you come in contact with, rather than the mess.

Vision is in direct proportion to accomplishment. The more a leader can envision, the more the organization can accomplish. Phoenix Fire Department is the fire service leader it is today because of the vision of a great group of leaders guided by one of the greatest fire service leaders of all time, Alan Brunacini. So much of what the fire service practices today came from the vision that was created by a few leaders. It is important to remember that no vision is too awesome. It is important to remember that you should always strive for the highest possible dream. In doing so it is much better to fall a little short of that vision than to set the vision low and make it. Many changes in the fire service have come from leaders who have set the compass on a course for a vision only to fall short of that true vision but still accomplishing mush more. I am sure that Chief Ralph Jackman of the Vergennes Fire Department over his 50 years has fallen short of several visions, but I honestly know that a lot has been accomplished through having a well defined vision.

I would ask the folks who are sitting around The Kitchen Table, what is your vision and the vision of your department?

Is it Still Business as Usual?

2009-11-23T09:59:00.000-08:00

We've taked about a few things recently such as looking at the big picture related to buildings and occupancies and the functional parameters dealing with size-up and risk assessment. Then there's the dialog and discussion on the Predictability of Performance related to buildings and occupancies. Back in July I talked about a number of operational considerations realated to firefighter safety at Vacant Structures that built upon a posting on vacant or unoccupied building determinations and the question: is it business as usual?

Over the weekend some lively dialog and discussion was overheard regarding the advantages and disadvantages of working a fire in a vacant or unoccupied structure and the value of such company officer or command level descision-making. It still appears to be a hot button topic (to some) and has its camps of interest and champions on either side of the street. How does your viewpoint fit in? Is it STILL business as usual?

Here are some basic definitions to keep us all on the same playing field;

Vacant; refers to a building that is not currently in use, but which could be used in the future. The term “vacant” could apply to a property that is for sale or rent, undergoing renovations, or empty of contents in the period between the departure of one tenant and the arrival of another tenant. A vacant building has inherent property value, even though it does not contain valuable contents or human occupants.

Continue Reading Is it Still Business as Usual?

Unoccupied; generally refers to a building that is not occupied by any persons at the time an incident occurs. An unoccupied building could be used by a business that is temporarily closed (i.e. overnight or for a weekend). The term unoccupied could also apply to a building that is routinely or periodically occupied; however the occupants are not present at the time an incident occurs. A residential structure could be temporarily unoccupied because the residents are at work or on vacation. A building that is temporarily unoccupied has inherent property value as well as valuable contents.

What are your thoughts on the issues related to conducting offensive, tactical operations in vacant or unoccupied structures? Does the level of direpair or dilapidation dictate the call? What are the actual or perceived risks? Does working the job, balance with the the risk, benefits, returns? As the escalating adverse trend continues, and more and more buildings become vacant and unoccupied, now is the time to focus greater attention on adequate risk assessments and effective strategic size-up with firefighter safety considerations remaining clear and distinguished.

There may be a lot of reasons why a vacant building turns into a structure fire, that ultimately involves our services; don’t let that contribute to an undesired injury or worst.

Here are some previously published insights for reconsiderations;

Implement and perform an effective dynamic risk assessment of the incident involving a vacant structure.
Consider an appropriate incident action plan and options for defensive operations, risk versus benefit considerations out weighing offensive interior operations.
Maintain effective and heightened situational awareness at all times
Conduct or delegate a 360 reconn of the affected structure, if the building profile allows
Consider the factors related to presumed Vacant or Unoccupied; and the suggested demands associated with search team deployment, escalating and rapid fire spread, decreased time-to-collapse potential and RIT Team availability, be aware of potential squatters
Vacant residential occupancies constructed within the past ten years are very likely to have engineered structural systems (ESS) that will increase the potential early structural collapse and increase unacceptable risk to firefighter safety.
Resulting time delays in the discovery and reporting of fires in vacant structures increases fire severity and magnitude, increases the potential fire spread and communication to adjacent structures and requires adequate resources and fire flows to combat fire suppression activities.
Conduct pre-incident planning to identify the magnitude of the vacant structures within your jurisdiction and define operational expectations and deployment strategies. It shouldn’t be business as usual. Consider the safety risks to firefighters.
Assume potential for compromised interior conditions resulting from vandalism and intentional destruction of interior walls, floors, Compartmentation and structural system integrity.
Assume rapid fire extension and early structural collapse potential
Identify and establish collapse zone perimeters and maintain them for firefighter safety.
Develop or enhance operating protocols for fire operations for both vacant residential AND commercial properties. Determine acceptable risk profiles and operational modes. Consider the Rules of Engagement.
Be consciously cautious with personnel safety foremost in your IAP and tactical operations; Remember this is vacant structure.
BECOME SAFE

A recent article related to a recently released NIOSH LODD Report from 2006 on a Career Firefighter injured during rapid fire progression in an Abandoned Structure who died six days later in Georgia summarized and recommended that Fire departments, municipalities and organizations like NFPA that set standards should consider developing and implementing a system for identifying and marking unoccupied, vacant or abandoned structures to improve firefighter safety. Take the time to read the report.

Hee Haw Logic

2009-11-22T09:32:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid there was a comedy-variety show on television called Hee Haw. It was a show that was essentially senseless humor and the kind of program you could watch if you didn’t need much mental stimulation but just wanted to enjoy a laugh. One recurring segment of the show was in a barber shop where the barber would have a person in the chair giving them a shave and would tell them a story about something that happened in the town. The barber would say something that was bad news and the customer would say “That’s bad.” Then the barber would say “No, that’s good” and proceed to explain why that which the customer perceived to be bad, was actually good. And then when the barber was done explaining the good news, the customer would say “That’s good.” Then the barber would say “No, that’s bad” and proceed to explain why hat which the customer perceived to be good was actually bad.

So it goes in life. Everything good that happens to us has some element of bad and everything bad that happens to us has an element of good. It’s all in the matter of your perspective. Some people can, so effortlessly, find the bad news in anything that’s good. Take, for example, the conversation I had with someone yesterday about the weather here in Minnesota. It’s mid-November and our typical temperatures would be somewhere between Brrrr and Oh-My-God cold. While I’m teaching a class we take a break and I walk outside. The weather is amazing! It’s brilliantly sunny and the temperatures are in the 50’s (very unusual for Minnesota in mid-November). I made a comment about how beautiful the day is and someone says “Ya, if it just wasn’t so windy.” This comment made me think about how some people can find fault as if they get a reward for it.

This day was, indeed, a blessing and someone was still able to find a way to complain about it. Was it a “perfect” day. No. But is it reasonable (or necessary) to expect perfection? Isn’t “good enough” sometimes good enough? This day should have exceeded everyone’s expectations for warmth and sunshine. Yet, for this one person… still not good enough.

Continue Reading Hee Haw Logic

People who go through life with a disposition like this person’s miss some of the greatest treasures that are laid at their feet because they’re too busy looking for the bad things in life. One thing’s for sure, if you go around looking for bad news and faults in people, you’re going to find them. Likewise, if you go around looking for good news and gifts in people, you’re going to find that as well. And YOU… are one of those people. Look for the bad qualities in yourself, and you will focus on them. Look for the good qualities and you will focus on those.

When something good happens to you and you say you were “just lucky” you are discounting all your good qualities and giving credit to happenstance. Acknowledge that the good things that happen are because of your preparation and hard work. When something bad happens to you, don’t dwell on it. Find the good in it (and there always is something good about everything bad that happens) and focus on how to use that good to your advantage.

In the spirit of Hee Haw, here’s an example of a recent day in my life that demonstrates the banter from Floyd the barber.

- I was driving to a meeting today and amazingly there was hardly any traffic on the road.
- That’s good.
- No, that’s bad because I got a flat tire and there was no one around to help me.
- That’s bad.
- No, that’s good because the first car that came by stopped to help me.
- That’s good.
- No, that’s bad because the guy was taking his kids to school and didn’t have time to stop and help me out.
- That’s bad.
- No, that’s good because he offered to give me a ride to a service station at the next exit.
- That’s good.
- No, that’s bad because I had to sit next to one of his kids who spilled chocolate milk all over my new suit coat.
- That’s bad.
- No, that’s good because I took off my suit coat and tie and when I went to my meeting later that morning the client (who I was trying to impress with my new suit) commented on how at ease he was with my casual attire and that helped me secure a very large client.

Life is ten percent of what happens to you… and ninety percent of how you react to what happens to you. In every good, there is bad. In every bad, there is good. Keep your mind occupied by the good and it will propel you in the direction of success.

Building Construction & Performance

2009-11-15T18:45:00.000-08:00

If you don't fully understand how a building truly performs or reacts under fire conditions and the variables that can influence its stability and degradation, movement of fire and products of combustion and the resource requirements for fire suppression in terms of staffing, apparatus and required fire flows, then you will be functioning and operating in a reactionary manner.

This places higher risk to your personnel and lessens the likelihood for effective, efficient and safe operations. You're just not doing your job effectively and you're at RISK. These risks can equate into insurmountable operational challenges and could lead to adverse incident outcomes.

Someone could get hurt, someone could die, it's that simple, it's that obvious.

Going Where The Heat Rises

2009-11-14T07:56:00.000-08:00

Firefighting is a dirty, labor intensive job that requires intelligence, strength, and courage. Trying to break the process of fighting fires down into a sterile process culminates in failure on the fireground.

This is evident daily at fires across the country. Just a few weeks back a fire took hold of the second floor of an apartment building housing eight units and more than 24 people. Firefighters arrived and began an aggressive attack on the Alpha side to prevent spread from the Charley -Alpha corner.

The entire process involved split second decisions as crews were ordered into apartments adjacent to the one burning. Ceiling were pulled, additional line stretched, primary searched were conducted and truckies began opening up. All of this occurred in a building that had fire spreading horizontally through the attic. It was dangerous but that's part of a firefighters job.

Contrast that with a fire the author witnessed months earlier where similar circumstances existed. Fire began to spread via the common cockloft and firefighters were withdrawn in a hasty manner. The result was an entire apartment building being lost when it could have been checked at the second apartment.

Some argue it doesn't matter if the property burns or not but that is intellectually dishonest. It does matter when the property can be saved. For many in the second scenario described, all they had was what was in their apartments and the majority could have been saved with hard work, courage and fire smarts.

No one openly advocates the exchanging of a firefighters life for property. However, in the real world, risk is real and cannot be reduced to zero. Firefighting is dangerous and still requires people willing to go in harms way. Far from the sterile lab the job of a firefighter is filled with high heat, smoke, and the ability to place a hose line in the proper place.

That is the modern, and traditional, approach to the job of a firefighter.

The Art of the Size-Up and Risk Assessment

2009-11-13T09:40:00.000-08:00

Since the early 1950’s and the advent and subsequent development of the incident size-up function, the performance of size-up at an incident scene played an important role and has traditionally been considered to be a crucial element in the overall step-phased approach towards fire suppression operations and methodologies.

More recently there’s been a constant hum in the background with dialog and discussion on the evolving process of size-up and what it means in terms of current day firefighting operations and developing theories on fire suppression and incident management.

Adding to the nomenclature of size-up, we find situational awareness, risk versus gain, decision-making summary, risk benefits, risk analysis, risk assessment, risk appraisal, incident evaluations, profiling, and the 360 to name but a few.

The operative question is this: “Is traditional phased incident scene size-up and monitoring antiquated and no longer appropriate or applicable to modern fire service operations?” If so, what process systems and terminology appropriately captures and defines what should be incorporated in and encompass those point(s) in time during an evolving incident that provide us with contextual information and reconnaissance to support the decision-making process of combat fire suppression?

Let me offer this related to the evolving concepts on Situational Awareness. SA is a combination of attitudes, previously learned knowledge and new information gained from the incident scene and environment that enables the strategic commanders, decision-makers and tactical companies to gather the information they need to make effective decisions that will keep their firefighters and resources out of harm's way, reducing the likelihood of adverse or detrimental effects.

Everyone on the incident scene MUST stay alert to changing conditions, obvious or latent conditions or escalating factors that require prompt identification, comprehension and appropriate implementation of actions.

To the Incident Commander, fire officer or firefighter; knowing what's going on around you- in and around the building structure and understanding the consequences of building, construction, assembly, fire load and fire development and growth is mission critical to incident stabilization and mitigation and profoundly crucial in terms of personnel safety.

When it comes to incident scene assessment, size-up, risk profiling, etc.., what are the mission critical elements that you seek to identify, information gain and parameters that you evaluate and how do they fit into the overall management and operations of the incident? Just something “small” to discuss around the table….

To Our Veterans: Thank you for your Sacrifice, Courage, Honor and Duty to Country

2009-11-11T13:38:00.000-08:00

Thank You....

The Psychology of Firefighting

2009-11-06T14:51:00.000-08:00

What motivates firefighters to choose their career, and what keeps them happy in their jobs?

Ken, a retired chief and volunteer firefighter from Pennsylvania, is writing a psychology paper on firefighters' intrinsic motivation, and wants to bring the following questions to The Kitchen Table:

1. Do you enjoy your current occupation? If yes, why?

2. What makes you satisfied with your job performance?

3. Why did you choose this career?

4. If you are not happy in your current position, why?

You can help Ken out by leaving your answers in the comments, or by emailing them to me at Christine.Laquer@firerescue1.com. Answers will be used anonymously.

Thanks for your help!

What's Wrong With This Picture?

2009-11-06T12:03:00.000-08:00

I realize this has nothing to do with the fire service. Nothing at all to do with fire and injury prevention.

I am strolling through my local mall looking for a Birthday present for my Dad when I stumbled across jolly old St. Nick here on NOVEMBER SIXTH!

I love Christmas big time but even I did a double take on this one. Am I over reacting? Am I the second coming of Scrooge?
Stay Safe,

Bill
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

An Average Week...for most of us

2009-11-06T06:11:00.000-08:00

During this week, there were on average, over 10,173 structure fires in the United States. According to NFPA statistics the following occur on average in the U.S;

• A fire department responded to a fire every 20 seconds.
• One structure fire was reported every 59 seconds.
• One home structure fire was reported every 79 seconds
• One civilian fire injury was reported every 30 minutes.
• One civilian fire death occurred every 2 hours and 33 minutes.
• One outside fire was reported every 41 seconds.
• One vehicle fire was reported every 122 seconds.

There are on average of Eight to Ten Firefighter Line-of-duty Deaths each month. There have been two LODD's reported this first week of November alone.

The fire service continues to struggle with the challenges, opposition and merits in adjusting, altering, and changing our strategic and tactical ways of doing business in the streets. Some disagree others are indifferent, but regardless of your positions; the business of firefighting is changing, to some it’s just not being recognized or acknowledged.

Continue Reading An Average Week...for most of us

The traditional attitudes and beliefs of equating aggressive firefighting operations in all occupancy types coupled with the correlating, established and pragmatic operational strategies and tactics MUST not only be questioned, they need to be adjusted and modified; risk assessment, risk-benefit analysis, safety and survivability profiling, operational value and firefighter injury and LODD reduction must be further institutionalized to become a recognized part of modern firefighting operations. Fire suppression tactics must be adjusted for the rapidly changing methods and materials impacting all forms of building construction, occupancies and structures. The need to redefine the art and science of firefighting continues to be a passionate discussion point.

The demands and requirements of modern firefighting will continue to require the placement of personnel within situations and buildings that carry risk, uncertainty and inherent danger. As a result, risk management must become fluid and integrate all personnel. We must manage dynamic risks with a balanced approach of effective assessment, analysis and probability within command decision making that results in safety conscious strategies and tactics.

Don't mistake determined, effective and proactive firefighting with that of reckless, baseless and risk-preferring and self-indulging firefighting. There is a difference, a big difference! When we address relationships of Building Construction, Command Risk Management and Firefighter Safety with the occupancy and structural environment, all personnel, regardless of rank, need to equate the occupancy risk with strategic and tactical incident action plans. These safely compliment the identified firefighting operation risk, with the projected building risk profile and interface appropriate behavioral characteristics in the task level firefighting activities. Again, equating building, occupancy risk profiles with determined, effective and proactive firefighting.

Stop and reflect today, where do you stand? What are your true beliefs and convictions in regards to the developing safety culture that is being forged and institutionalized within our fire service?

Looking at the Big Picture

2009-11-03T06:45:00.000-08:00

A recent posting by Chief Ben Waller on the Candle-Moth Syndrome and the reference to Target Fixation brings to light some very important insights related to buildings, occupancies and the risk assessment process. The relationship of target fixation and faulted size-up that ultimately progresses to faulted tactics and the potential for detrimental incident outcomes is typically overlooked and seldom discussed.

Target fixation is a process by which the brain is focused so intently on an observed object that awareness of other obstacles or hazards can diminish. Also, in an avoidance scenario, the observer can become so fixated on the target that the observer will end up colliding with the object.

How many times have you been “drawn” towards a specific tactical sortie, or have disregarded mission critical indicators that were so obvious, after the incident that you wondered what came over you in the heat of the battle? The Candle-Moth Syndrome is just the start of it.

Continue Reading Looking at the Big Picture

In the realm of building construction, occupancy profiling and risk assessment, company and command officers must strive to develop astute and clear observation skills to quickly scan for key visual indicators that provide validation points on possible inherent building and construction type and systems, looking beyond the obvious at times and quickly processing that data and assumptions into definable strategic plans and tactical assignments-all with the appropriate balance of risk.

The ability to move past target fixation attributes; and the skills to balance presumptive or validated past experience, street level assumptions and intuitive decision-making whether it’s recognition primed decision-making modeling and approach (RPD) or naturalistic decision Making (NDM), scan your operational field broadly and look over your buildings and occupancies with a wider field of vision and beyond. Recognize that some “target fixation” points are very important in the overall processing and assessment of an incident, but are a part of the overall sum of the equating and evolving incident scene.

I’ve spoken about the Predictability of Performance in building construction and occupancies a few times, and the challenge it presents in the context of present day fire suppression operations. Although experience drives a lot, there are times in which past experiences may not be the only recommended force that drives the incident action plan. Be cognizant of the fact that similar building types can perform differently under what may be derived as similar fire conditions. Don’t get caught in target fixation and above all, have an understanding of building construction systems, their correlation to occupancy configurations and ultimately how they perform under fire (conditions). Know your buildings, expand your knowledge, develop your operational skills and enhance your tactical capabilities. It all starts with the structure….at a structure fire.

Candlemoth Syndrome

2009-11-01T16:16:00.000-08:00

How many firefighters have ever experienced Candlemoth Syndrome? I know I have, particularly when I was younger and less experienced. Candlemoth Syndrome is a firefighting cousin of Target Fixation, where firefighters are drawn closely to the fire in disregard for proper firefighting tactics and for firefighter safety.

The definition of "Moth to a Flame" is to be "Irresistibly and dangerously attracted to something or someone." The term relates to moth behavior around open candle flames at night. Moths are drawn to the light given off by the flame, but they often get too close, resulting in badly burned or dead moths. Firefighters can indeed be irresistably and dangerously attracted to be in close proximity to a fire. Candlemoth Syndrome is dangerous, it can easily result in firefighter injury or death, and it is all-too-common. Candlemoth Syndrome is generally avoidable if you recognize the symptoms.

Candlemoth Syndrome includes the following:

1) Waiting to attack interior fires until the hose team is very close to the fire in situations where the water stream could be used to safely and effectively attack the fire from farther away.
An example is using a direct attack with a solid stream or straight stream from very close to the fire instead of extinguishing the base of the fire from farther away where the firefighters are less exposed to the heat. This also gives the firefighters more direct access to their escape route if something goes wrong during the attack.

2) Conducting Defensive attacks in structures where Offensive attacks are indicated.
There are two examples of this. The most common is Horizontal Candlemoth Syndrome; the nozzleman who runs directly to a window venting fire and attacks the fire head-on from close range from the exterior. This will usually drive the fire into uninvolved parts of the building, cut off escape routes for the occupants, and increase the amount of unnecessary fire damage to the structure. The other example is Vertical Candlemoth Syndrome, where ladder pipe streams are directed into vertical ventilation openings. This results in the fire being driven downward into uninvolved parts of the structure, with the same potential bad outcomes as the horizontal example.

3) Defensive Candlemoth Syndrome is a variation of Horizontal Candlemoth Syndrome. This occurs when a fire has been declared Defensive and firefighters push too close to a building that is either in danger of collapsing or that is a No Value building, or both.

Focusing strategy and tactics on the RECEO-VS system, maintaining personnel accountability, and having Division C and Incident Safety Officers on scene to maintain a 360 view of the fireground help prevent Candlemoth Syndrome.

Good company officers who practice organizational discipline, who monitor their personnel closely during firefights, and who are not afraid to use firefighting best practices can prevent Candlemoth Syndrome, keep their firefighters safer, and reduce the amount of antacids ingested by chief officers.

Effective Battle Plans & Performance

2009-10-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

The following are quotes from Fire Chief Anthony Aiellos (ret) Hackensack (NJ) Fire Department, Fire Chief during the Hackensack Ford Fire, July, 1988...

"If you don't fully understand how a building truly performs or reacts under fire conditions and the variables that can influence its stability and degradation, movement of fire and products of combustion and the resource requirements for fire suppression in terms of staffing, apparatus and required fire flows, then you will be functioning and operating in a reactionary manner."

"This places higher risk to your personnel and lessens the likelihood for effective, efficient and safe operations. You're just not doing your job effectively and you're at RISK. These risks can equate into insurmountable operational challenges and could lead to adverse incident outcomes. Someone could get hurt, someone could die, it's that simple, it's that obvious."

Risk Based Response Assignments
The buildings, structures and occupancies that comprise typical response districts pose unique and consistent challenges during structural fire attack. The variety of occupancies and building characteristics establish varying degrees of risk potential, with defined and recognizable strategic and tactical measures to be taken-sometimes uniquely to each occupancy type. Although each occupancy type presents variables that dictate how a particular incident is handled, most company operations evolve from basic principles rooted in past performance and operations at similar structures. This is based on what I define as; "predictability of performance."

Continue Reading Effective Battle Plans & Performance

When we look at various buildings and occupancies, past operational experiences; those that were successful, and those that were not, give us experiences that define and determine how we access, react and expect similar structures and occupancies to perform at a given alarm in the future. Naturalistic (or recognition-primed) decision-making forms much of this basis. We predicate certain expectations that fire will travel in a defined (predictable) manner that fire will hold within a room and compartment for a given duration of time, that the fire load and related fire flows required will be appropriate for an expected size and severity of fire encountered within a given building, occupancy, structural system.

We used to know with a measured degree of predictability, how our buildings would perform, react and fail under most fire conditions. This is what our years of fireground experience provided us, and how we ultimately would predict, assess, plan and implement our incident action plans and ultimately deploy our companies-based upon the predictable performance expected. Conventional Construction Structures (CCS) had this "predictably of performance." You know, that typical residential structure, the 2-1/2 story wood frame, the three story brick and joist type III occupancy, the four story frame multiple occupancy, etc., etc.

Unlike Engineered System Structures (ESS) whose predictability is rooted in the fact that they are unpredictable.The emerging fire service issues affecting buildings, occupancies and structural systems related to ESS is only beginning to take hold a prominent role and level of significance that is long overdue. The fire service has been dealing with the operational issues and line-of-duty deaths related to ESS since the 1980s and now in 2009, we're finally raising these ESS issues to a dialog point that is influencing firefighter safety, survival and operations. ( Refer to the Underwriters Laboratory’s (UL) UL University on-line training module for a state-of-the art presentation on Structural Stability of Engineered Lumber in Fire Conditions and performance results that correlate towards redefining fire suppression operations)

The fire service is beginning to fully recognize the merits in adjusting, altering, and changing our strategic and tactical ways of doing business in the streets. It's becoming self evident in the fire service that it's no longer acceptable to think that ESS buildings and occupancies will perform in the same manner as CCS buildings and occupancies and that tactics deployed in both CCS and ESS buildings and occupancies will react under similar strategic and tactical plans and tasks. These unique and inherent factors within the ESS profiles must give us a new standard for operational deployment; strategies and tactics that are defined by the risk profile of the building, its engineered structural systems, materials and methods of construction and the fire loading present.

Considerations for changing fire flow rates, the sizing of hose line and the adequacies for fire flow demand and application rates, staffing needs for safe operations, considerations for defensive positioning and defensive operating postures must be considered, and it warrants repeating again; Reckless-Aggressive firefighting must be redefined in the built environment and associated with goal oriented tactical operations that are defined by risk assessed and analyzed tasks that are executed under battle plans that promote the best in safety practices and survivability within know hostile structural fire environment- with determined, effective and proactive firefighting.

Northwest Flight 188

2009-10-25T07:14:00.000-07:00

By now you have probably heard about Northwest flight 188. The flight’s destination was the Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport. However, for reasons that have yet to be revealed, the pilots remained at 37,000 feet and flew right past the airport. It took over an hour for them to realize what they had done and correct the error. Air traffic controllers were trying desperately and unsuccessfully to reach them. Military jets were put on standby. The White House was alerted. How could this happen?

Initial accounts say the pilots were engaged in a heated disagreement over airline policy. A subsequent report said the pilots may have been sleeping. The National Transportation Safety Board will sort all that out. What we do know is the pilots lost situation awareness and mistakes were made. How could this happen?

This incident may have left you surprised or angry. After all, you don’t want to think the very people you entrust your life to are not paying attention when they’re flying the plane. I look at it a little differently. For years I have immersed myself in the study of situation awareness in dynamic, high-risk, high consequence environments and corresponding research in neuroscience and cognitive psychology. Admittedly, it’s not the kind of reading that most of you would find enjoyable, but I do.

One of the things I have learned is there are barriers to situation awareness – stated simply – things that impact your ability to pay attention. In research I conducted with fireground commanders, I was able to identify 116 potential barriers to a fireground commander’s situation awareness. With so many potential barriers, you might wonder how commanders maintain situation awareness at an emergency scene.

Many times when a near-miss or catastrophic event occurs, a loss of situation awareness is among the culprits. That’s because it’s not as easy to pay attention as you think. In addition to the things that happen around you that can draw you off task, there are a number of things happening in your brain that work against you. From my research, I have developed a training program to help public safety personnel understand what situation awareness is, how to develop it, maintain it, and how to regain it when it’s lost. I have been humbled by the number of requests I have received to present the findings of my research to firefighters throughout the United States, Canada, and England. If you want to taste of the program, I’ve posted some clips on my website. I’ve also produced a DVD series and wrote a book on the subject. I am passionate about improving fireground command decision making and situation awareness.

Pilots lose their situation awareness, overshoot the airport, and it results in an investigation to understand what happened so the lessons can be applied industry-wide to help prevent a future occurrence. A fireground commander loses situation awareness, makes a bad decision that results in a near-miss, and what happens? What’s done to correct the problem? Educate? Change behavior? Share industry-wide?

The Wrong Dragon....just look over your shoulder

2009-10-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

I’ve commented with more than a few postings on the issues related to engineer building construction components and assemblies. I posed some questions related to Engineered Structural Assemblies & Systems (ESS) and asked if you knew what they represent and how these components, assemblies and systems may affect or influence incident operations. I also presented some information on the pioneering efforts and quantitative results of the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) engineers and fire service representatives from the Chicago Fire Department, HERE and HERE.

If you’ve spent any amount of time reading through the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program, LODD Reports or have invested time and effort to look through the data base of near miss reports and ROTW at the National Firefighter Near-Miss Reporting System, you’d recognize the magnitude of the issues and multi-faceted challenges confronting the U.S. Fire Services in the areas of engineered structural assemblies, components and building features.

Paul Comb’s editorial image provides a poignant and distressing reality that the fire service needs to come to terms with, addressing and implementing the necessary components that assimilating refined combat firefighting techniques and methodologies; that align with the risks and hazards presented by current and emerging construction techniques, materials and consumer lifestyles that comprise our buildings and occupancies. We need to start looking over our shoulders; we need redefined strategies and tactics for today's buildings and occupancies. When we do have the opportunity to engage in firefighting with the dragon; we may not recognize the dragon has changed, it has evolved. Yet we stand poised to engage or take-on the dragon with faulted incident operations, strategic plans and tactical intentions that provide less than adequate results.

In those situations where we are deficient or we achieved less than expected results, we continue to miss the apparent or root causes and fall back on perceived notions and excuses. Building Knowledge = Firefighter Safety; Understanding today’s building construction, fire dynamics, fire loading and behaviors and instituting appropriate firefighting methodologies, we can achieve safe and successful fireground operations. Remember, the Predictability of Performance and the combat firefighting based upon Occupancy Risk not Occupany Type.

Have you and your company, battalion or department discussed limiting factors, enhanced firefighting tactics or operational experiences related to engineered systems, past fires, observed new construction or renovations and what it all means to your assigned duties or company assignments?

Are you and your company adequately trained to address “modern” construction, occupancies and conditions or is a much bigger dragon lurking in the shadows?

Remembering One Meridian Plaza, 1991

2009-10-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

Remembering the One Meridian Plaza High-rise Fire,1991

Ceremonies took place on Wednesday October 21 in Philadelphia, PA unvieling a memorial honoring PFD Fire Capt. David P. Holcombe, Firefighter Phyllis McAllister and Firefighter James A. Chappell who died in the line of duty while conducting operations at a high-rise fire in what is known as the One Meridian Plaza Fire which occurred on February 23, 1991.

A fire on the 22nd floor of the 38-story Meridian Bank Building, also known as One Meridian Plaza, was reported to the Philadelphia Fire Department on February 23, 1991 at approximately 2040 hours and burned for more than 19 hours.

· The fire caused three firefighter fatalities (LODD) and injuries to 24 firefighters.
· The 12-alarms brought 51 engine companies, 15 ladder companies, 11 specialized units, and over 300 firefighters to the scene.
· It was one of the largest high-rise office building fire in modern American history --completely consuming eight floors of the building --and was controlled only when it reached a floor that was protected by automatic sprinklers.
· The Fire Department arrived to find a well-developed fire on the 22nd floor, with fire dropping down to the 21st floor through a set of convenience stairs.
· Heavy smoke had already entered the stairways and the floors immediately above the 22nd.
· Fire attack was hampered by a complete failure of the building's electrical system and by inadequate water pressure, caused in part by improperly set pressure reducing valves on standpipe hose outlets.

Continue Reading Remembering One Meridian Plaza, 1991

The USFA published a technical report (USFA-TR-049) on the One Meridian Plaza fire that is still available for download from the USFA web site, HERE. The report clearly defined the need in 1991, for built-in fire protection systems and reiterated the fact that fire departments alone cannot expect or be expected to provide the level of fire protection that modem high-rises demand. That fire protection must be built-in to the structures. This was clearly illustrated in this event when the One Meridian Plaza fire was finally stopped when it reached a floor where automatic sprinklers had been installed.

One Meridian Plaza was a 38-story high-rise office building, located in the heart of downtown Philadelphia, in an area of high-rise and mid-rise structures. The building had three underground levels, 36 above ground occupiable floors, two mechanical floors (12 and 38), and two rooftop helipads. The building was rectangular in shape, approximately 243 feet in length by 92 feet in width (approximately 22,400 gross square feet), with roughly 17,000 net usable square feet per floor. Site work for construction began in 1968, and the building was completed and approved for occupancy in 1973.

Construction was classified by the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections as equivalent to BOCA Type 1B construction which requires 3-hour fire rated building columns, 2-hour fire rated horizontal beams and floor/ ceiling systems, and l-hour fire rated corridors and tenant separations. Shafts, including stairways, are required to be 2-hour fire rated construction, and roofs must have l-hour fire rated assemblies. The building frame was structural steel with concrete floors poured over metal decks.

All structural steel and floor assemblies were protected with spray-on fireproofing material. The exterior of the building was covered by granite curtain wall panels with glass windows attached to the perimeter floor girders and spandrels. The building utilized a central core design, although one side of the core is adjacent to the south exterior wall.

The core area was approximately 38 feet wide by 124 feet long and contained two stairways, four banks of elevators, two HVAC supply duct shafts, bathroom utility chases, and telephone and electrical risers.

SUMMARY OF KEY ISSUES
· Origin and Cause: The fire started in a vacant 22nd floor office in a pile of linseed oil-soaked rags left by a contractor.
Fire Alarm System;The activation of a smoke detector on the 22nd floor was the first notice of a possible fire. Due to incomplete detector coverage, the fire was already well advanced before the detector was activated.
· Building Staff Response Building employees did not call the fire department when the alarm was activated. An employee investigating the alarm was trapped when the elevator opened on the fire floor and was rescued when personnel on the ground level activated the manual recall. The Fire Department was not called until the employee had been rescued.
· Alarm Monitoring Service The private service which monitors the fire alarm system did not call the Fire Department when the alarm was first activated. A call was made to the building to verify that they were aware of the alarm. The building personnel were already checking the alarm at that time.
· Electrical Systems Installation of the primary and secondary electrical power risers in a common unprotected enclosure resulted in a complete power failure when the fire-damaged conductors shorted to ground. The natural gas powered emergency generator also failed.
· Fire Barriers Unprotected penetrations in fire-resistance rated assemblies and the absence of fire dampers in ventilation shafts permitted fire and smoke to spread vertically and horizontally. · Ventilation openings in the stairway enclosures permitted smoke to migrate into the stairways, complicating firefighting.
· Unprotected openings in the enclosure walls of 22nd floor electrical closet permitted the fire to impinge on the primary and secondary electrical power risers.
· Standpipe System and Pressure Reducing Valves (PRVs): Improperly installed standpipe valves provided inadequate pressure for fire department hose streams using 1 3/ 4-inch hose and automatic fog nozzles. Pressure reducing valves were installed to limit standpipe outlet discharge pressures to safe levels. The PRVs were set too low to produce effective hose streams; tools and expertise to adjust the valve settings did not become available until too late.
· Locked Stairway Doors: For security reasons, stairway doors were locked to prevent reentry except on designated floors. (A building code variance had been granted to approve this arrangement.) This compelled firefighters to use forcible entry tactics to gain access from stairways to floor areas.
· Fire Department Pre-Fire Planning: Only limited pre-fire plan information was available to the Incident Commander. Building owners provided detailed plans as the fire progressed.
· Firefighter Fatalities: Three firefighters from Engine Company 11 died on the 28th floor when they became disoriented and ran out of air in their SCBAs.
· Exterior Fire Spread: "Autoexposure" Exterior vertical fire spread resulted when exterior windows failed. This was a primary means of fire spread.
· Structural Failures: Fire-resistance rated construction features, particularly floor-ceiling assemblies and shaft enclosures (including stair shafts), failed when exposed to continuous fire of unusual intensity and duration.
· Interior Fire Suppression Abandoned: After more than 11 hours of uncontrolled fire growth and spread, interior firefighting efforts were abandoned due to the risk of structural collapse.
· Automatic Sprinklers: The fire was eventually stopped when it reached the fully sprinklered 30th floor. Ten sprinkler heads activated at different points of fire penetration.
· The three firefighters who died were attempting to ventilate the center stair tower: They radioed a request for help stating that they were on the 30th floor. After extensive search and rescue efforts, their bodies were later found on the 28th floor. They had exhausted all of their air supply and could not escape to reach fresh air. At the time of their deaths, the 28th floor was not burning but had an extremely heavy smoke condition.
· After the loss of three personnel, hours of unsuccessful attack on the fire, with several floors simultaneously involved in fire, and a risk of structural collapse, the Incident Commander withdrew all personnel from the building due to the uncontrollable risk factors. The fire ultimately spread up to the 30th floor where it was stopped by ten automatic sprinklers.

Take the time to review this report and examine some of similar issues affecting the fire service today in the areas of staffing and resources, construction and materials, building codes, built-in fire suppression systems, training, pre-fire planning, fire load, fire dynamics and the current methodologies on wind-driven fire theory. Also take a look at the issues that affected operations at the 1988 Interstate Bank Fire in downtown Los Angeles, California.

Growing old is mandatory... maturing is optional.

2009-10-19T05:53:00.000-07:00

Another debate brewing in the fire house – nothing new there. This time, it’s over an American flag decal displayed on the locker of a firefighter and the subsequent display of an inverted American flag on a firefighter’s hat. Lots of potential complex issues here, including potential claims of free speech infringements. I am not an attorney (I count that among my blessings) so I am not going to address the legal issues.

I acknowledge my opinions are based on limited information. I am confident the issues run much deeper than what has been reported on the websites. That said, I see this whole fiasco in much simpler terms – an example of the children not playing well in the sandbox. Someone needs a time-out.

Someone puts something up on their locker. Someone else doesn’t like it and files a complaint. Someone gets some time off. The chief (in this case… day care proprietor) deals with the problem by invoking a rule that requires everything to be removed from the front of all lockers. That seems an appropriate measure. If the children cannot play well, remove the source of the conflict. But one of the children doesn’t like the new rule implemented by the day care proprietor and defies the order, displaying an American flag on his locker. Apparently, he interpreted the chief’s order as meaning “Remove everything from the front of ALL lockers, except whatever you want to put up to stir controversy.”

The firefighter got into trouble. Duh! He got a day off work. So to protest the “unfair” treatment he received, he wears a hat at work that displays an inverted American flag – a symbol that is supposed to be reserved for imminent danger or imperilment. Apparently holding his breath and stomping his feet weren’t being effective.

Growing old is mandatory... maturing is optional. Unfortunately, some firefighters choose to pass on the option of maturing and when they do, their actions embarrass the firefighters who work so hard to set high standards of professionalism. As I stated at the beginning, I’m sure the issues run deeper than what appears on the surface. I appreciate that we all have differences in beliefs and we won’t always get along. However, when these differences play out in public forums, the entire profession suffers.

Houston's 10 Rules of Survival

2009-10-18T07:54:00.000-07:00

I read where the Houston Fire Department implemented ’10 Rules of Survival’ in the aftermath of multiple line of duty death incidents. I think they are on the right track, so long as these rules become institutionalized and are reinforced in an effort to change their culture.

The one thing that was noticeably absent from the list was the need to conduct a risk-benefit assessment prior to committing firefighters to an interior attack. Part of the risk assessment means evaluating if the fire has began to consume the structural components of the building (e.g., rafters, joints, beams, studs, etc.). It is also essential to assess the speed at which the incident is moving. To accomplish this, the officer/commander must look at the fire’s progress in the context of the passage of time. Under stress, you can lose your perception of the passage of time (temporal distortion is the term for it). Paying attention to the passage of time (even if it is just seconds or a few minutes) and looking at how fast the fire is progressing and how quickly the smoke is building and moving helps you understand the speed of the fire and whether or not your resources (firefighters and water) can get ahead of it. There is a limit as to how fast your firefighters and your water can move and if the fire is moving faster, your firefighters will be overrun but it. It’s a pretty simple concept, but one that is so often overlooked in the size-up phase of the fire.

The second part of the risk-benefit assessment is determining the benefit of engaging firefighters in an interior structural attack. Now, before the comments start flying about wimps and sissies, I will go on the record that I am a proponent of aggressive attack. However, it cannot be blind aggression. It must be a calculated attack – assessing what is to be gained from it. Is there a savable life inside? For those who may not know, skin begins to melt at 160 degrees. Crawling through a super-heated, zero-visibility environment with the objective being “search and rescue” is a misnomer. In this environment, it would be “search and recovery.” Even if you were able to extract the body before death occurred, third degree burns over 80% of the body are not injuries compatible with life and the victim will succumb to their burns. To engage firefighters in the highest risk environments should be predicated on what benefit comes from that risk – and be realistic.

We are firefighters. We are in a risky business. However, we should not be taking excessive risks to save unsavable lives and unsavable property. Nor should we be engaging in firefights when our resources (firefighters and water) are outmatched by the volume and speed of the fire.

Vest-wearing sissies

2009-10-17T18:37:00.000-07:00

I was recently reading a heated debate in a forum where tempers were flaring. I may not be able to do the topic justice but I’ll try to summarize. I would refer you to the site, but I do not condone the form of childish name calling that I observed. It’s embarrassing, not to mention completely unprofessional. We wonder why we suffer to obtain and maintain the support of our elected officials and general citizenry? Some contributors have lost sight of the fact that those forums can be read by anyone. Ok, on to the topic at hand.

The sparring parties in this debate were warring on the topic of aggressive fire attack strategies. On one side of the debate was those advocating for strong command and control of the incident where the incident management team is responsible for assignments and accountable for the actions on the incident scene. On the other side of the debate were those stumping for more independent action by firefighting crews, denouncing the need for “vest-wearing sissies.” The tone of the comment led me to believe the author was of the opinion that incident and sector commanders who don identifying vests in the process of managing their incidents are fearful of aggressive structural firefighting.

As I have been a student of human motivation for many, many years, I have come to understand that all motivation is spawned from two emotions – fear and desire. Everything we do (and say) comes from fear or desire. I have to wonder… those who behave this way in forums - ironically, almost always anonymously - what are they afraid of? Or, what is it they desire?

You think you know? Feel free to post your thoughts. I just ask that you keep your comments courteous and professional. Remember… everyone has access to the forums.

Commentary on Houston Fire Department's 10 Rules for Survival

2009-10-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

The 10 Rules of Survival from FireRescue1

Seat belt – Use of Seat belts is mandatory any time the vehicle is in motion.

This is an excellent rule, it's part of the National Fallen Firefighter Foundation's 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives, it's the reason that Dr. Burton Clark has the Seat Belt Pledge, and it should be an absolute for every firefighter, medic, and police officer.

Speed – Obey all traffic laws; obey all HFD policies; Do not bust red lights or intersections; Non-emergency response is acceptable. A more detailed version of basic emergency vehicle operations safety policies, and put in firefighter's language. My personal corrolary to this is "It is better to arrive on scene driving the speed limit than to get halfway there really fast."

PPE – Only HFD issued PPE; No extra layers for insulation; weakest part of PPE ensemble is the SCBA face piece. This is a good rule, although some departments allow the use of personal gear if it has been approved and has been inspected by an authorized department representative.

Size-up – Perform a 360; accurate arrival reports; Use TIC for temperature reading prior to entry, communicate via radio. This rule is a good start, but it could go farther. The 360's should be repeated until the operation is terminated. Size-up should not be a one-time event, it should be a continuous process that begins with pre-emergency planning and ends upon the safe return of all units to quarters after the fire or emergency. Additional chief officers should be stationed geographically to observe conditions and report them to Command. Another of my basic rules is "Always keep an experienced set of eyes on what the Incident Commander can't see."

Continue Reading Commentary on Houston Fire Department's 10 Rules for Survival

Water before you go – Goal to have an interrupted water supply before entry. This is an appropriate rule for most fires, but there are exceptions. High rise fires are an exception. Quick grabs of visible victims are another exception.

Low-Low-Low – On entry; inside; on exit. This is so obvious that lots of firefighters...don't do it. More time in live burn training helps reinforce this rule.

Standing up so that your helmet looks like a 10-year veteran after one fire isn't just dangerous, it's stupid.

Ventilation – Goal of first ladder is ventilation; Release heat and smoke to benefit firefighters and survivable victims. Another good rule, but if there are visible victims on upper floors, the 1st due ladder should start on rescue. Another ladder or even an engine company can take the ventilation. If an engine needs ladders to help vent upper floors, there are always those ground ladders on the first-due truck. This rule should be the default when no obvious victim is in place.

RIT – RIT on every incident; in place ASAP. We should do this every time, but fireground tasks have a way of stealing the manpower that would otherwise have been used for RIT. RIT is also seen as a "do nothing" job in some departments. Clarification between "Passive RIT" and "Active RIT" should be made. Active RIT is less of a do-nothing job and is beneficial if your department doesn't have the manpower of a major city department like Houston. Passive RIT or the Phoenix "On Deck" system are workable alternatives if you have the manpower and equipment to make it work.

Crew Integrity – Not an option; Critical to incident accountability; Call Mayday early. These are absolutes, in my book. Lost or disoriented crew members often result in firefighter LODDs or serious injuries. They also result in additional risk to the firefighters who respond to the MAYDAY. Incident accountability works best through the span of control, and span of control fails if the company officer loses track of a firefighter...or worse, intentionally splits the crew after entering the IDLH atmosphere. We need to lose the John Wayne mentality and call a Mayday when we still have the air to survive until RIT can find us and assist us with whatever other problems we may be experiencing. The more quickly the MAYDAY is called, the greater the chance of resolving it without a subsequent funeral.

Communication – Throughout incident; interior and exterior progress reports. We need to communicate, but we need to communicate in an organized, disciplined, and coordinated way. A simple thing like a company officer assuming that one side of the building is Side A and a later-arriving chief re-assigning another side as Side A can result in fatal confusion. Continuous radio babble can result in so much traffic that MAYDAYs are not heard or their receipt is delayed. The Hackenship auto dealership fire and the Charleston Sofa Super Store fire are examples of this. A designated tactical channel to get dispatch traffic and other companies relocation traffic off the fireground channel is essential. A second tac channel that allows firefighting to continue on a different channel after a MAYDAY is also essential. The MAYDAY firefighter or crew and RIT should never have to switch channels in order to communicate.

Houston has implemented some common sense rules that, if adhered to, will improve firefighter safety. What they are telling us is that there's no shame in being safe. Following these simple safety rules will improve response and fireground safety for everyone who follows those rules. My thanks to HFD for sharing these simple, but oh-so-important safety rules with the rest of us.

Brotherhood versus Enemies

2009-10-17T05:37:00.000-07:00

If there are concepts that are polar opposites, Brothers and Enemies are great examples.Brotherhood means treating the people whom you call "brother" as if they were indeed blood relatives.Practicing the concept can sometimes be a little tricker, as brothers sometimes engage in family fights.

I have three brothers, and when growing up, I often lost fights to both the two older ones, who were bigger and more powerful, and a younger one, who was sneakier and not afraid to fight dirty. Let someone else pick on me though, and my brothers would turn on them in a split second.

Firefighting brotherhood is supposed to be like that, even when we disagree. Usually it is, but some firefighters bandy the word "brotherhood" about without having the slightest idea of how to practice the concept. When firefighters have a disagreement and one proclaims the others are his "enemies" over a disagreement, that firefighter intentionally sets himself outside of the brotherhood.

Continue Reading Brotherhood versus Enemies

When I made mistakes, my two older brothers tried to straighten me out by discussing the situation and suggesting ways that I could improve upon my actions. A lot of the time, I listened to reason and found that my older, more experienced brothers were indeed right. Sometimes I didn't listen, and found that my brothers became more pointed in their advice; sometimes to the point of directly intervening if my actions would result in harm to myself or to others. Sometimes even that wasn't enough, and I ended up in the hospital getting sutures or other medical care.

The cuts and bruises were sometimes the only way I learned my lesson, but my brothers never let me do anything that would cause really serious injury to me or to anyone else.On the other hand, I wasn't stupid enough to declare myself as an "enemy" to my brothers, because my brothers simply meant too much to me.

My firefighting brothers and sisters are like that. Sometimes we disagree, and sometimes the more senior members give counsel to the younger, less experienced members as well as having discussions among ourselves as to which ways are the best to do things. We don't run around calling each other "enemies" if we expect our brothers to treat us like family, or if we plan to be accepted as a brother or sister, or if we engage in behavior characteristic more like a declared enemy than like a brother.

And...if we declare war against our brothers and sisters, we no longer can claim to be a part of the "brotherhood". If we declare that other firefighters are "the enemy" or "the problem" in a public place, then retract it and run away, we don't have the right to claim "brotherhood" with other firefighters. Part of being a brother is to share common danger with each other's help. That action is not chacteristic of enemies.

Running away in the face of danger or disagreement isn't brotherhood. It's symptomatic of feeling guilty about something."And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth..." Leviticus 26:37

One of the best things about the firefighting brotherhood is the strong bonds of friendship that results from sticking together in the face of danger; we unite against a common enemy. Friends are important in this business. "Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate." Al Brunacini

Brotherhood means being careful of what you say about each other. Enemies are under no such compunction. "An enemy generally says what he wishes." Thomas Jefferson
It's good to have a lot of friends, and few - or no - enemies.

"He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare, and he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Friends are most important, particularly in the face of someone who declares himself to be an enemy, then conducts attack after attack. Friends help defeat those attacks, and eventually the one who has declared himself to be an enemy will turn tail and run...often becoming anonymous and hiding in an attempt to deflect further attention. I'm proud to be called an enemy by someone who doesn't understand brotherhood and I'm proud of my brothers and sisters who stood by me in an attempt to show someone who labeled me an enemy the error of his ways.

As Winston Churchill once said "You have enemies; Good, that means that you have stood up for something..." I try to stand up for firefighter safety, being smart about firefighting and fire training, and for speaking out when I see things that I don't think are right. I'm extremely appreciative of those firefighters who understand brotherhood and who practice it rather than a vain attempt to grasp it by talking about it without understanding it.

I'm also very appreciative of a senior member of my department who is a member of the NFPA 1403 Committee, and who is not bashful about practicing brotherhood by dispensing good advice when I need it, whether or not I ask for it.

As for declared enemies, they fall into a special category; a category defined by Saul Alinsky when he said "Last guys don't finish nice."

The four legs of a stool.

2009-10-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

According to a survey conducted by Suzanne Bates, author of "Motivate Like a CEO: Communicate Your Strategic Vision and Inspire People to Act! there is a real need for improvements in leaders’ ability to communicate the mission, vision, and core values of the organization to employees. She notes this is especially challenging in times of downturn and recession.

It is during these difficult times that the organizational mission and vision can become obscured and blurry as employees look out for themselves and the short-term objective of survival.

According to the participants in her survey, the top challenges for organizational leaders included (in order):

1. Communicating purpose and mission to all employees (66 percent).

2. Strategic thinking (62 percent).

3. Connecting people to a shared purpose (59 percent).

4. Engaging employees (58 percent).

5. Motivating employees (56 percent).

6. Vision (54 percent).

7. Moving from tactical to strategic (43 percent).

8. Decisiveness (35 percent).

It’s easy to lead in the good times where prosperity is abounding. During the troubled times is when leaders need to help keep the organization focused on what’s most important… mission… vision… core values.

Mission = purpose
Vision = direction
Core Values = beliefs
Communications = understanding

These four things form the legs of a stool upon which the success of your organization rests.

Mentors and Mentees

2009-10-12T07:03:00.000-07:00

Many of us may have had someone in our career that provided influence, guidance and offered reinforcement, feedback or constructive criticism when needed. You know; that chief or company officer, who seemed to take you under thier wing and watchful eye in the street or at the least, spoke to you in the back of the apparatus bay when everyone else was in the day room. It was that seasoned veteran or senior member who always seemed to have a bigger picture and insights on what was happening both on the fireground as well as in quarters, who shared words of wisdom or nuggets of information that helped in our individual progress, development and growth. Many of the lessons and insights related to me, both as a young firefighter and as I transitioned to an officer have stayed with me to this day. Formal or informal, recognized or unacknowledged; mentors play a very real and important part in the development of a firefighter, company officer and chief officer. The opportunities for mentorship never pass with rank or position. On the contrary, the need magnifies and grows as you transition and move through the ranks and positions of responsibility and authority.

Definition of Mentoring
Mentoring is a developmental partnership through which one person shares knowledge, skills, information and perspective to foster the personal and professional growth of someone else. We all have a need for insight that is outside of our normal life and educational experience. The power of mentoring is that it creates a one-of-a-kind opportunity for collaboration, goal achievement and problem-solving. Traditionally, mentoring might have been described as the activities conducted by a person (the mentor) for another person (the mentee) in order to help that other person to do a job more effectively and/or to progress in their career. The mentor was probably someone who had "been there, done that" before. A mentor might use a variety of approaches, eg, coaching, training, discussion, counseling, etc. The Merriam-Webster WWWebster Dictionary defines a mentor as "a trusted counselor or guide

What is a mentor?
A mentor facilitates personal and professional growth in an individual by sharing the knowledge and insights that have been learned through the years.
(DOT Mentoring Handbook, p2 http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/mentor/mentorhb.htm)
Teacher; share your knowledge and experience as a former USC student.
Problem solver; refer mentees to resources and offer options.
Motivator; when mentee is facing a challenging class, for example:This is done through encouragement, support, and incentives.
Coach; help mentee to overcome performance difficulties through positive feedback (reinforce behavior) and constructive feedback (change behavior).
Guide; help mentee to set realistic goals. Five goal setting factors: specific, time-framed, results oriented, relevant, and reachable. “If you don’t know where you are going, you won’t know how to get there.”

What is a mentee?
A mentee is an achiever–”groomed” for advancement by being provided opportunities to excel beyond the limits of his or her position.
(DOT Mentoring Handbook, p3 http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/mentor/mentorhb.htm)Learner; a strong desire to learn new skills and abilities
Decision maker; take charge of your education
Initiator; mentee is willing to explore challenges on their own initiative.
Risk taker; “If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate,” quote by Thomas Watson, Sr., founder of IBM.
Goal setter; if you know where you are going, people are willing to help guide you.

Mentorship refers to a developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person—who can be referred to as a protégé, or apprentice -- to develop in a specified capacity.
"Mentoring is a process for the informal transmission of knowledge, social capital, and the psychosocial support perceived by the recipient as relevant to work, career, or professional development; mentoring entails informal communication, usually face-to-face and during a sustained period of time, between a person who is perceived to have greater relevant knowledge, wisdom, or experience (the mentor) and a person who is perceived to have less (the protégé)" (Bozeman, Feeney, 2007).

Think about where you fit into this process. Is there someone in your company, station or department that you see some potential in? Is there someone who could benefit from some level of encouragement, support or direction? Are you in need of some advice, feedback or guidance? Think about the possibilities, start communicating, get involved.

Ralph Waldo Emerson stated that, "You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late." And indeed, mentors are doing kindness when they take on the responsibility of helping other people learn from their experiences. Through this, they can give back to society and make career growth, personal development, or intellectual achievement possible for the person they are mentoring.

“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us. What we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” ~ Albert Pine

Take a look HERE for some insights on Life…..
For a different look at things, check out Randy Pausch's "The Last Lecture"

Everything is a Possibility: Do It Anyways

2009-10-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

It’s a quiet Sunday morning, and there seems to be some downtime, which is a good time for some personal reflection. Everyone has idealisms, dreams, goals, aspirations, ideas and purpose. Everything is a Possibility, IF you strive to persevere and keep at it.

Whatever the cause, need or reasons; regardless of the roadblocks, disappointment, disenchantment, frustration or regret-Dream it Anyways, Do it Anyways… You can chase a dream that seems so out of reach, and you know it might not ever come your way- dream it anyway; the possibilities before you are endless...

You CAN spend your whole life buildin'
Something from nothing
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway

You CAN chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway

God is great but sometimes life ain’t good
And when I pray
It doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

This worlds gone crazy
And it's hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway

You can love someone with all YOUR heart
For all the right reasons
And in a moment they can choose to walk away
love em anyway

Do It Anyway Lyrics Artist: Martina McBride