This is a great little self rescue video that all should watch. You may find yourself someday in an unusual circumstance requiring out of the box thinking to save yours. This guy is grounded in reality where we all should be when we are training so i hope you practice this and continue to learn all you can!

Vacant Buildings

Recently we see firefighters losing their lives or getting badly injured at abandoned or vacant fires and when you examine the training versus the response they are greatly at odds. The fire service knows this is a growing problem, the fire commanders and firefighters have the knowledge to react correctly but each and every time the only observable consistent thing is that most people on scene forget all the Mr.Obvious cues and go about risking a lot of life, for very little, even when an exterior set of operations would safely and effectively end the fire situation.

Very experienced officers will say in one sentence that the hazards are great and yet when they commit firefighters to an interior strategy they hurt them or get them killed. Why oh why are we inside, because that's where the action is! Not because of a confirmed rescue situation or hazards related to an exposure problem. You can use those last two as your excuses but they do not hold water with me because they are so few and far from the usual set of facts.

Its simply like asking yourself, if I know there is fire showing from a basement do I send firefighters in on the first floor? NO, NO, you do not folks, stop the madness!

Vacant and abandoned structures should be approached with aggressive observation and sizing up of the present and future possibilities of the fire potential. If interior operations are unavoidable then all necessary resources need to be called and a time limit might need to be employed. When the cues related to the fire tell you everyone out, do it immediately. Interior crews should always report conditions that are hazardous and leave when they are!

I listened to a recent vacancy fire in a big city with many resources and, while communication was great, no one responded to what they heard until very late in the game when a safety officer finally deems it unsafe enough to leave. Many of them reported very hazardous conditions and very little exposure problems but did they leave? NO. The commander wanted to know about the fire in the basement but not the holes in the floors and the sagging walls where people were operating. Real safety means taking real actions to make people as safe as is possible in this very dangerous job. They were lucky this time but how about I don't get to say that anymore and we all start keeping the firefighters safe.

Ask yourself this last question. If this fire I'm working has no one to rescue and no significant exposure issues and it burns to the ground what will happen?

Incident Command System Revised

I feel the need to supply way of communication that will help with all the great, easy to use systems out there. The nims system that we are all using...har,har...is wonderful if you use it and I do not mean make your own use of it.

If your frustrated with the command structure within your department it is probably because of two things, which are correctable by the way. One is, people in your department are not trained in their responsibilities or held accountable to their role either. Two, the top does not do their role or respect the roles below them because their ego will not allow it.

So the change now to bring to your department is the very novel idea of.... now hold your breath....use your rank structure and hold people accountable for not doing it.
If your the Chief and you pass information on to a firefighter or write up a firefighter then you probably just ignored two or more ranks that held the resposibility for delivering those things and you did wrong. YOU compromised the safety of personnel by bypassing the command structure. And since in most departments there is no one holding you accountable, its time for changing...YOU!

So start using command systems everyone and if its not your job leave it to the great people who do that for you.

Leadership for all times and conditions

Great blog article on leadership, see if you can "follow" these guidelines.




Monday, May 17, 2010
Experience Leadership
Posted by Douglas Cline at 5/17/2010 12:01:00 PM


Often in my travels and teaching I am asked by young officers and aspiring officers what it takes to be a good leader or how to become a good leader. I usually respond to that question with a question “What do you think it takes to become a good leader?”
Most respond with the typical answers; knowledgeable, fair, hardworking, etc. Well those are good traits, but let’s dig a little deeper into the meat of leadership and where it begins. Let’s start by replacing leadership confusion with leadership courage. This piece of advice was given to me a long time ago by Chief John R. Leahy Jr. (retired). It took me many years and a few more good mentors to figure out exactly what this truly meant. But I finally got it and it was not all that hard. So let’s focus on replacing leadership confusion with leadership courage.

Don’t’ let your fear confuse the Department’s plan.
I can remember a time when my efforts were focused on myself and trying to be the best I could be. Many young officers or aspiring officers get caught up in this drama. They believe that the better they become the better they will be as a leader. There is some truth in this statement, but the meat of being a good officer is much more than having numerous certifications and qualities. You must balance these good components with the courage to believe and support the department and its mission. Finding out the hard way that I could possess many good traits and qualities was not the total answer. In fact it was the smallest portion of the equation. After several years of floundering I finally learned that the most important component in being a leader at any level is being on board and supporting the efforts of the organization. So often I see departments with individuals who are constantly rowing against the Fire Chief, trying to go in other directions rather than the pathway set out by this individual as they try to fulfill the mission. Our fear creates conflict in our lives. The fear is of many things, mostly of change.

The business world is a place of constant change. The fire service is part of the business world whether individuals want to believe it or not. I will guarantee that if you look at any department across the world it is run some what like a business. There are budgets, personnel issues, accounts payable and accounts receivable. If that is not a business I am not real sure what else it could be. So with a fire department being a “business” we should expect constant change. If you look across the United States fire departments are faced with stories of mergers, layoffs and restructuring every day. No matter the scale, when these kinds of changes hit the work place, the literal, situational shifts are often not as difficult for individuals to work through as the psychological transitions that accompany the change. As organizational transitions occur they affect people. These are the individuals who have to embrace a new situation and carry out corresponding change. Leaders find themselves in roles of having to sell these changes.

Don’t let Your Confusion, Cause You to Miss the Department’s Goals and the Mission.
Fire Departments across the United States have Mission Statements and leader philosophies posted throughout the fire stations. But walk in and ask a firefighter, or even better a fire officer, what their mission statement says and I will bet that they can’t tell you, much less live it. As a leader you must follow suit with the philosophies set forth by the fire chief. Generally these goals and philosophies have an end result in mind. However, with our disciplined attention to detail to focus on the mission, the end results all too often fall short of the goals. As a young leader, have the courage to embrace the leadership philosophies. For a while you are guaranteed to receive ridicule and be called a few choice names. However in the long run you will find that you will become well respected for your consistency and diligence by most.

Don’t Let Your Confusion Influence Your Obedience.
With any successful department comes a strong vision. This vision is generally set forth by the fire chief. As a young or aspiring officer you must embrace that vision. Think about it: if the leader has no idea what the organization is to become, he or she cannot expect the people to know. No vision causes misalignment and confusion among the members of the organization. Not supporting that vision is just as detrimental to the organization and your leadership ability.

Vision is in direct proportion to accomplishment. The more you envision, the more that can be accomplished. I know by now you are saying this is not how it works! Well, I used to think that as well. I used to see my vision instead of the department’s vision. End result was a catastrophic failure personally and a drag line slowing the organization down.

Have the courage to obey leadership and the mission. These folks are probably not as stupid as you want to believe. There are many factors that play into the formula that you may not be privileged to know or even understand. Again fighting, questioning or rowing against the forward progression can result in a delayed or failed mission.

If you are beginning to see the light as a young or aspiring officer or you are an officer who is trying desperately to mentor a young counterpart, you may be asking your- self , “What do I do now?” Well it is as simple as 1, 2, 3.

1. Refocus on the department and the mission – Begin by putting the department first. As you do this and the success of the department occurs you will see that your success increases proportionally. By being diligently focused on being a team player in leadership you will see that you will develop good qualities and traits. Most of all you will gain respect as you have the whole at heart rather than you as an individual.

2. Release a Gift – Each individual has a gift to give. It is the desire to share that gift that doesn’t always exist. Start thinking of the department more than yourself. By devoting your talents to the department and others you will reap the rewards. Ask not what the department can do for you, but what you can do for the department is a good philosophy to follow.

3. Reach out to everyone – Your ability to help others supports the true mission of the fire service To Protect and Serve.

By taking responsibility for your actions and taking some of the heat off of the team, the department will be able to excel to great level. Most important you are part of the solution, not part of the problem that leads to failure.

Just Wear It!

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There are so many mister obvious situations hurting or killing firefighters and although training is very available firefighters still want to deny reality, I guess its the drama of it all. Many firefighters complain that Chiefs do not do the things that would keep us safe, here we see clearly demonstrated the culture of complacency effect.

Here's the safety message, no debate, if your wearing your PPE you are very unlikely to get hurt , so just wear it!

Also while your doing the right things, get out and do some hands on training it may save your rear!

The Iron Fireman Rides On

There are old schoolers out there who may understand this best and I hope they read the description. This ad for a heating coal fired heating unit was found underneath 18 layers of wall paper. This unit was sold 1940's era and the company had 24 hour service, WOW! If you read through the description you will pick up on the similarities between the ad and real Iron Firefighters that last a great long time and provide great service! Short for today but this takes old school to a new level!! Be safe!

Who is compromising what? And Your Complacency!

I'm thinking about how our government friends are continuing to compromise SAFETY in all our communities today. The policies they employ in all areas lack one huge thing called planning. It is a good reminder though, that we need to be in a great state of readiness planning so that we can cover for their failures. This means that no matter what crazy out of line cuts they are doing we respond with great planning, that utilizes a team planning approach and all the resources at our disposal.

The governing agencies will compromise our safety with no considerations or education, they will cut our budgets and our people, they will continue to think of us as unnecessary, so this planning we do must be with all thoughts on the table and considerable patience with each other.

Your complacency will be the only thing that will undermine your efforts, so train and train and educate and move forward!!