Volume 2, Issue 4

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
Leadership & Management
Opinions
16Be Nice
4
B Shifter toasts a Texas department’s
efforts to help the hearing impaired.
By B Shifter Staff
6Random Hallucinations
The old rules don’t work anymore, and
you are tasked with updating them.
By Alan V. Brunacini
What not to do during an interview.
By MC Hyyppa
42Managing 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
Sector. Divison. Group. Tomayto.
Tomato. What’s really in a name?
By Nick Brunacini
60The 360
40 Career Strategies & Tactics
B Shifter® is owned and published by Across the
Street Productions Inc. Copyright 2013. All rights
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].
The Chief’s Aloha
By Alan V. Brunacini
36Functional Boss Behaviors
2
Personal improvement agreements offer
a collaborative solution to subpar perfromance.
By Forest Reeder
6
How to avoid a seemingly unavoidable
Zombie Apocalypse.
By Johnny Peters
64
Fire Attack
Standards & SOPs
10Structural Components
58Blue Card SOPs
Part II: Fight fires in dangerous commercial
buildings & get out alive.
By Vincent Dunn
48Incident Review
A fire incident in the Pacific Northwest
proves that classroom training improves
our real-world response.
By Pat Dale
54Command Training
Like the U.S. Constitution, SOPs are
living documents that should evolve as
our needs change.
By Nick Brunacini
Download the Hazard-Zone Management
Standard: Communications.
Download Here! Hazard Zone
Incident Command Standard
Click the paperclip at right to
download your copy of the Hazard
Zone Incident Command Standard.
Sexy Pictures
64 The Rear Axle
A 1953 Packard Henney gets a much-needed
makeover after years of military service.
Drills & Training
60
14Trainer’s Workout
Honor your 2013 training resolution with
this helpful training schedule.
By Forest Reeder
52The Drilldown
This issue’s interactive Drilldown discusses
how we put companies to work when they
arrive on scene.
By B Shifter Staff
Blue Star Items Complement
& Support the Blue Card HazardZone 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
G
reetings, B Shifters! Thank you for tuning in to
another edition of our humble publication. You
may 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,
ocean rescues and space launches, just to name a few. (One of Brevard 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.
When dealing with an underperforming team member, one
might be tempted to take swift, drastic measures (my mind wanders 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. Olympia (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
Click the play button above to launch
Big Al’s video greeting.

Click here! Visit B Shifter’s
great new forums!
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
G r e e n
V a l l e y
R a n c h
R e s o r t
&
2300 Paseo Verde Parkway Henderson, NV 89052 S p a
H o t e l R e s e r v a t i o n s : 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.
I
have fond memories from the early
days when our Class A uniform
included a short-sleeve cranberrycolored 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
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 offending 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 minority, 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
ILLUSTRATION POONEY PICKERING
BY NICK BRUNACINI
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
corner markets will be the truest reflection of our civilization
thousands of years from now—a place where both rich and
poor came in from the cold to form an orderly line and pay
after making their nutritional, tobacco, ice, gas or lottery ticket
choice. It is the best combination of socialism and capitalism.
There was a Utotem convenience market around the corner
from the high school I attended. Back in the 1970s, a freshman 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 approachable. 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 subdivision. 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
The crowd favoring
“division” & “group” look
at the word “sector” like a
third nipple— something
to be hidden away...
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, downloaded 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.”
8
B SHIFTER
STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS
The Keys to Commercial
Success, Part II
Additional tips to help fire crews stay
safe in commercial structures.
BY VINCENT DUNN
I
PHOTOS COURTESY 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
series 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 window 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 airflow. These shafts can run the entire height of a building. Usually, they have
safeguards, such as railings, signs, enclosures, self-closing doors or trap doors,
that prevent people from falling into them. However, sometimes the safeguards
are left open or are missing, or they become obscured or destroyed during a
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
Old commercial buildings often have long
shafts for elevators, wiring, plumbing or
air flow. In most cases, doors or railings
prevent people from falling into these
dark spaces. Tread carefully, as sometimes these safeguards are not in place.
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, bathrooms, 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 addition, smoke from the cellar fire will not rise up through a terrazzo floor as it will
through a wood floor.
If a terrazzo floor collapses after the wood beams below have burned
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.
Terrazzo flooring appears sturdy, but
these decorative surfaces often mask
the old, decaying wooden floors
beneath.
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
broken column showed a ½” to 1 ½” variance in thickness between sides.
Today builders more commonly use steel for structural framing, but
older commercial buildings with cast-iron columns still exist in older city
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.
Cast iron columns are still present in
older buildings. If not casted properly,
these columns can fail when exposed
to heat.
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 dealerships, 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
space below the falling ceiling, creating a slight vacuum in the space above,
where the fire is raging. This pressure difference transfers air from below the
falling ceiling to above it, increasing the fire’s size. The combustible gases that
have built up above the ceiling will suddenly ignite when exposed
to the inrush of air.
To prevent firefighters from being trapped by suspendedceiling collapse, open a small area of ceiling or lift a ceiling panel
and check for fire. Another way to protect crews from suspendedceiling 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.
Bowstring truss construction can
collapse quickly and without warning.
Many firefighters have lost their lives
working under or near bowstring
truss roofs.
Counterbalance Fire Escape Stairways
Some commercial buildings have fire escapes with counterbalance
stairways on their external walls. Counterbalance stairways are designed to
provide access between the lowest fire-escape balcony and street level. They
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 counterbalancing 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
Counterbalance fire-escape stairways can
be very heavy and drop quickly.
the building—there are many variations. Most have a simple bar that prevents
the ladder from descending. Moving that bar from beneath the stairway activates 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 vicinity. 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 Engineering, 2000); and his most recent textbook “Strategy 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
W
hat’s the drill today, Lieutenant?” How many times has someone
posed that question in the fire station? Well, maybe not as often as
a 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 Practices,” 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
I
PHOTO COURTESY RUY LOZANO
n this quarter’s “Be Nice” column, we acknowledge the
Houston (Texas) Fire Department for the great work it’s
doing 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.
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
bright, flashing strobe lights in addition to an audible alarm, are
expensive and not readily available at the local hardware store.
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
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
areas in their home. Although the “Smoke Alarm for the Deaf”
program took a lot of time, cooperation, effort and generosity, it
was well worth it—no amount of hard work is too much if it can
save a life.
Capt. Ruy Lozano
Public Information Officer
Houston Fire Department
Houston, Texas
16
B SHIFTER
Houston Mayor Annise Parker and members of
the Houston Fire Department gave hearingimpaired students lifesaving specialty smoke
detectors for their homes.
Click the play button to launch Bruno’s
video response to this issue’s submission.
Are you nice? Tell us about it! Please e-mail
a brief description of your positive servicedelivery experience to [email protected].
Please write BE NICE in the subject line. Deadline is March 15, 20013.
Please include your mailing address with
your submission, and we will send your company a set of nifty BE NICE helmet stickers.
EXCELLENCE
CONFERENCE
2013
STRIVE, FOCUS, DELIVER
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 A sample of the three hour programs includes:
• “Self-Assessment: Roadmap to a LODD Recovery” presentation by Scott
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
Puknaitis, Chief, Naperville (IL) Fire Department
• “Recruiting and Retaining Diversity” presentation by Larry Sagen, Director, Fire 20/20, Bremerton, WA
• “Firefighter Safety and Best Practices” presentation by Rich Gasaway,
Chief Scientist, Public Safety Laboratory, St. Paul, MN
Plus Keynote Sessions and Networking Events
There is a special fundraising event on behalf of the National Fallen Firefighter Foundation, plus other networking events and intriguing keynote
sessions at the beginning of each day.
Register Today!
Conference registration includes keynote speakers and mini-workshops
delivered on a rotating schedule to allow you the greatest opportunity to
participate in all the sessions you are interested in.
Strive for Excellence
Focus on Quality
Deliver on Outcomes
Brunacini Leadership Seminar
Sunday, March 3
This year, the Excellence Conference will
again feature the Brunacini Leadership Seminar. Imagine spending a full day with one
of the most esteemed leaders in today’s fire
service, Alan Brunacini. You’ll have a chance
to discuss the leadership challenges that face
your department today. You and dozens of
colleagues will have a chance to share your
tough issues. Regardless of how long you
have been in the fire service, you will gain
from this discussion. Registration is separate
from the CPSE Excellence Conference registration. For more information or to register,
visit www.brunacinicpsevegas.eventbrite.com
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/excellenceconference/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.
B
revard County (Fla.) Fire Rescue (BCFR) provides fire protection to one
of our country’s most varied and complex regions. Located 35 miles
east 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 unincorporated 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 reservists 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 interfaces. Additionally, Interstate 95 and a Florida East Coast Railway bisect the
county. These major transportation arteries move a variety of products (including hazardous materials) to destinations throughout North America.
BCFR personnel are trained as both
firefighters and EMS professional.
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 Medical 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,
technical rescue; marine and wildland firefighting units); and ocean/waterway
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 excavation collapses; structural collapse; and industrial and construction accidents.
BCFR responds to about 100,000
incidents annually.
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 Office serves 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 unioncontract 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, laboragreement 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
Because BCFR’s geographic response area is vast and
varied, the department encounters a number of unique
challenges. For example, very few departments manage
space launches. With so many Air Force stations and Space
Centers in its response area, BCFR is called upon to provide launch support for a variety of manned and unmanned
rocket launches, including the Space Shuttle before that
program ended in 2011. A district chief serves as department liaison at the Morrell Range Operations Control Center, which provides flight safety, weather, scheduling, and
instrument target designation support in real time for each
20
B SHIFTER
missile and space launch. As an integral member of the
launch team, the district chief monitors pre-launch containment and hazard-risk models and provides immediate support as a hazmat-response advisor should a catastrophic
event occur during lift-off. In the unlikely event that a
hazmat release occurs and moves over populated areas of
Brevard County, the department works closely with industry
experts and takes a lead role in mitigation efforts to protect
its citizens.
Brevard County’s unique mix of urban, suburban and
rural communities creates a consistent wildland interface
challenge. The department responds to numerous wildland
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 Service 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.
A BCFR District Chief ensures area citizens
helicopter fleet for aerial wildland firefighting operations,
remain safe during and after space launches.
resulting in increased cost efficiency for both departments.
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 preservation 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
WIldland fires threaten the BCFR response area year(ORB)—managed by an ocean rescue chief, an assistant chief
round. The department partners with the Mosquito
and six captains—protects more than 72 miles of beach along
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
education. The department’s safety officer/chief training officer
21
B SHIFTER
BCFR’s Ocean Rescue Bureau employs 26 full-time
employees and 100 part-time life guards annually.
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
department had a tendency to “split” into three groupings—Northern
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 firstresponder 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
maximum learning outcome. The elements include: the CTC classroom,
the control room and dispatch center, the Strategic IC (DC) command
response vehicle, company level officer positions (computer kiosks),
and the mobile command unit. Dispatchers also review the Blue Card
unit on communications and are actually brought into the CTC as part
of their training during each session (BCFR also offers Blue Card Certification and Train-the-Trainer classes for outside personnel). Thereafter,
they report to the CTC for on-going command training based on internally developed scenarios using local structures and common conditions
22
B SHIFTER
Frequent hands-on drills and leadership
training are part of BCFR’s efforts to
ensure members are always ready.
BCFR recently adopted the Blue Card
Command system. It is one of the first
metro departments to have all of its fire
officers certified. The department’s new
Command training Center allows members
to engage in realistic simulation-based
training.
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 Rescue 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 Collins 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 shouting: “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.”
A
s the above scenario illustrates, an incident commander’s (IC) initial actions
upon arrival at an explosion or collapse should be called “control and command,” not “command and control.” This is because an IC must first control 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
be declared hazardous and off limits. Set up hazard zones: cold zone, hot zone
and restricted zone. All entries and exits must be restricted and restrained.
Police must prevent anyone from leaving until decontamination procedures
have been completed.
The IC must secure the collapse area.
Set up hot, warm and cold zones, and
restrict entry into high-hazard areas.
Conduct a Size-up
The IC should order firefighters to conduct a 360-degree size-up or reconnaissance 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 electrocute 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’ inaction 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 firstarriving tower ladder company must position the apparatus near the rubble
pile and raise the ladder for aerial master-stream use. The second- and thirdarriving 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 transported 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 officer helps 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
exposure buildings each side of the collapse building,
and responders had to conduct collapse rescue and
When a fire department responds to a terrorist bombing
fire attack simultaneously. At an explosion or collapse,
incident, a gas explosion, earthquake, hurricane, tornado,
hoselines must be stretched and tower ladders posirenovation/demolition, accident or other collapse/
tioned and supplied for master-stream use to quench
explosion scenario, they should already have a collapse
any fire before it spreads uncontrollably. Keep in mind
search-and-rescue plan in place. The collapse-rescue plan
that the threat of fire is greatest in Type 5, 4 and 3 buildused 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.
Collapse Search
& Rescue Plan
Only Use Trained Rescue Personnel
An IC must ensure that only trained rescue personnel—USAR teams, rescue squads, hazmat crews or
specially trained ladder companies—dig or search for
buried victims. These people have the special skills and
knowledge required to work safely and efficiently at
explosion and collapse scenes. For example, they have
the expertise to recognize whether it is better to dig a
trench to reach a victim vs. tunneling down. They know
how to identify hazardous substances. They have experience shoring secondary collapse dangers, and they
know how to search collapse voids, crevices and small
spaces to remove anyone who might remain trapped.
Each of these processes and tasks requires specialized
tools and training. Civilians and firefighters without specific search-and-rescue education can be ineffective and
might even prove dangerous to themselves or to buried
victims. The IC must manage on-scene personnel and
ensure the minimum number of rescuers operates in
any dangerous area—think quality, not quantity. Assign
trained search-and-rescue personnel to the rescue activities and have firefighters without rescue training serve
in support roles. Support personnel are the unsung
heroes at collapse rescue operations, assembling tools
and carrying them to and from an operation or staging
area. They cut wood for shoring, clear debris from the
scene, observe rubble deposited by a crane bucket for
bodies, assemble medical supplies and set up lights. As
a general rule, there should be three support personnel
for every one rescuer on scene.
World Trade Center in September 2001 was the following:
1. Secure the area. Have police close off the streets
and remove unauthorized persons.
2. Conduct a 360 size-up.
3. Order firefighters to shut off utilities and call the
utility company to the scene.
4. Remove surface victims you can see, hear or
who are calling for help.
5. Check voids and crevices for trapped victims.
Examine shelters created by the collapse rubble.
6. Regroup. Take a time out, withdraw from
searching and conduct a risk-benefit analysis of
the entire collapse site and determine locations
of reported buried victims.
7. Tunnel or trench to specific locations where
buried victims have been identified.
8. Remove all rubble. After all victims are
accounted for, use cranes and bulldozers to
remove the remaining debris.
This collapse search-and-rescue plan is not a rigid
step-by-step procedure where you do not start one
phase until the prior one is completed. Several stages
of the collapse rescue may occur simultaneously if
personnel are available. However, every stage must be
completed at some point. For example, when the IC
arrives on scene, civilians and rescuers may have already
rushed onto the collapse pile to help victims. This action
is Step 4 of the collapse plan. Still, the IC must order
firefighters to complete Steps 1, 2 and 3. Police must
secure the area, firefighters must conduct a 360 and
firefighters must shut off utilities.
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.
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 Engineering, 2000); and his most recent textbook “Strategy of Firefighting” (Fire Engineering 2007). He can be
contacted at [email protected] or 800.231.3388.
Visit him online at www.vincentdunn.com.
28
B SHIFTER
Discipline isn’t the only solution to onthe-job performance challenges. Take
a smarter—and kinder approach—with
additional training and mentoring.
I
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 parents 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.
If we can agree that these are attainable goals reached through proper
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. Individuals 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.
Personal improvement agreements
require the member and his mentors
to put in additional training time.
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. Katherine 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 formats since that class. This form and a locally designed policy
for its use can go a long way toward documenting and guiding corrective actions aimed at meeting our training goals.
Through the years, I’ve had to use this form/process in a variety of situations, ranging from entry-level class issues, such as
low test scores, and poor emergency-incident performance,
such as the mysterious malfunctioning SCBA syndrome that
plagues so many fire grounds. Their use has caused controversy 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.
The current system allows
average, fair & even
below-average members
to simply tread water for
their entire careers.
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
Agreement Initiated By: Lt. Bruno
Today’s Date: 12/25/2012
driving fire apparatus, and he has struggled during recent company-level
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:
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 stabiII.
Standard Reference:
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:
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
be administered by the training division in 30 days.
or other damage occurred—this time. Charlie says he has struggled a bit
IV.
Personal Action Plan:
with the hydraulic calculations and with memorizing the standard formuI 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
pump controls in training evolutions.
las and flow rates. He also says his class was very full and the academy had
V.
Document Action Plan Progress:
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.
VI.
Has the area of concern been corrected?
you for action, and the battalion chief has directed you to work to improve
Yes: ☒ Charlie’s performance is now acceptable.
Charlie’s skill level, as all members of the company must be cross-trained.
No: ☐ Click here to enter text.
VII.
On-Going Monitoring:
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 responShift 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 perspective 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 Improvement 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
(Description of behavior, situation or objective causing PIA)
(What is the acceptable level of performance, attitude, conduct or ability?)
(What will the officer do to help improve the performance?)
(Written by the member describing what they will do to improve themselves.)
(How are we doing and progress check dates)
(Has improvement been seen in this area?)
Completion Date
1/25/2013
(Describe how monitoring of issue will take place and for what duration)
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 (regression, progress or status quo?) tells us whether we are reaching our improvement goal. Progress report dates should be predetermined, and as Lt. Bruno
watches and participates in the process and observes Charlie’s actions and
performance, he should make notations to track outcomes. As the process
concludes, a determination of final progress is made stating whether improvement has been seen. If the answer is yes, then you can determine any longer
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 frequently. If the answer is no, the organization must then make other determinations regarding an extension of the PIA or refinement of the action plans. In
some cases, the organization will make judgments regarding
assignments and responsibilities.
Helpful Tips & Experiences
D
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. Forest was awarded the ISFSI’s George Post Instructor of the Year
at FDIC in 2008.
B SHIFTER
The Personal Improvement Form
is simple, straightforward and
easy to use. Click the paperclip
to download a fillable MS Word
version of the PIA form.
oes your organization have something that
allows for a teacher (training officer) or a parent
(company officer) to guide and correct performance issues in a positive and member-involved manner? If you’ve already been down this road and have
something of a policy or document that can help, send
them to us at [email protected], and we’ll stockpile them and make them available to our readers.
1. Establish a realistic timeline for progress reports. Try
to catch any ongoing deficiencies early and modify
or expand the plan well before a deadline arrives.
2. It may be a best practice to establish one point
person or mentor so that progress notes are made
sequentially and based on a progressive series of
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.
34
Free
Download!
PRE-INCIDENT PLANNING
Eliminate paper pre-plans and digitally deliver
information instantly to designated personnel
Standardize emergency management documents
Create audits, inspection, punch lists, service
requests, sketches and photos
Provides first responders with accurate building
data so they can act with knowledge
Keep up-to-date records of facility conditions
Convert paper inspection forms
Attach drawings, photos, floorplans
Email reports from site location
Track uncorrected deficiencies
Limitless Inspection uses
Tablet computer friendly
Secure, Accurate & Up-to-date
Reduces liability and improve safety
FEMA NIMS step tested
Interfaces with your CAD
Learn More
www.globalriskinnovations.com
1-866-639-8727
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
I
n the last issue, we shared a case-study about a cranky battalion
chief who is resistant to the changes a new deputy shift commander 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
I think this is a relatively common problem for many fire department. There is
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
Click the play button above to hear
Bruno’s response to our case study.
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. Leadership 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, humancentered message to everyone in the department. He reinforces his non-ruleoriented 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 worshipping them. He asks you to write a trial list of rules (no more than 20) to discuss
with him.
Y
our assignment: Determine who you will assemble to help you produce
the rules. Describe how you will introduce the new rules to the members
and 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
I
PHOTO TIM OLK
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”—
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
what it looks like to work as a people person. Some examples: I watched a
captain hold a grieving widow’s hand for three hours because she just could
not let go. I know of a crew that replaced the drywall in a customer’s bathroom
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
During an interview, resist the temptation
to speak in clichés or to use touchy-feely
metaphors. Don’t just say you’re a “team
player.” Describe how you are a team
player and give real-life examples.
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 fraternity, 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
H
ello, B Shifters. I hope my air-management for company officers column caused some of your synapses to fire. Air management 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
the incident. I’m not casting stones from outside the circle.
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 International 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
There is no magic way to
determine whether each crew
member is mayday ready.
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 decisionmaking 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
and then a standard few are put together in the end for a
competency or confidence course. Due to my department’s
size, it is taking a full year to train all of our members in all
IAFF Mnemonic reminds firefighters
phases.
what to do in dicey situations.
There are three specific skills that are critical to firefighters 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 manR—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
Save Lives with
GRAB LIVES
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 communicating 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 drastically 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 Phoenix 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”?
BY B SHIFTER STAFF
FREE!
Leadership
Simulation!
O
n the surface, this quarter’s personnel problem seems
attendance-related. We all know that we’re supposed to
show 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
and air horn because their crew is from heaven.
This quarter’s Personnel Problem takes place in the real world—one filled
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 Problems, it is becoming more apparent that company officers manage the dayto-day activities for the entire fire department. Click on the picture at right to
visit our imperfect world.
46
B SHIFTER
Scolding a company member for being tardy
one time while another can show up late
habitually without consequence is not OK.
Click the play button above to learn why.
PRE-INCIDENT PLANNING
Eliminate paper pre-plans and digitally deliver
information instantly to designated personnel
Standardize emergency management documents
Create audits, inspection, punch lists, service
requests, sketches and photos
Provides first responders with accurate building
data so they can act with knowledge
Keep up-to-date records of facility conditions
Convert paper inspection forms
Attach drawings, photos, floorplans
Email reports from site location
Track uncorrected deficiencies
Limitless Inspection uses
Tablet computer friendly
Secure, Accurate & Up-to-date
Reduces liability and improve safety
FEMA NIMS step tested
Interfaces with your CAD
Learn More
www.globalriskinnovations.com
1-866-639-8727
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
T
he City of Olympia (Wash.) Fire
Department is an all-career organization with 96 members total—
81 in operations. Olympia is the capital
of Washington state, so our department
faces some interesting challenges,
including occasional political demonstrations 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
the way many departments do. We would assign a third-arriving company to
RIT, which would effectively delay the second and third companies from entering 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
Click the play button to launch
a video that shows what happened
at this incident.
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 largediameter 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 unobstructed view of the fire on that side.
The three members of Engine 2 and the two members of Medic 10 positioned 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 ondeck 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 fastattacking 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 fastattacking 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 utilized 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
T
his issue’s “Drilldown” column examines the role
SOPs play in incident-action planning and assigning 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 philosophies have inherent strengths and weaknesses.
The majority of successful fire attacks are carried
out with one or two well-placed attack lines. In many
instances, coordinated support work
directly impacts the overall safety and
effectiveness of these incident operations.
The attack advantage of freelancing is that
it places companies into action the quickest
way possible and takes the quickest, most
direct route to the fire. Freelancing is completely 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.
Systems that use predetermined assignments for the
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
incident response for each incident we respond to. This
is one of the core competencies of the Blue Card system.
Click on the graphic to launch this issue’s Drilldown.
52
B SHIFTER
Freelancing
vs.
SOP-Based
Deployment
vs.
Assignment
by the I.C.
Click the image to launch this month’s
interactive Drilldown column.
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
I
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
training 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 paramedictraining program, mirror the airline pilot-training program. Paramedics
are trained and certified to deliver a certain standard of care. Over the years,
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 highest 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 validating our SOPs against realistic, high-fidelity structure simulations forces us to
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
Click here to watch a description of airline
pilot training requirements.
Image 1: The majority of our fires occur in
residential buildings like the one shown here.
requirement in our SOPs. Key information required for crafting effective airmanagement 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
wide variety of tasks required at the incident scene.
Each of these factors contributes to ensuring the
member CANNOT run out of air while working in
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
for an operations manual that is more than 30 years old and 500+ pages long.
After Tarver’s death, we ran every member of our department through a set
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.
Image 2: It’s a bad idea to
apply residential searchand-rescue tactics to large
commercial buildings.
Image 3: You can fit approximately 66
houses within a big-box superstore. The
tactics used for any of these houses do not
apply in these huge warehouse spaces.
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. Organizationally, 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 institutionalize 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 generations. 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.
Using SOPs to Drive Training Programs
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 searchand-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
Image 4: Here is an example of an
SOP for search and rescue in large
structures full of smoke.
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 lawsuits—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.
It’s no more complicated than that. See Image 5, right, for an example of an
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 Easter 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.
Image 5: Pictured here is a sample simulation
for a large building full of smoke.

Click here! Start or join a discussion about this
article at B Shifter’s new forums.
Nick Brunacini joined the Phoenix Fire Department (PFD) in 1980. He served seven years as
a firefighter 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.”
Click the image above to watch a
description of Incident commander
training requirements.
WINTER 2013
57
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES
Command Function 5
This month’s free SOP download
highlights Communications.
T
his quarter’s SOP focuses on communications. The main theme of Blue
Card communications is that the hazard-zone portion of the incident
operation 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 Dispatch 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.
M
ore than a thousand years
ago, a Mayan calendar company went out of business,
leaving to posterity a calendar ending
on December 21, 2012. Unfortunately,
the Mayans today possess a reputation of being competent prophets and
astrologers. So as the date approaches,
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 Apocalypse. Maybe it’s the potential to go
on massive shopping sprees in abandoned 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 condemned 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
ILLUSTRATION KEITH ROBINSON
BY JOHNNY PETERS
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 antibiotic 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. Familiarity 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 downedpower-lines call exhausted my capacity for thinking outside the box. Mr. Buonarosa 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 Department, 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.
T
his 1953 Packard Henney, built by the Henney Motor
Coach Company, was as one of 200 ambulances ordered
by the Department of Defense for use at domestic U.S.
military bases. This model is a “junior,” which means it is shorter
in length and only has two doors. We hypothesize the car was
originally stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Station. Only two
other vehicles from the original 200 are registered with the
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. Sycamore 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
this car
would know
g at it today
in
y, dirty
ok
st
lo
du
e
a
on
No
nging out at
ha
s
ar
ye
l
sweet
ra
spent seve
n made this
ful restoratio
re
Ca
k.
ac
tr
race
new.
ney look like
Packard Hen
Top: The ambulance has been military green and bright orange. She
wears her new colors—fire-engine red and white—quite well.
Bottom: Restoration took three years total.
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
1950s-era medical bag.
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 pleasant 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.
D
o you have a gorgeous restored emergency vehicle?
Tell us about it! Please e-mail us a brief write-up that
describes 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.
Does your restoration project
rival Bruno’s beloved Mack
pumper? Prove it!
WINTER 2013
65