Why do some fire departments have the industry’s best modern equipment, progressive policies and leadership, and virtually unlimited funding yet still woefully underperform and underserve their community, struggle to meet their defined standard of coverage, and simply manage to consistently stumble while other departments have the bare-bones minimum of resources and equipment and consistently excel at their objectives both in their day-to-day operations and at incidents? Each are equally prepared and ready to engage and mitigate the situation at hand and carry out their missions, right? Maybe not. The answers lie deep within the core of the fire service: the human factor. An examination of the fundamental differences of being prepared vs. being ready within the realm of critical thinking reveals the following:
Being prepared is simply that, a state of preparedness with the prerequisite resources and personnel. Most departments are prepared for all types of emergencies, situations, and conditions based on their core mission, geographical location, and mandated standard of coverage. They are prepared with the following:
Training: Most larger and midsize departments have their own training divisions or training officers who manage training requirements, mandated certifications, and refresher courses. However, some smaller departments may not have the budget or personnel required to maintain the training needs of the department, thus requiring outsourcing. Many years ago, the fire service was viewed merely as a vocation or a job. Today’s modern fire service has been rightfully elevated to a profession validated by science and academia. Training is one of the principal pillars, for without it our mission is severely compromised.
Certifications: For a department to maintain preparedness, certifications need to be obtained and often renewed such as EMT, Firefighter I and II, hazmat, etc. Specialized training in specific disciplines like rope rescue, high angle rescue, and confined space rescue also require yearly recertification.
Classes: Often there are specific training classes and instruction required for personnel such as how to use a specific piece of equipment or apparatus or how to properly carry out a specific guideline or policy. Sexual harassment, diversity training, and community interaction are often presented to fire personnel to not only train to the proper conduct and expectations but also to minimize liability for the jurisdiction.
Degrees: Some departments mandate college degrees and/or credits as part of their core requirements for certain promotions for officer level or specific jobs like fire marshal, emergency management director, etc.; other departments and agencies do not. Some may also require a degree or accumulated credit hours as a prequalification for hiring. Many fire officers have or are in the process of achieving a degree to bolster their pay, increase their proficiency, or obtain a promotion and are already or soon be in an executive capacity, which requires post-secondary learning. Often the reason may be a combination of several, as many simply strive for their own professional development. Years ago, a degree in the fire science field of study was looked on as unnecessary and overkill because of the nature of the job. Today, dozens of schools and institutions offer degree and certificate programs because the demand for education is more prevalent than ever before, based in part on the National Fire Academy’s creation of the Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education curriculum and the professional development model. Having a degree elevates a firefighter to a higher level of knowledge and career validation and bolsters overall preparedness. It does not, however, put the fire out!
Every fire service agency and all-hazards response department has in place their respective resources based on their stated mission and standard of coverage.
Equipment: Power and hand tools; breathing apparatus; water application devices such as hose, nozzles, and fittings; along with the multitude of other specific pieces of equipment departments need to sustain their operations to fulfill their duties.
Apparatus: Apparatus and vehicles are necessary (obviously) to transport personnel, tools and equipment, and other types of gear for functionality at any given scene. Water pumps, aerial devices, rescue boats, all-terrain vehicles, specialty vehicles, and the like are all part of the complement of apparatus required for preparedness.
Support: Having all this equipment and apparatus requires some type of support system in place to operate and maintain each. Tools and equipment often break down or need updating and upgrading, motorized apparatus require frequent maintenance, and specialized equipment such as ladders and breathing apparatus require yearly testing and maintenance. Furthermore, there are specific perishables that need replenishment: SCBA bottles need refilling; fuel and oil for apparatus, vehicles, and power tools; EMS supplies; and, if departments operate their own rehab vehicle, supplies like food, water, energy drinks, and so on need replacing when consumed. The support divisions within a fire department also provide an important element in preparedness. The administration oversees all operations and policies as well as the budgetary requirements to operate the agency.
The greatest asset any department has is its people! And with people, you have inherent knowledge learned from a variety of means, sources, and experiences.
Policies: A department is not worth much if there are no definitive policies, procedures, and guidelines in place to steer the ship, set the tone, and develop and maintain the proper environment and standards. My department refers to these as department directives. Whatever their name, they provide the roadmap of how to proceed. If it’s not written down somewhere, problems will frequently manifest within the department with leadership and management. If the department is unionized and has a contract, these guidelines and directives are accepted as an extension of the collective bargaining agreement. A violation of a directive equates to a violation of the contract and may indeed initiate the progressive discipline process for the violator and the grievance process for the administration.
Experience: A department rich in experience based on longevity, history, and tradition has a deep pool to draw from in terms of how a department is shaped, what the core values are, and what defines it as an agency. Conversely, a young, less tenured department often draws from book knowledge and training frequently. Therefore, the senior members are identified with value and reverence because of the informal leadership position they may hold based on tenure and experience. This should not be confused with the old-timer who has one year of experience 20 times, as they say!
Institutional Knowledge: A department steeped in tradition generally has a specific way of doing things based on years of tried-and-true experience. This knowledge is passed down to other departments and personnel to facilitate a high degree of proficiency, confidence, effectiveness, and efficiency. The processes and procedures learned in a department that has had years of experience such as FDNY, Hartford, Boston, and other storied departments quite often serves as a basis of knowledge for smaller, less busy, and younger (both in age of workforce and years in existence) departments. It can be said that in a busy department a firefighter would do more in one year than a slower department would do in five. I experienced this, having spent my first ten years in the busy end of the city, then being transferred to the opposite end of the city for the next ten years where the action trended based on demographics and socio-economic factors. This thankfully provided a solid foundation of experience to draw from throughout my career, especially when I was promoted to chief officer.
It’s nice to have all these resources, but what good are they if you don’t have the properly motivated personnel to operate them?
Sworn: Most paid career departments mandate that their personnel be sworn in at the initiation of their careers. In other words, unlike garbage collectors and other city and town employees, police officers and firefighters must take an oath and swear not only to uphold the state and city/town charter but to do their jobs to the best of their trained ability regardless of their personal feelings, convictions, and limitations. This is the truest definition of a professional.
Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA Contract): Many career, combination, and volunteer on-call departments abide by a collective bargaining agreement based on the local jurisdiction’s labor laws and the International Association of Fire Fighters framework for labor contracts. Without this labor agreement, not much can happen with formulation and application of rules, regulations, stipulations, boundaries, and parameters of authority and responsibility for each department member. Most discipline frameworks are based on the CBA, as are the benefits package, hours of work, types of uniforms, as well as when training can take place and which certifications are required to maintain continued employment. This is mission critical for most departments, for without the contract there is no structural framework.
Rules: Along with the CBA are the department or agency rules and regulations that set boundaries and guidelines for personnel behaviors. Often, the city or town has its own specific set of personnel rules and regulations that must be adhered to in conjunction with department rules. Individual fire departments expound on these rules to further explain and incorporate all personnel within the department.
Morality: So, what makes somebody do something beyond rules, regulations, oaths, and contracts? Primarily, it’s their individual morality and the human ability to do the right thing. This is probably the biggest motivator of them all, in that people in general are always striving to do the right thing, and the fire service is no different. Going above and beyond the call of duty to ensure a positive outcome is at the heart of the fire service. But don’t be mistaken; people often falter and make poor decisions and lack proper judgment, which is why there are rules, regulations, and disciplinary guidelines.
Do all firefighters of all ranks have the willpower and fortitude to act when called on in an instant? Are they ready to work, know their job, and can do it? Do they follow the specific job performance requirements as spelled out in National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards? Readiness cannot be taught or provided by the department; it comes from within an individual’s core. Each of us must know our specific job thoroughly.
Willpower: It’s more than just the duty to act; it’s the drive to move forward and succeed at the tactical task at hand and the overall strategic mission. “Do you have what it takes?” is the frequent query among firefighters. The ability to engage, drive the mission, and see it through is the secret sauce in the recipe we call firefighting. True leadership derives from the depths of willpower, and without it, engagement of firefighting evolutions becomes ineffective, less than efficient, and often unnecessarily dangerous. Risk taking is inherently built into our jobs; however, a comprehensive risk-vs.-reward analysis should be first undertaken to influence decision making. Years ago, I asked my chief of department why we were not doing more real-world relevant training that would make us more proficient. Why are we not tapping into our internal resources (infrastructure and personnel) to move our mission forward and make training interesting and viable instead of something most of our personnel try, creatively at times, to avoid? He immediately blamed the dysfunction on the lack of proper funding. In frustration, I quipped at his blanket excuse and responded, “If you had a stack of hundred-dollar bills from floor to ceiling, you still couldn’t get anything done! It’s not always about money; it’s about the will to make it happen any way you can!” He was not happy with me, but the truth can be difficult to hear at times.
Fortitude to Act: It’s one thing to know what and how to do it, but actually doing it is something completely different! Do you have the fortitude to act–the mental and emotional strength and maturity to face difficulty, adversity, and danger with courage? Are you willing to make sacrifices to act according to expectations? Do you engage and act, or do you cower and run? A senior shift commander once told me while he was preparing the daily personnel lineup on each apparatus, “We have firefighters, and we have the help!” meaning not everyone in the department was a superstar; some just work here.
Ready to Work: It’s nice of you to just show up, but are you ready to engage your duties without a warm-up session, mental prep, or pregame group hug? When firefighters arrive on scene and the officers set the game plan into motion, they immediately engage their duties and go to work. There’s no prefire huddle or handouts given out to crews; just go to work because you are ready to work! I once requested an additional fire company to one of my larger MVA scenes; we had multiple victims in various states of need, a severe entrapment, a vehicle on fire, and a significant hazmat condition. When the company arrived on scene, the captain walked up to the command post wearing no gear–just his work uniform–and asked, “What do you want us to do, Chief?” I snapped back at him to go put on his gear and then I’d tell him what I needed. This created a delay in his company engaging in any duties at this scene. Later in the day, I called him on the phone and told him forcefully, “The next time you show up on one of my scenes, be ready to work. Do you understand?” My message was received and acknowledged. Just because he showed up didn’t mean he was ready to perform.
Know the Job and Do It: To be in an effective state of readiness demands the officer knows the parameters of his authority, responsibility, and rank, which is paramount to success. To find the specifics, read your CBA thoroughly. Check your official job description (usually on the job announcement or in your contract under job descriptions). Become operationally proficient in the realm of building construction because that detail is often ignored or underserved. How can you fight the enemy if you don’t know how it affects the structure you are in or if by engaging in suppression and overhaul operations you may in fact destabilize and make unsafe an already fragile Jenga tower?
NFPA Job Performance Requirements: Within each NFPA standard are job performance requirements (JPRs). JPRs take the mystery out of your duties and spell out in detail what is expected of you when you attain that specific level of training and certification. They explain what you should be able to do and how to go about doing it to successfully achieve this standard. For example, I responded to a large brush fire in one of our parks and found that my personnel were not familiar with how to put one of these types of fires out effectively other than throwing water on it. Later I reviewed the Firefighter I and II JPRs and proceeded to train them. It’s written down somewhere!
LEIGH H. SHAPIRO, MS, began his 36-plus-year career as a volunteer with the Blue Hills (CT) Fire Department, then joined the Hartford (CT) Fire Department, serving for 28 years and retiring as deputy chief/senior tour commander. He has an AAS degree in fire technology, a BS degree in public safety administration, and an MS degree in executive fire service leadership as well as numerous state and federal certifications. He operates a fire service consulting firm providing guidance on strategic and technical matters, specializing in oral exam readiness and officer/succession development. He is an adjunct professor for the University of New Haven’s Fire Science and Emergency Management Degree Program, an adjunct faculty instructor for Gateway Community College’s Fire Technology and Administration Degree Program, and an instructor for the State of Connecticut Office of Education and Data Management’s Fire Investigator Pre-Certification Program. He is also a committee member for NFPA 1710, a reviewer and contributor for Jones and Bartlett fire service textbooks, and senior technical and strategic advisor for Capital City Fire Helmets. He is a contributor to Fire Engineering and has been a guest on multiple podcasts.