By Battalion Chief Steven D. Nash
Solon, Ohio Fire & Rescue Services
So, when did it sink in with you that you had been given the position of department safety officer? Did you volunteer for it, or was it assigned? Has it really sunk in yet at all? I had been given the position several years before something rather extraordinary happened. Years prior, I had been on a committee within our city to determine the future of our Fire/EMS department. We were squarely in the middle of the largest expansion we would ever see. Several outside consultants were also brought into the process. We were to go from a single-career station operation to a three-station operation, covering about 25 square miles. All systems were go for having 21 people assigned to a shift with a minimum on-duty of about 15. Soon after the third station had been opened, the fire chief came under great scrutiny for the large overtime budget. The city administration never finished hiring the personnel we had all planned for, so, there was an abundance of overtime to make up the deficit. In addition, the chief was ordered to reduce manpower and cut his budget (sound familiar?). In an effort to do this, our command car, the glue that keeps things together, would be the first thing to go.
Now, being the department safety officer, this greatly concerned me. I asked for a meeting between the chief, the mayor, the human resources director and myself. I came armed with information: ISO requirements, NFPA Standards, ICMA efficiency reports. In the end, the administration asked, point blank, how many people we would need on duty to operate efficiently (though still below standards). I replied 14. He said you'll get 13. We are merely but a small piece of the proverbial municipal pie. No amount of feet stomping or fist pounding could change their minds. That was the end of the meeting.
First, I was rather stunned when we left city hall. I even attempted to resign the position of safety officer purely out of frustration, but the fire chief refused to accept my resignation. I said, "Fine, but please understand that from this day forward, we will start doing things differently than we have in the past." He said he understood, and to his credit, he has held true to his word.
My journey as safety officer did not truly start until that day. It was as if someone reached inside of me and turned on a light switch. I started culling over calls we'd had in the past...the risks we had taken, the firefighters that had been injured, and the grace that had fallen upon us because we had not killed anyone yet. I also thought of the many buildings that were torn down afterwards, despite our best efforts.
Being a safety officer in the current / future fire service means doing everything within your power to make certain your crew is able to return to work the next shift. To do this you must cultivate, not only in yourself, but in all of your members, the ability to perform a rapid risk / benefit analysis. Of course, if there are people hanging out of the second floor window with smoke pushing out hard behind them, all bets are off. You do anything humanly possible to rescue them. However, if the owner of the home is holding the door open for you stating that everyone is out, and "the fire is in there!" what do you do? Honestly, most of us would charge right in. That's just the way we have always done it. Well guess what? It's time to rethink that last part. Dead heroes tell no tales. If you cannot honestly say to the last person on your roster that there is no building in your district that is worth their life, then you had better rethink your current position. If somebody's "stuff" is that valuable, then they should have installed a fire sprinkler system long before the fire occurred.
You see, fires do not burn like they used to. Building materials are becoming more "lightweight" (meaning they fail faster), and interior furnishings are becoming more synthetic and less natural (meaning they burn hotter and faster). Our gear is the best it's ever been, and can take us closer to the fire. What is the odd part of this equation?
Why do I tell you my story? I do so in hopes it reaches at least a few of you who have been riding the fence and struggling with tough decisions. I do so because someone might need to tell you that it's okay to look at things outside of the traditional strategic and tactical modes many of us have been immersed in over the past several decades. If that door is being held open for us, it's decision time. Do we rush in because it's what we do, or because we think the owner expects us to, or maybe because (I'll admit) it's fun? Sorry, none of these is a good enough reason. It must be the right balance of risk vs. benefit. Lives first (ours included)....always. Have you ever heard the old adage "fools rush in where wise men (and women) fear to tread"? Granted, this decision usually lies somewhere in between and is not so cut and dried. That's why we need to dig deeper into fire and smoke dynamics and take a look at what is happening to these buildings.
So if you are in need of a catalyst, or starting point, I have the perfect place. Underwriters Laboratories has produced, what I believe to be, the best educational piece for the modern fire service ever. It is truly an eye opener. It will soon be mandatory in my department that all members watch it. The link to their site is http://www.uluniversity.us/home.aspx, look for the tab on the right titled "Structural Stability of Engineered Lumber in Fire Conditions."
It's not all about you, the safety officer; it's also about building a team that understands, and is educated in 21st century strategy and tactics. And just remember this: All fires go out eventually, but we can't make one of our crew members "un-dead." Think about it.
| Steve Nash entered the fire service in 1981 as a cadet at the age of 16. He has worked for several departments from volunteer, through combination to career. He was a paramedic for twenty of these years, a shift supervisor for a regional hazardous materials team for about ten, and a State Certified Fire Safety Inspector for nearly twenty five. Recently, Steve joined the group based in Washington D.C. known as Vision 20/20. His task force is working on the enhancement of fire prevention within the fire industry. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Fire and Safety Engineering and is currently in charge of operations for "B" shift as a Battalion Chief for the Solon, Ohio Fire & Rescue Services. In addition, Steve was recently awarded his first U.S. Patent on a firefighter safety device. Steve can be reached at Bc129@sbcglobal.net |