In this installment of Firefighters in Fire Trucks Getting Ice Cream, we are talking with my good friend Paul Strong. Paul is a battalion chief with the Valley Regional Fire Authority in Washington and owner of 3Sixty Training.
Paul and I just finished co-teaching a class in Reno and are now heading to get some ice cream at KREM.
In Part 1, we cruise through “the Biggest Little City in the World” in a 1961 American La France, which was originally Reno Nevada Engine 3. The current Engine 3 passes by us several times during the episode going code 3, which seems appropriate.
Our conversation starts off covering the topic that we had an opportunity to teach that day – the concept of integrating tactics and strategy as part of a “single-action approach” to incidents. Our session was part of a track about line-of-duty death (LODD) solutions, so we talk about LODD investigations, culture and case studies. We also discuss command, rapid-intervention crews, situational awareness, crew accountability and what we call the “Google view” – the different things seen by the firefighter, company officer and chief officer on an incident, from the task, tactical and strategic levels. We then talk about how each of these individuals has blind spots, which is why it’s so important to have a single-action approach at emergencies.
In Part 2, Paul and I enjoy some tasty treats at KREM while we continue our conversation on new and changing technology in the fire service, new firefighter training and stress inoculation training.
We also get to reminisce about how Firefighters in Fire Trucks Getting Ice Cream was born – and how Paul was there to witness the idea come to life.
Part 1
Part 2
