It was at the County Fire Tactics Conference in Pensacola Beach, Florida, last year when I heard about the zero-impact period. Chief Scott Thompson from The Colony Fire Department in Texas was giving a masterful lecture about how his department has undergone organizational change. As one of the many excellent and well-respected fire officers who were graciously passing down their experiences during the conference, Chief Thompson began explaining that there are actions and decisions on the fireground that actually don’t make any movement toward improving the incident. I was totally engaged, as I have had similar, albeit more disconnected, thoughts related to my own and the fire service. Fortunately, Chief Thompson was able to articulate exactly what I had been thinking.
Essentially, the zero-impact period is that time where the fire department is on scene but nothing is actually improving the incident. There are actions that have to occur but aren’t directly tied to mitigating the problem (e.g., putting water on the fire). One example of the zero-impact period is stretching the attack line. It has to be done, but the act of stretching the line isn’t making the fire go out. Only after water is put into the line, the door is forced, the engine company begins making their push toward the fire, and the crew begins cooling the interior does the incident actually get better.
Another example of a zero-impact period occurs during search operations. A first-arriving company gets a report of people trapped upstairs and above a fire, and elects to conduct a vent-enter-isolate search. They grab ladders and place them on the alpha side of a home, mask up and scale the ladders to make entry. The time it takes to place the ladders and enter the home is the zero-impact period. Only after we locate the victims and begin to remove them have we actually helped.
There is a zero-impact period on every single fireground. And if we are being honest with ourselves, how well do our firegrounds really run? How fast and efficiently we do put our attack lines into service? How comfortable are our members with deploying ground ladders or forcing entry? How fast is your mask-up time?
Bottom line: We must constantly train on the basics in order to minimize the zero-impact period. Our citizens are counting on us to be fast and efficient with our time.
Back-to-basics training – and benchmarks
Recently I was teaching some engine company operations to new recruits, and in explaining these same concepts, I underscored that we don’t get a second chance at the fire. Sure, we will go to our fair share of working incidents over the course of a long career, but for that fire at that address impacting that family, we only have one shot – so we had better get it right. Furthermore, you’ve probably heard the saying, “Don’t train until you get it right; train until you can’t get it wrong.”
To minimize the zero-impact period, my organization trains to a standard and establishes benchmark qualifications for all line personnel. All members must be able to stretch a 200-foot attack line within 60 seconds. All members must deploy a ground ladder from the truck to a window for rescue in 90 seconds. All members must be able to mask up for time.
These established benchmarks ensure that our members are ready and able to perform, and if they miss the mark, they do it again, and again, until they achieve it. Having established benchmarks is not a new concept in other industries, but it seems to be inconsistently applied in the fire service, with some departments simply not following any standard. I strongly encourage all departments to adopt similar benchmarks for their membership, then engage in realistic training so that members not only get it right but can’t get it wrong.
We all know that fires intensify in size exponentially every minute, so time is against us. Having timed benchmarks should not be feared but rather embraced by fire service leaders. When an engine company pulls up to a working fire, there should be zero doubt in that company officer’s mind as to how that company will perform. I know the strengths of my crew, and how long it would take us to stretch, mask up and make entry on a residential structure fire. We drilled and drilled, and then when it happened for real, there wasn’t an ounce of panic or failure because we had worked to minimize the zero-impact period.
Too often though we see video recorded by bystanders of fire companies lazily donning their SCBAs, dealing with supply issues or struggling to force a door. While the fireground certainly offers many complexities, how many of these issues could be mitigated through a robust training regimen and established standards? Why, as a fire service, are we afraid of putting a stopwatch to performance? It is time to measure our success and failures in more tangible ways within our own departments. Each of our departments should determine what is acceptable based on their running area, experience, staffing and apparatus. What works for my department might not work for another, nor does how your department work for mine. Yet we can find and cultivate benchmarks so that when we arrive on scene, we are not wasting time in the front yard but rather ensuring that the zero-impact period is as low as possible.
While I agree that slow is smooth and smooth is fast, I would ask us to consider that slow is slow, fast is fast, and smooth is smooth. Too fast and we make mistakes or miss vital information that is critical to fireground decision-making. Too slow, and we could lose the building and all those in it. We should train our members to be smooth and highly dependable operators who can read a scene and execute with precision to bring the fire under control and ensure that we are operating safely, efficiently and professionally. We only get one shot at the fire, so we had better make it count. Otherwise, we are allowing the fireground to overrun us.
Outcomes matter
I was on the scene of an apartment fire recently and was able to take note of the efforts of my companies and their zero-impact period. The first-in apparatus arrived with fire and smoke showing on the Charlie side at 0400 hours. The attack line was stretched, the crew forced entry, and multiple lines were deployed to keep the fire from taking the entire building. Searches were conducted, and all residents had made it out. While the fire had extended to the attic, it was quickly brought under control. During overhaul I looked in two of the apartments affected and noted how much property was saved. A child’s schoolbooks and homework were unaffected and another child’s toys (including a firefighter costume) were unharmed. In another apartment, the resident’s tools for their job were recovered with no damage, meaning they could continue to work.
I took the opportunity to explain to some of our newer members on scene why the concept of the zero-impact period is so important, and how our training on the basics directly impacts outcomes. After all, it isn’t about how good you can perform, but it is how well we can serve our citizens. It is all about what we can do to help them in their time of need, at their most scared and vulnerable moments of their life. Either we will rise to the occasion or we will fall. Training on the basics and having established standards works. We have the greatest job on earth, but it gets very real, very fast. Work to be smooth, for that is what our citizens are counting on. Work to minimize the zero-impact period, and you’ll see your firegrounds become more efficient and safer. We took an oath to serve others, to save lives and property, and to help our communities. Now it’s time to start living up to it.
