Many say that dealing with personnel issues is the most time-consuming challenge leaders face. I submit that much of the time spent on personnel issues could be eliminated if we, as leaders, were better at managing culture change in our fire departments. Culture change isn’t always a comfortable conversation, but it’s a crucial one, so let’s get uncomfortable!
Change is not comfortable
If I were to ask you when you are most comfortable, your answer would likely be something like:
- “When I am off duty.”
- “When I am in a familiar place.”
- “When I am with familiar people.”
- “When I am doing familiar things.”
Time off and positions of comfort are where we reenergize, maybe coping with all the difficult things we see on the job or even just catching up on lost sleep. Spending our time off the job, barring the challenges of mental anguish, we should be able to come back to work and be ready for what’s next. And if we want to learn and grow in the process, we must be prepared to get uncomfortable because our lives don’t always fit into those four statements above.
We’ve all heard the saying, “the only constant in life is change.” If change is inevitable, why have we historically been so horrible at it? In the simplest of terms, it is because change takes us from a place of comfort to a place of the unknown – the uncomfortable. Humans simply don’t like to be uncomfortable.
The culture of accountability
I recently had a discussion with a chief about how firefighters are routinely reprimanded for bad behavior on the job, particularly related to harassment or discrimination, and yet we continue to struggle to simply wear seat belts on our fire trucks and ambulances or waist straps on our SCBAs – with no consequences.
At first, I thought the answer was easy in that there’s a federal law that establishes the parameters of much of what we know today affecting harassment and discrimination. Conversely, there is no federal law requiring seat belt or waist strap use. There IS a federal law requiring seat belts to be installed on all vehicles except buses (which is still mind-boggling to me); however, the use of seat belts was voluntary until New York became the first state to require seat belt use in 1984. Today, the state of New Hampshire is the only state to not require adult seat belt use (equally mind-boggling to me that there is a state still not following suit). So, while there’s no federal law requiring adult seat belt use, there are 49 state laws requiring them to be used.
Why are we allowing our firefighters to consciously break the law? We all know certain first responders who refuse to wear a seat belt, even though there are 49 state laws requiring them to do so. Where is our culture of accountability here?
Make no mistake, this is an accountability issue that pushes some beyond appropriate behavior. In fact, I was part of a department where, after a seat belt edict came down where battalion chiefs were instructed to write up anybody whom they witnessed without a seat belt, firefighters had navy T-shirts made with an orange strip resembling a seatbelt, so if the BC saw them on the road, it would look like they were wearing their seat belts. Once this was discovered, the chief took appropriate steps to cease that activity. Where was our culture of accountability at the personal and company officer level there?
SCBA – straps and beards
With respect to SCBA waist straps, just wear the damn straps! If not for the proper fit and balance of the weight across your hips instead of on your back, then for the safer environment that doesn’t have your straps catching on anything as you crawl through a search environment. Where is our culture of accountability here? When I was a chief, it was not unusual for me to call out on the radio if I saw such an unsafe act as waist straps hanging down while firefighters were pulling ceilings on a burning balcony.
Furthermore, for many years before we understood and accepted the true dangers of carcinogens in our business, we paid little or no attention to the proper wear of breathing apparatus. Beards, once seen as a rite of passage in young firefighters, became taboo with OSHA respirator fit test requirements. While many firefighters have challenged this over the years, whether your state is an OSHA state or not, I assure you that OSHA standards fall into the “should of known” category when it comes to court. Regardless of that, the standard is meant to ensure a sealed fit to your facepiece, preventing carcinogens from entering your lungs. Isn’t that enough to convince you to shave? I continue to see firefighters across the country sporting levels of facial hair that cannot possibly pass a respirator fit test. Where is our culture of accountability here?
Driving dangers
Red traffic lights and stop signs are NOT suggestions, even if you have emergency lights and sirens running. While state laws and local policies differ, most either require a stop or allow responding apparatus to proceed through red traffic lights and stop signs with “due caution” or in a manner that they are “prepared to stop.” I’ve watched several videos this week (cell phone and dash cam) that show everything from two fire engines wrecking at a four-way intersection, to an SUV that slowed but did not stop, T-boning a car in an intersection, to an ambulance with total disregard for the red light being T-boned, overturning and sliding. The right of way is NOT guaranteed to you in any manner of response. We must be granted the right of way. It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure that all other traffic is stopped before they can be reasonably assured that they have been granted the right of way. Where is our culture of accountability?
Speed and priority of response is another issue that has many variables and differing policies across jurisdictions. I encourage departments to give serious consideration to categorizing responses as something similar to “hot” (lights and sirens) when life safety and property conservation is at risk and “cold” (normal driving) when life safety and property conservation is not at risk. A recurring malfunctioning fire alarm would most likely not be a hot response. Yes, I am aware of two incidents, TWO, in 43 years where that alarm was something more than an alarm. You know your area, you know your response conditions – make the right decision based on what you know or suspect. We need to have better accountability here.
Residential sprinklers
Only two states require residential sprinklers in new construction – California and Maryland. The District of Columbia also requires them. While we have had great advocacy from the National Fire Sprinkler Association, the National Fire Protection Association, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the Congressional Fire Service Institute and many other fine organizations, I continue to meet fire chiefs who will not advocate for residential sprinklers.
One volunteer chief lamented how he would have fewer volunteers if sprinklers were putting out the fires. I’ve heard that time and time again over the years. We know from our experience in Prince George’s County (which was the first county to mandate residential sprinklers in new homes beginning in 1992), that residential sprinklers improve survival by nearly 100%. The NFSA cites 85% as the survival improvement with sprinklers. At the annual average of 3,000 people dying in fires annually, 85% would mean 109,650 fewer fatalities in the 43 years I’ve been in the service. Isn’t that enough to change your mind, chiefs? Where is our culture of accountability?
After-action reviews
Shelves in fire departments across the country are littered with lessons learned spelled out in AARs. We know that every one of the things I mention above has been identified as a lesson learned or a contributing factor in multiple AARs, some completed internally and some by third parties. Citing seat belts, if these were truly lessons learned, we wouldn’t continue to see firefighters thrown from fire engine wrecks. In my 43 years, I haven’t read ONE investigatory confirmation of a “seat belt malfunction” that would have allowed a restrained firefighter to be ejected from the vehicle. Where’s our culture of accountability?
Take accountability action
Just like the dinosaurs that are not coming back, neither will rubber boots, bucket brigades, horse-drawn fire engines or back-step riding. While sometimes kicking and screaming, we have adapted to those changes. Many of the changes in safety are rooted in the names of firefighters who died in the line of duty – you likely know some of them.
We MUST hold ourselves accountable, both when we’re right and when we’re wrong. The next time you consciously choose to break the law or push the envelope with any of the topics we’ve discussed here, add “your honor” to the end of your explanation because that’s where you’re headed, as either a witness or defendant.
Be prepared to have the difficult decisions you’ll need to have to improve your culture of accountability, and simply just do the right thing (JDTRT), for you, for your crew, for your family and for your community.
