Everyone Goes Home and the 16 Life Safety Initiatives are a program put forth by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to try and help reduce the number of line of duty deaths in the fire service. The group at Iowa Firefighters Resource are trying to be out there on the ground and promoting and educating folks in the fire service about these initiatives.
Like with most topics or ideologies there are typically 3 groups of people...there are the people that buy into the idea and support it, there are they people that disagree or are against the idea and then there are those in the middle that are either indifferent or on the fence about the idea. Obviously we want to gain support and buy in from all three groups and get 100% support for the movement. Realistically, thats not always possible. No matter what you do there are always going to be nay sayers that want to do nothing but disagree or argue with you. Most times we are not going to change the minds of these folks. I think we can make the most difference in the middle group. We have a greater chance of bringing these folks on board and educating them in what we are about. They probably don't have strong feelings either way so its usually easier to sway them. Its like an election, most candidates know they aren't going to sway the folks in the other party so they focus a lot on the undecided voters. Its typically the path of least resistance. Why waste your time and effort to sway the folks that most likely won't be swayed. It makes sense so why beat your head against the wall trying to change something that won't be changed.
With all that being said, I do want to get up on my soap box for minute and send a message to all the nay sayers that think Everyone Goes Home and the 16 Life Safety Initiatives are a waste of time. How can you sit there and say that wanting to prevent LODDs is a waste of time. How can you say that it is acceptable to average 100 LODDs each year. I don't think it is acceptable to have any LODDs. I am not naive, I know this is a dangerous job. I am not saying we shouldn't go into buildings and fight fires. I know we cannot eliminate all of the risks involved in a fire. Being safety conscious does not mean you are a bad firefighter. I think it is important to be a smart and aggressive firefighter but there is a difference between being aggressive and being dumb. Not every fire is the same and not every fire warrants an aggressive interior attack. You need to read the situation, read the building construction, the fire conditions and the smoke condition and then make a calculated decision on how to attack the fire. Its not easy, this assessment needs to me made in a matter of seconds. As an incident commander this is a tough task and a lot of responsibility falls on this person's shoulders. There are a lot of arm chair incident commanders out there that want to second guess what you do. You can't worry about that. If you feel you made the right decision and you can back that up, then you made the right choice. There is no reason to unnecessarily commit crews and risk lives for a building that is already lost. I couldn't live with myself knowing I sent someone into a building that was already gone and they were injured or killed. I don't think I am less of a firefighter for thinking this way. Lets take out the fire aspect of things and discuss responding to calls. I see people who refuse to wear their seat belts or who are driving entirely too fast. What good do you do if you cause or are involved in an accident on the way to the scene? You do no good and in fact you created another issue that crews must now be committed to which can take away from the original incident. Its stupid. Not wearing a seatbelt is stupid. First of all its the law, and second of all, maybe you should have taken the time to get dressed before you got in the truck. Nobody can justify to me why it is okay to not wear a seatbelt. If you think you can sway my thinking on this issue you better go find a brick wall because you will have better luck convincing the wall its okay.
Okay, I am down off my soapbox now. I said my piece for you nay sayers. I will go on way and continue to try and promote and educate firefighters about the 16 LSIs. You all can have your opinions and can think the way you want to think but I believe in this mission and these initiatives and will do what I can to help prevent LODDs. I know in my heart that at the end of the day, the mission I am on is the right mission for me.
Be safe and I hope you ALL go home safely at the end of the day.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Goals... Do you have any?
Recently I received some really good advice from a mentor. We were talking about career aspirations and career goals. The advice was simple, but maid a lot of sense... write your goals down. It was a practice he had used for many years and he had completed all or nearly all of the goals he had ever written down. There is something about the act of physically writing them down and having there in concrete terms that made them very real. Like I said, its a simple notion but if you are really serious about your goals and achieving them, its an easy practice and I think you should consider it.
So lets talk a little more about goals. Goals are a wonderful tool that you can use to keep yourself on track and keep yourself motivated. Its a road map to get you want to go in your career. The first thing you need to do is take some time and do a little soul searching. Where do you want to go in your career or just in your life in general. Once you figure out the end point you now know what your long term goal is. Long term goals are typically goals that are the bigger plateaus in your career. These are the bigger goals that take more time and work to achieve them. When you decide what your long term goals are then you need to figure out what the steps are that will get you there. These are your short term goals. Short term goals are typically quicker and easier to achieve. The completion of short term goals should lead you to completion of your long term goals. An example of a long term goal would be obtaining a fire chief position. Your short term goals would be goals that will enable to achieve this goal. Examples of your short term goals could be a college degree or a company officer position. The short term goals should be steps that will allow you to progress and work towards your long term goals.
I tend to be a dreamer and I really feel that you can do nearly anything you want if you work hard enough but there are some exceptions to that. I know it is not reasonable to set a goal to be professional baseball player. That's just not something that is in the cards for me. The goals you set should be realistic and obtainable. I'm not telling you to stymie yourself. If you have a career path in mind... go for it just remember that it will take a lot of hard work and dedication but its not impossible. Use your goals to set yourself up for success, not failure. Make sure each goal you hit puts you a step closer to your long term goal. Remember to set time frames on your goals and reassess them periodically. If you are not meeting your goals then you need to sit down and analyze the situation and figure out why you are not meeting those goals. Perhaps you set your goals too high or your passion has changed or you have had setbacks. Whatever the case may be, don't give up. Reassess and redirect yourself.
I decided to take the written goals a step further. Not only am I going to write them down, but I am going to post them on this blog. I figured it would add another level of accountability and motivation for myself. Hopefully seeing my goals will help you with setting some of your own. So here goes:
So lets talk a little more about goals. Goals are a wonderful tool that you can use to keep yourself on track and keep yourself motivated. Its a road map to get you want to go in your career. The first thing you need to do is take some time and do a little soul searching. Where do you want to go in your career or just in your life in general. Once you figure out the end point you now know what your long term goal is. Long term goals are typically goals that are the bigger plateaus in your career. These are the bigger goals that take more time and work to achieve them. When you decide what your long term goals are then you need to figure out what the steps are that will get you there. These are your short term goals. Short term goals are typically quicker and easier to achieve. The completion of short term goals should lead you to completion of your long term goals. An example of a long term goal would be obtaining a fire chief position. Your short term goals would be goals that will enable to achieve this goal. Examples of your short term goals could be a college degree or a company officer position. The short term goals should be steps that will allow you to progress and work towards your long term goals.
I tend to be a dreamer and I really feel that you can do nearly anything you want if you work hard enough but there are some exceptions to that. I know it is not reasonable to set a goal to be professional baseball player. That's just not something that is in the cards for me. The goals you set should be realistic and obtainable. I'm not telling you to stymie yourself. If you have a career path in mind... go for it just remember that it will take a lot of hard work and dedication but its not impossible. Use your goals to set yourself up for success, not failure. Make sure each goal you hit puts you a step closer to your long term goal. Remember to set time frames on your goals and reassess them periodically. If you are not meeting your goals then you need to sit down and analyze the situation and figure out why you are not meeting those goals. Perhaps you set your goals too high or your passion has changed or you have had setbacks. Whatever the case may be, don't give up. Reassess and redirect yourself.
I decided to take the written goals a step further. Not only am I going to write them down, but I am going to post them on this blog. I figured it would add another level of accountability and motivation for myself. Hopefully seeing my goals will help you with setting some of your own. So here goes:
Long Term Goal
-To teach and lecture on a national level in the fire service.
-Bring Awareness and education nationally for LS Initiative 13 (mental health for firefighters).
-EFO designation- under consideration
-Master's Degree- under consideration
Medium to Long Term Goal
- Promotion to Lieutenant at my career department
Short Term Goals
-Have an article published in a national fire service periodical
-To teach and lecture on a state level in the fire service
-Obtain additional training in peer counseling, psychological first aid and CISD
-Attend NFA
-Develop a curriculum and on Firefighter Mental Health and present it at Fire School.
-The first step of this goal is to start with a 4 hr class
-The second step is to expand this into an 8 hr class
So here are my goals. I feel like they are pretty reasonable. My short term goals should set me up to achieve my long term goals. I did add a couple of goals under the long term category that I am still considering. I am not 100% sure on the EFO designation or the Master's Degree. They are both something I have been considering but haven't committed to either yet. They will take some further consideration and research. I think that's okay though, they are things I certainly want to consider and I think by adding them to the list it keeps them on my radar.
Hopefully this post will help you set some goals of your own and I hope you achieve those goals as well. Good luck and feel free to post some of your goals or thoughts in the comments.
-To teach and lecture on a national level in the fire service.
-Bring Awareness and education nationally for LS Initiative 13 (mental health for firefighters).
-EFO designation- under consideration
-Master's Degree- under consideration
Medium to Long Term Goal
- Promotion to Lieutenant at my career department
Short Term Goals
-Have an article published in a national fire service periodical
-To teach and lecture on a state level in the fire service
-Obtain additional training in peer counseling, psychological first aid and CISD
-Attend NFA
-Develop a curriculum and on Firefighter Mental Health and present it at Fire School.
-The first step of this goal is to start with a 4 hr class
-The second step is to expand this into an 8 hr class
So here are my goals. I feel like they are pretty reasonable. My short term goals should set me up to achieve my long term goals. I did add a couple of goals under the long term category that I am still considering. I am not 100% sure on the EFO designation or the Master's Degree. They are both something I have been considering but haven't committed to either yet. They will take some further consideration and research. I think that's okay though, they are things I certainly want to consider and I think by adding them to the list it keeps them on my radar.
Hopefully this post will help you set some goals of your own and I hope you achieve those goals as well. Good luck and feel free to post some of your goals or thoughts in the comments.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Breaking Down the Stereotypes of Mental Health
When people describe firefighters they typically use adjectives like brave, strong, courageous and daring. Conversely, when people describe people with mental health disorders they use adjectives like weak, crazy, and helpless. While I feel that these are misguided stereotypes unfortunately there are still a lot people in this world that have negative thoughts about people with mental health disorders. There is definitely a negative perception towards people who seek help in this area.
Many people do not want to admit they have an issue because they are afraid of how they will be perceived. What they don’t understand is how widespread mental health disorders are becoming. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that 57.7 million or approx 26% of Americans over the age of 18 suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder. 1 in 4 people with a mental disorder. That number is staggering. The American Cancer Society reports that that there is a 1 in 3 chance of developing cancer among Americans. The number of Americans with heart disease in 2010 was 11.8%. Mental health disorders are much more prevalent than most would like to admit. The fact of the matter is we can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to mental health disorders. We need to bring awareness to mental health disorders and we need to work to bring down the stereotypes and let people, especially firefighters, know that it is okay to admit they have a disorder and work to get them help to address the problem.
So what happens when a firefighter has a mental health disorder? More than likely they try and ignore it. Firefighters are strong and brave so they can’t show a weakness like having a disorder like anxiety or depression. They don’t want their coworkers to think they can’t do the job or can’t be relied upon so they hide it. God forbid that a firefighter be human and have vulnerabilities. I suppose a person with depression can’t be a good firefighter. I suppose a firefighter with anxiety is a liability to his or her crew in a fire. This type of thinking is the problem and it creates a cycle that a person can’t get out of without help. Consider this situation... a firefighter has anxiety. They are afraid someone will think less of them if they seek help or admit to disorder so they hide it. They suppress their feelings and emotions. All this does is feed the disorder more and creates the opportunity for the disorder to worsen. We have to stop the cycle. We need to let people know that it is okay to have a mental disorder. It doesn’t make someone less of a person if they have a mental disorder.
The first thing we need to do is break down the stereotype. Once we get through the stereotypes then we can work on getting people the help they need to manage these disorders. But first things first, we need to show firefighters that it is okay to admit to having a mental disorder and that it is okay to seek help. It doesn’t make someone a bad firefighter or less of a firefighter if they have a problem. So how do we do this? I feel like the first step is to show an example from the inside. We need an advocate and role model so that other firefighters can see that it is possible to have a mental disorder and still be successful as a firefighter. Let me introduce you to that advocate...its me. I have battled depression and anxiety for pretty much all my life. It wasn’t until about 10 years that I sought treatment for these disorders. I have good days and bad days with anxiety and depression. There were periods of time where I thought I could battle this disorder on my own without help. Typically I failed miserably when trying to battle this disorder on my own. Depression and anxiety are not disorders that you can battle on your own. In my case I needed medication to help sustain my mood and I needed counseling to work through my issues. It was difficult for to me to admit I couldn’t do it alone. I am typically a pretty independent person and feel like I can solve most problems on my own. Initially, I felt weak and I was less of a man because I had to take medication and go to counseling. I wasn’t a firefighter when I was initially diagnosed with anxiety and depression but the disorders both reared their ugly heads about a year after I started full time. I was dealing with several issues at the time and to be honest, had I not sought help my life would be much different today. I would most likely be divorced and no longer employed as a firefighter. I had become a shell of myself and I hated what I saw in the mirror everyday. Through medication and counseling I was able to get the help I needed and get my life turned around. It wasn’t easy and it didn’t happen over night. It was a tough process and I think I have made it through the worst of it but their is always more work to do and more steps to take.
There it is, it is out there on the table. I have depression and anxiety and I am a firefighter. I have a successful full time career with what I believe to be a bright future with the department. I am putting myself out there and telling my story in hopes that I can help others. I want firefighters to know that its okay to have a mental disorder and that it doesn’t make you less of a firefighter if you do. I want to help break down those stereotypes and I want do what I can to get other firefighters the help they need. Learn from my mistakes. I don’t want others to go through what I have gone through if they don’t have to. Thats why I am writing this article and thats why I am a part of Iowa Firefighter Resources. We are dedicated to helping Iowa Firefighters. Life Safety Initiative 13 needs to be promoted and we need to make sure firefighters have access to the help they need. Look for more in the upcoming months on this topic. For more information follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IowaFirefighterResources or on twitter @LSInitiative13.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Life Safety Initiative #3 Risk Management
The third Life Safety Initiative is risk management. To me, this seems like a very easy one. This should part of everything we do everyday. There is so much inherent risk in everything we do that risk management should be a no-brainer but I have seen departments operate with what appears to be no real concern for the risk involved. Honestly, that is one of the reasons why we continue to kill 100+ firefighters a year.
We face risks in life every single day. Walking down the stairs, driving in our cars, responding to and from calls, and making entry into a burning building. Nearly everything we do has some sort of risk. We wear seat belts to try and minimize the risk of injury if we are involved in an accident. We were gloves to try and limit exposures on EMS calls. We wear turnout gear and SCBA's to try and minimize the risk we face on the fire ground. Risk management is part of what we do. Most of the time we don't even realize it. To me its common sense, so why wouldn't your command staff, officers and firefighters use risk management when fighting fires? Typically even the worst and most reckless incident commander uses some sort of risk management, it just may be that what they see as an "acceptable" risk maybe different than what you or I see as acceptable. From the day I started in the fire service I have heard the saying "Risk a lot to save a lot, risk a little to save a little." This is a simple and rudimentary way to exercise risk management but it is a starting point. If there is a viable life to be saved inside a burning home then it is a risk worthy of sending firefighters in aggressively. The issue comes when firefighters are being sent in to fully involved house fires where there is no chance of civilian survival. We as firefighters, company officers and command staff need to be able to recognize the difference between an acceptable risk and an unacceptable risk. In this day and age we should not be risking the lives of firefighters when there is nothing to save. I know its not as much fun to fight a fire defensively and we all want to go inside and make the attack on a fire but seriously folks, if fire is in all rooms and on all floors and blowing out of the roof no one inside will survive. Why would we risk our most precious resources in that situation?
We need to learn to be better risk managers. Gone are the days when it was okay to rush into a fire with minimal turnout gear and no SCBA. Fires are different, building construction is different. Fires burn hotter and structures fail quicker. We need to have a good working knowledge of fire behavior and building construction so we know what we are dealing with and so that we can properly assess the risks on the fire ground. To make matters worse we are seeing less fires every year so we get less opportunities to practice. This is where personal accountability and cultural change become key. The fire service has changed. While it is still considered a "blue collar" job we have to use some "white collar" thinking. It is no longer acceptable to be uneducated brutes that rush into the fire no matter the cost. Training and education are more important than they have ever been. We need to be studying the types of structures in our first due area and then discussing what type of fires we might face. Ordinary construction burns differently than light weight construction. If you can't recognize the type of building you have on fire then how can you effectively fight it? You can't. A good risk manager will gather as much information as possible about the situation, assess the risks and then use the appropriate tactics to resolve the situation. In order to assess the risks, you have to know what you are dealing with. We need to be able to recognize the signs of building collapse. We need to be able to recognize when a fire is approaching flashover. Businesses study the markets and economy to determine what risks are involved, if they didn't then there stock holders would be upset when they make poor decisions and lose money. Our business is firefighting and we should act the same way. Our stock holders are our families and our tax payers. We don't want to foolishly risk equipment at the cost of our tax payers and we certainly don't want to foolishly risk our firefighters at the expense of their families. Honestly, we have far more at risk then any corporation. I can handle telling someone I made a poor investment decision that resulted in a loss of $1 million dollars but I never want to tell a wife or a child that I made a poor decision that cost the life of their firefighter. These are the things that we should be thinking of when we are making decisions on the fire ground.
To me risk management is not an option. We must do it everyday and we must do it well. We need to be able to assess the situation and make the proper decisions that will ensure all of our firefighters go home safely. If your firefighters are not your number one priority then you need to reassess your risk management strategy. Are you making the right decisions based on the risks involved? Zero is the only acceptable number of casualties we can demand out of our risk managers. I know things happen and we cannot always assure that no one will be injured or lost but we need to make darn sure that we are doing everything in our power to identify and control as many of the risks as we can. We need to ensure that EVERYONE GOES HOME!!!!!
We face risks in life every single day. Walking down the stairs, driving in our cars, responding to and from calls, and making entry into a burning building. Nearly everything we do has some sort of risk. We wear seat belts to try and minimize the risk of injury if we are involved in an accident. We were gloves to try and limit exposures on EMS calls. We wear turnout gear and SCBA's to try and minimize the risk we face on the fire ground. Risk management is part of what we do. Most of the time we don't even realize it. To me its common sense, so why wouldn't your command staff, officers and firefighters use risk management when fighting fires? Typically even the worst and most reckless incident commander uses some sort of risk management, it just may be that what they see as an "acceptable" risk maybe different than what you or I see as acceptable. From the day I started in the fire service I have heard the saying "Risk a lot to save a lot, risk a little to save a little." This is a simple and rudimentary way to exercise risk management but it is a starting point. If there is a viable life to be saved inside a burning home then it is a risk worthy of sending firefighters in aggressively. The issue comes when firefighters are being sent in to fully involved house fires where there is no chance of civilian survival. We as firefighters, company officers and command staff need to be able to recognize the difference between an acceptable risk and an unacceptable risk. In this day and age we should not be risking the lives of firefighters when there is nothing to save. I know its not as much fun to fight a fire defensively and we all want to go inside and make the attack on a fire but seriously folks, if fire is in all rooms and on all floors and blowing out of the roof no one inside will survive. Why would we risk our most precious resources in that situation?
We need to learn to be better risk managers. Gone are the days when it was okay to rush into a fire with minimal turnout gear and no SCBA. Fires are different, building construction is different. Fires burn hotter and structures fail quicker. We need to have a good working knowledge of fire behavior and building construction so we know what we are dealing with and so that we can properly assess the risks on the fire ground. To make matters worse we are seeing less fires every year so we get less opportunities to practice. This is where personal accountability and cultural change become key. The fire service has changed. While it is still considered a "blue collar" job we have to use some "white collar" thinking. It is no longer acceptable to be uneducated brutes that rush into the fire no matter the cost. Training and education are more important than they have ever been. We need to be studying the types of structures in our first due area and then discussing what type of fires we might face. Ordinary construction burns differently than light weight construction. If you can't recognize the type of building you have on fire then how can you effectively fight it? You can't. A good risk manager will gather as much information as possible about the situation, assess the risks and then use the appropriate tactics to resolve the situation. In order to assess the risks, you have to know what you are dealing with. We need to be able to recognize the signs of building collapse. We need to be able to recognize when a fire is approaching flashover. Businesses study the markets and economy to determine what risks are involved, if they didn't then there stock holders would be upset when they make poor decisions and lose money. Our business is firefighting and we should act the same way. Our stock holders are our families and our tax payers. We don't want to foolishly risk equipment at the cost of our tax payers and we certainly don't want to foolishly risk our firefighters at the expense of their families. Honestly, we have far more at risk then any corporation. I can handle telling someone I made a poor investment decision that resulted in a loss of $1 million dollars but I never want to tell a wife or a child that I made a poor decision that cost the life of their firefighter. These are the things that we should be thinking of when we are making decisions on the fire ground.
To me risk management is not an option. We must do it everyday and we must do it well. We need to be able to assess the situation and make the proper decisions that will ensure all of our firefighters go home safely. If your firefighters are not your number one priority then you need to reassess your risk management strategy. Are you making the right decisions based on the risks involved? Zero is the only acceptable number of casualties we can demand out of our risk managers. I know things happen and we cannot always assure that no one will be injured or lost but we need to make darn sure that we are doing everything in our power to identify and control as many of the risks as we can. We need to ensure that EVERYONE GOES HOME!!!!!
Monday, August 27, 2012
How Do You Cope?
We go on hundreds of calls a year and most of the time we run the call, deal with the situation and then move on but every once in a while something about a call really sticks with you. This past week I had my first call that really got to me.
Over the past 5 years I have been on plenty of codes and dealt with many situations that most people would find down right disturbing. While these calls were not easy to stomach none of the really stuck with me. There were several factors in this recent call that really made it hard to stomach. I think where I am in my life personally also played a factor in how this call impacted me as well. We handled the call professionally and from a operational level the call ran very well. All parties involved did what they needed to do and we held back the emotion in order to function and do what was best for the patient. The situation that we dealt with is not one that I would wish upon anyone. I think there are just things or situations that people should never have to be witness to and this is certainly one of those situations. Once the call was over and we had time to reflect on what had happen is when the emotion came pouring in. It seems like the emotions I felt hit the entire spectrum. There was anger, sadness, fear, and frustration. After a while, most of the emotions subsided and I was able to move on but there certainly was a bit of a hang over or numbness after the call. It was hard to return to the station and know that I still had 18 hours left in my shift. As the day went on, the emotions got better and I felt like I was getting back to normal. The rest of the shift came and went like most days do. I had some trouble sleeping at first because visions of the call kept filling my mind but eventually tiredness won out and I drifted off to sleep. The thing that I was most surprised about was how I felt when I got home. When I saw my wife, the emotions came flooding back and I found myself dealing with them all over again. I certainly was not prepared for that at all. Its now a few days post incident and some of the feelings are still there but the wounds don't feel as fresh. In my mind though this is where the important work of coping really becomes a key. Now that the initial pain and emotions have subsided, how am I going to move forward?
Many of us in the fire service like to put on that macho bravado and really give the appearance that we have ice running through our veins and are impervious to emotion. There are some of us that really don't seem to be impacted by the calls we run but the majority of us don't fall into that category. Most of us have a dark sense of humor and we joke with one another in a way that most people outside the fire service don't understand. A lot of what we say to each other behind closed doors would appear mean and heartless to the outside world but for many of us its just how we cope. We use insults and jokes as a thin veil for us to expel those negative emotions that get stirred up by an unsettling call. Does it help, sure it does but it probably isn't the healthiest way to deal with things.
There was a time in this industry that the mention of a critical incident stress debriefing or speaking with a counselor would be seen as weak and unacceptable. It seems as though the culture is beginning to shift a little bit though. CISD and peer counseling are becoming more prevalent. People are realizing that it is far healthier to talk through and address the feelings as opposed to just bottling them up and trying to hide from them. We have so many more options available to us these days it is foolish not to take advantage of them. Resources range from coworkers to supervisors to chaplains to counsellors. I think it is really important for us to be proactive and work to resolve these issues as opposed to avoiding them. Post traumatic stress is not just happening to soldiers coming back from war. It is happening to our police officers and firefighters from exposure to some of the calls they go on throughout the course of their careers. You shouldn't feel ashamed if you utilize one of these avenues to deal with the emotions. If your arm was broken you would go to the doctor and get a cast. If you are emotionally broken you seek treatment as well. It doesn't mean your weak, it just means you want to deal with the emotions so that they don't come flooding back in the middle of a call. There is no shame in that.
I am a very big proponent in CISD and peer counseling within the department. It is an area that I have been trying to get further training so that I can be a resource to my co-workers. It is certainly not healthy to just try and suppress all of the emotions you have inside, you need to take action to deal with these feelings. Most employers have EAPs (employee assistance program) that you can utilize. If your employer doesn't, seek out a co-worker or a supervisor you trust and utilize them. Just as it is important that we take care of ourselves physically, it is equally important that we take care of ourselves emotionally. It just isn't healthy to go through life avoiding emotional trauma. I hope that in the future if you run a call that impacts you that you seek help to deal with these emotions.
Over the past 5 years I have been on plenty of codes and dealt with many situations that most people would find down right disturbing. While these calls were not easy to stomach none of the really stuck with me. There were several factors in this recent call that really made it hard to stomach. I think where I am in my life personally also played a factor in how this call impacted me as well. We handled the call professionally and from a operational level the call ran very well. All parties involved did what they needed to do and we held back the emotion in order to function and do what was best for the patient. The situation that we dealt with is not one that I would wish upon anyone. I think there are just things or situations that people should never have to be witness to and this is certainly one of those situations. Once the call was over and we had time to reflect on what had happen is when the emotion came pouring in. It seems like the emotions I felt hit the entire spectrum. There was anger, sadness, fear, and frustration. After a while, most of the emotions subsided and I was able to move on but there certainly was a bit of a hang over or numbness after the call. It was hard to return to the station and know that I still had 18 hours left in my shift. As the day went on, the emotions got better and I felt like I was getting back to normal. The rest of the shift came and went like most days do. I had some trouble sleeping at first because visions of the call kept filling my mind but eventually tiredness won out and I drifted off to sleep. The thing that I was most surprised about was how I felt when I got home. When I saw my wife, the emotions came flooding back and I found myself dealing with them all over again. I certainly was not prepared for that at all. Its now a few days post incident and some of the feelings are still there but the wounds don't feel as fresh. In my mind though this is where the important work of coping really becomes a key. Now that the initial pain and emotions have subsided, how am I going to move forward?
Many of us in the fire service like to put on that macho bravado and really give the appearance that we have ice running through our veins and are impervious to emotion. There are some of us that really don't seem to be impacted by the calls we run but the majority of us don't fall into that category. Most of us have a dark sense of humor and we joke with one another in a way that most people outside the fire service don't understand. A lot of what we say to each other behind closed doors would appear mean and heartless to the outside world but for many of us its just how we cope. We use insults and jokes as a thin veil for us to expel those negative emotions that get stirred up by an unsettling call. Does it help, sure it does but it probably isn't the healthiest way to deal with things.
There was a time in this industry that the mention of a critical incident stress debriefing or speaking with a counselor would be seen as weak and unacceptable. It seems as though the culture is beginning to shift a little bit though. CISD and peer counseling are becoming more prevalent. People are realizing that it is far healthier to talk through and address the feelings as opposed to just bottling them up and trying to hide from them. We have so many more options available to us these days it is foolish not to take advantage of them. Resources range from coworkers to supervisors to chaplains to counsellors. I think it is really important for us to be proactive and work to resolve these issues as opposed to avoiding them. Post traumatic stress is not just happening to soldiers coming back from war. It is happening to our police officers and firefighters from exposure to some of the calls they go on throughout the course of their careers. You shouldn't feel ashamed if you utilize one of these avenues to deal with the emotions. If your arm was broken you would go to the doctor and get a cast. If you are emotionally broken you seek treatment as well. It doesn't mean your weak, it just means you want to deal with the emotions so that they don't come flooding back in the middle of a call. There is no shame in that.
I am a very big proponent in CISD and peer counseling within the department. It is an area that I have been trying to get further training so that I can be a resource to my co-workers. It is certainly not healthy to just try and suppress all of the emotions you have inside, you need to take action to deal with these feelings. Most employers have EAPs (employee assistance program) that you can utilize. If your employer doesn't, seek out a co-worker or a supervisor you trust and utilize them. Just as it is important that we take care of ourselves physically, it is equally important that we take care of ourselves emotionally. It just isn't healthy to go through life avoiding emotional trauma. I hope that in the future if you run a call that impacts you that you seek help to deal with these emotions.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Life Safety Initiative #2 Accountability
Today's installment will be covering Life Safety Initiative #2 Accountability. Initiative #2: Enhance the personal and organizational accountability for health and safety throughout the fire service. So what does this initiative mean to us. Accountability is very important in the fire service and typically we do a very good job of accountability at fire incidents. Where we seem to be lacking accountability is away from the fire scene back at the station and in our personal lives. We will discuss our short comings in a minute but first lets talk about the areas where we do well with accountability.
In the fire service we use what is called the Incident Command System or ICS for short. ICS is a system that was developed by wildland firefighters and then eventually adopted by the rest of the fire service. ICS is a concept that helps define roles and responsibility and better establishes the chain of command. Its intent is to provide a system where everyone uses like terminology and interoperability between multiple department and agency operations. It can be used on large scale incidents or it can be scaled back and simplified to be used in routine incidents where only 1 or 2 companies are involved. I won't go into ICS too in depth because honestly I could devote 20-30 blog posts to the topic and still only brush the surface of it. One of the most important components of ICS is accountability. In the fire service accountability is a key factor as it allows us to track our resources and know where all personnel and assets are at any given point in an incident. If an incident goes south the incident commander can review the accountability board to determine what companies are assigned to what task and what everyone is doing. It allows the incident commander to keep tabs on the entire incident. If you look back at line of duty deaths you can see examples of where accountability has failed. A catastrophic event during a fire incident is not time you want to find out that you have not kept track of where your personnel or assets are located. We need to be ready for anything during a fire incident so using accountability well can save lives.
Where we need to improve our accountability is back at the station and off duty. Health and safety are not always a high priority to firefighters away from the fire scene. Some firefighters have a tendency to look at themselves as invincible so they don't always worry about taking care of themselves mentally or physically. Its not uncommon to see over weight and out of shape firefighters at a firehouse. For too many years eating healthy, exercising and preventative maintenance has not been a huge priority for firefighters. We typically like to eat and almost every company has a firefighter that is a good cook and likes to feed their fellow firefighters. We need to do a better job of taking care of ourselves. With accountability we can take steps to improve our health and safety. We need to start taking better care of ourselves. Just like we work to prevent fires we need to work to prevent injuries and illness.
Accountability for health and safety starts at the top and goes all the way through to the bottom. Everyone from the Chief to the rookie firefighter needs to buy in. The department and all of its members need to promote safety and being healthy. It is an attitude the department needs to embrace. We need to be eating healthier, exercising and taking preventive measures with our health. An easy way to get this started is by requiring annual physicals. Yes there is cost involved to the department but it gets the guys into the doctor at least one a year and allows for screenings of various ailments that wouldn't otherwise be caught without the physicals. For career departments this can actually be forced upon you because many pension systems require yearly physicals for firefighters. Many departments are installing fitness equipment in the stations and either encouraging or require firefighters to exercise while on duty. Some department even go as far as to bring in wellness coaches and nutritionists to help promote health and safety within their department. It is wonderful that departments are trying to promote health and safety but it can't stop there. Firefighters need to promote health and safety and take personal accountability for themselves and their health. Take time to workout at work if your department allows. Don't just stop their, take care of yourself off duty as well. Join a gym and exercise regularly or come into the station and workout on your off days. Take care in what you are eating and how you are taking care of yourself. This is personal accountability.
We work in a field that is strenuous both physically and mentally. We are put into conditions that the body doesn't always like. If you are over weight and out of shape you have a far higher likely hood of going down on a fire scene or having a cardiac event. If this happens you could be putting your crew at risk as they may have to divert from their original assignment in order to rescue you from harm. We live in a era where ignorance is a poor excuse for taking care of yourself. The goal is for everyone to go home. We practice our fire and EMS skills to ensure we are able to do our jobs well but it shouldn't stop there. We need to take accountability for our health and safety and that means exercising and eating better. This is not a job where you can get by being over weight and out of shape. Take care of yourself so you can take care of the job.
In the fire service we use what is called the Incident Command System or ICS for short. ICS is a system that was developed by wildland firefighters and then eventually adopted by the rest of the fire service. ICS is a concept that helps define roles and responsibility and better establishes the chain of command. Its intent is to provide a system where everyone uses like terminology and interoperability between multiple department and agency operations. It can be used on large scale incidents or it can be scaled back and simplified to be used in routine incidents where only 1 or 2 companies are involved. I won't go into ICS too in depth because honestly I could devote 20-30 blog posts to the topic and still only brush the surface of it. One of the most important components of ICS is accountability. In the fire service accountability is a key factor as it allows us to track our resources and know where all personnel and assets are at any given point in an incident. If an incident goes south the incident commander can review the accountability board to determine what companies are assigned to what task and what everyone is doing. It allows the incident commander to keep tabs on the entire incident. If you look back at line of duty deaths you can see examples of where accountability has failed. A catastrophic event during a fire incident is not time you want to find out that you have not kept track of where your personnel or assets are located. We need to be ready for anything during a fire incident so using accountability well can save lives.
Where we need to improve our accountability is back at the station and off duty. Health and safety are not always a high priority to firefighters away from the fire scene. Some firefighters have a tendency to look at themselves as invincible so they don't always worry about taking care of themselves mentally or physically. Its not uncommon to see over weight and out of shape firefighters at a firehouse. For too many years eating healthy, exercising and preventative maintenance has not been a huge priority for firefighters. We typically like to eat and almost every company has a firefighter that is a good cook and likes to feed their fellow firefighters. We need to do a better job of taking care of ourselves. With accountability we can take steps to improve our health and safety. We need to start taking better care of ourselves. Just like we work to prevent fires we need to work to prevent injuries and illness.
Accountability for health and safety starts at the top and goes all the way through to the bottom. Everyone from the Chief to the rookie firefighter needs to buy in. The department and all of its members need to promote safety and being healthy. It is an attitude the department needs to embrace. We need to be eating healthier, exercising and taking preventive measures with our health. An easy way to get this started is by requiring annual physicals. Yes there is cost involved to the department but it gets the guys into the doctor at least one a year and allows for screenings of various ailments that wouldn't otherwise be caught without the physicals. For career departments this can actually be forced upon you because many pension systems require yearly physicals for firefighters. Many departments are installing fitness equipment in the stations and either encouraging or require firefighters to exercise while on duty. Some department even go as far as to bring in wellness coaches and nutritionists to help promote health and safety within their department. It is wonderful that departments are trying to promote health and safety but it can't stop there. Firefighters need to promote health and safety and take personal accountability for themselves and their health. Take time to workout at work if your department allows. Don't just stop their, take care of yourself off duty as well. Join a gym and exercise regularly or come into the station and workout on your off days. Take care in what you are eating and how you are taking care of yourself. This is personal accountability.
We work in a field that is strenuous both physically and mentally. We are put into conditions that the body doesn't always like. If you are over weight and out of shape you have a far higher likely hood of going down on a fire scene or having a cardiac event. If this happens you could be putting your crew at risk as they may have to divert from their original assignment in order to rescue you from harm. We live in a era where ignorance is a poor excuse for taking care of yourself. The goal is for everyone to go home. We practice our fire and EMS skills to ensure we are able to do our jobs well but it shouldn't stop there. We need to take accountability for our health and safety and that means exercising and eating better. This is not a job where you can get by being over weight and out of shape. Take care of yourself so you can take care of the job.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Life Safety Initiative #1 Cultural Change
Over the next several posts, well 16 to be exact, I am going to be discussing the 16 life safety initiatives for the fire service. The initiatives were put together by the National Fallen Firefighter Foundation's Everyone Goes Home Program. Information on the 16 initiatives can be found at www.lifesafteyinitiatives.com. The Everyone Goes Home Program was developed to help prevent line of duty deaths and injuries within the fire service. The 16 life safety initiatives were developed in 2004 and are intended to be the foundation for helping to reduce line of duty deaths. The 16 initiatives are somewhat broad in nature but they are meant to be a starting point. Each initiative gives a starting point for departments. They are meant to get firefighters thinking and to expand upon them. The fact that they are more vague allows each individual and each fire department to mold the initiatives to meet the needs of their department. They are not a magic wand that can be waved to magically make these injuries and deaths go away but they are a foundation.
The first of the 16 life safety initiatives is cultural change. Wow, that is a big one. I don't think that it is a by coincidence or chance that this is the first initiative. If your department has an unsafe culture or a culture resistant to change then none of the other 15 initiatives will be successful no matter how hard you work to implement them. We all know the fire service can be resistive to change. We are a culture with very deep roots and great pride. Our history predates that of our government. As you can imagine, with that much history and tradition it can be very difficult to affect change in the fire service. I think there are some departments that wold fight fire without SCBA's or still wear 3/4 coats and roll-up boots if you would let them. A common statement heard in a fire department is "that's the way we have always done it." I love the history and tradition of the fire service but lets not be naive. The fires we fight are not the same as the fires of old. The world has changed and technology has evolved so we too must evolve. We no long use steam engines pulled by a horse. Why? Because there is better technology available to us now. Equipment has evolved so we evolved with it. We must continue to evolve so we can keep up with the times.
Cultural change is the process of changing ones culture. Pretty simple right? Wrong. Not only is the fire service made up of individuals from a very diverse background but the fire service is quite diverse as well. Fire departments vary from city to city, state to state and region to region. You could take a group of fire departments together from all over the country and it could literally seem like you were at a United Nations gathering. Each department has its own identity and two neighboring departments could have values as different as night in day. I'll even take it a step further... if you a take a department with multiple stations you will see individual personalities and values for each station. Needless to say, cultural change is not as simple as making sweeping changes from one end of the country to the other. Needless to say, each department will need to adapt these initiatives to meet the needs of their department.
So why is it difficult to affect change in the fire service. As I mentioned earlier, the diversity and the history make it difficult to make changes but honestly its not really change that is the issue. If you were bringing in the latest and greatest technology and using do-dads and whatchamacallits with all the cool bells and whistles it probably wouldn't be all that difficult. The biggest resistance typically comes in regards to safety. Are job is dangerous, there is inherent risk in what we do. Many of us are macho. In fact, many people think that they are indestructible!! Why would you think that!?! Just because we put on a navy blue shirt with a Maltese cross does not mean that we are super human. I am pretty sure we bleed just the same as someone who is not a firefighter. I am not saying we need to tip toe through this job in bubble wrap and be afraid of what might happen but come on, lets use some common sense. If you look over the last 20 years the average number of line of duty deaths is around 100. Some times its more, sometimes its less but typically it averages about 100. Over the last 20 years we have also taken some pretty big steps as far as technology. Trucks are safer, turnout gear is lighter and more heat resistive. We have a lot more technology at our disposal that is supposed to make us safer yet we still average around 100 deaths a year. Obviously there is a bigger issue at hand. I think a lot of that is the BS idea that we are invincible.
How do we get our department to change its culture? Cultural change will be easier in some departments than other. Larger departments will take longer to get the change rolling than smaller ones just because of the sheer number of people on that department. It will also depend on how extreme your department's culture is and how willing they are to have the "Courage to be Safe." So how do it then. The biggest key is to be an advocate for change. Lead by example. Promote the new ideas, don't shoot them down. Believe it or not, peer pressure works in this situation. Trust me, firefighters are good at peer pressure. If someone is not conforming to the values or culture of the shift or department, most times the others on that shift or in that department will pressure the non-conformer until they change. Change can and will happen in your department you just have to be patient. You may have to chip away bit by bit but it will happen. Find your allies and get them on board, your strength is in numbers. Hopefully your administration is on board because the chief's backing can be a huge help.
Cultural change will not be easy. It will probably be one of the toughest tasks in making your department safer but you can't give up. If these initiatives are really important to you then you must have the resolve to push forward. It may take months and it may even take years but stay the course and work to promote the safety your department deserves.
The first of the 16 life safety initiatives is cultural change. Wow, that is a big one. I don't think that it is a by coincidence or chance that this is the first initiative. If your department has an unsafe culture or a culture resistant to change then none of the other 15 initiatives will be successful no matter how hard you work to implement them. We all know the fire service can be resistive to change. We are a culture with very deep roots and great pride. Our history predates that of our government. As you can imagine, with that much history and tradition it can be very difficult to affect change in the fire service. I think there are some departments that wold fight fire without SCBA's or still wear 3/4 coats and roll-up boots if you would let them. A common statement heard in a fire department is "that's the way we have always done it." I love the history and tradition of the fire service but lets not be naive. The fires we fight are not the same as the fires of old. The world has changed and technology has evolved so we too must evolve. We no long use steam engines pulled by a horse. Why? Because there is better technology available to us now. Equipment has evolved so we evolved with it. We must continue to evolve so we can keep up with the times.
Cultural change is the process of changing ones culture. Pretty simple right? Wrong. Not only is the fire service made up of individuals from a very diverse background but the fire service is quite diverse as well. Fire departments vary from city to city, state to state and region to region. You could take a group of fire departments together from all over the country and it could literally seem like you were at a United Nations gathering. Each department has its own identity and two neighboring departments could have values as different as night in day. I'll even take it a step further... if you a take a department with multiple stations you will see individual personalities and values for each station. Needless to say, cultural change is not as simple as making sweeping changes from one end of the country to the other. Needless to say, each department will need to adapt these initiatives to meet the needs of their department.
So why is it difficult to affect change in the fire service. As I mentioned earlier, the diversity and the history make it difficult to make changes but honestly its not really change that is the issue. If you were bringing in the latest and greatest technology and using do-dads and whatchamacallits with all the cool bells and whistles it probably wouldn't be all that difficult. The biggest resistance typically comes in regards to safety. Are job is dangerous, there is inherent risk in what we do. Many of us are macho. In fact, many people think that they are indestructible!! Why would you think that!?! Just because we put on a navy blue shirt with a Maltese cross does not mean that we are super human. I am pretty sure we bleed just the same as someone who is not a firefighter. I am not saying we need to tip toe through this job in bubble wrap and be afraid of what might happen but come on, lets use some common sense. If you look over the last 20 years the average number of line of duty deaths is around 100. Some times its more, sometimes its less but typically it averages about 100. Over the last 20 years we have also taken some pretty big steps as far as technology. Trucks are safer, turnout gear is lighter and more heat resistive. We have a lot more technology at our disposal that is supposed to make us safer yet we still average around 100 deaths a year. Obviously there is a bigger issue at hand. I think a lot of that is the BS idea that we are invincible.
How do we get our department to change its culture? Cultural change will be easier in some departments than other. Larger departments will take longer to get the change rolling than smaller ones just because of the sheer number of people on that department. It will also depend on how extreme your department's culture is and how willing they are to have the "Courage to be Safe." So how do it then. The biggest key is to be an advocate for change. Lead by example. Promote the new ideas, don't shoot them down. Believe it or not, peer pressure works in this situation. Trust me, firefighters are good at peer pressure. If someone is not conforming to the values or culture of the shift or department, most times the others on that shift or in that department will pressure the non-conformer until they change. Change can and will happen in your department you just have to be patient. You may have to chip away bit by bit but it will happen. Find your allies and get them on board, your strength is in numbers. Hopefully your administration is on board because the chief's backing can be a huge help.
Cultural change will not be easy. It will probably be one of the toughest tasks in making your department safer but you can't give up. If these initiatives are really important to you then you must have the resolve to push forward. It may take months and it may even take years but stay the course and work to promote the safety your department deserves.
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