Skip to content

Archives for company-officer

See all posts in the network tagged with company-officer

360 Burn Size-up of the Fire Web 3/2/2010

The Dance of the Company Officer

We start out this week by pointing to one of my “favoritest” partner bloggers at FireEMSblogs, Mick Mayers of FirehouseZen.

You know, I really enjoy the dance that occurs between the top and the bottom in the fire service organization.  At the top, the vision and direction of the group are put into play.  Those at the bottom need to accept, or buy into that vision in order for the group to move forward in a unified and cohesive manner.

In the middle we find the officers and supervisors.  Their commitment to the success of the organization is demonstrated by the way they convey the direction and vision from the top to their subordinates.  If they are effective, the organization becomes a well-oiled machine.  However if they don’t buy into the message, there is little hope for their subordinates to do the same.

This is where the officer needs to be able to put the needs of the organization ahead of the need to be pals with their guys.  This is one of the most difficult issues facing company officers.

Therein lies the dance.

As usual, this issue of change and leadership is best addressed by Chief Mick Mayers over at FirehouseZen.  From his latest post entitled “Get Everyone on Board”:

“Regardless of your organization, you are going to have personnel who are resistant to change, and while the troops may or may not decide to go willingly, it is a requirement that your officers or supervisors are.  If your small unit leaders aren’t on board, don’t count on the personnel they supervise joining in to resist them.  It will be much easier on those troops if they can get along with their misdirected officer than if they embrace the change, so you can count on the message not getting through when it is most needed.”

Read his post as there is much more on this topic that is important for all your officers to understand.

Fire Rescue TV

Check out Fire Rescue TV- a new website for firefighters that brings breaking news,new product reviews, and a special weekly fire rescue TV news segment.  All the video is extremely professional and rivals anything found on your home TV.

When we spoke with Executive Producer Martin Grube last week on Firefighter NetCast, he revealed an additional exciting element they have planned.  They will be visiting various firehouses and accompanying their crews during all aspects of the cooking portion of their shift.  Starting with planning, then shopping, then cooking and eating, Fire Rescue TV will follow the entire process from start to finish.  If the station’s crew draws a call, the video crew tags along as well. It’s a unique way for non-firefighters to witness this daily station activity.

So if you are in the mid-Atlantic region and want some excellent exposure of your department, invite Fire Rescue TV to your station!  They also welcome video submissions as well.  Make this new site a regular stop when perusing the interwebs.

Pole-Dancing Fireman

Speaking of videos, here’s some dessert for making it this far in the 360 Burn today.  This came to me courtesy of a tweet from our friend Chester Kopco, AKA FatherCabbage on the twitters.  It reminds me of someone I know.  Howabout you?

Stay stoked!

-J

Posted in 360 Burn, Change, Command & Leadership, Just For Fun, Leadership, Technology & Communications, Videos

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by John Mitchell on March 2, 2010 • View Comments

Those Who Are Tardy Do Not Get Fruit Cup

I’m sure we can all agree that our company works best when the same players are involved. There is a certain synchronicity that emerges during any given situation. The left hand knows what the right hand is doing. The first arriving officer is doing his/her thing, the pipe is leading out, the engineer is making connections. It’s well-oiled machine.

Oh sure, there are the occasional times when the machine develops a burp or two, but the problems are usually quickly ironed out and soon the team is humming along on all eight cylinders once again. When the players are the same, continuity exists.

But we are never assured of the luxury of having the same guys every shift. Duty trades and overtime fill-ins for vacations and illnesses result in a continually-changing group, constantly trying to mesh. Even with SOG’s/SOP’s in place, the chemistry is just a little different. In the fire service, this difference invariably leads to more burps. And if not pre-treated with a little pre-incident briefing, those burps could escalate into full-blown projectile vomiting.

In Mel Brooks’ High Anxiety, Nurse Diesel saw the importance of immediately informing the new head shrink, Dr. Thorndyke, of the rules that were to be followed at the Institute for the Very Very Nervous. While your approach may not be the same, the timing is all-important: make it happen immediately.

It is the responsibility of the company officer to recognize the challenges his/her company will face when a visiting member is a new part of the team. The CO needs to make sure that everyone is on the same page. Make it a point to remind the troops to focus on the little things that make it gel. Who will be grabbing what tool? Who will be on the tip? Do you do a left-hand search?

For career companies, this should be addressed before anything else. As a CO, I’ve found that a simple reminder to my regular guys to facilitate the discussion with our visiting player is all it takes. As they engage with each other on what is expected, the cohesive element of the company starts to take shape and we can anticipate that team-approach so necessary to a productive and viable company.

Volunteer officers may have the added challenge of trying to craft a well-oiled machine during the response. With sirens wailing in the background, make sure each member knows what their first few steps should be so that you “hit the ground running” upon arrival, reducing the possibility of a “clustercluck” developing.

“OK guys, it sounds like we’re the second engine in. Unless you hear otherwise, we’ll be establishing a supply line to the first-in engine. We’ll be doing a forward lay, so Joe, you make the hydrant connection…” and so on.

Operating efficiently and productively helps to insure that you and your troops will be heading home after shift. Recognizing the need to pre-plan the actions of your company is an important step to achieving the nirvana necessary to achieve your goals.

After all, if someone ain’t playing by the rules, someone ain’t getting their fruit cup…

Stay stoked!

-J

Posted in Command & Leadership, Firefighting Operations, Leadership

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Posted by John Mitchell on November 5, 2009 • View Comments