By: Christopher Brennan
On December 22, 2010 two Chicago Firefighters, Ed Stringer and Corey Ankum, lost their lives in a building collapse at an abandoned commercial building. In the aftermath of that fire there were many articles in the blogosphere about how there was no reason for firefighters to have been in the building; some went so far as to imply that the lives of homeless people were somehow worth less than those of firefighters. I commented on the events myself, and in the last week one of those posts, “Quit Telling Me to Change My Culture” has been rediscovered and reached a far wider audience than it did when it was originally published January 5, 2011.
Among those who discovered the post and commented is Chief Ron Siarnicki, Executive Director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. I want to post the Chief’s comments here to make sure that his comment doesn’t get lost.
Chris,
I am sorry to be a year late to this discussion, but since your interesting column has been making the rounds again, I thought I would provide some input.
As one of the architects of Everyone Goes Home® and the 16 Life Safety Initiatives, you may be surprised to know I agree with a great deal of what you have written here. You have hit on key points that the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the EGH program have identified as crucial to reducing the number of firefighters who die in the line of duty each year.
1. Heart attacks and strokes kill more firefighters than anything else. Too many firefighters are overweight and out of shape. Proper exercise, together with a healthy, well-balanced diet may be the two most important things that firefighters can do to stay safe.
2. Training constantly is vitally important to firefighter survival.
3. A lack of situational awareness is a key factor in many line-of-duty deaths.
In fact Chris, it appears you only left out a few items from the agenda we have at NFFF. Key among them is encouraging firefighters to wear their seat belts and to drive responsibly. As you know, vehicle accidents are the second leading cause of death and injury for firefighters. With your influence in the fire service, we would love to have you take part in one of our videos encouraging firefighters to buckle up.
In addition, we encourage the fire service to promote the use of fire sprinklers and fully participate in community risk reduction efforts. Risks to firefighters are greatly diminished when there are fewer fires to fight. Taking your lead and making a military comparison, this is similar to how the U.S. Military has worked to improve the infrastructure of the cities, towns and villages they have fought so hard to liberate.
The real purpose of EGH and the 16 LSI is to serve as a blueprint to prevent line-of-duty deaths. The initiatives are not intended to tell anyone how to be a firefighter. Instead, we want firefighters thinking, each and every day about what it is they do and how they can work smarter toward the most important job of the fire service, the preservation of life.
The fire service leaders who helped create EGH and 16 LSI, never for a moment wanted firefighters to stop being firefighters. But we have learned from reading the details of hundreds of line-of-duty deaths that firefighters continue to die needlessly because the same mistakes, some of which you pointed out, are made over and over again.
One of our most recent efforts is the video with the Chicago Fire Department released just before the end of last year. Commissioner Robert Hoff and the men and woman of CFD shared their stories and the lessons they have learned after some of their colleagues were killed or seriously injured. FDNY helped us produce a similar video and another one is in the works. These films, featuring leaders from the front lines, are an important element of EGH.
Where we seem to differ is I don’t see how helping firefighters learn from these mistakes with EGH is a bad thing. In fact, the expansion of EGH across the country has coincided with a three year downward trend of firefighter fatalities, which I know you will agree is a good thing.
One of the biggest threats to firefighters is putting on the blinders. It happens when we demonize and polarize. We want firefighters to be armed with the best information available to help them do their jobs. That won’t come from a steady diet of just EGH or by only paying attention to the Fire Service Warrior and no one else. It comes from firefighters and fire service leaders who use critical thinking to absorb the best of what’s out there and putting it into practice on each response.
In other words, we should be taking in all of this information with an open mind. Using the best of it to make our departments better, and in the process helping to reduce injuries and deaths for the public and firefighters, while still doing the job we signed up to do. To me, that is the culture of firefighting.
I invite you to contact me directly and/or any of our Everyone Goes Home® leadership or advocates to share your ideas on how we can make these important lessons from EGH even better. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts.
Sincerely,
Ron Siarnicki
Executive Director, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
I appreciate the Chief taking the time to comment, and I think that he is right: the mission of the NFFF and the team at Fire Service Warrior is very similar. I even more heartily agree that we must all keep an open mind and examine ALL the information out there. I think this is a perfect time to look at the some of these issues in a fresh light.
The original “Quit Telling Me to Change My Culture” was a snapshot, and one I stated explicitly was a “diatribe” when I posted it. The biggest driver for that post was me being offended that people in the fire service would dare to imply that homeless people’s lives had a value less than that of firefighters. My opinion, and the Ethos of the Fire Service Warrior community, is that our duty is to stand between our neighbors and unrestrained fire; that all human life has value. It was this discussion and my very personal reaction to it that prompted my original piece.
I believe the NFFF has the right motives. They want to eliminate those firefighter injuries and line of duty deaths that are preventable. Where I have taken the 16 LSI and “Everyone Goes Home” to task has been with the way that mission is articulated. I believe that “Everyone Goes Home” is a catchy turn of phrase, but it can never be realized. That reasonably poses the question, “Who cares if it can’t be realized?” To me a poorly defined mission leads to poor results. We can see this in everything from the way the US Special Operations Command was hamstrung in Somalia to the work of Simon Sinek in his book, Start With Why. I perceive an outgrowth of this mantra to be a trend toward a risk-adverse culture in the fire service. Do seatbelts save lives? Yes. Would a national mandate that anyone who will don an SCBA be annually evaluated for his or her ability to exercise to a minimum of 12 METS without sign of cardiac compromise save more? I’m guessing it would. So, where do we go from here?
I have shared with Chief Siarnicki my willingness to offer my thoughts to the NFFF about ways to help reach the goal of reducing firefighter injuries and fatalities. I’m honored to be invited into this conversation. My recommendations will include a greater emphasis on wellness and fitness, and pushing out a training program that focuses on developing the mindset that firefighting is a Combat Position. I believe we need to adjust the method by which we assign the label “Line of Duty” to firefighter fatalities, define our mission and our culture explicitly and without ambiguity, and make it clear that a culture of mediocrity is not acceptable in the fire service.
So, now the question needs to be asked. What are you doing? Are you in the gym? Are you on the drill ground? Are you talking, or are you doing? Like it or not, you are living the example of what you want the fire service to be.
The Fire Service Warrior team is consistent, and our Mission is simple: Forging Fire Service Excellence. That’s why we take classes, struggle in the gym, and sweat on the drill ground. Our Ethos guides us in how to achieve that goal. Our Ethos is the road map, laid out clearly and concisely for each of us to measure our actions against. What is the product at the end of the day? We are a resource, an opportunity, and a community for firefighters who are prepared to thrive on the fireground so they can protect the lives and property of their neighbors. We do this by being part of the conversation; by defining the challenges of our trade and advocating specific ways of preparing for those challenges. In the last week I have visited Underwriter’s Labs to see the Vertical Ventilation Study, Brian has prepared to teach a Ventilation Class tying in the science of modern fire behavior, Gabe has deployed a new round of fitness programming geared to prepare folks for the rigors of the fireground, and Gary has brought us another fresh look on fundamental firefighter training. Coming in the next weeks we have more guest contributors, we are preparing to host the first Fire Service Warrior Fundamentals Seminar, Brian and I will be teaching at the Nebraska Society of Fire Service Instructors Les Lukert conference and offering a FSWFitness Work Out there, the team will be at FDIC participating in the Combat Challenge, the Stair Climb, and the Courage and Valor 5k. We are living our mission every day in what we do.
Chief Siarnicki thank you for the taking the time to visit fireswervicewarrior.com, thank you for taking the time to comment. I know the team at the NFFF will continue the critical and important role they play in supporting the families of our fallen brothers and sisters. You are doing good work in making sure they are taken care of and making sure that our fallen are never forgotten.
That was certainly a surprise over the weekend when I saw Chief Sarnicki post a comment. It is even better that both parties realize there is common ground. What I really would like to comment on here today is, just as you feel the mission of “everyone goes home” will never be realized, “fireground excellence” will never flourish in every single fire service member. With an estimated 1.2 million people belonging to a trade, there is no possible way to have all them do anything. Look at this scenario. The person I try convincing to wear his seatbelt, something he has never done where a new habit must develop, is going to suddenly change his diet, train vigorously and hit the books. That is a hard sell. Not to say that both FSW and EGH have not seen some drastic change in their own respects. The majority of our trade is small rural fire departments please keep this in mind. For them there has to be a culture change. Personnel that respond to less then a hundred calls, get maybe 12 hours of training a year. Volunteers that their priority is not the fire service. If you look, you may see a correspondence between this and the LODD numbers. What was more a risk? Stringer and Ankum, two metro Firefighters that will see more in a shift them some do in a career, (I am assuming) entering a vacant or the 75-year old small town “Engineer” driving the tanker to the one fire the rural department gets in a year?
My point really is this. When I started with the EGH program, I saw it as a way on both long term and short-term goals to improve the way we do business in the Fire Service. When I discovered FSW, it was like finding a group of friends that shared my obsession. FSW seeks to be the elite – we seek excellence. EGH sees where if we start making the Fire Service a little better each year through “culture change” we will have the type of people that will then strive for Excellence. It has to start somewhere.
Is zero line of duty deaths a good thing? Yes. Is it ever going to happen? No, but is not that the same as the pursuit of excellence, always having that goal just out of reach.
I have said it before and I will again. As long as you are doing the work that you say you do, we can always agree to disagree. If not life would be boring.
Thanks Chris for keeping this movement moving forward. Over the last year, it has really gathered some steam and there are truly amazing and talented professionals here.
Look… No offense to anyone involved in the EGH movement(I am one), they are on the right track, but until we stop going to emergencies, we will never have zero LODDs. It is simply impossible. We should, however, still strive for the reduction on all paths! I would imagine that most, if not all of the fine folks involved would agree with that. What I just dont understand is how year after year we say “Oh, poor us, we have heart attacks, we have strokes, we dont wear seatbelts, we drive too fast, we train too little… we shouldnt be risking our precious lives for a drug addict….” but we turn around in nearly the same breath and say we need to spend more time on inspections, fire prevention, kid programs, college kid programs, smoke detector programs, shoe shining programs, mustache measuring standards and scrubbing the floor with a tooth brush so the public see’s us “being busy”. Are you friggin kidding me? Who the hell is going to pay for all the people to do this stuff? Who is going to enforce any of this stuff? Where does our focus lay? Like Chris Huston pointed out, the majority of departments in the US. are smaller rural places with limited budgets, limited staffing and few calls to hone their skills…. and you want them to take on even more? These people can barely afford matching t-shirts and are still using SCBA from 25 years ago! As far as the heart attack and stroke thing goes… firefighters die of them? No shit! So do other other people of the same age and health risks categories! We live in a COUNTRY FULL OF OVERWEIGHT, OUT OF SHAPE PEOPLE! Over 1/3 of our 300+ million US citizens are obese! That only includes the ones that have 30% or greater BMI. How many others are under that, but can barely walk a flight of steps or lift a bag of groceries? Whatever nostalgic work ethic you still envision this country to have is gone! We have bred generations of people to simply feel they are important and entitled to everything for the simple fact that they were able to get out of bed. Everyones a winner! You can do it Johnny! Well, quite honestly, everyone is NOT a winner… and little Johnny is only going to succeed if he digs in deep, works hard and never gives up. We have plenty of hard working people in this country. Plenty of people that will jump at the chance to lend a hand to a neighbor. After 9/11, the people of this country came together like never before. But that quickly dissipated under a banner of political correctness and we sank back into a mindset of “let someone else take care of this”. We are a nation whose greatest attribute is rising to the occasion. I am extremely proud to say that about our country. I am not so proud to question out loud “What about the rest of the time?”. Six pack abs dont happen because you bought a thigh master and ate a bran muffin once. You dont win an Olympic event because you are wearing over priced spandex tights and ran for the bus stop when you were ten years old. If we have any expectation of reducing LODDs in the Fire Service, we dont need to change OUR culture, we need to change Americas culture. …and while we’re waiting for that to happen (dont hold your breath), we should have Fire Chiefs and other administrative/legislative people get their head out of their asses and get their asses into the gym and drill yard with the men. They have lost touch with what is really going on “in the streets” and need a reality check. Instead of grants for Sparky the Dalmation and blow dryers for wet hose, we should have bunker gear that fits, job focused training and officers that set the standard instead of hiding behind a desk. If I have to hear one more time “Never forget where you came from” as advice from an overweight, out of touch, disgruntled and complacent firefighter, fire officer or fire chief, I am seriously going to put my head into a wall. If you are unwiiling to wear your seatbelt or SCBA, you should be fired. If you weigh over 300lbs and cant buckle your bunkers, you should be fired…and so should the Chief that allowed you to be at work! The fact that we are willing to size and order gear with a 50 inch waist is fucking ridiculous! Hey Chiefs! Dont do it!!!!! Tell the guy to come back when he can meet the standard of common sense! If you are an officer who is allowing the men to shirk their duty, you should be removed! If you are not standing side by side and balls deep with the men during trainings, how can we ever have faith and trust in you when fire is blowing out two windows in the back? Ray McCormack had it at least partially right when he stated “we need leaders with poise”… what he should of added was “and a giant set of balls to call people out”. Stop catering to the weak willed, weak minded and complacent. Start putting budget money were it will do the most good and stop with the lip service and get back to the fire service.
GaryLane,
Well said!!! I have said many of the same things that you said to some of the firefighters I work with, but have gotten nowhere. The problem I run into is that all of the hard working individuals are given more and more work to do around the firehouse, because they can get the job done, and the lazy, out of shape, unmotivated slugs who are collecting good paychecks, just sit on their fat rear ends and laugh. They have beaten the system. The department I am affiliated with has “non-punitive, mandatory workouts” I think it great that we are given the time and a place to workout, but there is no accountability. If somebody desided to blow off a workout, they have the attitude of, “so what, they (management) can’t do anything to me”.
It seems impossible to fire them. They can’t be put on dest duty because that would cause overtime to cover the shifts, and as we all know, budgets are tight. So what can be done?
The fire service falls back on tradition, which is great. But guess what, times change and the fire service needs to keep up with the times. I know I am preaching to the choir when I say this, but we need to be in the best possible shape to help those who dial 911 and need our help. How do you tell a mother who has an infant trapped in an upstairs bedroom, “I can’t get him/her out because I am too fat and out of shape to climb that ladder to rescue your helpless infant”? WE CAN’T… That is unacceptible.
I thought I had the answer, but I am not getting “buy in” from the people who can implament the program. CROSSFIT is a functional training program that is perfect for firefighters. It is a short, high intensity workout. It is just what the fire service needs, and it can be done out on the truck floor, with minimal equipment (for the most part). Check it out if you have not already seen it or tried it.
The experience, expectations, service level, resources, and training needs of a busy urban firefighter who sees more in one tour than some in a career, and the vast majority of America’s rural volunteer firefighters is so different as to be nearly unrelated jobs.
In no way is one better or more important than the other, but in no way should the manner in which they train and operate be related either.
National programs which attempt to make one size fit all is bound to fail at meeting both of these firefighters needs at best and may actually do significant harm.
Inappropriate messages, training, cultural change, and efforts can be worse than none at all.
Members certified as medical first responders should not share expectations, training materials, educational programs, or profesional standards with Paramedics or Emergency Doctors even though they are both part of the Emergency Medicine system.
The same is true of those who have awareness training in specialties like hazmat or technical rescue and those on national FEMA task forces.
We need to stop pretending that what we do in “the fire service” can be defined for everyone at the task and tactical level. The only thing we truly share in common is the mission to help our fellow man and the courage to do so at the risk to our own safety and well being.
Tommy Hofland
Tommy,
You make a very apt point and one that is lost in the conversation at times. I for one know that the Fire Service Warrior Ethos is not for every firefighter in the United States. Our way is one of focus, determination, and striving for excellence that most people are unwilling to commit to. To be 100% honest if there were 30,000 firefighters in the US who chose to live in the manner we ascribe to a complementary sets of virtues and values (using our terminology or not), and with the dedication to a Warrior calling I would fall over. We are hosting our fire Seminar in just a few weeks. Today I was asked, “He do I have to be there the WHOLE TIME?” Yes, yes you do. I know people are busy (I’m busy), I know it’s easier to eat like crap and not workout (have been guilty myself), I know it is hard to make time to train when you are swamped with every other mission. Ultimately though if striving for excellence, if being your personal best, is what you aspire to you will find a way to get it done, if not you will find an excuse.
Cheers,
Chris
The American Fire Service must set goals while maintaining the correct priorities. It is easy to seek a noble cause (zero firefighter deaths) and to pursue it passionately. The priority must remain to save others. Not every firefighter (paid or volunteer) is created equal so stop acting like they are.
Fitness Standards, Age and Physicals. Those who are against them- What are you hiding? You don’t want to lose your job because of what they might find. Sorry- not an option. That is selfish risking the lives of those you probably cause brothers/sisters. You’re playing Russian Roulette with your RIC. Stop it. I cringe every time I read the LODD report of “85 yr. old Fire Captain died of heart attack while responding to or from a scene.” I’m sorry but this plays out every day and has nothing to do with Fireground Safety. You could easily change the headline to “85 yr. man dies of heart attack while (insert any physical activity- softball, bailing hay, walking up stairs or having sex).” If you want to place a different category for these deaths, then do so, but do not lecture me about how I behave based on the LODD above.
Seat belts: What does the law say? Put it on. Could you imagine raising your kids (I’m sure you make sure they buckle in) and then being a LODD due to not wearing a seat belt? You family would attend a beautiful memorial, they would be so proud of their hero. Maybe later your son “Bing’s” you and reads the NIOSH report to find out you did not wear your seat belt. Imagine his/her thoughts, their anger. Really? Put the seat belt on. Leaders hold them accountable.
What is the goal annually for EGH, Safety Chiefs? Is it “Everyone Goes Home?” Is it no injuries on the drill ground? Is it no injuries or LODD’s? Trust me as a company officer I do not want any of my crew to get injured or killed at a scene. So to lessen the chances I equip them and hold them accountable. We train, hard, to exhaustion. Sometimes you get injured training. I would prefer my crew to sustain an injury at a controlled drill as opposed to an incident. If you don’t train hard because you are trying to reduce drill ground injuries, please stop. You and your crew have a higher chance of being injured or killed traveling to and from work. If you want to be safe, consider staying home. Do you run on the drill ground? Will you run at a fire when you have a child over your shoulder and it is 25 yards to the medic unit ? You may want to consider trying to run fully bunked on air, so you know if you can and how fast. You need to know what you and your crew are capable of doing, or sadly, not doing. You must know your limits and capabilities. That is how you deploy.
To the Leaders: I won’t even begin “with all due respect” because if what I am saying bothers you, look in the mirror. Only one of us can glean anything from this, I already feel this way. Please remember what it was like when you were on the line. Please think of your own family and then give the public the same level of service.
If the Top Commanders want to achieve complete success and incur zero casualties, they are living in Nirvana. While it is admirable to hear the bosses talk about the desire for all of their men to go home this is not attainable. Everyone wants to succeed and nobody wants to get hurt or die. Now that we have agreed we are all on the same page, make the goal realistic. Less injuries and death in hostile fires, agreed. If 100% success and ZERO deaths are your goals, then you will conduct very few REAL missions. You will have to find ways to justify not deploying at scenes. You will have to teach Lions to be Sheep. What I am saying is you cannot achieve this. That is why there is division on this topic. As long we turn out and respond we will lose men. This is not about cowards and cowboys. It is about those who are willing to serve and those who are not.
Wow…what a great read, and outstanding discussion. All of you have shared the same thoughts circulating in my head. I’m sharing this article as I type this.
Travis
Scott – you bring up a point that stuck out to me. Because of the Higher Education that is availble to Firefighters are we seeing more Business savoy people sitting behind the Chiefs desk then promoted Firefighters? I see a few in my area that have more letters behind their name yet no where does it say 30 years on the street.
Here comes the ephinany – is that the problem? Someone with no street knowledge hears the program and thinks this is the ticket to reducing cost and blah, blah , blah…they do not see how it can ehance they way we respond based on conditions. I am sure someone has said this before but I feel it should be stated here. Of course Gary was close to that same point. and DAMN GARY!! you seem to be a little taken by this…LOL!
I really do appreciate the discussions on this topic, this is how we can improve our programs. Please and thats a big PLEASE be part of the solution. Standing around bitching is just as much of the problem. Thanks guys.
Chris H.,
Good point with the lack of street knowledge. I’ve been reading a book titled: ‘The Mission, The Men, and Me: Lessons Learned from a former Delta Force Commander”, by Pete Blaber. In it he talks about several missions being ‘managed’ by commanders that have no real context to the current situation due to them being several thousand miles away (ie – missions in Iraq being commanded from a comfy command room State side); and how their lack of context and inability to trust the men on the ground (to interpret SA and make/adjust tactical and operational decisions) would have lead them astray from the real objective of the mission and in some cases led to certain death of some of the team members . The parallel I am attempting to draw is the lack of context and little street time leading to bad decisions that directly lead to mission failure, I think you are on to something.
Chris stated in this post: “I perceive an outgrowth of this mantra to be a trend toward a risk-adverse culture in the fire service.” A great line from the above mentioned book, that I believe adds clarity to Chris’s statement is: “Risk aversion is a direct by-product of NOT understanding what’s going on around you.”
Just as others have mentioned, we need to keep the context of EGH and FSW in mind. In my eye I see them as book ends. EGH on one end of the spectrum ‘pushing’ those that lack discipline/foresight to meet a minimum standard, while FSW is ‘pulling’ those that are striving to be the best. In the end they are working to make the fire service better as a whole…just from different ends of the spectrum.
Leo Meli
Leo, this is beautiful! “In my eye I see them as book ends. EGH on one end of the spectrum ‘pushing’ those that lack discipline/foresight to meet a minimum standard, while FSW is ‘pulling’ those that are striving to be the best. ”
Perfect!
I truly believe that Chief Siarnicki and the other members of the LSI and EGH programs never intended for those initiatives to prevent us from doing our jobs. I also agree that any and all true research should be evaluated and embraced if it is found to be fundamentally sound and proves to be of benefit to us.
The problem, as I see it and which I have tried to argue against, is under informed, under trained and under experienced firefighters and officers using these and other initiatives as “golden rules” or excuses to not do our jobs. There are too many sheep willing to swallow and regurgitate a half-understood treatise and hold it up as law.
Before I comment on this reply, the internet has become such an amazing tool for sharing information. Problems arise when you simply see it, read it then nod you head to it in full compliance. A few years back my crew made a video on this very subject. If you a few minutes please take a look. ( http://youtu.be/y-I2C7sajSY )
Chris S – You made an excellent point. Do we have members sitting in classes, nodding their heads and saying, “yes this is how I do my job now” and do nothing else with it? However, it goes both ways. Question the Instructors and programs; apply your own critical thinking. Attend a class that maybe we had always thought you did not need or disagreed with, get the others perspective.
Close to two years ago now, I discovered FSW because I read a statement about how EGH is destined to fail. I was irritated at that statement. Well here I am. I see both sides. As Leo so eloquently stated the two programs are like book ends. I support EGH to get those unmotivated people off their asses and FSW to make myself better. Constantly try to raise the bar and the standard. Never raise the standard before everyone has gotten there, and then we are destined to fail. EGH is the catalyst to move everyone to the standard, in his or her own respects.