Hoff and Kolomay

The Company Officer: “Street-Wise” Training

By Robert Hoff and Rick Kolomay

Recently while reviewing some recent video footage taken from a news helicopter of a structure fire, we had witnessed an unbelievable act on the fireground. While fighting a house fire where extensive roof ventilation was needed, a hand line was in position on the roof as two firefighters used a chain saw to cut the ventilation hole. As the cuts were being made, fire was starting to appear through the cuts; the hose line was then used to suppress those flames. Then as the roof was being opened the unthinkable occurred, that handline was directed into the vent hole driving the stream (steam) back onto the interior firefighting companies. Fireground transmissions were “wild” at best from the interior officers, but the water kept on coming, adjusting from straight stream to fog and back again. Tactics such as these have been overruled by most reputable major firefighting institutions throughout the nation, yet as we begin a new millennium, ready to benchmark another “century of progress” in firefighting, such obvious tactical mistakes still are being made.

Blame for such ineffective, damaging, and life-threatening tactics cannot be placed on antiquated apparatus, worn turnout clothing, inadequate amounts of equipment, or even poor staffing. For that matter, the incident mentioned earlier involved an organization that was plentiful and up-to-date in every resource just mentioned. It was quite obvious that the blame could be easily be laid upon the shoulders of training and the company officer on that roof. The easy way out would be to blame the IC, division or sector chief for a lack of direction or a number of other excuses, when in fact the company officer on that roof did not have a “clue,” and the mission was a failure.

As retired Chicago Fire Department District Chief Bennie Crane instructed so many company officers throughout his career about training their firefighters: “If they can’t say it, and they can’t show it, then they don’t know it!” There are a lot a people who can “talk the walk,” but how many can really “walk the walk”?

No matter how the profession changes, as long as we still commit to interior searches for people, and interior fire attacks to suppress fire, this profession will remain a “blue collar,” dirty, “hands-on” occupation requiring training to be of the same likeness.

Here are some street-wise training hints for the company officer:

Keep your training sessions brief; 10 to 30 minutes unless the firefighters demand more.
Always attempt to mix academic with “hands-on.”
Relate the training to its context. Stay realistic!
Require that each firefighter at some point emit some action during the training session.
Present the opportunity for challenge, not embarrassment.
Focus on behavior rather than personality. It will be the appropriate action, not attitude that will extinguish the fire, or succeed in a rescue.
Train at the company level in small groups of four to eight to maintain involvement and interest.
Design training for results, not process. Enable the firefighters with the training and education needed to accomplish their goal safely and effectively without getting bogged down in procedures. Firefighting is results driven: “put the fire out.”
As long as the training objective has been achieved, let the group “run” with it!
It’s O.K. to have fun too.

As we know the complexity of training can vary from the use of sledgehammer to organic chemistry. Whatever the topic, the company officer must know how to maintain a balance training between the “basics” and the “specialized.” Unfortunately, EMS and “specialized” training has evidently been dominating much of the company level training. There is no doubt that the officer and his company on the roof of that house fire had certifications in hazardous materials, EMS, trench rescue, and, by now, even terrorism. Unfortunately, the basic training that should provide experience and knowledge concerning which tools, and the amount of tools to bring up to a roof operation slipped “through the cracks.” We know people cannot invent experience in the fire service, but we also know experience can be gained in part by true “hands-on” training. Such training can involve setting up a dry hose line for a simulated basement fire in a firehouse to live burn training.

A very good example of taking training out of the classroom and into the field occurred in a major city where we were training on firefighter rescue. We had stretched some hand line in an effort to demonstrate some basic firefighter/officer positioning while committing to an interior attack. This basic engine operation had been highly responsible for a firefighter fatality because it was forgotten. While in full turnout gear on the hose line, and demonstrating how the engine officer should be in position behind the nozzleman, a deputy chief in the class requested that we repeat our demonstration. Specifically where the officer was positioned behind the nozzleman during the fire attack. At that point we knew “something was up.” After honoring his request, he explained that a number of his engine officers take control of the nozzle instead of allowing the firefighters to do so. The reason he stated was that it was a “fun” position to be in (although wrong), and the officers had the authority to set up their engine operations as they see fit. As he continued, he pointed out that when the officer is “having fun,” he/she cannot effectively watch the fire conditions around them, listen to radio communication, or advance line effectively or safely as was also the reason for the demonstration. Had we bypassed this basic “hands-on” training, or left it for “chalk talk,” it is definite that this critique, and any changes in their engine operations policy, would not have occurred. Once again Chief Crane came through: “If they can’t say it, and they can’t show it, then they don’t know it.”

If the officer is not versed on particular subject area, then choose someone in your company or department who is, to conduct the training. If necessary, the department may have to reach outside (i.e., state instructor, private sector, police, and many other agencies) to gain the training and knowledge. The most valuable ingredient for fire service training for the company officer is support from the “top.” Such support can be thought of as:

Financial. As quoted in the movie The Right Stuff, “No bucks, no Buck Rogers!” The monetary support to train firefighters to be firefighters, and officers to be officers are most important.

Morale. Provide a sense of mission as to how the fire department is expected to perform at a working fire. Levels of aggressiveness, experience, versatility, and safety.

Experience. Provide opportunities for firefighters and officers to mentally and physically become proficient within the scope of their rank — not to only learn the S.O.P.’s, but to deal and react to the “gray areas.” This takes training, time, and experience.

Participation. When possible, the greatest support of all is when a chief officer can participate in training as well. The ability to “lead by example” is one of the most needed attributes in the fire service at this time. If a chief officer can take the opportunity to “roll around in mud” with the troops, the leadership, the energy, the respect, and morale will “skyrocket” in the eyes of many.

If chief officers set a course to improve or maintain company officer interest, aggressiveness, and discipline in the “field,” then their energy and support for true quality training will be priceless. Not every company officer or firefighter can obviously be proficient at every task, but as a team we can. As stated in The 2nd Sin,

“Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to ones self esteem. That is why young children before they are aware of their self importance learn so easily, and why older persons who are vain or self important have great difficulty in learning. Pride and vanity can thus be greater obstacles to learning than stupidity.”

We do risk our humility when having to “say it, or show it” during training, but we also minimize the real risk — the risk of an injury or fatality. It is also the duty of a company officer to train, and, even more so, it is our obligation to the firefighters and their families.

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