It’s Too Late, Cooper Boy

By Brian Smith

Not long ago, I was attending a get-together with friends (and their families), which happens most Saturdays, for a time of food and fellowship. During a time of sharing, a person (who can tend to be a bit long-winded but is a nice fellow) was sharing some recent experiences. I, however, noticed my two oldest daughters creating a bit of a stir trying not to laugh and being fairly unsuccessful at stifling their amusement. On the way home, I asked what was so funny. The oldest said, between giggles, that the other one said, “It’s too late, Cooper boy,” to which they both went off into hysterics again. It took me a little while to calm them down to get them to explain the joke. It seems that they heard the joke on a DVD that contained the old “I Love Lucy” radio show (now that’s old). A man, whose last name was Cooper (who also was a bit long-winded), said, “To make a long story short,” to which another character in the show said under his breath, “It’s too late, Cooper boy.” My well mannered oldest daughter told me that our family friend said, “Too make a long story short” and the second oldest said to the oldest, under her breath, “Too late, Cooper boy.” After I congratulated her on a fine snide remark, I told her to be more discrete next time.

What does this story have to do with the Fire Service? I would like to talk to everybody about being long-winded. In fact, I would like to talk to everyone about being short-winded. I want firefighters to become any kind of winded as long as they engage more often in telling stories. Why? Because stories are one of the main ways that firefighters teach other firefighters lessons learned. Storytelling is how groups teach the next generation about traditions, lessons, and the collective history of that group. This has been going on for thousands of years and has generally been known as the oral tradition. Written records are only a very recent development that documents collections of wisdom and lessons. I started thinking about storytelling recently as I have reflected on the fact that my department (and I suspect most departments) may not be doing a very good job of recording and distributing lessons learned. I’ll bet there is no shortage of stories being told, especially around the greatest learning tool that the fire service has ever invented, the kitchen table. But have we really realized how important these stories are for our future as a fire department or fire service? I would like to take some time to show you how many different types of storytelling can occur by giving examples that I have experienced. I hope that this will spur others on to realize how important it is to encourage each other to be long winded.

1. THE DEBRIEF

Some call them critiques and others call them post mortems. The question is how often does your department conduct debriefs of past or recent incidents? Further, are they honest, upfront attempts to find both positive actions and areas of improvement? Also, does your department find ways to capture these lessons learned and distribute them for common departmental consumption? The greatest stories that we can tell are the real life events that we participate in. I believe that as a whole, the fire service is doing a poor job, at the department level, to get these stories out to those who will benefit the most from them, the folks on the front lines of suppression activity. I recently read a book called Flawless Execution, a business/management/leadership book that details a system to improve the execution of your day to day activities written by a group of former and active Air Force fighter pilots. The authors state that the most important activity of all is THE DEBRIEF, the story of how the most recent mission went. The book details a number of ideas that enhance the success of the debrief in obtaining and disseminating any lessons learned.

 My department performs critiques (or post mortems) usually on the biggest and most high profile events. Rarely will we talk about the basic fire or emergency scene. Most of the companies will perform some type of “tailboard” critique after the event, but the information gained from all of these types of critiques seldom gets out to the department as a whole. Too me, this has reached an unacceptable level, especially after reading about how the Air Force (and I’m sure most of the military) debriefs every mission. These are stories that must be told. They are real and if handled correctly, not embellished. Ideas for encouraging open and honest communication and debate as well as the communicating of these lessons learned across shift and departmental lines, is beyond the scope of this article. E-mail me and I’ll send you the ideas from the book “Flawless Execution” or better yet, get a copy and read it.I just want to encourage fire departments to begin to debrief every call that they go on. Formal debriefs can be reserved for a certain type of call, that is of a large scale or carries a vivid lesson to learn. However, each company and individual should review and reflect on each call that they go on. Find the positives and the do-betters. If patterns develop, get that information out. I want to change the name of these “storytelling” sessions to THE DEBRIEF, not the post mortem (sounds like death) or the critique (sounds like someone made a mistake). The fact is that we are never perfect at emergency scenes and there will always be both good and bad (or not so good) things that happen. The main point of encouraging this type of storytelling is to get lessons learned out to the rest of the department to accelerate the learning from real, in house events.

2. PICTURES

You’ve heard it said that a picture is worth a thousand words. This is a very true and wise statement. There is a story to every picture. One night while I was on duty, I was on the Internet searching for some help with an SOP. I found a picture from the early 1960s involving a young firefighter that some of you know whose name is George. I sent the photo to George and got this message back:

Hi Brian,

 Yea that’s me. Unfortunately we lost the kid. I found him on the third floor. Working my way down from the roof. Fire on the first floor extending to the second floor. Never forget it. Easter Sunday Eve. Had to take the wife and four daughters to dinner the next day after church. I was not very good company that day.

It was just one picture, 9 sentences, and quite a story. I’m sure that George could give even more details if you asked. The bottom line is that there is a lot to be learned from a single image etched in time. The e-mail I received gave me the chills. Why? Because I can identify with George’s final sentence there, “I was not very good company that day.” Not long ago, my engine crew responded on a suicide call early Sunday morning. It was a graphic scene involving a number of individuals who were affected by the event. I told my wife later that I was not going to be “very good company for awhile” because so many folks that we were around that day had no clue how upside down some else’s life was that day. The nice part about a photograph is it holds the image for a long time. George’s picture was shot by some buff or newspaper photographer 45 years ago, yet it carries the story with it until today and that story has so many dimensions to it. Not only would it lead to a discussion of search procedures and other tactical actions, it has a very personal side to it that might help with firefighters dealing with the heavy nature of some of the things that we are asked to do. With the advent of so many electronic devices, the possibilities are endless for capturing lessons that can be passed on via stories. I carry both a small digital camera and a digital video camera with me. I’m still learning how to best utilize the video camera, but the digital camera is a "no-brainer,” just point and shoot. Historic fires, in your fire department, need to be documented so that they can be initially reviewed during a debrief (helping us to stay sharp and learning from our recent events) and later on, maybe 40 years later a next generation of firefighters can learn how to fight fires in older buildings. 

Here is a picture that I took when I was the training officer from a structure fire in July of 2005:

There are so many lessons to pull from this fire. It was a hot summer day (call for the next higher alarm for rehab). It was a balloon framed house (great training for a new generation on potential fire extension). It was an old house remodeled into multiple apartments (search is vital), and it was a well developed fire on arrival (use a 2 ½-inch). I shot about 60 pictures that day, and it tells these stories and more. Even a mindless picture can contain mountains of information. 

Check out this picture from a recent fire:

This is a screen over a bathroom window. Those are soot particles remaining after the fire is out and the occupancy has been cleared of smoke. You could spend hours of study time learning that smoke is a gas, a liquid, and a solid. This picture gives you the real concept that smoke is so thick that you can almost “taste it.” Show this photo to your new firefighters so that they can visualize how dense and dangerous smoke is. Show this to community members or elected officials to show them what your enemy looks like and educate them about smoke detectors and the need for an early warning if their house ever has a fire in it. Tell them a story using a picture. The possibilities for lessons learned using photographs is endless.

3. THE KITCHEN TABLE

Every fire house that I have ever been in has a kitchen table. It is the central gathering place for the firefighters on duty as well as the way station for those either going off duty or coming to work. The kitchen table is the greatest learning tool ever developed. After a hearty meal, there is an indispensable period that we call “family time.” Family time is where the on duty crew gets a chance to visit, catch up on rumors, and tell stories. It is the time when the informal school of firefighting is in session and it also supplies a chance for everyone to decompress from the days activities. Family time is the greatest opportunity to tell stories and gain lessons learned. Ours tends to start when the forks are down and someone states that the meal was good. Someone starts school by saying, “Did you eat the same crap that I ate?” To be quickly followed up by the next statement of endearing love, “All this meal lacked was taste and effort.”

Now that the ice is broken, learning can begin. Stories at the kitchen table can take several forms. The obvious learning opportunities happen when someone asks about the latest fire or other interesting call. This could be a crew member who was on vacation when your station responded to a good structure fire. The story will than take this absent member back to that dark and stormy night to give them the unadulterated truth of fighting the red dragon. Once the “lies” have subsided, most firefighters will point out what they learned. This becomes a teaching moment for that member who was not at that particular scene. 

Another story, in a similar vein, is an emergency response that happened on another end of town that your crew missed, but there could be a member from that event working an overtime or trade shift that was there and can pass on anything to be gleaned from the fire departments response. Again, lessons can be gained at an event that you had only heard about but didn’t witness. 

As time goes on at the kitchen table, the stories will ebb and flow depending on the needs of the crew. They could be funny stories about historic or infamous events that have occurred in your department. These can serve two purposes. First, these could be historic fires or other calls that are part of the lore of your department. For example, we had a lieutenant who many people thought was a little goofy, at least that was the general opinion held in the department. Nice guy (how many times has this described someone) but one day there was a fire in a multi-story building, we’ll say about the 3rd or 4th floor. This officer saw the situation, saw that the IC was busy setting up the ICS system in all of its glory, and therefore saw that it was taking too long to get inside and begin the firefight. He, our goofy officer, put up the aerial ladder, ran a booster line up the ladder, and with about 20 gallons of water flowed, he put the fire out while the IC was busy designating the location of base. I’m not trying to belittle the ICS (NIMS) system and its importance to the overall success of an operation, but this story tells the time honored truth that putting out the fire always solves your problem. 

Your department will have dozens of these stories. Think about the lessons learned. Are these lessons part of your historic record or are they only retained in the collective memory of a few gray haired dinosaurs? Other stories detail the lighter side of the fire service.  These are the stories that create the sense that firefighters get to be part of the “greatest show on earth.” Some stories focus on the firefighter’s “What were you thinking?” moments, while other stories focus on the civilian’s actions that make our job so recession proof (i.e. there is no shortage of insanely stupid events). In any event, there are always lessons learned to pass on involving either ways to avoid cognition errors or an absolutely hilarious moment to laugh and relieve some stress. In this category will also come the stories associated with firefighter nicknames. Is there any organization anywhere that has better, more descriptive or more deserving nicknames than the fire service? I wish someone would develop a book that deals with the stories associated with nicknames and how they were obtained. 

These stories again tend to teach firefighters how to avoid major problems downstream by taking the time to think before acting. Another kind of story can be educational involving crew members off duty activities. Every firefighter I know is doing something to their home like a remodel or other home improvement. Considering the fact that most of our new employees are not coming from the trades, these stories can give a new firefighter a chance to learn about things like building construction, plumbing, electrical systems, or other trade oriented subjects. 

The last type of story that I can think of that is very beneficial is the personal account of a tragic event that a firefighter has gone through. These serve two purposes. First, the firefighter telling the story has an opportunity to get this “stuff” out on the table so that they don’t have to deal with it alone. The second benefit is for those listening who can gain a sense of identification with the story and the event. It helps these listeners to get a true sense of the intensity of the situation and what the crew members on the scene had to deal with. We recently had a very intense and well developed fire in a two-story residence that also involved a severely burned individual. Everybody wanted to hear the story of the firefight, and it was a good one. But the other story that needed to be heard was from the medics and the firefighters who took the burned civilian to the hospital. Talk about intense. That ride in for those guys was horrendous, and it is important that everybody hear what they had to go through and the courage that they showed in handling both the medical and emotional side of this incident. The kitchen table is far better than a psychoanalysts couch, because you aren’t talking to strangers; you’re talking to your family, your brothers and sisters who have probably gone through something very similar. It is therapy at its best.

I hope this brief article has encouraged one and all to be a storyteller or a story listener. Continue to tell these stories that you have heard or been a part of so that our next generation of firefighters can benefit from all of this collective experience. I know that the stories are being told, but are they being documented? If the stories are not being recorded, history will go out the door when the old-timers, the sages and keepers of the departmental record, retire. We must continue to find ways to pass on lessons learned. Storytelling is an excellent way to maintain our traditions, our operational methods, and our peculiar fire department culture. Be long-winded and keep long stories coming. There are lessons to be learned.

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