Motivation and "Buy In"

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Permalink Reply by Mike Gagliano on May 8, 2008 at 11:19am

Hey Lisa... I am thrilled to hear you are getting your policy together and your troops will be exponentially safer because of your leadership..

Here's a few thoughts on ways to overcome the resistance:

Run some of our drills, listed both in the book and on manageyourair.com, to help them recognize that routine air checks take very little time and do not impeded their ability to be aggressive. We have found the air check actually increases teamwork and situational awareness.

Spend some time discussing what the smoke we are in is made of. This needs to be a very direct discussion that ends with understanding that breathing the smoke is deadly(short and long term) and that doing so has a direct impact on both your personal and firefighter family. At least know the game you're playing if you choose to do business as usual. Show them the Mark Noble video.

Seattle converted to 45 minute bottles, which helped us alot, because the troops were able to keep all the air they had been using in the old 30 minutes bottles and still have the reserve air intact. It made for good work cycles and approriate emergency reserve. We are strong advocates of converting to 45's.

Finally, don't give up or get discouraged. Keep trying implement the actions you know are true and righteous. You will have an impact and you will be viewed as a change agent. We have taken a ton of shots over past years when not many firefighters wanted to hear about air management. Those shots are not enjoyable, but the truth and safety of firefighters matter more than any resistance. You are a breath of fresh air and we're proud to stand by your side to train the troops.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help with. I'm off to Colorado to do a couple classes but feel free to call me if you'd like to chat further about making it happen.

Ride to the soudn of guns!

Mike

425-238-2928

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Permalink Reply by Scott Tichenor on May 15, 2008 at 3:02pm

Lisa I too am meeting some ultimate resistance. My guys have this attitude that this will not work and etc. I plan to keep on fighting the good fight and i hope you will also. I have even tried the whole NFPA bit on them and it didn't faze them. I will keep an eye on your response on here to see what if anything that you try, i might be able to use.

Good Luck!

Scott

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Permalink Reply by Nick Perkins on March 16, 2009 at 10:15pm

Hats off to you guys. You have created a great program and have done the fire service a great benefit by bringing air management to the forefront.

I implemented a real simple air management program in my department for my entire shift. I used your PPT and a simple fire ground course. We recorded everyones times. Now everyone has an individual air management report and our numbers on our helmets. The program was well recieved by the guys and I have to give credit to you, my sincere thanks.
'
Here is where my story takes a turn. I have a Chief that does not agree with air management. I did not "change" anything in our department, just helped the guys have a better understanding of whats on our backs. We have hour bottles and did some training when we first got them, but did not complete a consumption test or individual air management report. Majority of our fire fighters didn't have a good understanding of how much time they had on their backs or how much in each zone. After sitting in your class at FDIC, I took it back to our department and have improved our fire fighters understanding of their air supply. I know you guys talk a lot about having problems with fire fighter buy in, but what about CHIEFs buy in?

Again, thanks a lot.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Gagliano on March 17, 2009 at 12:58pm

Nick... I am on the road but will try and reply back over the weekend.

Just wanted to shoot you a quick note to never stop in leading in spite of the lack of leadership all around you. You are doing the right thing and I bet it feels great. I'm proud to serve with you in our great profession, brother...

Mike

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Permalink Reply by Debora R. Lewis on March 20, 2009 at 12:49pm

Lisa,
I did what Nick did and introduced “ROAM” to my shift. I used FE’s webcast with PPT for shift training. We talked about the deadly poison we call smoke and how breathing it will kill you. We also determined everyone’s rate of air consumption at rest and plan to complete the TES2 SCBA course to determine their rates at work. I drafted an SOP which is now waiting for signature. I am sure some resistance will be met, but my shift now understands that air = time.

Debora

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Fairfield on May 4, 2009 at 5:43pm

Guys, thanks for all of your help. I used all of your suggestions over the past year and brought the training out to the shifts. There were alot of "nay sayers" whose questions/comments I was able to refute point by point. So now, exactly one year since my first post, I am happy to say that the department "nay sayers" have totally bought into air management and I have learned to be a little more patient.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Gagliano on May 6, 2009 at 9:59pm

Lisa...

Just wanted to quietly say.....CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

How does it feel to lead?

Your people are safer and your operations will be smoother. How cool is that?

It's a privilage to stand at your side...


Mike

Lisa Fairfield said:

Guys, thanks for all of your help. I used all of your suggestions over the past year and brought the training out to the shifts. There were alot of "nay sayers" whose questions/comments I was able to refute point by point. So now, exactly one year since my first post, I am happy to say that the department "nay sayers" have totally bought into air management and I have learned to be a little more patient.

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