David DeStefano

     Many excellent articles are written and classes presented that include valuable size up information from the perspective of the chief or company officer.  However, while much of this material is directly transferable to the firefighter, few would argue that the firefighter maintains a different physical and mental perspective during incident response and operations.  The size up process holds just as much significance for members literally "on the line" as it does for supervisors and…

     Those of us in the  fire service who respond with less than the minimum recommended levels of company staffing understand the challenges of arriving short-handed.  How do we overcome adversity and leverage our resources to our best advantage?  The aggressive application of our capabilities applied to the most urgently needed tactics to achieve life safety is the clear answer.  Understanding our capabilities and utilizing our resources efficiently is a challenge.  However, expecting too…

     "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."  A well known piece of advice to ease someone's assimilation into a group or situation.  But what if the Romans have it all wrong?  Another follower joining the ranks would just reinforce the negative.  Especially if that newcomer is a recently promoted, or transferred company officer. 

     Few in the fire service are promoted to the rank of lieutenant or captain without merit.  Whether its testing, interviews, job performance evaluations, or…

     There is a quote by General George Patton that while set in the context of war parallels our battles on the fireground with a lesson on decisive action.  "A good plan violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week."  While not an endorsement to rush into an incident without proper thought or size up, the quote should provide a reality check that we are in the business of delivering the safest and most effective emergency services with the resources available, not the…

      Our ultimate success during any incident is a direct result of the effort applied by available resources.  Incidents for which we have adequate resources (personnel, equipment, training) will usually have the most successful outcome possible given the circumstances.  How we choose to apply the resources at hand to mitigate an incident is generally the factor of which we have the greatest control once an incident begins.  Company officers and chiefs who direct operations from…