It's Not Just About You

At Traditions Training we consistently state at every program we teach... we must be "Combat Ready" as firefighters.  For some "Combat Ready" might just be taken as a "slogan" or a "buzz -word" of the week.  Other's see it as something they have to do personally, a facet of readiness that may just save a life: be it your own, your brother
or sister firefighters, or a civilian.

In our recent programs, we have started to hammer home personal, company and departmental accountability.  This accountability is not just about having a "system"; a tag, a velcro passport or a magnet with your name on it.  It is the responsibility of every person to make themselves ready for the battle ahead.

Recently I have seen a trend of "being overly comfortable" with some members and companies.  The attitude of we can "just get by" and "if it had been a real fire I would have been ready" has started to take hold.  They say: "nothing ever happens here, why go through all the work of being Combat Ready?"  Recently, I personally have heard and seen some examples of this, such as:

- The homeowner says the fire is out, why should we lay out?
- Choosing to not have all PPE on and in place for a call for smoke in a house.
- Leaving the thermal imager on the rig on a house fire.
- Showing up to training with dead flashlights, dead portable batteries and already low air supply in their SCBA on in service units.

Now, did every company at that drill or on that house fire fail all these simple tasks also?  The answer is no, they did not.  It may have been one individual, one company or one department, who let this occur.  But where does the responsibility lie with these failures to be "Combat Ready"?
We can break it down on several levels, we must strive to have every member, company and department on the same page.

Let's start at the first level, it all starts with personal accountability.  These examples above demonstrate a firefighter or officer not having the right mindset or was not trained and developed/mentored correctly.  We have to work to change the downward spiral they are in, correct their bad habits and lack of personal accountability in being Combat Ready.  This can hurt not only themselves, but others on the fireground... including the delay and possible failure to save and protect citizens and trapped occupants.  Someone has to modify this behavior, so now we move to the second level, the company.

Whether this is particular unit is in a multi-unit fire station or you own company, someone must be responsible.  You, as the company officer, must take steps to correct this behavior.  Now trust me, this is not going to make you popular.  You might actually have to earn your "extra pay" by being an officer and/or use the "trumpets" given to you by your volunteer department.  Dealing with this issue at the second level does not mean that you can go around with blinders on pretending to not recognize the problem, or to let your company pride/ego get in the way of the big picture.  Good company officers will not only work and train with their own unit or company members, but will not turn a blind eye to bad habits or deficiencies across the floor or across the department.  We all know about excuses... A common excuse for sub-par performance at a personal or company level is: "well my guys/gals did a good job, but the xyz-truck, I don't know what they were doing".  It is the company officer's job to see that the whole department and all the units are working at a high level of Combat Readiness.

You and your personnel are in the fight, in one of the most dangerous areas on earth at that very second.  You have to not just be out there looking out for yourself, but for all the units on the fireground. If you see other members not dressed properly and not carrying the right equipment, you can't just ignore it and look the other way.  Notify the other company officer, make the point to him/her, we are all in this fight together!  Make sure that other unit officer is aware that his or her member are not ready for the fight. Remember it is just not about you...

The third level is the department level.  As a department in whole you have to develop a "Combat Ready" attitude.  Even if this means that the Xbox, Play station, TV or recliner will have to wait another 15 minutes.  By embracing this attitude the department bosses will not only have to talk the talk, but walk the walk.  The bosses certainly cannot just turn their heads, look the other way, and steer away from conflict. Recently a chief officer with over 40 years of commanding fires in a busy department told me "When we get sent to a fire, we have to plan for it being a catastrophe and then work backwards."

All three levels require a certain amount of personal accountability, a sense to do the right thing and a dedication to all your members regardless of their position within the organization.  You cannot be the only "Combat Ready" firefighter on your unit, all of you have to be ready.  You cannot be the only unit that is "Combat Ready" in your department.  You cannot be the only department in your municipality or county/city to be ready. You have to spread the attitude across the members, regardless of ranks and boundaries.  It starts by having good personal accountability and a dedication to doing the right thing.  As we have said before, this will take courage and a strength.  The fire service cannot be just about you... it has to be about all of us.

Stay safe and always be COMBAT READY.