Clear, accurate orders make everyone's lives easier
"If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame. But if his orders are clear and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers."
— Sun Tzu, "The Art of War"
"Commanders must remember that the issuance of an order, or the devising of a plan, is only about five percent of the responsibility of command. The other ninety-five percent is to insure, by personal observation, or through the interposing of staff officers, that the order is carried out."
— General George S. Patton
Some of my fondest fire-service memories take me back to my time at ol' Fire Station 3, which was tucked away in the alley off Virginia Beach Boulevard (we were affectionately called the "Alley Cats"). The station literally sat in an alley surrounded by a Pollard's Chicken restaurant on one side (whose continual dumping of chicken fat into the alley made walking to your vehicle a lesson in survival), as well as several body shops and a grocery store on the other. Directly in front of the station, with its back door to us, sat the London Bridge Inn, a quaint little dive where the doors open at about 0600 hrs and the drinking lasts deep into the night. We used to take great joy in sitting on the front ramp (the alley) and taking bets on which half-drunk patron would win the slug match that occurred in the alley around 2300 hrs every night. The women's fights ("cat fights for the Alley Cats," as we liked to call them) were the best. I also recall the great joy shift members felt when one of us forgot to lock our personal vehicle, and returned to it later only to find a drunk patron asleep in the front seat.
Station 3 was a busy place; it was where I really began to learn the art and value of giving clear and precise orders as a captain. One example: As I started up my truck one evening, I heard the distinct screech and thud of an alley cat that had apparently been napping on my engine fan, unaware of the danger posed by the fan. As I jumped from the vehicle, I saw the poor creature slowly and painfully pulling itself by its front paws out from under the truck. The fan had snapped the cat's back, and being a paramedic, I immediately recognized the gravity of the situation and yelled for one of my firefighters. Big Bobby came out and stood firmly awaiting my orders. "Bobby, take care of that cat while I go call animal control," I told him. "Yes sir," Bobby replied, and off I went. Several minutes later, I returned to see Big Bobby leisurely walking back up the rear of the alley, a pick-head axe slung over his shoulder and a look of "mission accomplished" on his face.
"Bobby, I called animal control," I said. "Where's the cat?" "Not to worry, Cap. I took care of him," was his response. "Bobby, where is the cat?" I repeated. He looked at me like I had lost my mind. "In the dumpster, boss. I cut its head off to stop it from suffering so much."
I'm not sure how quickly I ran to the phone (I was younger then) to call animal control and tell them we no longer needed them, that the cat had miraculously recovered, eaten some steroids and was now doing laps around the building. As for Bobby, I could not even find the words to express my utter shock at his euthanizing a cat with an axe, so I simply said, "Bobby, why did you kill the cat?" Matter-of-factly, he replied, "Captain, he was in great pain, and there was no way someone was going to repair him. So I did what we [used to do] on the farm and put him out of his misery so he didn't suffer. And you told me to take care of him." I could not argue with the logic, but that day I learned a valuable lesson about giving directions: Whenever there's a potential interpretation issue, make sure you provide your members with the rules of engagement (ROEs), or what not to do when accomplishing an order.
And That's an Order
Orders provide us with a set of "lines" to operate within; they serve as directives for accomplishing some result or outcome that resolves a specific issue. In the fire service, orders and directions are everywhere, even at the station when we do administrative work, and they come in both written and verbal forms, such as standard operational procedures, policies and guidelines. These two methods of providing orders complement each other, but I prefer to focus on verbal orders, since they require leaders to engage in human interaction and look people in the eye when providing direction.
On the fireground, when verbally directing your crew or running command, you give a wide range of orders in a very short period of time. These orders usually direct resources to a specific location to accomplish specific tasks that support the overall plan. Sometimes they are provided face to face to the team leader (officer), while other times they are directed over the radio to a responding apparatus or a crew anchored at the other end of a portable radio. Regardless of how and when orders on the fireground are directed, they should be given calmly and clearly. Yelling never solves anything and usually results in missed communications. Repeating the order and acknowledging it is also a good technique to ensure you heard what was said. When following orders on the fireground, do so to the best of your ability and report back how you did.
Many times it's easier to tell people what you don't expect from them, rather than what you do, or what a job should not look like. Sometimes, saying something like, "This paint job looks like s**t" is the best way to make your expectations known. In many instances, this example, coupled with your past work ethic, will set the bar and clearly define how you want things done. As a result, well-trained members will exceed your expectations.
Warning: When giving verbal orders, don't micromanage people, whatever you do. If you've trained your crewmembers well and given them the tools to do their job, you shouldn't have to look over their shoulder every minute. But don't confuse micromanagement with checking up on your crew to ensure orders are carried through. A good officer always makes sure orders and directions are carried through; it's what we pay and promote officers to do. Micromanagement, on the other hand, is a clear sign of distrust.
Throughout your career, you'll give and receive hundreds of orders, and in most instances, you won't even realize you're doing it. Most orders we receive are given to us by people we respect, trust and have worked with before. As a result, it becomes second nature to simply listen and carry out the order. And when giving orders, I can only think of six or seven times in my entire career that I ever said "And that's an order." I never really had to get huffy or point to my collar; I'm not really the order-giving kind. But my people were well trained, and we trusted each other; if someone had a question or concern, we evaluated it. I gave most of the "that's an order" stuff to people I didn't know or individuals who were constant problems anyway.
Over the years, I've watched people I respect when they've given orders and have discovered that the relationship between giving orders and getting compliance is complex. First, people must trust you know what you're doing and believe you have the knowledge, skills and abilities to fulfill your job before team members will follow your orders without question. Second, the personal relationship you have with people as a supervisor — not as a friend — requires daily effort to gain and maintain that trust. Simply put, there is an art to giving clear and precise orders.
How to Give Orders
Whenever you give an order or direction, you must first manage by intent; in other words, plainly tell people what they must do. Around the station, you might do this during the 15-minute meeting you hold with your members to give them the plan of the day and tell them what they must accomplish during their shift. Once you've explained the plan, intent should be clear to everyone. To make sure people understand what they need to do, you must receive feedback, which can be verbal, or it can be given through body language (the old "deer in the headlights" look). If your members don't understand an order, or find during the course of execution that they cannot accomplish it, make sure they know to inform you immediately.
On the fire or rescue ground, the "commander's intent" must be established early and understood by everyone. Suppose, for example, that you're at the scene of a fire involving a multi-family structure, and the commander's orders are to "provide search and rescue, and stop the extension." The commander's intent, or what must be accomplished, is clear. Based on this order, crews develop a strategy that is then converted into tasks to accomplish the intent. Note: As priorities change on an incident, so too does the intent and thus the actions of personnel.
Second, you must make sure everyone knows and understands the desired "end state," or outcome. The end state relies on the team's ability to collectively achieve the broader goals set by the commander's intent. To do this, each crewmember must complete their assigned tasks.
These two aspects of giving orders are important because they allow crewmembers to develop and build upon their decision-making skills. Many times, especially in emergency events, we cannot tell someone how to get something done from A to Z; in fact, if you have to do that, you probably don't need the person's participation anyway. When your crew acquires a wide range of knowledge, skills and abilities in performing various tasks, it serves as a foundation upon which they can expand their skills and knowledge. In turn, this allows members to make effective on-the-fly decisions during emergencies and other critical decision-making junctures.
The Main Effort & Rules of Engagement
Two other crucial elements to giving and receiving orders include understanding the main effort and the ROEs. When following multiple sets of orders or directions on the fireground or at the station, focusing on the main effort is critical to success. Sometimes on the fireground, one unit undertakes the main effort while other units provide support.
This does not mean the supporting actions aren't important; in fact, if the supporting units don't understand the main effort, they may fail to provide effective support and ultimately cause the failure of the main effort. Additionally, if supporting units know and understand the main effort, they can discern when to abandon their tasks and focus on the main effort. For example, suppose an engine company is sitting on a backup line, and the crew knows the main effort requires the forward engine company to secure a means of egress. If the company on the backup line knows the main effort is to secure a specific stairwell, but overhears the primary engine company having problems or indicating there's too much fire for a single line, the backup company will know, without receiving direct orders, to move its line into place and help control the main egress. Capt. Brendan B. McBreen, United States Marine Corps, says it best when he describes the main effort as "a scheme for prioritization. It helps avoid situations where you do your job, but the organization fails."
Important: The main effort of any organizational strategic plan can change, but if people aren't aware of this possibility, the plan will fail. On the fireground, the main effort may change based on events and circumstances. One example: If someone calls a mayday in the middle of an active interior firefight with rescues underway, the main effort changes rapidly.
ROEs tell us not what to do, but what to avoid doing in the accomplishment of the mission. We read about ROEs all the time in Iraq or Afghanistan, but how do they apply to the fire service? Well, as with everything else in my life, I've learned the hard way.One example: Several years ago, as I was enjoying a warm summer day at Fire Station 1, an old run-down station located on Shore Drive, the tones went off for a structure fire, and we found ourselves heading to what appeared to be a working fire. Like all good officers, I grabbed the map book and started checking hydrant locations and block numbers (just in case the smoke was coming from a really large barbecue grill instead of a house). As luck would have it, the exact address was in the map book, and according to the book, there was a hydrant in the front yard.
As we rounded the corner, it became clear this was no barbecue grill fire, so I looked for the hydrant — and saw none. Telling my driver operator to hold up on the corner, I asked him if he could see a hydrant, and he said no. Rather than take a chance, I instructed the crew to lay in from the hydrant on the corner where we had stopped. We proceeded to do what firefighters are supposed to do and put the fire out (and congratulated ourselves on how damn good we are). After a round of backslapping, I took off in search of the elusive map book hydrant; it either didn't exist or the map book was wrong.
Mrs. Smith, the owner of the house, had a beautiful bush in her front yard, so I peeked inside and there, snuggled comfortably among the branches and flowers, was my 1985 Mueller. After leaving the scene (I was off next shift), I instructed the guys to go back and clean up the shrub so we could see the hydrant. What I failed to do, because I didn't know about ROEs back then, was to use ROEs to define my parameters when giving the order. As a result, the crew drove a brush truck back to Mrs. Smith's house, put a chain around the bush, attached the chain to the brush truck and drove off. Never in the history of the Virginia Beach Fire Department was there a more visible red and white 1985 Mueller fire hydrant, which now clearly stood guard in front of the Smith house.
Likewise, never in the history of the department was a larger bush uprooted and pulled into the street or a Smith family more pissed off. Needless to say, a young fire-lieutenant-turned-horticulturalist planted a new bush in front of the Smith house.
Another example: On one of those wonderful days where the scent of excitement fills the air, you are called to the local assisted living facility on a report of smoke on the third floor. The engine company reports "a haze of smoke on the third floor; investigating" and "some occupants evacuating the building." So in your splendor, you order the truck company to the fourth floor to provide "search and evacuation" while the engine company discerns the problem on the third floor. But if you don't give the truck company a few effective ROEs, such as "If the door is locked, do not force the door," in about 10 minutes, when the engine company officer on the third floor reports "We located the toaster oven and the burned toast," you'll have a 10-cent fire and $3,000 worth of damage on the fourth floor where the truck company took every door in compliance with the search and evacuation plan.
I realize that most educated officers — even on a truck company, God bless 'em — might figure that out on their own. But it only takes one instance in which you fail to provide ROEs to make a costly mistake.
In Conclusion
In order for a department to function successfully, fire service members require more from their bosses and supervisors than just simple directions. Understanding how to give accurate orders and directions involves having a thorough knowledge of the key elements of providing orders, such as managing by intent, the end state, the main effort and ROEs.
Once officers fully grasp these elements, members can more easily apply their skills and efforts toward carrying out their given orders, allowing them to function at an optimal level, whether on the fireground or in the station.
Chase Sargent retired in December 2005 as a division chief/paramedic for the Virginia Beach (Va.) Fire Department after a 30-year fire-service career. He is recognized internationally as a consultant and instructor for fire, EMS and special ops teams — as well as owner/partner and president of Spec. Rescue International. A prior member of the NFPA 1670 Technical Rescue Standards Committee, he is well known for his straightforward, common sense approach to teaching new and seasoned company officers how to become effective leaders.
Chase now works as an independent contractor for the U.S. government and teaches at the bomb school in Sicorro, N.M., as well as the Blackwater Lodge. He maintains his certifications and connections by riding backward as a volunteer firefighter and paramedic.
