Not every call warrants driving with blazing speed, so slow down!

In President Bush's State of the Union address on Jan. 31, he stunned a number of people when he said the United States is "addicted to oil." Most listeners took this statement as a commentary on America's dependence on fossil fuels, particularly those from the Middle East. The president then described a number of programs intended to help lessen this dependence and, presumably, the likelihood of an interruption in oil production like we saw during last year's hurricane season. One reason for our oil addiction: the American dependence on motorized transportation, especially transportation fueled by petroleum-based products.

It might be a stretch to include the fire service in the list of "oil addicts"; however, it will be interesting to hear what members of the fire service say once fire engines fueled by corn oil, soy beans, electricity or solar energy hit the market. It wouldn't surprise me if many people in our industry were totally against such innovations. Such opposition would not likely exist because firefighters are becoming independently wealthy on our oil stocks, nor would it have anything to do with a lack of concern for the environment. Interestingly, the underlying reason for the rejection may be our need and desire for speed. But where does this need stem from?

PHOTO KEITH MURATORI The fire service is an industry built for speed and, therefore, many fire departments race to the scene of an emergency based on the simple information that something is burning, whether or not they know what it is.

THE NEED FOR SPEED
Our industry has been built on the premise that our worth to the customer is predicated on our ability to arrive quickly at any given incident and take all the requisite actions necessary to get the situation under control. Long before the effect of the time-temperature curve was understood by the masses in the fire service, we designed fire stations with poles, trained horses to respond to bells and even used Dalmatians to clear the way to the fire. We've influenced local legislation to allow us to travel faster, violate traffic regulations and even drive against the flow of traffic, all in an attempt to get us to the fire faster. We adorn our fire trucks, ladder trucks and even personal vehicles with red, blue, green and white lights, all in an attempt to decrease our response time and get us to the fire one or two seconds faster. How can a fire truck burning corn oil or French fry grease possibly provide the engine enough power to get us where we want to go as fast as we want to get there, all while carrying the many tools we need to extinguish a fire?

But what if we were more deliberate and a bit slower? What if every jurisdiction required us to wear seatbelts in every vehicle, even if it added a few seconds to our calls? What if every jurisdiction required every vehicle to stop at every uncontrolled intersection, despite the few seconds it may add to the response time? What if a fire engine's crew cab was only for the crew, and we had to access all the equipment, including SCBAs, from outside the vehicle's cab? What if members of the fire company were willing to take the extra seconds to don their masks from outside the crew compartment after the vehicle came to a stop? What if every jurisdiction required specific training and regular demonstrations of competence to allow us to have emergency lights on our personal vehicles? What if communities decided that it's more humane to install sprinklers than to require a human being to enter burning structures to rescue their residents, thus limiting the number of times a fire company had to make a decision about speed?

The arguments against many of these "what ifs" can be traced back to a belief that the fire department is an organization built for speed, because if we don't get there quickly, buildings will burn and people will die. But this need for speed is becoming less about saving lives and more and more about saving property. Studies suggest there has been a fairly dramatic reduction in the number of fires that departments respond to every year. Further, the numbers of non-firefighters dying in building fires has decreased dramatically in the past several years. Many fire departments race to the scene of an emergency based on the simple information that something is burning, whether or not they know what it is. Does a fire in a dumpster, detached garage or unoccupied house really warrant a fire engine and/or ladder truck breaking speed records to get there? What about the issue of life safety and the risks we take to save a savable life?

The fire service often engages in critical life-sustaining emergency medical care. Anyone who has a rudimentary knowledge of the human body knows that lack of cardiac output creates a number of challenges for the victim. If this lack of output is the result of a disease process of some kind, there's a limit to what can be done, based on the level of medical training of the person closest to the victim. If the issue is a result of some trauma, there is another set of circumstances that impacts a rescuer's ability to render aid, which includes the ability to arrive safely at the event itself.

SLOW IT DOWN
So on your next call, consider a few important points. Do you really need to drive faster, or should you drive smarter? What good does it do to drive faster, unrestrained, with projectiles in the crew compartment, through uncontrolled intersections at excessive speeds, all to get to an unoccupied structure slated for demolition? Not much. Get over your addiction to speed and slow down!

I. David Daniels is a 24-year fire-service veteran who has served in more than 20 different capacities as a firefighter, company officer and chief officer. His career began with the Seattle Fire Department, and he is now the fire chief in Fulton County, Ga., which serves the unincorporated area around the City of Atlanta.