How do you deal with a nervous firefighter who can't handle a basic job duty?

 Click here to read the solutions to the June Personnel Problem of the Month: Dangerous Drivers

Problem to Ponder

You have a new probationary firefighter at your station — let's call him Stan. Stan has been a pretty good employee thus far. He thoroughly checks out the truck in the mornings, does all of the janitor stuff he needs to do, gets along well with everybody at the station and has performed well on the calls you've responded to since he's been there (no fire calls).

It is Stan's fourth shift at your firehouse, and you take him out drilling to do some hose lays. The first hose lay is a cluster. Stan can't seem to find all the equipment and has trouble getting water to the truck. His hose lay time is about 2 minutes over the allowed time. You realize that Stan is nervous so you calm him down before doing the hose lay again. The second time is worse than the first, and resembles a Chinese fire drill (no pun intended). The supply line somehow pins Stan to the ground for 20 seconds; he can't get the hose clamp off; and he turns into a water-weenie when handling the hoseline. After the hose lay is over, Stan excuses himself and pukes for 5 minutes behind the truck. How would you handle this situation?

Please e-mail your responses to FireRescue@FireRescue1.com, or e-mail your solution to frm.editor@elsevier.com. Please include your name, rank, department name and contact information. Although we will not print identifiable information without your consent, we must confirm your identity. We'll post reader responses here, as well as in the August issue of FireRescue. 

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Solutions to June's Personnel Problem of the Month: Dangerous Drivers

Backseat Drivers Welcome

Tell your speed-happy engineers to slow down & obey safety rules

Last month's problem involved a newly promoted captain who was recently assigned to an engine company in a busy part of town. On his first call out, the engineer ran the first red light he came upon, and the firefighters — who weren't belted in — didn't seem fazed by his driving (see "Dangerous Drivers," June issue, p. 130). Let's take a look at the two responses I received for this problem.

The Reponses
1) "A situation like this warrants immediate, drastic action because it threatens the lives of civilians and firefighters. Once we cleared the intersection and I became capable of speaking again, I would order the driver to stop the truck immediately. I would have the firefighters fasten their seatbelts and let the driver know that busting an intersection like that will never occur again. We would then continue the response.

"After returning to the station and ensuring all of our equipment is ready for service again, I would bring the crew together and discuss the incident and the reasons for my actions. We would then discuss our department policies about vehicle safety and open the discussion for comments and ideas."

2) "Due to the lack of response from the guys in the jump seat, I would say the new captain's fire station is due for a culture change. It's a busy house, so they probably take great pride in all the opportunities they have to hone their craft and kick butt on fires. They probably delight in beating the other engines to fires in their first-in district. I picture a lot of talent, pride and testosterone. This crew has potential! However, it's time to infuse a little more professionalism.

"I would pretend (in a private bonding session) that I really enjoyed the white-knuckle ride to the fire. [I'd say something like,] 'That was awesome how you weaved through that traffic. Where did you learn to handle a rig like that? What was our top speed through that intersection? I didn't think these things could go that fast.' And then I would get very serious and ask him how he felt about the guys in the back, or maybe about his own love for the job. I would ask him how he thought it would affect the firefighters' kids if their dad became disabled because his engineer tipped over the rig on Main Street, or if he expected to remain employed as an apparatus operator if we killed a family in an SUV at a blind intersection. It wouldn't be too difficult to convince him that this is a burden he would not want to bear.

"The dangerous driver is focused on his old job — being the first to get the nozzle and put out the fire all by himself. He needs to become aware of the challenges and responsibilities of the engineer. This includes securing the SCBAs and other loose crap in the cab, not moving the rig until the boys in back are belted, not scaring the crap out of grandma with the air horn as you clear the bay doors, making sure other drivers know your intentions, not parking under wires or in collapse zones, banking the engine to protect the work zone, setting up a nice traffic taper with the cones and not blinding other drivers at night with your headlights and strobes.

"Taking out the standard operating procedures (SOPs) is not going to work. The entire crew is already conditioned to ignore them. They need to continue being the elite firefighters they have a reputation for being, and add a 'safety guru' chevron to their certification sleeve. The new captain should allow the crew to believe the 'dangerous driver' is initiating these subtle changes into their routine."

Feedback
There are basically two types of issues a frontline supervisor must face in their day-to-day operations: 1) discretionary time issues; and 2) immediate service-delivery issues.

Discretionary time issues are issues you have time to investigate, ask for advice about or seriously ponder before addressing. These issues include tardiness, training issues, members with personal problems at home or at work and attitude problems, just to name a few. These problems must be addressed, but you generally have enough discretionary time to figure out what the real problem is and develop the best solution to handle them.

Immediate service-delivery issues must be addressed immediately. These problems involve safety violations and core service-delivery infractions. In these situations, as a supervisor, you MUST immediately stabilize the situation before continuing on with any other actions or tasks that must be performed. Once you have stabilized the situation with some sort of intervention, this will give you the discretionary time to figure out what must be done or what processes must be put in place to prevent these types of situations from happening again.

A company officer's primary function is to provide for the safety of their crew. If you don't have the intestinal fortitude to stop unsafe and dumb acts when they happen, don't become a frontline supervisor. There were two very serious safety violations in last month's problem — a severe violation of the Code-3 driving rules (running a red light) and the failure of the two firefighters to wear their seatbelts. Either of these actions could result in a very serious injury or death, not only to one of the firefighters, but also to the people who pay us to protect them — the citizens.

In a situation like this, the company officer must take immediate action to regain control before continuing on with the response. There are several ways to accomplish this, but something must be done immediately. I would start by telling my engineer in a no-nonsense and non-negotiable sort of way to slow down and stop at all red lights and stop signs. I would make sure he heard me and ask him if he understood exactly what I had just told him. In the same way, I would tell both of the firefighters to wear their seatbelts.

After completing the call, I would sit my crew down at the kitchen table and inform them that my No. 1 priority is the safety of my crewmembers, and they are all going to follow the safety rules. Our job has enough hazards without breaking the safety rules, and we all better be doing everything right when something goes wrong. The only way to consistently survive all the dangerous situations we face is by following all the safety rules.

Let's face it: We can't deliver any type of service if we don't show up to the scene safely. When we are involved in some kind of accident while responding, we can't deliver service to the people who called us, and we may need to deliver service to ourselves or to the new customers we just created by driving out of control.

Every emergency response agency needs a realistic set of Code-3 driving rules to ensure the safety of its members and the public. Here are my department's driving SOPs (these Code-3 driving rules are the most stringently enforced safety rules on my department):

• All members must put be belted before any apparatus movement;
• Maximum 10 mph over posted speed limit;
• Traveling in center or oncoming traffic lanes, 20 mph maximum speed;
• Traveling in center or oncoming traffic lanes, complete stop at all traffic lights/stop signs (regardless if green);
• Posted speed limit when entering intersections with green light; and
• Complete stop at all red lights, stop signs.

These rules were put into place in 1985. They were the result of several Code-3 driving accidents that occurred over a short period of time and seriously injured or killed civilian drivers. As professional firefighters, we must look and act the part, but we must also drive the part. Mrs. Smith is not paying us to drive irresponsibly and kill her or her family just so we can get an adrenaline rush when we perform the perfect high-speed S-turn through an intersection.

In 2004, there were 35 line-of-duty deaths that occurred while "responding to and returning from" an incident. There were also more than 4,800 injuries during the same time period, with approximately 500 of them ending the firefighters' careers. In more than 40 percent of all these accidents, the firefighters were not wearing seatbelts. As long as we drive vehicles, there are going to be accidents — some tragic. But there is absolutely no excuse for injuries related to not wearing your seatbelt.

Recently, an ALS engine company for an automatic-aid city located just north of Phoenix was involved in a high-speed collision on a highway while responding to a call. The civilian driver involved in the crash had crossed the center line and hit the fire truck head-on, causing it to do a three-quarter barrel roll at 60 mph. Although the civilian driver was killed, all four of the firefighters walked away because all of them were wearing their seatbelts. I imagine this was the case because, at some point in the past, the company officer told his crew that safety was a big deal to him and everybody was going to wear their seatbelts ... period. I'm sure the firefighters' loved ones are happy they had a captain who did his job.