Change isn’t popular in the fire service. It’s so unpopular, in fact, that we seem to pride ourselves in our disdain for it. We hear phrases like, “Centuries of tradition, unimpeded by progress” and “There are two things firefighters hate: Change and the way it is.”
The problem with that mindset: Change is both inevitable and necessary. Just imagine how impractical it would be if we were still feeding the horses and climbing pompier ladders.
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As times change, so does technology, not to mention the rush of new information available to us. With these changes, we need to be open to shifting paradigms.
A cautionary lesson from business
In business, change is understood as a necessary evil. Failure to refine or modify business practices can lead to product and company obsolescence. Take, for example, Eastman Kodak Corporation. Once the world leader in affordable cameras, film development and photography supplies, Kodak fell from grace at the beginning of the 21st century as it struggled to catch up with digital imaging technology. A little-known fact, however, is that the digital camera was actually invented by a Kodak employee.
In 1975, Steve Sasson developed the first prototype of the digital camera. The company patented Sasson’s design in 1978 but held off on marketing in favor of its existing business model. The concept of digital imaging was not yet understood, nor was the magnitude of its development. Who would want digital photos? You would need a computer to view them, and people didn’t have those in their homes. On top of that, they weren’t portable like prints. You could carry a print photo in your wallet or pocket, but not a digital one.
Their shortsightedness would be the beginning of the end for the photo giant. Today, Kodak is a mere shadow of what it once was. At its peak, the company employed more than 145,000 people, but today it employs only about 4,000. The company never gained traction in the digital market like it had in film
But we’re firefighters, not factory workers. We don’t produce a product, and we certainly won’t become obsolete, right? Maybe we should ask the horses.
When community needs demand change
Growth happens just outside our comfort zone. That is true for individuals and organizations. As communities and departments evolve, leaders must be willing to reconsider familiar practices. A change may be as minor as updating a uniform policy or as significant as transitioning from volunteer to career staffing. What feels minor to one member may be a major disruption to another.
We find comfort in the known knowns. We go to work at the same station and put our gear on the same rig a few times a week for years and years. We hang onto meaningful traditions out of emotion and superstition. There’s a reason European-style helmets aren’t popular in the United States, and it’s not because of comfort or safety. It’s because American fire helmets have a traditional design that started with function and stuck because of form. We like that they look like our grandfathers’ helmets.
But sometimes change needs to happen in order for us to provide the best service possible and to do so in the safest way.
Take a community that’s experienced rapid growth over a short time. As communities grow in population and area, their fire protection needs to grow as well. This does not simply mean more people, stations and apparatus. Policies, procedures and guidelines must be altered as departments grow. Just because you’ve always done it that way does not necessarily make it a good idea or the most efficient way to deliver services.
In many parts of the country, rural areas continue to be developed into sprawling suburbs. Sparsely populated rural areas have different needs than their urban counterparts. Fewer people and buildings equate to fewer hazards and lower risk. As we add people and buildings to an area, the need for fire department services increases. These needs increase both in frequency and complexity.
Development can transform sparsely populated rural areas into sprawling suburbs faster than local fire departments can adjust. Without necessary changes, departments may struggle to meet growing demands, putting lives and property at undue risk. However much members may want to keep their department “the way it was,” the needs of the community must come first. Those changes may include expanded volunteer recruitment, consolidation with neighboring departments or some form of paid staffing.
If we fail to make changes out of a desire to remain comfortable, we will eventually find ourselves playing catch-up, and much like in firefighting, it’s best to solve problems before they get too big. As firefighters, we know that attacking a fire in its incipient stage can prevent the loss of an entire building. The same approach can work for change.
Small changes can improve operations
What about small changes? An engineer working a shift at a fire station realizes that relocating some equipment on the apparatus would streamline operations and save time on the fireground. The engineer goes to her captain and makes the pitch to get the equipment moved. The captain tells her that he’ll consider it and begins to think about the process. He’d have to get it approved by his boss and all shifts would need to be trained. On top of that, there would be complaining. “What’s wrong with where it was?” “It worked the other way forever.” “We got by.”
So, the captain gives up. The change doesn’t happen, the engineer feels marginalized, and the department continues to operate inefficiently.
Change is difficult for us, but we should not inhibit or obstruct change for the sake of our own emotional comfort.
Prepare for unintended consequences
Solving one problem can sometimes create another. We call this the law of unintended consequences. With careful planning, these consequences can be minimized but may not be fully eliminated. Years back, my department changed its deployment model from an engine/squad concept back to a more traditional engine/truck concept. This was a good change for both firefighter safety and service delivery, but it created some unintended consequences.
One of the new problems was that one company was now responding to 2.5 times as many calls as the others. So, we needed to address that problem and come up with a solution. By adjusting our response matrix without degrading service to the community, we increased the availability of our busiest engine company. Just because a change causes an undesired effect in another area does not mean that the change was a failure, but it’s imperative to address the effect when it occurs. Turning a blind eye will reduce the acceptance and effectiveness of the initial change.
Change must solve a problem
As important as change is, it should not be implemented without cause. Change for the sake of change accomplishes nothing but imbalance and confusion.
From time to time, leaders initiate changes in order to make their mark on an organization. This isn’t a problem unique to the fire service. We see it in government, business and even civic organizations. Before making any change, leaders must ask themselves what problem the change will solve. If a change does not solve an existing issue or prevent a future one, it will only serve to confuse people and lead to dissension. In some cases, it may even be costly.
A process for implementing change
Regardless of the size or impact of a potential change, organizations should utilize a process for it. There are several models for organizational change out there. In fact, there’s a whole industry based on it. These processes are all similar in concept and usually involve elements of risk assessment, cost analysis, impacts or unforeseen consequences, communication with and buy-in from stakeholders.
Regardless of whether you develop a process internally or subscribe to an existing model, the basic process for initiating change should include:
- The reason for the change: What are you fixing or preventing?
- Operational impacts outside of the immediate change (unintended consequences)
- Risk assessment
- Financial impact (for better or worse)
- Policy impact
- Training impact
- Timeline for implementation
Move from approval to reassessment
Following the initialization process, there should be additional elements for approval, implementation, and review or reassessment.
The approval process should be customized for your agency’s command and governing structure but should allow for all change recommendations to be considered within reason.
Implementation is as specific as the change itself. It would take much more time to build and staff a new station than it would to upgrade your nozzles or change your uniform policy. While there is some nuance here, it is important to standardize the concept to the greatest extent possible.
Review or reassessment should occur several times following implementation. The timing and frequency of reassessment should be based on the scope and complexity of the change. For example, changing a uniform policy to allow members to wear shorts could be reassessed a month after all members have been issued the new uniform and again at the end of the first summer the policy is in effect. Review and reassessment of larger projects should be formal and include a committee whereas a smaller change might require only a single-page report and may be conducted by one member of the staff. Your review might indicate the need for additional change or, in rare cases, the need to revert to the way it was.
As the world changes around us, we must be willing to change with it as needed. It’s important to strike a balance between our history and our progress all the while keeping things like risk management, fiscal responsibility and community service in mind.
In the fire service, we have traditions and we should embrace and preserve them as much as possible, but doing so should not impede progress, especially when progress affects firefighters’ safety or service to the community. All too often, feelings and opinions drive operational decisions and that is unacceptable. Keep traditions alive but don’t be afraid to adjust things.
