By Jessica A. York
The Vallejo Times Herald
VALLEJO, Calif. — A fire is raging in a two-story Victorian home, the roof collapses, and there are reports of residents inside. Now what?
Eleven of Vallejo Fire Department’s captains recently embraced simulated scenarios like this in their efforts to move up the ranks. They tried to prove how effective they are at simultaneously juggling disparate elements like the department’s resources, personnel and an emergency’s progress.
"(Test proctors) have ... strict time measurements, and that really adds to the stress level,” said Ray Jackson, an acting battalion chief. “They say, ‘Here’s a picture, you’ve got two minutes to give your on-scene report, tell us how you’d assign your units.’
“How you deal with stress ... the reason they do it is also because, when you’re out there on the fire as battalion chief, it’s the same type of thing. You’ve got one shot to make this right.”
Of the original applicants, eight completed the mental acrobatics required for promotion to one of the department’s four number two-ranked positions — battalion chief. Three openings will be filled by Paige Meyer, Pat Dunn and Dave Urrutia. The other five candidates will remain eligible for similar promotion for the next two years without re-testing, Interim Fire Chief Doug Robertson said.
In an interview this week, Jackson and Meyer said they spent 100 or more hours, and about a year studying for the test, much of that work done together.
The two said they benefited from each others’ separate strengths and similar motivation.
Jackson said regular testing is beneficial to firefighters whether or not they are promoted.
“Anybody who took the test as captain improved their skills,” Jackson ssaid. “Even if they only utilize them as a captain, they’re a better captain then they were before they studied for the test.”
Promotions are expected to kick in by the new year, filling some positions temporarily run by interim chiefs for as much as 14 months. None of the current interim battalion chiefs were chosen for promotion, and each will return to their previous captain rankings, Robertson said.
Meyer, who scored at the top of the pack and has served as a captain for nearly eight years, said he is excited by the promotion.
“At every supervisory level I think you have people’s safety in mind in our profession — that’s your biggest issue,” Meyer said. “I think it just compounds the higher you move up. You feel responsible for people, for putting them in good, safe positions. You make sure the community is safe, and our own people are safe. That’s really the biggest challenge.”
The battalion chief testing, Vallejo’s first for that newly created position, requires applicants to undergo structured oral interviews, timed emergency simulations, essay and multiple-choice tests, role playing discipline problems. Previously, second-in-command firefighters held the title of assistant chief, the last round of testing for those slots around a decade ago, firefighters said.
The testing came in about $10,000 under the budgeted $25,000 for the process, Robertson said.
“You have to really be on your ‘A’ game,” Robertson said of the testing. “You have to know all of our protocols and what industry trends are.”
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