Phoenix Fire Department Training

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• The Phoenix Fire Department

• Training

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Thank you for attending - we appreciate you
joining us to learn some new stuff, reinforce
some old stuff, hang out with a lot of nice
people, and we hope you have fun while you are
here.
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We have selected TRAINING as the subject of our
2001 Symposium.
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The PFD conducts this conference because we
believe TRAINING is critical to our basic service
delivery mission

• prevent harm
• survive
• be nice.

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each component is constantly undergoing
continual change.

• prevent harm
• survive
• be nice

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each component is directly connected to TRAINING.

• prevent harm
• survive
• be nice

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Today we are all going to be involved in a full
day of programs that relate to the current
dynamics of TRAINING. Our speakers will each
have different

• experiences
• points of view
• ideas

this is how we learn.
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Today, I am going to discuss how safety training
must connect with the SURVIVE part of our service
delivery mission

• prevent harm
• survive
• be nice.

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What does SURVIVE actually mean?
very simply all firefighters go home (and are
okay).
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Big problem

• 1999 - 112 firefighters didnt go home
• 21 more than in 1998 (91).

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This, has been, and always will be the most
serious problem in our business.
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Lets look at what happens to us (fatals) and
begin to connect it to training with an in your
seat, show of hands quiz.
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Before we start the quiz, lets look at a real
simple (real simple!) management model the PFD
has used for the past 30 years
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The model will establish some safety training
context
Brian Crandell
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Lets go with the quiz.
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Is there anyone here who does not know personally
and professionally that serious injury/death can
result from being a fire apparatus passenger when
that apparatus

• collides with something heavy (runs into/gets run
  into)
• rolls over (partially/completely )

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Is there anyone here who does not know personally
and professionally that serious injury/death can
result from being in or around (just about)
anything that collapses on or under you?
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Is there anyone here who does not know personally
and professionally that serious injury/death can
result from breathing the superheated and toxic
products of combustion?
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Is there anyone here who does not know personally
and professionally that serious injury/death can
result from thermal insult?
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Given our response, we all understand the basic
personal hazards of our business.
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Lets go back to the model
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Given our response, we dont need to be trained
to understand the basic personal hazards.
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The basic hazards are
... they are also highly effective

• pretty simple
• low tech
• timeless
• unforgiving
• well known

112 dead firefighters prove it.
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Unfortunately, just understanding that the
hazards are hazardous (da!) does not consistently
protect us from them.
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Here is how the safety problem is packaged.
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Our customers call us because they are threatened
by hazardous conditions they cant control

• we must put our bodies between the problem
  and the customer.

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We have an obligation to act

• this is our highest and finest tradition.

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We have an obligation to act

• we must always connect standard action to
  standard conditions to produce a standard
  outcome.

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We have an obligation to act

• we must create a command and operational
  system that always separates and protects our
  firefighters from defensive conditions.

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We have an obligation to act

• we must go into the hazard zone to do our
  job.

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We have an obligation to act

• we have an obligation to both act and stay
  alive.

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Lets look at what operationally (and
organizationally) causes firefighter injury/death.
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NIOSH FATALITY REPORT
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NIOSH top five causes of firefighter deaths

• 1. Lack of incident command

2. Inadequate risk assessment
3. Lack of firefighter accountability
4. Inadequate communications
5. Lack of SOPs.
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NIOSH top five causes of firefighter deaths

• 1. ICS

• not complicated
• absolutely recurring
• lots of development
• endless discussion
• killed our grand fathers.

2. risk assessment
3. accountability
4. communications
5. SOPs
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Lets take the model apart
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SOPs

• define and describe standard organizational
  action
• require us to decide how we will act
• become the overall foundation for program
  management.

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SOPs (contd)

• only way we will ever get everyone to do things
  the same way
• no operational action will ever become standard
  until it is written.

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SOPs TRAINING

• determines rate of possible program development
• creates understanding and competence
• enhances agreement
• basis of inclusion respect
• foundation of organizational personal
  excellence.

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SOPs Training APPLICATION

• local system show time
• actual test for planning and preparation
• most obvious proof of our existence (Mrs. Smith)
• develops our reputation ( or -)
• we must judge performance at the finish line.

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SOPs Training Application
CRITIQUE

• evaluates actual performance (people/procedures)
• focuses on conditions/action/outcome
• must produce lessons - learned and reinforced
• major objective action plan for improvement.

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SOPs Training Application
Critique
REVISION

• establishes a regular organizational framework
  for change
• must look at inside/outside experiences
• lots of work, confusion, stress, yelling, pulling
  hair
• must become an organizational way of life
• ongoing never stops.

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Lets look at the basic safety system.
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basic safety system.
hazards
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Basic Safety System

• fit/trained firefighters
• safety SOPs
• personal protective equipment (PPE)
• incident command operational hardware.

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When we connect the hazards to the safety system,
we get a safety score
SAFETY SYSTEM
HAZARDS

• driving/riding
• structural collapse
• thermal/toxic insult
• being trapped
• getting lost

• fit/trained FF
• safety SOPs
• PPE
• ICS
• hardware

IC
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SS
HAZ
HAZ
SS


IC
IC
defensive
offensive
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SAFETY SYSTEM
HAZARDS
IC
safety score
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Maintaining an awareness of the safety score is
a major responsibility of the incident command
system.
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Now that weve got two snazzy management models,
we should be able to march right off to safety
land.
SOPs
Train
Apply
SAFETY SYSTEM
HAZARDS

Critique
IC
Revise
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WRONG, life would be peachy if things were that
simple.
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Let me use a story.
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Everyone in here knows that it is a bad thing
when fire apparatus

• gets bashed
• or
• gets off its wheels

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The PFD (smart, very progressive, space age
organization) figured this out in the mid 80s
after we did some really dumb stuff with fire
trucks.
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Sowe processed the problem through the standard
management model
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So, we developed driving SOPs

• slow down (established speed limits)
• negative right of ways full stop
• wrong side of double yellow at intersections
  full stop.

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Training

• sent everyone to school taught em the SOPs

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One of the SOPs we developed was
when the light is red -

• STOP

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Lets take another quiz
when I show you the picture, tell me what the
correct action is (based on the STOP if the light
is red SOP).
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Now, please tell me
what part of if the light is red STOP!
dont you understand?
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We used the model
SOPs - we wrote, distributed,
implemented SOPs
TRAIN - we sent everyone to school
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We used the model
APPLY - lots of responses lots of red lights
CRITIQUE - we observed, heard about, or
suspected few stops.
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We used the model
REVIEW - we kept asking ourselves if the
SOP was okay.
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This went on for a long time (years).
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Why would the most

• capable
• dedicated
• smartest
• energetic

• best natured (mischievous)
• nicest
• respectful

work force (PFD members) not do what the Fire
Chief ordered them to do?
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Finally, we discovered the management model
SOPs
Train
Apply
Revise
Critique

• only described a process
• very rational - did rational stuff very well
• lots of change stuff is not very rational
• emotional part big deal
• model not complete plan for change.

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We discovered
the rational square organization boxes are
surrounded by
irregular human centered circles.
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Contain stuff like
- competition- organizational - continuity-
winners / losers- leadership
(formal/informal)- past practices- habits
(both individual/collective)
- history- culture- values- relationships-
trust- participation- communication
(formal/informal)- family stuff- peer process
(acceptance)
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Effective change agents must understand
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Effective change requires addressing both
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If all we do is deal with
we may change some technical things okay, but
the human part continually causes problems.
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If all we do is deal with
everybody gets along and we sing songs together,
but we really never change much that is
substantive.
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Change agents must understand that the more
personal the change is to humans, the more
difficult (and emotional) that change will be
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Change Target
the closer the change gets to day-to-day
habits, the tougher that change will be.
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What does all this mean?

• the effectiveness of (VIRTUALLY) all change
  involves human behavior
• the organization must develop a clear,
  understandable plan
• change is easier if the participants get to help
  invent the plan.

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Meaning (contd)

• training is critical, critical, critical
  (particularly for bosses)
• change agents (bosses) must work both and
  
• most significant change is long term.

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• leaders must sign up for the long haul they must
  survive and not give up
• change must become an ongoing process that uses
  both and
• leaders must create a strong system to support
  continuous improvement.

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• Leaders must create the process and model the
  behavior.

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Why would the most

• capable
• dedicated
• smartest
• energetic

• best natured (mischievous)
• nicest
• respectful

work force (PFD members) not do what the Fire
Chief ordered them to do stop when the light is
red?
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Pretty simple

• we had sailed through red lights for 100 years
• we are in a hurry
• there was a reward for getting there quick (not
  safe)
• natural responder competition (nuts).

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Pretty simple (contd)

• Phoenix traffic very fast/very dangerous
• company officers were all former red light
  runners
• command bosses ran red lights (a lot).

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Pretty simple (contd)

• lots of exciting, crazy driving stories
• firefighters are very capable rule breakers.

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What happened

• we continued to
• train
• preach
• commend
• coach
• we imported stop stories.

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What happened (contd)

• we inconvenienced (lots of meetings) observed non
  stoppers
• we got more safety officers (very active)

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What happened (contd)

• we reinforced every safety program component
• we created full-stop heroes
• we recruited bosses to support the rule.

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essentially, we changed the culture (PFD 10
years )
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Today

• we do a lot better
• we are a lot safer
• we added 10-20 seconds to our response time
• the City is still here...

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Please remember and react to both
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Im done