FIREFIGHTING 360
Reliable Firefighters: Wisdom from other high-risk professions
By Billy Schmidt

Reliability: It’s the cornerstone of the firefighting profession (I use the term “firefighting profession” to include all emergency services professionals). It’s the combination of anticipation and resilience, a firefighter’s ability to prepare for and be ready to respond to and rebound from an unexpected, challenging event (I would suggest that all emergency calls fall into this category, since firefighters rarely know exactly what they’re getting into).

Average organizations generally try to improve reliability by developing their technical systems rather than their people. But in the fire service, we operate consistently in a high-stress, high-risk world, and we know that technology alone doesn’t fully protect us or enhance our performance. Instead, we must rely on the combination of all fire service members working hand-in-hand together.

For some time now, the fire service has been debating whether we’re truly equipped to perform safer and respond more effectively during peak demand times or periods of stress, namely, chaotic emergency operations. To provide critical services continuously and safely, firefighters must learn to manage for high reliability, or as Weick and Sutcliffe suggest in their book, Managing the Unexpected, “ways of acting and styles of leading that enable them to manage the unexpected better.”

My Firefighting 360 columns (see links at end of this post) speak to the importance of reliability and the limitations of firefighters and fire service organizations to control today’s complex emergency operations. They draw on a variety of resources from a diverse group of high-risk professions (aviation, healthcare, military, wildland fire, etc.) that are faced with similar tasks to those of the fire service: to operate safely while achieving higher performance in a complex environment.

From my research, I try to provide a new perspective and some practical advice to my fellow firefighters who confront reliability every day. This column will examine and feature some resources you can use to learn more about reliability and crew resource management.

There are many sources of information that explore the intersections of organizational theory, case studies, strategic thinking, tactical operations, survival responses and a number of other practical pursuits for firefighting. Many are not related specifically to the fire service, but do deliver a practical message that can urge us to think more critically and help us develop new and better ways to operate.

Thomas Jefferson said, “I cannot live without books.” I can’t either, so here are some suggestions. You might not find these books at a fire conference, but I believe they’ll provide a sense of urgency to how you think and introduce you to other approaches to keep you safe and help you perform more effectively.

Managing the Unexpected
Weick, K. and Suttcliffe, K. (2001). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Karl Weick is a professor of organizational behavior and psychology, and Kathleen Suttcliffe is an associate professor of organizational behavior and human resource management. For this book, they researched various organizations that operate in high-risk environments where the potential for error can lead to catastrophe. They suggest that high-reliability organizations (HROs) are structured to behave differently from other organizations. Weick and Suttcliffe believe that those organizations are mindful of the unexpected. They offer five principles that they consider the hallmarks of an HRO:
(1) Preoccupation with failure
(2) Reluctance to simplify interpretations
(3) Sensitivity to operations
(4) Commitment to resilience
(5) Deference to expertise
The authors present several case studies that illustrate the principles in a practical way that can be adapted to fire service operations everywhere.

Highest Duty
Sullenberger, C. (2009). New York, NY: Harper-Collins.

Captain “Sully” Sullenberger was the airline pilot who successfully managed the emergency landing of a U.S. Airways flight onto the Hudson River in 2009. All of the passengers and crew survived. Sully is one of the best examples of someone with the right qualities for operating in a high-risk environment. He stresses that successful outcomes to unexpected events are the result of effective teamwork, dedication to safety, and good judgment and decision-making that go together with technology, practice and training. Although much of the book tells his personal story, it reveals the individual values needed to succeed in high-risk professions, including firefighting—leadership, responsibility, commitment to hard work and service to others.

Flawless Execution
Murphy, J. (2005). New York, NY: Harper-Collins.

Who better to provide techniques and ways to perform at peak levels in a high-stress, high-stakes environment than a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot? James Murphy reminds us how sophisticated, high-tech, modern machines are entirely dependent on the people who operate and maintain them. He reveals that what works for fighter pilots can work for other high-risk professions as well. Murphy suggests that the process of “Plan–Brief–Execute–Debrief” will help organizations reduce mistakes and cut casualties and losses of equipment, while increasing productivity and enhancing performance. All of these elements are critical to successful fire service operations.

Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, & Why
Gonzales, L. (2003). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.

Gonzales, a contributing editor for National Geographic Adventure magazine, has spent a lifetime researching why some people survive catastrophic events and others don’t. He begins with the story of his own father’s survival in WWII, and continues with many other compelling stories that make us wonder how we, and our brains, will react when faced with similar catastrophic events. Gonzales divides the book into two sections: “How Accidents Happen” and “Survival.” In an appendix, he describes “The Rules of Adventure” that provide some advice for any survival situation, including fireground operations.

The fire service is not so unique that we cannot borrow the wisdom and success of other organizations or professions. There is practical meaning to be found in how others learn, practice, think and act. I believe the books recommended in this column can put our discussions into a broader context and can be most helpful to our personal growth. We should not limit ourselves to only fire service sources for information, but should search everywhere to learn ways to become more reliable firefighters.

Billy Schmidt is a district chief assigned to the 3rd battalion with Palm Beach (Fla.) County Fire Rescue. An adjunct instructor for the department’s Training and Safety Division, he has a master’s degree in organizational leadership, a bachelor’s degree in human resource management and an associate’s degree in fire science. He’s a member of FireRescue magazine’s Editorial Board.


Check out Billy Schmidt’s other Firefighting 360 columns:

• Size Matters
  
• You Can’t Do Everything at Once
  
• Faced with the Unexpected
  
• From Multitasking to Task Overload
  
• Getting to Know CRM
  
• To Err Is Human
  
• Counter Culture
  
• Human Tools
  

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