Putting the Service Back in Fire Service: Think it’s time to eliminate “BS” calls? Think again.By Chief Jeffrey D. Johnson, EFO, CFO, MIFireEFrom the April 2010 issue of FireRescue
magazineMoney is tight, and times are tough in government. Firefighters, along with all other public employees, are finding themselves unemployed, browned-out, furloughed or short-staffed in an effort to balance the budget. With few exceptions, our customers—the taxpayers—aren’t in any better position. They too are facing lower pay, forfeited pension contributions, furloughs, trimmed compensation packages and heavier workloads. Even volunteer departments are feeling the pinch as volunteers must dedicate more time to their work or take on jobs that limit their ability to volunteer. So what do we do?
The most important thing we can do for our industry is demonstrate that we “get it”—that we understand that this is an unprecedented economic storm and that it’s not business as usual. The second thing we can do is understand what our customers need and strive to fulfill it. While all the hats and shirts you and I own have the words “fire department” on them, let’s face it, responding to fires is not what we do with the bulk of our response time. The overwhelming majority of fire departments in this country respond to EMS and customer-assistance calls at least 10 times more than pulling lines on a working fire. With that in mind, let’s spend a few minutes understanding this part of our profession.
People call 911 for one reason: The problem is more than they can handle. Because people are different, some call when they have a headache or an over-flowing toilet, while others drive themselves to the hospital with crushing chest pain.
If you’re reading this article, odds are that you’ve been trained and have functioned as a firefighter for many years. That means you’ve seen deceased victims, you know the difference between smoke and steam, and you have mechanical and medical skills that most people don’t. The BS (bovine scatter) call occurs when we use our knowledge and experience to judge our customers (e.g., I can’t believe that idiot didn’t know how to turn off a toilet. They woke us up for this?) Expecting people to know what WE know will always lead to the customer feeling and sensing our frustration and judgment. If we’re grumpy, do you think that reduces repeat calls? Do you leave the scene happier? Does our customer have a favorable opinion of us? Is our customer likely to vote yes when it comes to a funding request? Probably not.
The truth is, if we stop judging people based on our skills and knowledge, we’ll feel that we have a lot fewer calls that aren’t worthy of our assistance. Let’s spend more time doing our job with a smile on our face and a demeanor that says, “I love this job and I love serving you. I’m glad we could help.” Remember that what you think turns into how you act and what you say. You may be shocked at how far you’ve drifted from that recruit firefighter who was happy to run on any call and to help anyone who needed it.
One last thing: When someone thanks you, quit saying, “I was just doing my job.” Our customers hear that as, “You don’t matter, and I don’t care; it’s just about doing a job.” That’s not the message you need to send. I know you’re being humble, but try the teachings of Dr. Robert Cialdini. When someone thanks you, say, “You’re welcome. I love my job, and I know if we ever need you, you’ll be there for us.”
Do you know when we need them? Right now, when times are tough and difficult choices have to be made. I’ll bet city planning departments can’t fill the council chambers with people who are thankful and grateful for everything they’ve done. But we can.
Chief Jeff Johnson began his career as a firefighter in 1978, and he has served as fire chief of Tualatin Valley (Ore.) Fire & Rescue since 1995. He is past president of the IAFC Western Division and Oregon Fire Chiefs Association. He is a member of the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association and has been active in many IAFC sections, including Fire & Life Safety, Volunteer & Combination Officers, EMS, and Safety, Health and Survival. Chief Johnson is a National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer graduate and has received his Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Designation.
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