Fire Chief

The last week of the year is a good time to look back and acknowledge lessons learned from the past 12 months. Recently I looked through the 51 Command Post editorials I had written this year and I found a few questions for you to ponder when you have a quiet moment.

In January, I wrote about a meeting of departments in Illinois’ Mutual Aid Box Alarm System and departments from seven surrounding states. The meeting was designed to be a step forward for interstate mutual aid response systems.

So what progress has your department made in 2007 to advance mutual aid response both intra- and interstate?

In February, Campus Firewatch Editor Ed Comeau raised serious concerns about incidents involving multiple fire fatalities in 2006. That problem has continued throughout 2007, with 1,564 residential fire fatalities through Dec. 24, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. In December alone, 14 multiple-fatality fires killed 45 people.

How has your department responded to the increasing numbers of multiple-fire fatalities?

In March, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation held it‘s second National Line-of-Duty Death Safety Summit, bringing together 225 leaders of emergency service organizations and associations to review the 16 Life-Safety Initiatives and to recommend additional actions to prevent firefighter deaths and injuries.

How much attention has your department given to implementing the 16 initiatives?

During the Congressional Fire Services Institute’s National Fire & Emergency Services Dinner in April, former International Association of Fire Chiefs Executive Director Garry Briese received the Mason Lankford Fire Service Leadership Award. In his acceptance, he said, “To those of you in the fire service and for those of you working in a job, never, ever let your job or your badge get between you and your family. There is nothing more important for you than family. By coming here tonight, we are all family.”

How often does your job get between you and your family?

In May, the fire service lost a stalwart champion of firefighter safety when John Eversole, Chicago Fire Department‘s retired district chief of special operations, died. “When the bell goes off, firefighters are a lot safer because of John,” said Chicago Fire Commissioner Ray Orozco Jr. “He made sure it was safer. He got the industry to have standards and didn’t hesitate to tell the legislators what firefighters needed.”

Have you followed Eversole’s lead? What procedures have you implemented this past year to protect your firefighters from CBRN?

During the IAFC‘s Stand Down for Safety week in June, Charleston, S.C., lost nine firefighters in a fire. The state of the ISO Class 1 department shocked the nation‘s fire service, causing heartbreak and frustration. In October, the Phase 1 Report was issued by the Mayor‘s Task Force Review Team and 200 recommendations were broken down into three levels of priority.

Did you review the 200 recommendations with your staff? How many of them would apply to your department?

In November, the Peoria Regional Battalion Chief Academy in Arizona examined the many roles and responsibilities of chief officers and targeted captains testing for battalion chiefs. “The position of chief officer is a complex role that requires leadership, management, supervision and participant activities,” Peoria Chief Robert McKibben explained. “These different roles are not always clearly defined, and overlaps do occur.”

There’s a new breed of leader being created in the emergency services. So what type of training do you offer future officers in your department?

Earlier this month, I received an e-mail that included a caption: “Worry looks around. Sorry looks back. Faith looks up.” I‘m not too worried to look around at the fire service in 2008. I‘m not sorry to look back, because I see more progress than regression in the fire and emergency services. And I have faith in the future.

Have a happy, healthy and safe new year!