What Did You Do?
In the July issue of FIRE CHIEF, two editorial advisory board members, Robert Rielage and Mark Wallace, and a long-time columnist, Ronny Coleman, offer their views on what the Phase II report on the Charleston Sofa Super Store means to the fire service. In Size Up in that same issue, J. Gordon Routley, who headed the task force that authored the report, gives his thoughts on the situation. A month prior, task force member Brian Crawford shared a reflection on the year-old tragedy.
The situation at the Charleston furniture store overwhelmed that department and revealed flaws in its incident command, culture, equipment, water supply and communications. It also revealed flaws in how structures are inspected and permits issued. The report is the industry’s leading topic of conversation, and rightly so.
In the variety of directions this industry-wide conversation has gone, one common theme consistently rises to the top: The Phase II report holds lessons that could improve any fire department, and the greater tragedy would be if those lessons went ignored.
The latter part of that summary is, of course, a very real concern. As humans, we exhibit a profound tendency to repeat the mistakes of others and shun the advice of the wise.
My commute takes me past a large roadside cross, placed to commemorate the well-publicized tragedy of a woman and her children who died nearly two years ago when she failed to beat a freight train to a crossing grade. Earlier this week, I came on the scene of three people who were killed trying to outrun a train with their car.
Deciding not to shoot your car around down crossing gates does not come after soul-searching, analysis, research or any of the other weighty elements that lead to safer firefighting. Generally, people resist change and believe that bad things only happen to others. Poring over a nearly 300-page report, examining the flaws of a department (and its chief) and instituting meaningful change is intellectual and emotional hard work.
We can look at the Charleston Fire Department one year after the tragedy to get an idea of how hard that work will be. It is far too early to judge whether that department will improve. Yet there is concerted effort in that direction.
Because the task force’s Phase III report will assess Charleston’s improvements, the industry will have a reliable view of how much change was implemented.
That raises another concern. How can we measure the affect the Charleston fire and the recommendations have had on the larger industry? In truth, we probably can’t. The industry does not have the luxury of having a task force in every department analyzing and reporting on the level of improvement.
In place of a comprehensive solution, let me offer this proposition to all chiefs and chief officers in the United States and abroad: send me an e-mail telling me what changes you are making or already made after the Charleston tragedy, and I’ll publish those in the pages of FIRE CHIEF.
My hope behind this is two-fold. I would like to see and share evidence, albeit anecdotal, that nine Charleston firefighters did not die in vain. It also is my hope that seeing what some chiefs are doing will inspire other chiefs (through idea sharing and peer pressure) to undertake the hard work of self-examination and change.
You can reach me at rick@firechief.com. Please indicate where you are from and that I have permission to publish your e-mail.
