Utilizing the Firehouse Kitchen Table

With its numerous distractions, today’s fast-paced world makes it difficult for families to find time to gather at the kitchen table–this is also true for our fire service family. As a kid my family and I sat at our dinner table and we shared stories about our day. For me, the table has been the scene of great joy, sorrow and the occasional family disagreement. I also rode my bike to see my dad at the firehouse. The firefighters would sit around the table, drinking coffee as thick as motor oil and swapping stories while waiting for the next run, and I learned a lot about the fire service from these stories. Beyond running calls, the kitchen table is one of the reasons I joined the fire service–to be part of the brotherhood, the storytelling and the friendly ribbing of the other members of the company.

Today it seems many crews are quick to complete their assignments. Once the daily work is finished, they scatter to their respective corners to check their smartphones, update their Facebook status and watch cat videos on YouTube. Just as America struggles to maintain the family unit, the fire service is also losing its family identity. Where is the camaraderie? Have we lost our company pride? Most importantly, where are those teaching moments?

The Teaching Table

The kitchen table can be a powerful training tool in the fire service if company officers choose to utilize it. Consider gathering your crew around the table. Have a cup of coffee. A 30—60 minute sit down with the company can do wonders. A lot of education can take place informally while sitting around the table. These should be conversations, not lectures, and there shouldn’t be a leader; all members should provide input. The older member brings experience to the table while the new member brings enthusiasm and education.

Talk about new policies, procedures or events affecting your agency. Discuss an article you read in a trade journal, sharing lessons learned or emerging research. Take some time to discuss the things that your crew observed on the drive in. For example, I come into our engine house from the opposite direction than everyone else on my crew, and I see things on the north end of our still-alarm area that they don’t. Are there new buildings going up, traffic reconfigurations, a crew working inside a trench? Has one of your members been detailed to another company or shift? Did they observe something on a call or during an inspection that would be useful?

Lessons Learned

We like to say that we will never forget our fallen brothers and sisters, so take a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) report or another line-of-duty death (LODD) and talk to your crew about it. A five-minute conversation about a LODD could save a crewmember’s life, and it’s a simple way to honor a fallen brother or sister. Why not dedicate a shift day to a fallen brother or sister? Who were they? What were the circumstances of their death? What can we do as an individual, a company, an organization, to prevent this from happening again?

Several significant LODDs occurred early in my career, including the Worchester (Mass.) 6 and Keokuk (Iowa) 3, and exposure to these LODDs influenced my way of thinking. But some of our new firefighters were in preschool when these incidents occurred, so they may not have absorbed the lessons from those events. Why not have each member of the company research an incident and lead the discussion? We owe it to ourselves, our company, our families, the fallen firefighters, and their company and family to never repeat these incidents.

Resourceful Strategy

A friend of mine who is a battalion chief likes to play the “What If” game with his crews. He asks them questions like, What if this happens during an incident? What happens if we get called to this address? Crewmembers will begin to know how others in their company think and will react in certain situations. This also helps the crew become aware of their surroundings and the potential challenges in their still-alarm area. The game can lead to some healthy competition, where each crewmember wants to be the one who knows the answers.

The table also provides an opportunity to examine a new piece of equipment or review something you haven’t used for a while. An owner’s manual provides a lot of insight on the piece of equipment, and many of us do not even look at it. But pull one out and start reviewing it with the group, and it can make for a lively discussion.

After you return from a major incident, gather at the table. Talk about what went right, what went wrong and what your crew can do to improve. Aaron Fields from Seattle Fire talks about how professional athletes review film after every game. Use the kitchen table to review your “film.” Ask what changes can be made to improve emergency scene performance. If professional athletes can improve their game, so can firefighters.

A Broader Focus

Just as you don’t want to argue with your spouse in bed, don’t argue with your crew at the table. This can prove difficult, as it takes effective facilitation skills to keep kitchen table conversations positive. Sometimes discussions devolve into gripe sessions about things that are beyond your crew’s control. Steer the conversation to focus on things your crew can change. If you or your crew has the power to change an unsatisfactory situation, don’t just talk about it–take action.

Remember: Not all conversations need to be about the fire service. It’s important to find out what is going on in your crewmembers’ lives outside of the station. When firefighters get on that truck, they are responsible for the lives of our brothers and sisters. But they also have a responsibility to their family at home, so shouldn’t you at least know their names? Ask your members’ families to come by for a lunch or dinner so that you can find out who’s important to the members of your company.

In the first couple of weeks after I graduated from the fire academy, members of my crew invited my family, and theirs, to come to the engine house for a surprise graduation party. We gathered around the table that day and met each other’s loved ones. We had the chance to see who was important to the individuals in our company, and this reinforced why we needed to protect each other–because we knew who our crew needed to make it home to.

Supper Club

While the kitchen table should be used as a place to examine incidents, review equipment and more, it is also the place where we can all gather to share a meal. How many engine house tables look like a painting of the Last Supper, with everyone gathered around one side of the table to see the TV? Dinner can be a tremendous bonding time for a company. So turn off the television, put the phones away, sit down and enjoy a meal together.

The supper club is truly the best way to bond. Firehouses are known for our great cooks and elaborate meals. Even if you don’t eat the same meal, at least eat at the same time. You trust your life to these individuals; you should be able to share a meal together.

Company Pride

At many engine houses, the kitchen table serves as a great source of company pride. I have always admired the companies that have their butcher block kitchen table marked with logos, patches, challenge coins and old photos that speak of the rich traditions of the company.

Many a story or tall tale is told around those tables. Even someone outside the fire service can look at a company’s kitchen table and see they take pride in belonging to something special. If your agency will allow it, use the table to show your company pride. Create a place with tradition that your membership would be proud to sit at, learn at and break bread on.

Taking the time to encourage your crew to share in a meal and create a learning environment at the kitchen table could set the stage for a lifesaving bond between you and your fellow firefighters. These opportunities to instill pride, offer insight or train may reap generous rewards at an emergency scene. Company officers have an opportunity to empower personnel, recognize their talents and let them shine at the kitchen table.