Above, top to bottom: Tom Dunne, Anthony Avillo, and Mike Ciampo

Question: During the past year, was there an event, an occurrence, or a bit of knowledge you came across that moved you to think, “Wow! I must remember to include that in my FDIC class or workshop this year”?

Anthony Avillo  

I read the line-of-duty death report of the firefighter killed in New York State as part of a mutual-aid response. It made me realize how underprepared and coordination deficient mutual-aid groups are.  When the only time they see each other is on the fireground, that means that no training, planning, or interdepartment policy or coordination has been done. That is very dangerous, like “Tower of Babel” firefighting.

Les Baker

While conducting training in Bossier, Louisiana, we had a response for a vehicle that had a significant driver’s side intrusion from a lateral impact. It provided the perfect situation to work on tactics on a vehicle that underwent a collision and allowed the components to act appropriately. After further inspection, there were two car seats in the back seat. In between the two seats was an adult bag valve mask. Based on the clues left, it was obvious that the driver–the parent (or guardian) of the two kids–was critically injured or killed. The kids’ lives would never be the same after the incident. It proved to be a moment of reflection for me on why I train responders and speak at conferences such as FDIC International. It is my hope that I can be that difference that enables a responder to change the lives of victims in a positive way.

Alan Brunacini

For a long time, I have conducted discussions in FDIC International educational sessions about functional boss behaviors. It is a leadership topic that produces a lot of energy, discussion, and expression from the participants on experiences of being a boss or the treatment they have received from their boss. I recently was part of a meeting where we talked about how a boss can improve his effective level of boss engagement in the workplace. I have reflected on that issue; this year in my FDIC International boss session, I am going to slip into the conversation that bosses must focus on what they can control and accept what they cannot control, and that self-control is about the only thing under a person’s control. I am looking forward to the discussion.

More: FDIC Must-Share Moments: Raul Angulo

Deputy Chief (Ret.) Thomas Dunne

New York City Fire Department

Recently, after giving my “Think Like an Incident Commander” presentation to a classroom of firefighters, I was approached by one of the students. Normally, I would expect to handle questions regarding firefighting strategy and tactics, but this particular individual raised an interesting point: He had recently been promoted, but he did not have a great deal of firefighting experience since he had served in the military and was older than most new firefighters when he first came into the fire service.  He proceeded to tell me that he was finding it difficult to feel confident when supervising other firefighters, many of whom had more actual fireground experience than he did. Apparently, the segment of my class that he found most helpful involved the discussion about developing a comfort level as an incident commander and decision maker at an emergency operation.

I was immediately impressed with both his insight and honesty. His comments reflected the exact same doubts I harbored when I first became a chief. More importantly, his perspective allowed me to more fully appreciate the challenge of developing confident fireground leaders when the fire service in general is experiencing a decreasing rate of fire incidents from which to learn.

Although size-up and strategy are important aspects of my class, the comments that this student offered reinforced to me the relevance of the other aspects the presentation–specifically, how does one become able to function confidently and project a strong command presence when supervising others in a job that is inherently stressful? I had the advantage of working many years for a very busy fire department, and there were many experienced and competent mentors who guided me throughout my career. Over time, I developed tools and techniques that helped me to overcome the chaos and stress we typically experience on the fireground.

This student was struggling to find his fire service “identity.” After our conversation, I realized that for many firefighters, the aspect of my class that dealt with calming down a fire operation, communicating effectively despite the background distractions of the fireground, and conducting yourself in a confident manner are probably just as vital as the strategy and tactics I teach.

Whether you are fighting a one-room fire in a ranch house or managing a major disaster, the ability to safely manage firefighters is an art that is becoming increasingly difficult as the rate of fire incidents diminishes. I hope that those who attend my class will walk away with some tools they can use to act and feel like more competent emergency responders and fire service leaders.

Michael Ciampo

Lt. FDNY

Lead Instructor Truck Essentials

Lecture–Tower Ladders, Tower Above the Rest

While operating at a vacant building teaching during a hands-on drill, I witnessed an evolution that I thought was unsafe. Firefighters were forcing entry into concrete and cinder block secured doorways in a poor manner. When they were questioned about it, they responded that they never had to do this before despite the fact they had them in buildings in their response district.

On showing them some methods of forcible entry on these doorways, we discussed the difference between forcing them on the ground vs. from a tower ladders bucket. They were also surprised to learn of the differences, especially since they had a tower ladder apparatus. This difference was very important because it was an extreme safety issue. Doing the work from the ground could cause an entire section of brick to fall on those operating below, which could have devastating effects.

After this experience, I decided that an article on this topic (which is in the April issue of Fire Engineering) would be of value, and that these points should be included in my Tower Ladder presentation at FDIC International 2017.