Life and Death Decision Making

Continued from the Previous Post
May Newsletter Re-Posted by Permission
By: Vincent Dunn Deputy Chief FDNY (ret)

Multiple Officers Response.

The same learning repeats itself in the officer rank. At an alarm for a fire and emergency, several units are dispatched to the scene. Each unit has an officer as a supervisor, who is usually a lieutenant. The first company officer arriving at the scene is in command until relieved by a higher-ranking officer. During the incident, the supervisors give orders and oversee the company's operations but also as apprentice fire officers we watch the senior officers make decisions. We watch the good ones. We watch and learn life-and-death decision-making of a veteran first-line supervisor. In addition, at least one captain responds on every working fire; in New York City, the captain groups are permanent. A captain cannot change groups. The groups are spread out so one captain responds on every working fire alarm of three engines and two ladders. This permanent group assignment insures that one experienced company officer, a captain, will be at every working fire.

Two Chiefs at a Fire.

When we are promoted to chief officers, the process starts all over again. We learn new life-and-death decisions. We learn life-and-death firefighting strategies that affect the people trapped in burning buildings and the nearby buildings. And most important we learn that the safety of all the firefighters at the scene of the fire or emergency is our responsibility, not just the safety of one company. The fireground commander responding with the first alarm is the person who makes the most life-and death decisions. The life-and-death decisions made in the first few minutes of the fire are the most important. These decisions lay the groundwork for the entire firefighting operation. To insure proper life-and-death fireground decisions by fire chiefs, New York City has two chiefs respond to every working fire. One battalion chief responds on the initial alarm for a structure fire; if it becomes an all-hands fire, a second battalion chief responds but the first arriving chief is in charge. With two chiefs at the scene, chances are good that one of the two battalion chiefs will have several years of experience. The chief, even if in charge, may call on the expertise of the veteran. In addition, a deputy chief arrives on the second alarm.

High Activity Assignment.

Since experience is the best teacher of decision-makers, many fire officers and chiefs seek assignments in areas where fire and emergency activity is the greatest. Assignments to areas of high fire activity are highly sought after by new chiefs wanting to gain that valuable experience in life-and death decision-making. Experience also builds confidence in our ability to make correct decisions. This confidence translates into leadership traits and a command presence at fires. Chief and company officers also seek decision-making experiences in different types of emergency situations. Just as a soldier must know about desert warfare, jungle warfare and urban warfare, a fire chief must know about high-rise firefighting, low-rise firefighting, strip-store firefighting, private-dwelling firefighting and wildfire firefighting. Some fire departments rotate chief officers automatically after five years in a unit.

Further details are explained under each of these headings:
Simulation Training.
Knowledge of Battlefield.
Knowledge of Enemy.
Knowledge of Strategy and Tactics.

They can be found at this site:
http://vincentdunn.com/dunn/newsletters/may/FDNYHP_13.html

In conclusion:
Controls on Decision Makers.

The fire service controls and supervises the life-and death decisions made by a company officer and a fire chief. All critical decisions are monitored. The purpose of this oversight is to help the new fire chief learn decision-making and to prevent a serious error. Radio progress reports of fire conditions and actions taken are a control. These reports require the chief in charge to evaluate the results of his actions. It also allows a higher-ranking, more-experienced chief to monitor and control the actions of a new fireground commander. If radio reports indicate problems or that the fire or emergency is not being controlled, a supervisor may respond and take control. Another control occurs when greater alarms are transmitted. Calling for additional resources automatically triggers the response of a higher-ranking, more experienced chief. Standard operating procedures carried out at all structure fires act as a control on life-and-death decision making. Before leaving the scene of a major-alarm fire, the fire chief is responsible for three critical life-and death decisions:

1. Primary search.
2. The secondary search.
3. The decision to declare the fire under control.

Lessons learned.

We learn life-and-death decision making in the fire service the same way we learn any skill. We learn it by study and by doing it. First we are apprentices. We study, watch others and learn. Next, we become journeymen. That means that after years of study, we know how to make decisions but we lack experience. Finally, after several years, if we make good decisions and have no disasters, we may become masters of our profession.

Author’s note:
I pray that I will never need their services, yet I am thankful they are "life committed" and they have this level of training in decision making.