After more than five decades in the fire and emergency service world, I can state for the record that I have attended literally thousands of fires. These incidents have occurred on three different continents and in a wide range of climatic zones. Each of these fires has one thing in common—each was an educational experience.
Sometimes I shared my thoughts at the scene. Sometimes I discussed things over coffee in the fire station. But there were problems with this approach: There was no structured way within my departmental system that would allow us all to benefit from the knowledge gained at these incidents and sessions.
I decided years ago that I could maximize the impact of any event I attended. I worked to combine my study of fire protection with an independent reading program. I compared the events experienced during my career with the facts I have read. Then I consciously adjusted my future actions based on my range of experience, as modified by my studying and my education.
It is my wish to lay out an approach to learning from your fireground experience. In that way, you will be able to profit from the periodic exposures to danger that you will face. What I am suggesting is that you and your fire department develop a post-incident critique procedure.
Post-incident critiques
This recommended procedure would mandate that you assess your performance while the facts are still fresh. And you would be required to complete it in standard fashion, in a way that could be repeated systematically throughout your department. In this way, you could compile a history of lessons learned. The creation of an identifiable history allows you to study it in the future.
The post-incident critique forms a critical element in any fire department’s training program. It also allows for a comparison to expected outcomes, based upon existing knowledge (wherever acquired) and guidelines. It allows for a review of any mistakes made, while their lessons are still top of mind.
Let us look at the values attributed to post-incident critiques:
- They allow responders to get a clear idea of the effect of their actions.
- By comparing expected outcomes to the actual consequences, fire personnel can make personal and organizational adjustments.
- By assessing what worked with what did not, improvements can be made.
People will come to understand that their actions can, and do, generate outcomes. They will discover that these outcomes can be good, or they can be bad. They will then come to understand that by changing operational inputs, you can affect change to operational outputs. And your training program, as well as your operational program will be improved by everyone’s efforts.
Another critical area for improvement comes from the impact of teamwork on an emergency incident. People will come to know whom they can trust. Fortunately, the critique process allows for the identification of problems like these. Team-building training can then be undertaken to improve inter- and intra-unit operations.
It is at the skills-delivery level that critical changes must be observed. Hoselines need to be stretched, ladders must be raised and water pumped. A post-incident critique allows for the identification of problem areas in the deployment and operational phases of your fireground operation.
Open communication is key
Remember that it is not just the skills of the firefighters that need to be assessed. Command decisions need to be evaluated. This re-examination should lead to improvements in your delivery of suppression services. Take the case of an unraised aerial ladder. During the post-incident critique phase of an operation, you discover that your first-due aerial ladder failed to raise its ladder to the roof. You find that critical vertical ventilation by the first-due truck company went undone and the structure suffered severe damage.
As a result of this discovery, you decide to take action. Wisely, you choose to discuss this matter with that unit’s commander. During the discussion he states that the aerial could not be raised because of problems with overhead wires. You mention that the task could have been done with ground ladders. And the officer responds that he made the decision to go into the building in force on a search and rescue mission.
It then becomes obvious during your discussions that the problem was not the unraised aerial. It was a communications issue. The officer from the aerial should have notified the incident commander (IC) that one operational task was being substituted for another. Had that information been delivered and acknowledged, alternative actions could have been take to ensure a better overall service-delivery level. It is in ways such as this that a post-incident critique can refine your overall operation.
Several things can be improved by an immediate post-incident review:
- Improve individual performance
- Improve teamwork and coordination
- Teach importance of teamwork
- Use it to avoid accidents
- Learn how to do things better
How to perform a critique
Now that we have an idea of what post-fire critiques can do, let us look at how to perform them. For critiques to be of value, they must occur immediately after the emergency is fully stabilized. They must occur while the lines are in place, before any breakdown or cleanup takes place.
After the incident has been brought under control, the IC should gather their personnel at an appropriate location and review the just-completed operation. The team should review their actions. Each member of the team should contribute facts about the tasks they performed and how they did them.
Events must be allowed to unfold in a non-threatening environment. Everyone must come to an understanding of what was done and how it was done. The object is to be sure that things are done better next time. No yelling, no screaming nor blame distribution is to be allowed. Open communications and cooperation must be encouraged. This session is not for blame or apologies. It is a fact-finding session. If the mood of the group is defensive, nothing positive will happen.
It is up to the team leader to maintain the lines of communication. The discussion needs to be upbeat and frank in its review of the events that have just occurred. The object is to reach a consensus on the operation and how it might be improved. Once this task is accomplished, the team can return to the task of going back in service for the next alarm.
Start now!
The post-incident critique can be an excellent tool for operational growth and improvement. Let me urge you to begin conducting them as soon as possible.
Dr. Harry Carter
HARRY R. CARTER, Ph.D., who is a Firehouse contributing editor, is a fire protection consultant based in Adelphia, NJ. He is chairman of the Board of Commissioners in Howell Township Fire District 2 and retired from the Newark, NJ, Fire Department as a battalion commander. Carter has been a member of the Adelphia Fire Company since 1971, serving as chief in 1991. He is a life member and past president of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors and life member of the NFPA. He is the immediate past president of the U.S. branch of the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) of Great Britain. Carter holds a Ph.D. in organization and management from Capella University in Minneapolis, MN.
Connect with Harry:
Email: [email protected]
