A difficult challenge that fire departments face on the fireground is communication. Effective communication of a proper size-up, tactical operations, command functions, a mayday, and rescue operations is paramount to a run’s overall success.
In the fire service, we've all heard of the five C’s of radio communication: conciseness, clarity, confidence, control and capability. Mastering these five C’s brings an ideal atmosphere for effectively talking on the fireground. What if we used those same principles toward leadership when communicating to our people?
Conciseness
Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and your mind started to wander? Of course you have. It happens quite often, even more so now that technology has ruined our attention span to next to nothing. So, how do we combat a blank stare from the person you are talking to? Simple: Be concise. As a company officer or an individual in a leadership role, when you give direction, orders or a task, get to the point. Not only will your objective get done faster, but that person will pay attention and not be distracted by the unnecessary filler of the conversation.
There is an art to this, though. Being direct and to the point can come across as rude or matter of fact. In some cases, people won’t respond well to this type of communication. So, know your audience and have a positive demeanor when being concise. It will make the difference.
Clarity
Now that unnecessary jargon is removed from the conversation, the message must be precise. A clear message is paramount to achieving the objective.
Let’s say that you have a rookie firefighter, and you want that individual to clean the truck. The outside of the truck is washed with soap and water and dried. In that person’s mind, that’s what a clean truck is. However, not only did you want the outside cleaned but also the tires shined and the cab detailed. This issue comes down to two different people’s perspective of what needs to be done.
Instead of giving a generalized task, send a clear message of exactly what you want. (You don’t need to provide specific ways to get the job done unless the task warrants.) This, in turn, provides the rookie with a clear objective and paves the way for success.
Confidence
Confidence can be looked at in a few different contexts, but let’s focus on the aspect of confidence in your communication.
As a company officer or leader in your department, people look to you for guidance and direction. When communicating to your crew, confident communication can be broken into two parts: confidence in your speaking ability, and confidence in the information that you relay.
Confidence in speaking ability might come more naturally to certain people. For those who might lack that confidence, there are a few ways to combat that. One of the easiest ways is to practice. A simple method that I use is to say, “Good morning,” to everyone when you arrive on your shift. By being the person who initiates the conversation, you get a chance to be the active engager. Most people just say, “Good morning,” back, but some will strike up the friendly morning banter. Being the initiator of conversations builds your confidence. Also, it lets your crew know that you are engaged in them personally.
Confidence in the information that you relay is critical to gain the trust of firefighters. We all know that fire stations are the equivalent to a condensed high school. There are the cool kids, the outcasts, rumors and the occasional scandal. As the company officer, your main job when you relay information is to relay only objective information. You should be the arbiter of filtering out what relevant information must be passed on to the crew. Spending time on rumors or other people’s misfortunes only detracts from your main priority of providing the best service to your community.
Control
If you have been in the fire service long enough, you have seen company officers lose their cool on a firefighter. We all have been in situations where our emotions took over and were at the helm of the conversation—only to look back and see how counterproductive it was.
Controlling your emotions and demeanor allows you to control the conversation.
Being in a leadership role places you on the pedestal of adhering to a higher standard. Within that standard is having the capacity to control your emotions during a high-stress situation. This can be during a scene size-up of a major catastrophe, giving a direct order on the fireground, calling a mayday or handling a heated argument. If you aren’t in control of your emotions, you aren’t in control of the conversation.
Allowing yourself a few extra seconds before you make that size-up, rehearsing a mayday and taking a step back to look at the overall picture give you the capacity to keep your emotions at bay. A calm company officer who has a cool demeanor is one of the most effective fire service leaders.
Capability
We all possess the ability to communicate with our personnel, but how do we know whether we are doing it effectively?
There are two simple ways to establish capable communication. The first is provide the “why.” Now, this doesn’t apply to every conversation. There are times when the “why” isn’t warranted. However, if the company officer wants to be a capable communicator with personnel, having the “why” builds the most sought-after action—firefighter buy-in. Having personnel buy into your ideas, advice, orders or tasks provides them the reason why they are behind you. Sometimes, that’s all a person wants.
A second way to establish capable communication is to simply ask. This can be done with a few different questions at the end of your conversation, such as, “Do you have any questions? Do you understand what I’m asking? How would you approach this matter?”
When you ask a question at the end of your conversation, be tactful and open about this. This goes back to having a positive demeanor. How you ask a question at the end of your conversation can lead to a positive experience, where participants feel that they can answer your question openly if they need to.
Change the atmosphere
The five C’s of communication aren’t only important on the fireground but also are important in the firehouse. As a company officer, the actions that you take communicating with your personnel can profoundly change the atmosphere in the firehouse and the morale of your company. Mastering the five C’s inside of the firehouse gives company officers the necessary skills to be effective leaders with their personnel. The same principles that are used in the firehouse provide for the foundation of communication that correlates to effective fireground operations.
Daniel Vecchiolla
Daniel Vecchiolla is a captain for Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Fire & Emergency Services. He has been in the fire service for nine years, having started his career working for the city of Chesapeake, VA. Vecchiolla transitioned into the Department of Defense system in 2016 and now is stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana. He has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in public administration from Old Dominion University. Vecchiolla has his Fire Officer designation through the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) and is a peer reviewer through the CPSE, too.
