Chief Michael D. Chiaramonte CFO, MIFireE

An older very experienced chief trained in old school firefighting went to visit a younger chief in another state that he met at the National Fire Academy. The younger chief asked his new friend if he would like to ride with the department. It had been a long time since the senior chief had ridden in the crew cab of engine and he thought it might be a kick and a good experience. Soon enough, a call came in and the visiting chief got into the crew cab. He was what he thought, ready to go, when a young probationary firefighter, with a bright orange helmet shield, looked at the chief and said, "Chief, seat belt." This astonished the chief. In his day a probationary firefighter would never tell a chief what to do. However, the chief in an instant turned to the young firefighter and said, "Thanks son." He thought that this was truly a demonstration of the courage to be safe. He also thought that he and his department often talked safety but this department has brought safety from a mere campaign to a change in culture.

What makes systems that must be in place to ensure that changes such as safety are not just a campaign but also a way of life? What performance measurements can be used to assure the organization that a culture change, in fact, has occurred?

Toolpack Consulting, a major business consulting company, states, "Organizational culture can be defined as the shared assumptions, beliefs, and norms of a group."

A cultural change requires patience, time, continuous communication, and long-term support. Communication is the key. Culture change is achieved one small step at a time. Small successes are used to support larger efforts. It is necessary to start changing small parts of the organization first and then expand efforts. All those who want change must carefully model the desired behavior, in this case firefighter safety. While one or two people with strong ideas must often spearhead cultural change, the change must dominate and permeate the entire organization. Complacency has to be avoided. There must be a firm commitment from the top. This firm commitment may not be easy at times and must be consistent. However, it is important to note that in order for any change in culture to occur, everyone in the organization must be involved. To get this type of buy in, the changes must be sincere as well as reasonable and meaningful. To affect change, especially in the area of safety, it is not necessary to reinvent the wheel simply to seek and study other departments that have successfully created a safety culture.

Peter Drucker declared that every organization needs one core competence: innovation. The concept of core competencies was developed in the management field. C.K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel introduced the concept in a 1990 Harvard Business Review article. It wrote that a core competency is "an area of specialized expertise that is the result of harmonizing technology and work activity." Using this definition of a core competency, it is apparent that this author may believe that safety absolutely should be a core competency of every fire department in this nation. How many of the important innovation opportunities do we miss? Mr. Drucker says that we miss these innovation opportunities because we don't see them or we dismiss them. Is this true of safety? Only you can answer that question.

If a department is to make safety, more than a campaign but a departmental core competence innovation and, in fact, a way of life, they must start with creating a strategic plan. This plan should include a vision statement and mission and value statements that include terms referring to safety. Departmental goals and the action items that bring these goals to fruition must also include references to safety.

Once the strategic plan intrinsically includes safety, the members of the department must be motivated and committed to that plan. Some ways of accomplishing this are:

• Encourage department members to participate in setting goals and determining how to reach those goals.
• Provide department members with the tools and training necessary to establish and maintain a safety culture.
• Establish clear and understandable safety policies and procedures.
• Empower all members of the department to make safety decisions.
• Management must be accessible. Listen actively and empathically.
• Give credit and praise to those department members who demonstrate safe behavior and reward those who practice safe behaviors.
• Encourage department members to seek training, attend conferences and classes related to safety beyond those provided by the department.
• Establish a team attitude.
• Encourage members of the department to make safety suggestions.

Changing the culture of a fire department definitely takes planning and evaluation. Any plan needs evaluation. This evaluation is necessary to measure the effectiveness of the plan and allows the plan's designers to amend the plan, if necessary, to obtain the desired results. In order to do this, it is essential that safety becomes an intricate part of the evaluations of all departmental personnel.

Every member of the department must demonstrate a general knowledge of the cultures that have evolved in the fire service and changes that need to take place to improve firefighter safety. They must identify fire service traditions that have compromised firefighter safety. Departmental members need to recognize dangerous situations that could result in injury or death to firefighters. They must also be able to identify changes that need to take place to reduce the potential for injury and death to firefighters.

Written evaluations for each member of the department should not only include job skills but the following as well:

• An effort to maintain good health and physical condition.
• Wearing the proper protective clothing and equipment appropriate for the incident.
• Seated and wearing a seatbelt whenever the apparatus is in motion.
• Watching for traffic when exiting apparatus or working around the apparatus.
• Staying with the officer and crew when operating at an emergency scene.
• Using proper techniques when lifting.
• Be aware of the location of the fire and fire conditions at all times when working at a structure fire.
• Paying strict attention to accountability procedures.
• Walking rather than running at a scene and being constantly aware of surroundings.
• Be alert to slippery surfaces
• Hydrate regularly.
• Knows level of endurance
• Watches out for fellow firefighters before, during and after taking any action.
• Uses common sense when undertaking any activity.

By diligently working with a plan to institute safety as a core competency in the department, injuries and deaths will be prevented. Safety will be able to be evaluated and safety will become the central focus of the entire department.

Just as the young probationary firefighter in the beginning of this article had the courage to be safe by reminding the experienced chief to put on his seat belt, all those who read this article should have the courage to be safe as well. They should do everything in their power to make safety a core competency in their department. It is each and every firefighter's responsibility to help establish and maintain a permanent safety culture within their department. Go for it!!!