Azarang (Ozzie) Mirkhah, P.E., CBO, EFO, CFO, MIFireE
Courtesy of Firehouse.com

I read the report entitled, "Families of 'Charleston 9' Reach Partial Settlement," posted on Firehouse.com and the memory of that tragedy got my blood boiling again. What a shame! Nine firefighters died in that disaster and now three years later in these tough economic times, their families are settling for mere "chump change" - less than one million dollars a piece!

Compared to some of the lucrative settlements that you read about in the papers, the fact of the matter is that it seems that firefighters' lives are not viewed too highly. I don't put a price on lives and in my mind no amount of money would bring our lost brothers in Charleston back to their loved ones.

Outside of our own fire service circle, which is focused on the fire and safety of its community, it appears that the business world is focused on money. Everything, including human life, has a price tag. Decisions boil down to a cost/benefit analysis. Simply put, what benefits are delivered for what cost.

As we look at the economic challenges that face our country, it evident that the cost of providing for the safety of our public and our firefighters is not at the top of the priorities list for many municipalities throughout the country. Take a quick look around you and see all the brown outs, fire station closures, and firefighter layoffs that impact most fire departments across the country. How will our public will be served and protected in the future? What about the safety of our firefighters? I truly understand that we face challenging times, and as a result, the tough organizational decisions our elected officials and decision-makers have made to make the ends meet. If done correctly and with full knowledge of the consequences, it is easier to justify the wisdom and much more palatable to digest.

Look at it this way, households make budgetary decisions and have a priorities expenditure list. Decisions to spend money on food and shelter come before entertainment and leisure. If, or when, one of the breadwinners of the household loses their income, then health insurance, one of the highest priorities for families, may be put on hold. Families would most likely decide to put food on the table for their kids rather then keep health insurance.

Across the country too many families are faced with making these decisions despite knowing the consequences of not having health insurance. They hope nothing happens and they won't get sick. The same also applies with automobile insurance. They just take a chance and "roll the dice." It is not right, but then there are plenty of uninsured motorists around.

The same basic economic principles apply to our jurisdictions during these tough economic times. Jurisdictions take a leap of faith, too, and "roll the dice," believing the probabilities of catastrophic fires and emergencies are minuscule. All across the country, municipalities have cut fire departments' budgets.

Are elected officials and policymakers fully aware of the consequences of their decisions? In my mind, such cuts will undoubtedly have a drastic impact on their communities' fire protection and life safety, but also on the safety of their firefighters. Are elected officials fully aware of what is truly at stake? Are they willing to accept those consequences for many years to come? Or, are they looking ahead to the next election so that short-term gains are more appealing than the safety of their communities? In that case, is the public fully aware of those issues and the consequences?

I believe that we must educate our elected officials and public administrators. We must provide them with a true community risk assessment and fire loss management plan. This will allow them to make well-informed decisions based on the community's needs and the availability of current resources while being fully cognizant of the long-term impacts of their decisions. We also must do a better job of informing our public so that they are well aware and willing to accept the consequences of the decisions that are made on their behalf. Decisions made today may have adverse effects for many years to come.

The bottom line is that as public servants, based on our professional obligations and fiduciary responsibilities, we can inform and provide the public and our elected officials with detailed risk assessments so they can make educated decisions for their communities. It is all about being fully aware of the real magnitude of the problem and knowing what are the stakes.

After all is said and done, just like anything else in life, it all boils down to being able to live with the consequences of decisions. At the end of the day, if elected officials decide to cut the level of fire protection for their community, then so be it. Their decision will be fully obeyed. Firefighters will have to adjust and reduce service delivery to the levels desired by the community. Quite similar to when the loss of income forces the head of household to prioritize spending.

When it comes to downsizing within the fire department, the same logic should apply to our decision-making process. When it comes to making a decision on where and what to cut, we in the fire service must also take the time to analyze the long-tern consequences and impacts of our decisions, too. We must not be too "trigger happy" as we have historically been and cut our public education and fire prevention programs "at the drop of a hat" and with the first signs of budgetary problems. Unfortunately, there are too many examples of public education and fire prevention programs bearing the brunt of the budget assaults and losing staff, if not the entire division.

I intentionally started this article by referencing the Charleston fire tragedy. The panel's investigation report showed that the Charleston disaster was as much about the fire prevention neglects as the tactical fire suppression errors. Yes. There could have been a fire in Charleston and yes, there probably would have been the same types of tactical errors on the fire ground since they were trained to do so for many years. However, as the Charleston investigation panel reports showed, the severity and consequences of such a fire would not have been as devastating and nine firefighters would not have lost their lives if they had a good fire prevention program.

The panel's investigation report indicated that six years prior to the Charleston tragedy, they had cut their fire prevention program. The majority of the constructions were done without any review and permit and without inspections. The report indicated that discontinuing the fire prevention and inspection programs contributed directly and significantly to the size and progression of the fire and the magnitude of the tragedy in Charleston.

It was not only the tactical firefighting decisions that were made on the scene that particular night that led to that tragedy but, also the decisions made many years earlier to ignore fire prevention programs and to discontinue fire inspections. The Charleston Sofa Super Store fire was an overnight tragedy yet we must never forget that this tragedy was the direct result of many years of accumulated neglect and disregard for the fire prevention and inspection programs. We, in the fire service, must learn that lesson with the hope of not repeating the same mistakes anywhere else in the future.

Is Charleston the only jurisdiction in this country that systematically ignored and did not have a high priority for the fire prevention programs? Indeed not. Fire prevention is about the fire that did not happen and just like the story of "the fish that got away" it is rather hard to prove its value. Unfortunately though, our story and the fire code are written with blood and sacrifice. The tragic loss in Charleston attests that not only fire prevention is important to the safety of our public and community, it also has a direct impact on firefighters' safety, making sure that they go home safe to their loved ones at the end of each shift.

Let's face it. The heart of the problem is that we in the fire service do not truly recognize the importance of the fire prevention programs in protecting our own communities. Why? Because we still view fire prevention programs as non-essential and in a support role function and without any direct relevance to firefighters' safety.

We don't view that fire prevention programs actually save firefighters' lives. Nine of our brothers in Charleston paid the ultimate price because their leadership displayed just such archaic views of fire prevention and eliminated their fire inspection and maintenance programs.

Philosopher George Santayana said, "Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it." When are we going to truly learn from our past mistakes and stop repeating them over and over in future?

Take a look around you my friends. We have cut too deep and public education and fire prevention programs around the country have taken a big hit and have been drastically reduced. We have forgotten the past and are condemned to repeat it in future.

Albert Einstein defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." From all the historical fire loss lessons similar to Charleston's, why do we expect any different results next time around when we have virtually eliminated public education and fire prevention programs? What would good 'ole Albert think of us?

We certainly don't view the tremendous value that fire prevention brings to the table in protecting our own firefighters, as we should. Thus, as they say here in my gambling town of Las Vegas, we in the fire service simply "roll the dice" on fire prevention programs.

What we tend to downplay is the conceptual relationship between frequency and probability of an event versus the consequences and the final outcome. The frequency and probability of having a fire like they had in Charleston might be small but, as we saw, the consequence of such fire is tragic. Fire prevention programs assist us in lowering the probabilities of such events occurring and drastically decrease the magnitude of the consequences. Logically then, fire prevention programs must be viewed as an integral part and one of the most significant functions of all fire departments. It must be viewed as a much higher priority for the fire service.

It is time that we recognize that by cutting fire prevention programs, not only do we "roll the dice" and risk the safety of our community but, also the lives of our own firefighters. Fire prevention is just as much about the protection of our own firefighters as it is for the safety of our community. Cutting public education and fire prevention programs during tough economic times is nothing more than "rolling the dice" on probabilities and gambling on future outcome. The consequences could far outweigh the perceived immediate cost savings.

What are the odds? Well, take it from a local, a heck of a lot higher than the probability of becoming a millionaire by hitting the mega jackpot in Las Vegas.

Related: » Also Read: Rolling the Dice
» Charleston Phase II Report