“Your goal shouldn’t be to buy players, your goal should be to buy wins.”   If we are truly serious about reducing incidents, then we have to evaluate our resource allocation strategy.  But if the goal overall is to prevent fires, then why is there such an imbalance between suppression activity vs. prevention?  Resources are not equitably appropriated to the needed areas in effort to bring fires and home accidents down.  Information technology, digitization, performance & process improvement, and analytics are valuable tools to reform the way we deliver services.  More staffing is not the answer now in tight fiscal environments.

“I’m not paying you for the player you used to be, I’m paying you for the player you are right now.”   Probies are the lifeblood of any fire organization.  They do most of the crappy work around the firehouse (or they used to).  Recent layoffs in my town showed how valuable it was to have younger and more physically fit men manning the hose (this will be the topic of the next post).  And the trend in the past few decades have been to reduce the pay and benefits of those just starting out their careers in relation to their older coworkers when you consider inflation and previous collective bargaining contracts.  Now I’m not advocating to significantly raise entry salaries, but was the value received for longer serving workers that much greater?  Doubtful.  Longevity pay along with other benefits was nice to those that received them in the past, but at the expense of their new fellow coworkers getting the shaft to make up the money in the contract does not make it fair let alone justifiable business.  An experienced, battle-tested core of supervisors will always be needed on the frontline, but the organization is dependent on young blood, fresh legs, and strong backs to be the workhorse to help accomplish goals.

 “We’re going to change the game.”   “Claim it, aim it, proclaim it”.  That’s how true visionaries function toward achieving their victories.  And no less is required today from the public safety leader at any level in their organization.  But how much easier is this when the head honcho charts the path toward innovation and reinvention.  The corporate culture does a dramatic shift and off you go!  If (and that’s a big ‘if’) the frontline folks buy into the new direction,  then it’s over.  You’ve made it to the mountain top.  Hang on for breakthroughs and hard running.  Sounds good?  Now go out there and change the world.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker makes a save in dwelling structure fire.

Read the story: Brave mayor lauded.

Proven strategies for the public safety leader and anyone else stepping up to the challenge

“You’re not solving the problem. You’re not even looking at the problem.”  What’s the problem?  Identify the fundamental problem(s) and then focus like a mad scientist on solving that problem. Don’t sweat the small stuff around the actual problem as it will distract you.  Cut out those people that have deep experience and are attached to the status quo — it’s possible that they’re part of the problem. Figure out the biggest opportunity and what would bring about the most change and efficiency, and then attack it.

“We’ve got to think differently.”  Like the Oakland As, your department is working under often big unfair constraints.  If you’re trying to disrupt the status quo you’re not going to do it by playing the game the same old way it’s been done since right after the civil war.  You’ll need to analyze and ponder about things differently.   Want to lose fast today? Keep hoping for this recession thing to blow over soon without you having to put out the major effort required to update your town’s concept of fire safety and suppression.

I will discuss these next 3 Moneyball quotes in my next blog update.

Your goal shouldn’t be to buy players, your goal should be to buy wins.

I’m not paying you for the player you used to be, I’m paying you for the player you are right now.

 We’re going to change the game.

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Now I am pretty sure that layoffs, rolling brownouts, spotty compliance with state or federal mandates, reduction in supervisory staff, old equipment, wage and benefits deflation, etc. has added to the stress the modern day firefighter has to face.

As towns across the country are making painful decisions concerning their public safety, even services like trash collection are now on the chopping block!  Medford, New Jersey is now considering further cuts to it’s police force bringing it to a 57% reduction in 3 years. No doubt this story will be repeated in towns all across the country.

Community rally

But in the midst of all this, where is the teamwork and collaboration? Both the unions and politicians point the finger at each other and blame for the current pubic safety crises, but who gives a shit whose fault it is. As a taxpayer, property owner, and even an employee of the fire department, I DEMAND SOLUTIONS. Not blame game. Get it together or get lost, and that goes out to all parties. At this pace no one will enjoy any job or retirement if major steps are not taken to work our way out of this national/global economic crises.

I am pessimistic that an accord could be made in Camden to salvage the present police force. Both sides are entrenched. But maybe the pain to come in the near-term will be enough to bring a collaborative effort among the stakeholders to create the new fire services organization needed for the next 80 years. For that I am hopeful for. Until next-year (Lord-willing), Feliz Navidad y Prospero Ano!

It’s been pretty quiet at work (Suppression, Camden Fire Dept. (NJ) the last couple of  months.  Sometimes you get a good week or two period with no ‘jobs’ (fires).  But it’s been two months for us on 2 Platoon without a real good job.  The last one we was during  the string of multi-alarm arson jobs that made national headlines.

This brings a theory I’ve had since a campaign 12 years ago focused on identifying, cleaning out, and sealing vacant properties. End result:  fires took a dramatic drop.  So right after the big ones we had this spring , there was a brief campaign to clean-out and seal vacants.

Now we are coming up on the ‘busy season’.  As the nights get chillier, the calls for oil burners and carbon monoxide are good for a couple runs a night.  Vacant buildings on fire from vagrants attempting to stay warm are good for another one or two.  And in Camden, last but certainly not least, we have arson jobs.

The number of fires traditionally have been good enough to justify a one day on, 3 days off work schedule (how sweet is that?!).  And that’s without EMS runs.  But now we’ll get to see if the last couple of months were just a lucky break.  If the quiet continues, was it due to the brief focus this year on clearing out and sealing vacants?

Another theory is that the intense period of multi-alarm fires, news coverage, and insertion of arson task forces planted a meme in people’s heads that it’s not an opportune time to commit arson.  Or maybe it’s a combination of both theories.  Or could it be something way bigger?

In the book, ‘The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy – What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America’s Next Rendezvous with Destiny“, by Strauss and Howe; the authors tell us how the generations now in adulthood are less prone to violence and acts of passion then the Baby Boomers of the last four decades.  Except for the occasional blip in the stats, the statistical outlier, or maybe the brief expression of extreme social sentiment, the overall trend may be down for demand of public safety services.  Time will tell.  Man, these are crazy times (…or maybe not).

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Social mood, point of recognitions, demographic analysis, and decision impacts are some things we take a hard look at in the Hardcore Leadership for the Fire Service newsletter (set for Spring 2012 release). If you are busting your butt to come up with some magic to deal with this economic mess then YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS OUT ON THIS.  Hardcore Leadership is exactly what is says it is.  Straight to the point, no B.S.!!  These are times for solutions, moving fast, walking the talk.  One idea can save you millions.  One idea can save your job.  One idea done right will save lives.  Isn’t that why we’re here?  Now take charge and get to work!

It’s time to get back into the Solutions Business. Maybe this time someone may listen. With the threat of my department being consolidated out of existence, ‘the fire is under my ass’ to step it up.  Recent events here in Camden, NJ would make one assume job security is in effect.  Think about it, how often does a hard hitter arrive second due on a 12-alarmer warehouse job in the city?  On a 97◦F day.  Followed by 2, 3, 8 alarm jobs in the same month?  And just when you’re feeling a little safe about your job, the governor cuts  all the state aid to  my city.  So no balanced budget. Again.  Welcome to the new times.  A lot like the old times except we are approaching End Game.   Featuring dwindling budgets, politicians publicly hate on union firefighters (and teachers too, it’s a New Jersey thing), and not to be left out, the firebugs have heard the call and are running around.  Must be those Super-moons that’s been in the news lately.  Or maybe something in the air because I’m getting my ass kicked.  Both engine companies on either side of me were closed so my firehouse is automatically doing more with less.  Add heat-waves and all day and night burning chemical plants and Super Fund jobs, and so far…..no solutions or even a decent plan proposal set forth by anybody with the power to do something.  Does this sound a little like your situation maybe.  Do you think that if maybe we (that includes you too!) don’t do something about it, it may be over soon?  Well, I like my job and I like the idea of retiring with a pension that is reasonably healthy.  Don’t want to be entry level on at any new employment going into my 50′s.  Got to give it all I got and leave nothing on the battlefield.  So let’s get ready for the opening salvo.

Former RCA Victor "Nipper" Bldg

Post-Industrial decline has it’s many faces.  Here are some pictures that represent 3 of the looks.  The “Nipper” building photo shows the tower of a former radio and phonograph manufacturing building that was “cleaned up” and converted into rental apartments.  It took a lot of public money to provide the incentives to entice a private developer to come in and invest.  Long story, short… you won’t be seeing any more of these projects any more in older urban areas.  The money has run dry and real estate projects are pretty much dead in the water now.  So the only thing left for these old industrial sites or “brownfields” is to hang around with no one paying taxes on them.  Now “the fires” have begun.  Seen this before.  Replay of the 70′s.

If you’ve seen it all before and think that it can’t get any worse, here we go… how about hydrants stripped for the brass. Bad enough engine companies are closed so there is a delay in water supply, add pulling up to wrap and connect a hydrant and SURPRISE!  Busted hydrant.  Delay in water supply.  Dial up the alarms to the box now since company closings have taken any nearby reserves (aka ‘the fat’) out of the picture.  When it’s all said and done, after the politicians and the PIOs have voiced their outrage, your job is to step up your 6 Ps (PRIOR PLANNING PREVENTS PISS-POOR PERFORMANCE).  In the end, we are the professionals here.   We have to make it work somehow.

The row of homes picture shows some of the 23 buildings that burned during a 12-alarm and simultaneous 2-alarm fire in June.  The fire started in an old industrial building during a 97◦F day.  In the end, bad hydrants, bad luck, closed companies, etc, and we have a lot of families displaced.  This building fire was followed by a couple more muli-alarm fires at former industrial buildings.  What’s lost in all this is that some of these buildings are in stages of Super Fund cleanup.  So while the firefighters are exposed to the unknown, our health plans are being degraded. And men are worried about being thrown off the job with no future health coverage.  These are tough conditions to run a public safety agency, let alone run it more efficient and obtain buy-in from the troops for any departmental structural reengineering. Alright Chief, make it work.  That’s why you get paid the big bucks.

Damaged side threads, missing front threads