Tag Archives: Planning

How are we doing?

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passes analysis chart

It’s that time of year when we all look back and recount how we did over the past 365 days. I hope every department is reviewing the benchmarks they set for themselves last year and measuring their successes. More importantly what can be improved over the next year.
There is nothing worse than having an incredibly successful year of progress and thinking that you have found the secret recipe of operating. We can never sit idle in the belief that we’re there. Our profession is one that will never reach a pinnacle or state of dominance in the market. We must strive for a balance of safe communities and the flexibility to grow with community’s ability to fund the operation.
The fire service is steeped in a traditional service model that is struggling in today’s economy. How can we continue to safely deliver our service with less ? If your reading this post, today is your lucky day. I will give you the secret to sustaining your service with less….

Think outside of the box.

How we’ve always done it, will not survive in a shrinking budget. The traditional model is based on growth to maintain whatever level your service is at.  I would venture a guess that whatever your service delivery is today, it can use some improving.

Step 1; Analyze your service delivery.

  • Does your delivery times match acceptable levels to be effective? (NFPA 1710/20)
  • Are you able to muster the needed resources to be effective? (NFPA 1710/20)
  • Are your prevention measures adequate to address target potentials and new growth?
  • How successful were your responses over the last year?
  • How many education contacts did you make last year? (Schools, Apartments, Elderly, other targets)
  • Can you show a direct correlation between your efforts and a reduction of incidents?

Step 2; Adjust operations to meet an improvement goal for next year.

  • Targeted training to better an area of needed improvement.
  • Strategically position resources to better serve actual service demands.
  • Enlist outside resources to assist with goal attainment.
  • Explore models of success in other agencies.
  • Re-direct budget funding towards effect programs.
Step 3; Repeat.

These steps are familiar or should be. It is what every fire service leader has been taught for years. The difference that I’m writing about, is to do these steps with the dynamics of changing and moving resources that you have. If you keep good records, you should have some predictability in service demands and what causes them. (In other word, where are the calls, what are they and what is causing them). Address these points, make them go away, or at least decrease.

An example of my ranting; a neighboring department had a high demand for EMS in their service area. Unable to garner more staff, they created “squads” that were large EMS units (4-door) that carried firefighting gear as well. These squads were put into service in the areas of need without drawing more manning into the budget. The data showed that the EMS service demands did not necessarily coincide with fire demands. No brainer, use EMS units when needed and then shift those units to fire units when needed. I know the arguments, and I’ll debate their thin. We have to address the needs, not the “what ifs.”  Remember, outside the box, (Tradition vs. Progress)

This is not the only method to address service efficiency. Every area of our business needs to be evaluated and then brainstormed for better ways of doing it. Start with looking back over the past year and discussing how to do it better next year. And then be open to do things differently.