Iron Sharpens Iron...

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”

- Proverbs 27:17

South Metro Station 34

Good day and happy Thursday...

Yesterday was an interesting and insightful time for me as I was honored to spend the morning with the South Metro Station 34 Fire and Rescue team. I received a first-hand look at their station, equipment and an impromptu look at some training they were conducting.

Special thanks to my host and the rest of the team at Station 34 for the "down and in" tactical look. They were very gracious, accommodating and welcoming. Thank you seems inadequate for all you do every day but, thank you. 

I witnessed a talented, skilled and passionate team on-duty yesterday equipped with some sophisticated, state-of-the-art technology and equipment plus some old school gear that enables them to do what they do best - save lives.

The Irons -
Axe and Halligan Tool

Upon arrival, I had the opportunity to observe several team members conducting training for forcible entry, a basic duty for all firefighters that can be a daily occurence. Of course I asked a lot of questions as I watched them use The Irons (i.e., axe and halligan tool) on the training door. Think those tools are simply a fashion statement for firefighters? Hardly. Do they work to preserve the integrity of the door - indeed. Irons are the tools that firefighters routinely use, especially if hydraulic forcible entry tools are not available or in their arsenal. I enjoyed observing the experienced team members sharing, mentoring and working with a more junior firefighter on the art of entry and the tactics for external opening and internal opening doors. An impressive display of iron sharpening iron with the team from Station 34. Yes, the tech and equipment they use is impressive but ultimately when they respond it is about the team work, trust, training - the human dimension.

Oh, the halligan tool - what a clever and versatile tool. Unfamiliar with the tool and its origin? Give this article a read.  An impressive and capable invention, especially in the hands of a South Metro Station 34 Fire and Rescue firefighter. 

The remaining time was spent looking at the Fire Station and discussing the capabilities of Tower 34, Rescue 34, Tender 34 and Medic 34 vehicles. What an impressive array of equipment. 

I will leave with you with some photos I snapped as my host allowed me in to each vehicle and talked me through its capabilities and how/when it is employed. If you ever have an opportunity to visit a fire station in your area or observe their training - do it! You will learn a lot and have a better understanding of the outstanding heart, skill and character of these first responders who put their lives on the line for you and me - every day. We are fortunate to have them in place 24x7, 365.

Tower 34 - Towers carry an assortment of equipment including ground ladders, forcible entry tools, extrication equipment, water (~300 gallons), pump and hoses, manned by a crew of four firefighters. 

Tower 34 Truck

Rescue 34 - A specialized vehicle used by the technical rescue team to respond to emergencies like building collapse, vehicle extrication and large structure fires.

Rescue 34 Truck

Tender 34 - South Metro operates 6 water tenders which are staffed when needed by the Engine, Tower or Medic crew housed with them. South Metro protects many areas without fire hydrants which requires them to bring their own water to extinguish fires. All of their tenders carry around 3,000 gallons of water.

Tender 34 Engine

Medic 34 - Staffed with a crew of two firefighters, of which one is a paramedic. They respond to all types of emergencies and can transport patients to the hospital. The powered gurney lift is a great addition to this vehicle and a back saver!

Medic 34

I expect you are also wondering if they still use a fireman's pole to get from the top floor of the station to the ground floor - yep, they sure do.

Station 34 - Fireman's Pole

Humbly,
Collabman

Gut Feeling...

"You Know Normal...and When Something is Off."

Good afternoon. It has been a busy couple of weeks and these next two weeks are no different. Keep listening, keep learning, keep moving - that's my rhythm. Life is short, make it sweet.

I finished my third listen of the one hour and 40 minute interview with two first responders here in Colorado as they talked through the questions I listed in a previous blog here. To recap, one individual was with the "red" team (Fire and Rescue) - an experienced, super talented fire and rescue veteran who has also served as a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) medic. SWAT medics are usually paramedics who have received specialized training in tactical medicine. They provide tactical medical care in situations that are often too dangerous for regular paramedics or ambulance workers. 

In addition to the "red" team member, we also honored to have a very seasoned and skilled member of the "blue" team (Law Enforcement) who is currently serving as a SWAT team member here in Colorado.

When the recording was over I couldn't help but remember a statement from David Smith, The Guardian journalist who was embedded in the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment (my son's unit) during combat operations in Iraq in the fall of 2007. David said in his article Apprehensive? Oh Yes "The confidence of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment platoon was infectious. If you had to trust your life to anyone, these professional men with their hi-tech weapons would be high on the list. Yes, they said, they still feel fear, but with routine they learn to control it: fear breeds alertness, and is better than getting cocky or casual."

Needless to say, I would trust my life to any of the first responders I've interviewed...and their teams. That's how good they are especially when it matters most. They leave nothing to chance and are constantly leaning in with their training to stay sharp and ensure they maintain an edge, regardless of the adversary or challenge. 

If you listen to them talk about their individual and team situational awareness (SA) it becomes clear just how important the human dimension is as they take in and process information during the initial call, en route, when they arrive on-scene and as the incident dynamically unfolds. Do they have computers in their vehicles displaying the latest information? You bet. Is it accurate? Is there an algorithm running that connects it all and makes sense of the puzzle pieces before they arrive? Is there an algorithm running that adjusts to new information, shares implications and updates them with what will happen next? Not a chance...

From the time a call comes in from dispatch these first responders are thinking, talking and working to form a mental SA picture of what to anticipate, while maintaining the ability to adapt. Take a look at the graphic below that my former Collaboration Operations team put together to highlight and contrast what machines do well...and the human piece.

Both individuals spoke to most, if not all of the items in the human list above as they processed what they were hearing from dispatch as well as what they observed when they arrived on scene. It was interesting to hear them describe the initial information received and more importantly how they factored in their experience and training with subtle indicators such as the language used to describe the incident, number of calls received for the incident, etc. 

Once on-scene, and especially if the incident reportedly involved an active threat, their awareness and sensing of sounds, smells, movement, human behavior, etc. was at a heightened level. Risk and threat were constantly being assessed - "...you know normal and when something is off."

None of what they and their team were doing is tech-driven. None of it. The same holds true for why the Human Net in collaboration is not about the tech. It is about the human dimension and leveraging those capabilities that tech cannot bring to the fight when ambiguity and chaos is overwhelming.

Technology is easy to talk about and deploy. The human dimension? That's what we typically overlook.

Humbly,
Collabman

Adapt and Overcome...

"If you don't work as a team you fail..."

- Colorado Firefighter

Good morning - I took the opportunity to relisten to the interview last week with a local firefighter. The themes on teamwork, cohesion and training were crystal clear and well presented. This is a talented, skilled, experienced firefighter with 20+ years of firefighting work - he has seen a lot.

I appreciated his insight and candid responses to this question: "Your team... what are some specific examples of being in total synch, on the same page mentally, etc.? Are there examples where this did not happen or the teamwork started to fall apart? How did you respond?"

Here are a few key comments I pulled from the audio recording that are reminders to just how much work is involved in building a tight-knit team and being in total sync. 

Teamwork
"There is always going to be teamwork. It is a huge part of our job. If you don't work as a team, you fail...and everybody knows that."

"You have to adapt and overcome - when things change with your crew...everyone has different personalities, so when you get different personalities coming in that can cause problems... that doesn't mean they're wrong, people are just different and you have to find a way to make that work."

"...we have all been part of that same crew for awhile, the same people - through that experience of training together and running calls together, it is huge. We have a plan, we know our responsibilities, we know what that person is doing, we know their capabilities - you get that knowledge by working with them longer and by training with them, by going through the real-life things with them."

Cohesion
"The more you work together the stronger that gel gets. It also depends on how much training you do together and how many calls you run together. Somewhere around a year you are beginning to understand everyone else in your crew and things are starting to come together."

"You see crews that have been together for five years and it shows...and it helps. When you know exactly what that person is going to do, you don't have to worry about it and you can focus on your own tasks - that makes a huge difference."

Training
"We can train all day long. We can run through scenarios in our heads all day long. The bottom line is every situation is different. There is going to be chaos and knowing how your crew reacts to that chaos, that's big too."

"Obviously, I encounter situations I haven't been in before but I always fall back on my experience and training. I've seen this situation before and I have a feeling this is how it is going to turn out and this is how I am going to attack this situation."
___________________

Some powerful concepts and principles called out by this talented firefighter. I love his focus on the criticality of teamwork and how it is human-centric first and foremost.

I will leave you with some questions to consider...

** How many operations centers are still trying to engineer the chaos out of these emergency situations by chasing the top-down solution based on "more, more, more:"

• More data
• More hardware
• More software
• More bits of precision; and
• More quantification

This approach is important but insufficient. The surprising bottom-up solution in an emergency operations center is more informal interaction via social media - "who can we dialog with?"

** How is your team engaging collaboratively in real-time (i.e., the actual time when an incident takes place)? How is your Human Net performing?

** How well does your operations center respond to chaos?

Humbly,
Collabman

Mission-Driven Culture...

"In periods of chaos, uncertainty and ambiguity, our standard command and control doesn't work"

- Brian Fennessy, Fire Chief, Orange County, California

Good afternoon...

Early last week I ran across a 20 minute video titled Mission-Driven Culture that was shared on Twitter. It is from a FEMA PrepTalk presented by Brian Fennessy, Fire Chief, Orange County, California and is worth a look. I couldn't help but notice his discussion of situational awareness (SA) for one of the stories he shared. Tip of the hat to Fire Chief Fennessy and his leadership.

Throughout my career I was fortunate to work for senior leaders who stepped up, took a risk and built a mission-driven culture that ended up being extremely successful. In fact, one of the organizations I worked in was so successful we would frequently receive calls asking about open staff positions. From the outside looking in they could tell our organization, our leadership and how we did business was different, very different... and they wanted to be part of it.

Is this type of a culture easy to build? Not a chance. Mission-Centered Solutions captures it well with their statement: "Although aligning operational culture with the mission is paramount for an organization’s success, achieving this goal often proves elusive."

No time to watch the video? Then read on for the a summary based on my view of the video along with some reference materials shared by PrepTalks.

In this talk, Chief Fennessy shares his leadership journey and why he firmly believes that a mission-driven culture is critical to organizational success, both in times of chaos and during daily operations. 

What is a mission-driven culture? 

"The Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program, which Chief Fennessy helped develop, defines a mission-driven culture as a system of decentralized decision making, guided by a leader’s intent and combined with the authority and expectation to act."

Brian Fennessy, Fire Chief, Orange County, California

The challenge with any shift in culture is the change that has to occur. Note the description for this change: "Mission-driven culture is a change in an organization’s management strategy -- it involves leaders providing clear intent (task, purpose, end state) and guidelines within which individuals or teams make well-informed and safety-conscious decisions on the most effective way to approach the situation." 

I will guess that this approach will rock some boats for those who have worked in an organization that typically follows a traditional command and control model where those closet to the situation follow strict policies and procedures or risk significant consequences.

Brian Fennessy, Fire Chief, Orange County, California

What are the values of a mission-driven culture?

1. Service for the Common Good - A commitment that all actions and decisions should contribute to the desired team result.
2. High Trust State - Developing trust in systems and people, which lays the foundation for effective decision making. 
3. Pursuit of Truth - An emphasis on maximum situational awareness through detailed questioning, active listening, and confirmation. 
4. Form & Function Defined by the End State  - A willingness to refine the framework based on evolving needs. 
5. Individual Initiative - Promotion of individual actions to take advantage of opportunities and solve problems within the bounds of the leader’s intent. 
6. Continuous Improvement - Promoting continuous learning and improvement, both organizationally and individually.

Brian Fennessy, Fire Chief, Orange County, California

For me, this is exciting to see within the emergency management community. In my former career, we focused our CollabOps and Human Net strategy by building, nurturing and coaching operational chat rooms that mirrored the mission-driven culture described by Fire Chief Fennessy. Once again, lots of scars to show for it but the work was worth every hate-mail received and every individual yelling that we were "upsetting the natural order of things." It allowed us on numerous occasions to get left of bang and keep our assets (people and equipment) out of harms way. What better metric is needed? 

So... Elephant or cheetah? (If you don't know what I mean, watch the video) 

Are you bought in? If not, what are your concerns that may be holding you and/or your organization from moving forward with a mission-driven culture?

Humbly,

Collabman

Bad Guys Always Have a Say...

"The carnage never seems to end and it’s left many in America grappling with how to react, how to heal and how to change things for the better." - HuffPost, 4 Aug

Morning. My heart aches this morning for the communities of El Paso and Dayton - and for our nation. I saw a number of comments on Twitter that hit the mark from my perspective. None more so than this tweet from Director Kevin Klein, Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management following the shooting in El Paso...

"So sad. As we mourn the dead and care for the wounded, we must do more to prevent targeted violence. It has to be a whole of community approach - law enforcement, behavioral health, social services, faith groups, etc. Finally, as a society we cannot tolerate hate. #ElPasoStrong"

Kevin Klein - Director, Colorado DHSEM

I was off the net last Wednesday and Thursday as I participated in a ride-along at the invitation of a Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team here in Colorado. If you are unfamiliar with the role of a SWAT team - SWAT: A designated law enforcement team whose members are recruited, selected, trained, equipped and assigned to resolve critical incidents involving a threat to public safety which would otherwise exceed the capabilities of traditional law enforcement first responders and/or investigative units. 

What a tremendous opportunity to see first-hand the work of this highly-skilled team and specifically (my focus) how they collaborate, share information and work as a team of teams with various law enforcement and emergency medical units. Needless to say, I was impressed with their well-honed capabilities, tactics and techniques. This SWAT team was everything I expected - rock-solid individuals, extremely professional, well-trained and passionate about protecting their community. I was humbled to watch this team in action and trust me - they left nothing to chance. Thank you to everyone involved for making me feel welcomed - it was a true honor.

In between incidents, I had time to discuss numerous topics and concepts with a super talented, smart and seasoned SWAT member who not only provided the invite but was extremely patient in answering my non-stop questions. He also provided a tour of a dispatch center, allowed me to sit in on a pre-brief for an upcoming tactical operation and observe multiple responses up close and personal. Quite an experience that I am grateful for and will never forget. Plus, lots to consider and blog about in the coming days and weeks.

The topics we discussed during the lull in action included:

• Situational awareness (SA) visual displays and current needs.
• Emerging technology to include robots, drones, concepts for their use and how new tech is embraced - or not.
• Tactical and operational communications flow.
• Policies, procedures and rules of engagement.
• Continuum of force concept and its application.
• Tradecraft and specifically, the use of plain language, jargon, lexicon during radio communications.
• The role of dispatch in tactical and operational incidents.

One statement he made that caught my attention as we talked about pre-planning and SA during the first night was this - "bad guys always have a say." Think about that and its impact on the role of first responders. Both nights I watched as that statement played out during multiple incidents causing the SWAT team to quickly collaborate, adjust and respond based on the actions taken by the bad guy(s). I was impressed with their agility and ability to flex regardless of the situation.

This understanding and ethos is similar to how we teach and train collaboration operations. Check out my "Train Like You Fight" blog for my approach to exercises and why its important to keep them real, unpredictable and filled with a healthy dose of fog of war...not scripted, not predictable and definitely not easy.

Whether it's a bad guy or a wildfire with erratic, unpredictable behavior - the requirement for a collaborative team remains flexibility. How flexible and adaptable is your team? How about your Incident Command Post (ICP) or Emergency Operations Center? How realistic are your training events? How is the health of your Human Net?

Humbly,

Collabman