Lead the Way

Company officers hold a unique position of influence

Photo Gert Zoutendijk

As a new firefighter, I loved seeing certain officers at the firehouse when I showed up to work. One such person was my first captain, Danny Marshall. Working with him, I knew we would drill, he would teach me something new and I would be safe. He was a mentor, teacher and leader, as well as “The Captain.”

Capt. Marshall was a man who believed that an untrained, disorganized and dirty firehouse was for firefighters who didn’t care about their job or themselves. He was willing to work side by side with his men to make his firehouse a clean, organized and fun place to work—and it was.

I remember one day we had a senior chief stop by the firehouse to see the captain. Capt. Marshall made sure the chief had a spot to park his car in the firehouse. While the chief was inside, a few of us younger members of the company noticed the chief’s car was dirty, so we washed it. Seeing this, the chief told us it wasn’t our job to wash his car. The captain’s reply: It was his firehouse and anything parked in his firehouse was the responsibility of his men.

Capt. Marshall expected his firefighters to go above and beyond what was expected of them, and he would do the same to teach and protect us. He loved the job and as a result he was venerated throughout the firehouse and beyond. In fact, he was respected by all with whom he came in contact.

Why?

The Character of a Leader
What makes a fire officer a leader? It’s not only the rank they hold. An officer can be a junior officer, but still be respected and admired by his firefighters and superiors. It’s not the amount of time on the job, either. A firefighter officer can be greatly respected while still relatively new. Respect is earned when people lead by example and when they’re willing to do what’s right, even if it’s inconvenient. Great leaders not only do the right thing, but they also do the thing right, even when no one is looking. That’s called integrity.

Integrity to me is defined as being an honest and reliable person of high moral character. This is the person I want leading me if I must enter an immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH) atmosphere. I want someone who will be honest with me and with themselves about what we’re doing. I want to follow the man or woman because I respect and trust them.

Rank & Responsibility
We all know that you must respect rank because those who have attained the rank have earned sufficient respect from others to do so. Those in rank must likewise understand that the true respect of the individual officer is earned. Officers earn respect by doing the right thing and ensuring that their people are protected.

The officer who is a leader leads on and off the fireground. The most important place to be a good officer is on the fire floor and the floor above the fire. If you aren’t protecting and leading your people at a fire, you aren’t doing your job.

The other thing that an officer must do is to train. I have been talking about training a lot lately in my columns in FireRescue. The reason: I travel around the country to conduct training, and the number of firefighters I encounter who don’t train regularly in their departments is simply staggering.

Who is responsible for training? The chief. Ultimately, the buck stops there. In most departments, the chief has an assigned training officer who is responsible for implementing the training program. The training officer decides what training the department needs and establishes a schedule. Then, on the end of the training ladder is the company officer, who, in most departments, is responsible for providing the training on the company level.

That means that the company officer is the one who provides the training to the members of his or her company. They are the ones doing the training, and they are the ones with instant access to the feedback of their members. If the company officer goes into training with the attitude that the training is pointless or burdensome, what kind of message does this send to their firefighters? It tells them to zone out, that it doesn’t matter. I’ve done it myself, but it’s not the right way to approach training. What you should try to do is make the training part of some larger exercise that’s relevant to your people. This will keep them interested.

Motivate Your Crew
What’s the leading killer of firefighters in the United States today? Most people will say heart attacks, which is statistically correct. But also responsible: the television and the easy chair. “Hey, Captain, we can’t go out and drill now. Springer’s on.” If a TV show becomes more important than training, your company has a problem. Only the officers of the department can prevent this from happening or correct it when it occurs.

Leaders must motivate by example and get people enthused about drilling. It’s about safety. If you or your crew has learned all you need to know, then you should retire or resign. If you’re not learning new things or working on fundamentals, your career is as good as over.

Think of the first day you walked into the firehouse and consider how much you’ve learned since then. The fire service changes every day as the world around us changes. We must keep learning to stay ahead of industries that are evolving and others forces that are impacting our world. The construction, automobile, fire-service and communications industries—all of these change daily, and we must recognize the changes and adapt to them. Training is the only way to do so.

The company officer has a responsibility to train and teach the newer firefighter what must be done to be safe at a fire. Officers must be willing and able to pass on their knowledge. Ask yourself: Are the people you’re responsible for looking to you for leadership, or are they looking elsewhere? Are you the one they want to work with? If not, it’s time that you remember back to when you started and who inspired you. Emulate that person. I’ve taken parts of every great leader and mentor that I’ve encountered in my career and attempted to make them a part of who I am.

Conclusion
As the company officer, you have a unique ability to shape a new member of your unit or company as a mentor. What do you expect of your new people? I would like for them to respect me, but more than that, I want them to emulate me. I want to leave the fire department a better and safer place when my career is over. How about you?

Michael M. Dugan is a 33-year veteran of the fire service and a 23-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), currently serving as captain of Ladder Company 123 in Brooklyn. As a firefighter in Ladder Company 43, Dugan received the James Gordon Bennett medal in 1992 and the Harry M. Archer Medal in 1993, the FDNY’s highest award for bravery. He was an instructor at the inception of the FDNY’s Annual Education Day and has developed programs currently taught to all FDNY members during the annual event. Dugan serves as a HOT instructor at Firehouse Expo and FDIC, and is a regular contributor to fire service magazines. He also lectures at various events around the country on topics dealing with truck company operations, building construction, scene size-up and today’s fire service. Contact Captain Dugan at duganfire@aol.com or visit his Web site, www.NYfiretraining.com.