My Board

A time I found myself in the top left box was the first time I pumped a structure fire.  I remember driving E48 while working at Miami Township and being more nervous than I had ever been when we pulled off the ramp and saw a large column of black smoke rising in the distance. We had been dispatched to a working apartment fire on the 3rd floor.  We were first on scene.  I could feel myself starting to become overwhelmed with all the tasks before me.  E48's crew pulled a handline and was gone to make an attack on the fire.  I had to make sure and slow myself down mentally to ensure I did everything correctly. 

Slowing down and falling back to my training helped me manage a high stress situation.  I learned that training was vitally important.  It is import to train to the point you cant mess things up.

           I was waiting for the BUT at the end, saying that it would never really happen. I'm not sure if he truly feels this way or just trying to get a rise out of people and get them talking. It's what we do to protect our selves prior to and afterwards, is going to determine our level of exposure. I know we all like to get our gear dirty as possible, but this is the stuff that's causing cancer. If we put our gear on properly, everything zipped and buttoned up with nothing exposed. Then afterwards clean up with decon wipes and switch out our gear with a clean set. We can prevent most of the things that are killing us.

          I do agree with his statements about educating, inspecting structures to help prevent fires, although this still isn't going to stop fires. It's kind of like saying if I workout, eat right, I'm not going to die. Not everything can be prevented, this is why they call them accidents.
I agree Brian, we train a lot to be able to protect each other, We should know by now when we can or can't enter a structure.

          Our tactics are changing to, with hitting it from the outside prior to entry. Either way we are still going to have to enter the structure. I could not see pulling up to a working fire and saying to the homeowner that we're not going in, regardless the amount involved. I could only imagine the backlash the fire departments would get for this new tactic. I can't save your house but I'm going to stop your neighbors from burning down, hopefully.

I won't pretend to have a lot of experience in counseling employees as a supervisor, but I have seen many situations that relate to this topic.  I worked with a firefighter that had many years of experience and was in the twilight of his career.  The supervisor we worked for ignored the problem of him being lazy and making excuses for poor job performance.  It was easier for the supervisor to place the burden on the other crew members than to deal with an uncomfortable situation.  After many frustrating months working as this guys partner I realized he wasn't necessarily lazy or unmotivated.  He had been shuffled around the department and felt under valued which led to him being unmotivated.  His supervisors didn't deal with the issue and sent him to a out laying station and had little expectation for him.  After I took the time to talk to him and recognizing he wanted to be more active I started helping him work on updating his skills. I was also able to have him teach myself and another member of the crew from his many years of experience.  It led to the "senior firefighter" feeling like he contributed to the crew and gave him buy in.  The firefighter and I had set expectations for each other as partners and both were able to meet them.  We became a great team and I was glad I didn't write him off as many had.

What strategies do I use to manage my time? When riding up I like to check my Microsoft calendar and email first thing in the morning. I also like to communicate with the Battalion and find out what he wants done for the day. Once I have a list established I then begin to prioritize the tasks by time sensitivity. After the time sensitive tasks are complete I help manage the crews to complete any other tasks needed and then we can work on individuals tasks.

Some of the obstacle I face is trying to stay on task when unexpected items pop up. Keeping up with emails and daily activities is hard to keep track of some days when there is a lot going on. I need to work on staying focused on the important tasks and then keeping a list of items to be done later. Once their is time in the day I could work on the less important tasks. Another distraction is just finding myself getting involved in conversations for long periods of time that are not important.

When working with time management I need to remember to stay on task and keep organized with time frames by using lists and keeping distractions from people and other devices while at work.

What strategies do you use to manage your time effectively?
     I begin the morning by looking at the CCFD Event calendar, Battalion's calendar, my Lieutenant's calendar, and my calendar to see what events and priorities there are for the day.  I then make a list of the items that I need to and want to accomplish for the day.  Another thing that I like to do it take on small but important tasks and get them done first thing in the morning and keep the accomplishment momentum going all day long.  Just like what US Navy Admiral William H. McRaven said, "If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed."

What are some of your biggest obstacles to you managing your time effectively?
     One of the biggest obstacles that I find for myself is the amount of tasks that I take on.  Like Capt. Cox, I do find that the more I have going on the more focused that I am.  One of the other obstacles is the obvious of the pop-up tasks.  It never fails, you get everything set out and ready to get started working and here comes FAR.

What can you do to remove some of these obstacles?
     Instead of taking on task after task, just take on a couple at a time that way as I get them done I can keep the momentum going to get others done.