By Philip Duczyminski

Businesses have been using data to make decisions for many years now.

The data they use help them analyze their business practices and help them become more efficient and more profitable, hire better employees, and market their products more effectively. In 1994, Compstat was effectively used within the New York Police Department (NYPD). Compstat stands for COMPuter STATistics and is a management process within a performance management framework that synthesizes analysis of crime and disorder data, strategic problem solving, and a clear accountability structure.1 Compstat has been credited with reducing crime in New York as well as other jurisdictions, but would the premise behind the system work for fire departments as well?

First and foremost, this article will detail some of my personal experience with Compstat as well as provide some recommendations to make the process more suitable for fire departments. In 2009, the Novi (MI) Fire Department hired the International City Managers Association (ICMA) to perform a staffing and utilization study. In the study, ICMA recommended implementing regular Compstat meetings.2 Since that time, the department began conducting a weekly meeting between the police and fire departments with the weekly data presented to both agencies. One of the biggest things I have learned is that data usage is different for every agency. A police department can use data to find crime trends, accident trends, etc. These data can help determine where to effectively put law enforcement officers to reduce these incidents. A fire department will not necessarily reduce fires or medical incidents by placing more firefighters in a given area. However, there can be some benefits if the data are used correctly and ethically.

Why Look?

So, why would you want to look at your data? The simple answer is to improve. Did you know that 85 percent of all statistics are made up? If you do a search across the Internet, you will find thousands of statistical inconsistencies. Why would that occur? Simply put: When someone is trying to prove a point, he needs some kind of data to prove his point. Mark Twain said, “Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable.”3 I know this point may cause some unrest for some, but let me ask you one more question: Have you ever seen someone try to prove his point with data and find that the opposite fact is true? Me either. Within a selection of data, there are many variables that will generally allow the person selecting the data to keep, change, alter, or eliminate data or just change the criteria to keep data out of the report that are detrimental to his cause.

I know of an emergency medical service (EMS) agency that contracts for service with a local municipality that is contractually obligated to meet a response time standard. The EMS agency must arrive to priority calls within 7 minutes 30 seconds 90 percent of the time. This looks pretty good on the surface, but if you look at the data you will find that the agency is allowed exceptions from the standard. It is allowed an exception for instances such as multiple calls at the same time, poor road conditions, etc. Once it subtracts all the calls it determines to be “exceptions,” that is its average response time. In my opinion, this shows that the data can be manipulated by many variables to ensure the agency is meeting its contractual requirements. There should never be an emergency call that is considered an exception. I am not making the argument about which service is superior. The point I am trying to make is that the numbers don’t tell the whole story, and many people will use those numbers to prove their point even if they are flawed. Residents don’t want exceptions, they want service. As George Canning said, “I ca

By Philip Duczyminski

Businesses have been using data to make decisions for many years now.

The data they use help them analyze their business practices and help them become more efficient and more profitable, hire better employees, and market their products more effectively. In 1994, Compstat was effectively used within the New York Police Department (NYPD). Compstat stands for COMPuter STATistics and is a management process within a performance management framework that synthesizes analysis of crime and disorder data, strategic problem solving, and a clear accountability structure.1 Compstat has been credited with reducing crime in New York as well as other jurisdictions, but would the premise behind the system work for fire departments as well?

First and foremost, this article will detail some of my personal experience with Compstat as well as provide some recommendations to make the process more suitable for fire departments. In 2009, the Novi (MI) Fire Department hired the International City Managers Association (ICMA) to perform a staffing and utilization study. In the study, ICMA recommended implementing regular Compstat meetings.2 Since that time, the department began conducting a weekly meeting between the police and fire departments with the weekly data presented to both agencies. One of the biggest things I have learned is that data usage is different for every agency. A police department can use data to find crime trends, accident trends, etc. These data can help determine where to effectively put law enforcement officers to reduce these incidents. A fire department will not necessarily reduce fires or medical incidents by placing more firefighters in a given area. However, there can be some benefits if the data are used correctly and ethically.

Why Look?

So, why would you want to look at your data? The simple answer is to improve. Did you know that 85 percent of all statistics are made up? If you do a search across the Internet, you will find thousands of statistical inconsistencies. Why would that occur? Simply put: When someone is trying to prove a point, he needs some kind of data to prove his point. Mark Twain said, “Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable.”3 I know this point may cause some unrest for some, but let me ask you one more question: Have you ever seen someone try to prove his point with data and find that the opposite fact is true? Me either. Within a selection of data, there are many variables that will generally allow the person selecting the data to keep, change, alter, or eliminate data or just change the criteria to keep data out of the report that are detrimental to his cause.

I know of an emergency medical service (EMS) agency that contracts for service with a local municipality that is contractually obligated to meet a response time standard. The EMS agency must arrive to priority calls within 7 minutes 30 seconds 90 percent of the time. This looks pretty good on the surface, but if you look at the data you will find that the agency is allowed exceptions from the standard. It is allowed an exception for instances such as multiple calls at the same time, poor road conditions, etc. Once it subtracts all the calls it determines to be “exceptions,” that is its average response time. In my opinion, this shows that the data can be manipulated by many variables to ensure the agency is meeting its contractual requirements. There should never be an emergency call that is considered an exception. I am not making the argument about which service is superior. The point I am trying to make is that the numbers don’t tell the whole story, and many people will use those numbers to prove their point even if they are flawed. Residents don’t want exceptions, they want service. As George Canning said, “I ca

By Philip Duczyminski

Businesses have been using data to make decisions for many years now.

The data they use help them analyze their business practices and help them become more efficient and more profitable, hire better employees, and market their products more effectively. In 1994, Compstat was effectively used within the New York Police Department (NYPD). Compstat stands for COMPuter STATistics and is a management process within a performance management framework that synthesizes analysis of crime and disorder data, strategic problem solving, and a clear accountability structure.1 Compstat has been credited with reducing crime in New York as well as other jurisdictions, but would the premise behind the system work for fire departments as well?

First and foremost, this article will detail some of my personal experience with Compstat as well as provide some recommendations to make the process more suitable for fire departments. In 2009, the Novi (MI) Fire Department hired the International City Managers Association (ICMA) to perform a staffing and utilization study. In the study, ICMA recommended implementing regular Compstat meetings.2 Since that time, the department began conducting a weekly meeting between the police and fire departments with the weekly data presented to both agencies. One of the biggest things I have learned is that data usage is different for every agency. A police department can use data to find crime trends, accident trends, etc. These data can help determine where to effectively put law enforcement officers to reduce these incidents. A fire department will not necessarily reduce fires or medical incidents by placing more firefighters in a given area. However, there can be some benefits if the data are used correctly and ethically.

Why Look?

So, why would you want to look at your data? The simple answer is to improve. Did you know that 85 percent of all statistics are made up? If you do a search across the Internet, you will find thousands of statistical inconsistencies. Why would that occur? Simply put: When someone is trying to prove a point, he needs some kind of data to prove his point. Mark Twain said, “Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable.”3 I know this point may cause some unrest for some, but let me ask you one more question: Have you ever seen someone try to prove his point with data and find that the opposite fact is true? Me either. Within a selection of data, there are many variables that will generally allow the person selecting the data to keep, change, alter, or eliminate data or just change the criteria to keep data out of the report that are detrimental to his cause.

I know of an emergency medical service (EMS) agency that contracts for service with a local municipality that is contractually obligated to meet a response time standard. The EMS agency must arrive to priority calls within 7 minutes 30 seconds 90 percent of the time. This looks pretty good on the surface, but if you look at the data you will find that the agency is allowed exceptions from the standard. It is allowed an exception for instances such as multiple calls at the same time, poor road conditions, etc. Once it subtracts all the calls it determines to be “exceptions,” that is its average response time. In my opinion, this shows that the data can be manipulated by many variables to ensure the agency is meeting its contractual requirements. There should never be an emergency call that is considered an exception. I am not making the argument about which service is superior. The point I am trying to make is that the numbers don’t tell the whole story, and many people will use those numbers to prove their point even if they are flawed. Residents don’t want exceptions, they want service. As George Canning said, “I ca

By Robert Tutterow

Many veteran firefighters may remember the 1971 Iowa State University film titled, “Where’s the Water?”

The film opens with a firefighter on the end of a nozzle waiting for his line to be charged. With a degree of frustration, he turns and yells, “Where’s the water?” The film illustrates the hydraulics of water with great clarity. If you haven’t seen it, look it up on YouTube.

The fire service has come a long way since the days of the bucket brigade to get water on a fire. Underground water systems, hydrants, fire hose, rural water sources, fire pumps, and sprinkler and standpipe systems have made water readily available for most fire suppression operations. But, what about air supply? Have there been advances in getting breathing air to firefighters? In reality, no. Certainly, steel bottles have been replaced with lighter weight bottles and high-pressure self-contained breathing apparatus and air cylinders have lightened the weight of a firefighter’s air supply.

However, readily available replenishment air inside large big box, warehouse, manufacturing, and high-rise buildings has not been on many radar screens in the fire service. Think about it-what are the two most important expendable things a firefighter needs inside a large structure? Water and breathing air. Isn’t there a better way to get air to firefighters than lugging air cylinders up multiple flights of stairs? What about an air standpipe-similar to a water standpipe?

A short case study: In 1988, the 62-story First Interstate Bank Building caught fire in Los Angeles, California. The fire started on the 10th floor. More than 600 air cylinders were used by 383 firefighters who fought the fire. Air replenishment was a major issue as you might imagine.

I readily admit that I had never given the concept any thought until being at a luncheon presentation at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s Technology Summit earlier this year in Oakland, California. Today, we generally think of technology as electronic computer-driven applications, but an air supply standpipe is also a technological advancement. Yet, the collective fire service has never given such technology much thought.

Supplied Air in Buildings

Such a system is available. It must be firefighter-related because it already has an acronym: FARS, or firefighter air replenishment system. FARS is a permanently installed air system that delivers safe breathing air to firefighters. It can be used in immediately dangerous to life or health atmospheres and can refill an air cylinder in less than two minutes. The cascade-based system is constantly pressurized and is constantly monitored for breathing air quality. It can be integrated into a building’s fire alarm system and command control center. An audible and a visual alert will activate if there is a breach in air quality. The system is recharged by the fire department’s mobile air supply unit.

Many may argue that extending breathing air supply can be a hazard. It might cause firefighters to get too deep in a structure and get lost or overexert themselves, causing cardiac issues. That is understood, but sound air management principles should nullify this argument. This system is designed for structures that will likely cause firefighters to expend all their air just getting to the point of attack. Pause for a moment and think about the structures in your jurisdiction where firefighters might have a need for an air replenishment system. Now think about the all the structures in all of your neighboring departments that might have such structures. You’ll likely be going in those should there be a working fire. Major urban fire departments should lobby strongly for the installation of FARS from a legislative angle as well as independently with property owners. Smaller departments should band together and do likewise. In addition to firefighter health and s