By Carl J. Haddon

As many of you know, I encourage readers to reach out to me with products and information that I can write about, and that we hopefully can all learn something from. The other day, a Brother sent me a video of a rural residential structure fire call that will haunt me for the rest of my life.

By all accounts, the fire was nothing remarkable: no down victims, no firefighter Mayday—a real snoozer room and contents fire. That is, until it consumed the entire home with outfitted firefighters watching it burn from outside.

The responding department had a relatively late model engine, lots of hose, and a properly flowing hydrant across the street from the house on fire. The firefighters appeared to be appropriately attired in full turnout gear. Most, if not all, had self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and face pieces affixed to their faces. There were two white helmets who I presumed were chiefs of some sort, at least one red helmet signifying a captain or two, and a number of yellow firefighter helmets in attendance. The video showed what appeared to be an adequate amount of fire hose deployed on to the lawn.

The home was a total loss because the firefighters couldn’t get water from the engine to the fire for almost 15 minutes. It is not for me to speculate whether or not they knew how to get water from the truck to the fire or if the problem was mechanical failure in nature. Regardless, this was an epic failure at all levels.

I share this with you without the intent of embarrassing the souls that responded to this fire, or trying to play Monday morning quarterback. Unfortunately as I travel rural America each year, I learn that this is not an uncommon occurrence! This situation is diametrically opposed to one where the department has old trucks, minimal equipment, no hydrants, and operates on a shoestring budget. This particular department, like many others across the United States and abroad, had or has the fire apparatus and equipment required to do the job. Seeing this incident unfold on the screen led to many questions. However at the end of the day, for me, it all came down to a matter of leadership, pride, and discipline.

Leadership
In this situation, did the leaders lead with the global best interest of their crew, the homeowner, and their community in mind? Does this department train all of its personnel (more than one hour once a month) to know how to pump their fire truck? Do they have a plan B, and do they train on that? Mutual aid units were on this scene but not deployed. I’d be curious to see what the after action report on this call looked like. Not wanting to second guess the incident commander, assuming there was one, lots of questions come to mind that go way beyond what happened or didn’t happen on scene. Does this department train with its mutual aid departments,so that they are all familiar with each other’s fire apparatus and equipment? Does this department actively seek continuing education for its line officers and chief officers? Good leaders surround themselves with good, competent, and well trained firefighters. Good leaders ensure that their staffs are well trained and competent as well as being outfitted and properly equipped. The best of equipment and the finest of fire trucks are worthless if the bosses don’t make sure the crews know how to use them.

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