By Rich Marinucci
Here’s a question for you: What will the long-term effects of COVID-19 have on the fire service?
There have definitely been many changes and adaptations directly related to the virus. But the questions that I have not heard much discussion about are the consequences of a virtual elimination of many fire-prevention plans and a change in priorities of training. Being a firm believer that prevention efforts work, whether inspections or public education, I have concerns that there will be an uptick in fires due to the lack of attention in this area.
From my unofficial surveys, the majority of fire departments greatly scaled back or eliminated routine inspection programs and public fire safety presentation due to “social distancing.” In the real world, this change doesn’t lead to an immediate increase in fires or their severity. But it is reasonable to ask if there will be a negative impact on those communities that cut back. And when will that change be realized? There are other questions that should be asked, too.
There should be some concern as to the viewpoint of the policy-makers and politicians. Will there be a reduction in budgets and/or personnel if there is no immediate increase in fires? Some of those folks don’t look too far down the road and may question the value if there is nothing changing. In their view, why pay for something that doesn’t change the outcomes? The leadership of the fire service, particularly, those with a passion for fire prevention must begin to think about this and have a strategy to counteract those who want to take advantage of this situation.
The same sorts of questions need to be asked internally of many departments. There has been a reduction of training and, in some cases, a change in priorities. Maybe there has not been as many hours committed to fire training, especially those intended to address preparation for low-frequency events. There have also been few in-person conferences, seminars, and workshops. I am also a big believer that good training programs make good fire departments. This includes regular and routine practice with sets and reps along with learning new things to stay current.
With fewer “live” options, will there be a decline in performance and/or errors made due to a lack of current information? Again, leadership needs to be prepared. If one could argue that nothing has changed and departments are just as competent, then there is no need to reinstate previous training programs. How will you answer that if asked?
Speaking of conferences, the FDSOA just completed its annual safety conference in Scottsdale. While attendance was down a bit due to COVID issues, the attendance was good, and the program well-received.
One thing that I found interesting was the participation by members of FDNY and little participation by other large, metro organizations. Obviously, FDNY has resources in-house to train their personnel. They have more incidents than anyone, so their experience is more than others. They also, in my opinion, have a greater variety and more unusual incidents than almost anyone in the world. Yet, the attitude of those who attended was that they can learn from others and need to get out of their comfort zone. It was very refreshing and sets a great example for others. I am not sure why other