By M.C. Hyyppa
Firefighters come from a long tradition of physically placing one’s body between the problem and the solution. This generally translates into abnormally action-oriented individuals giving free rein to tendencies that probably should not be indulged. The byproduct of this often is a delightfully warped group of people that have an odd disregard for moments that would terrify anyone sane and in touch with reality.
The physicality of inserting one’s body into the hazard zone can be taught, practiced, and managed. This makes a certain amount of sense; you should probably have a plan for the tiger before you attach yourself to its tail. Many times not everyone in the group will embrace these unsafe behaviors, with the end result being a career-long pursuit of hiding, equipment trouble (folks that always seem to have problems with their mask at the front door), convenient industrial injuries, and being in the right place to skip the wrong time.
In firefighting, the word ‘offensive’ describes a aggressive behavior directed towards solving hazardous problems. To the rest of the world, the word ‘offensive’ often has a negative connotation, but offensive behaviors are what define firefighters, especially at the ground level where the actual work gets done. Task level operations require a level of response and action that put the “fighter” in “firefighter.”
Although the word ‘offensive’ for firefighters may carry positive overtones, the term ‘defensive’ almost carries a stigma; it suggest we are no longer brave soldiers, but victims of surrender, as if we would have just ignored the risks we would not have lost the day. As adept as we are with these offensive behaviors, we can be inept at defensive ones. Firefighters seem to have intelligence for very specific hazards.
The other day at a fire station I asked someone why they were putting up with a jerk captain. It was totally out of character for this person, and I was perplexed. They answered that they were trying to get their kid hired and didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes. Any threat that this individual would have encountered during an incident would have been attacked aggressively, but black and white on the fireground did not translate to the cold zone. Caution: Defensive behaviors?
In a meeting the other day about a possible policy change, several members said they were not going to let it pass before the meeting but stayed conspicuously quiet when the time came to object. Not a word was said. I am talking about people who don’t cry when they pick up dead children off of the street, who do their work with a stoic grace. For a fanciful moment in that meeting I wished that the quiet men could set up a portable monitor in the middle of that horrible conference room and stream the political hyenas that had changed the rules of the hazard zone. Why is the physical action so easy, and the other so hard? I wondered. Is physical danger really safer than emotional danger?
As we improve at our tasks and gain seniority we are naturally motivated to continue moving forward. We are offensive, but in a good way. For many, promotion means a step away from the task and into the organization. The one thing that an organization has is emotional hazards. Politics, favoritism, positioning, scheming, and back-stabbing seem to be the incident action plan for many departments. Phrases like, “It’s a process,” “be resilient,” “wait your turn,” “that is how we do it here,” “we are studying it,” “it’s not on the agenda,” and others indicate the ‘defensive’ posture of one’s new role. Amazingly, people who would not let conditions get out of control at the task level accept it as normal operating procedures organizationally.
In another meeting, however, a young captain stood up to the powers that be in our union, senior staff, and shift commanders. He fought for something that he believed in but that was not popular with anyone in a position of authority. He had nothing personal to gain from his fight except to improve things for the department. In all my life I have never seen a braver moment than when he stood up in that hostile, compromised environment and started an offensive fight at a time where the courageous were running for cover.
M.C. Hyyppa is a captain with a large metropolitan fire department.
