Being able to teach firefighters from throughout the state gives me the opportunity to listen to, and have discussions with, people from departments of all sizes and demographics.  I try to draw from the positive information and purge the negative comments.  However, one of the most frustrating comments that I hear from firefighters while discussing strategy and tactics is “we can’t do that stuff like those big departments.” Usually, they are referring to things like truck work, rapid intervention and having seemingly endless resources.  However, these are usually excuses used to shield themselves from new ideas.  Strategy and tactics are based more on decision making  and skill proficiency than equipment and manpower.  The size of your department does NOT matter!

The first five minutes of any fire are the most critical. More so, the decisions and actions of the first arriving unit(s) determine the success of the operations.  If your first arriving unit is staffed with three firefighters (because that’s farfetched), their ability to assess the situation, determine what needs to be done and begin doing it will have a greater affect on the outcome than six units on scene with no direction.

If  your department has fewer resources, having the right attitude, leadership and management may establish a culture of superior firefighting that compensates for its lack of size with intelligent decisions and aggressive and properly executed tactics.  Some suburban and rural departments may be fairly strong with their First Alarm assignment but may have extended response times and/or rely on mutual aid beyond that.  In a case like this, even an advanced single family dwelling fire should be easily manageable, however it is vital for the initial units to be able to work together as well as be proficient as individual crews.  This could mean the difference between a solid First Alarm stop and a 2nd Alarm or greater catastrophe.

The late Tom Brennan said,“I don’t want to do anything (task) first. I want to do seven things all at once.” While this should be a the attitude of any firefighter, officer or Incident Commander, with limited resources you may have prioritize those tasks. For example, at a residence fire you have people trapped with fire showing from one window, since you know where the fire is but not the victims, you may choose to remove the problem by extinguishing the fire.  However, if you have people trapped with only smoke showing, since you don’t know where the fire is,  you may opt to prioritize a search and/or ventilation.  Ideally, you want to carry out fire attack, search and ventilation simultaneously. If  you are the first arriving unit with distant or no backup, you may be forced to make some difficult decisions.

When a fire happens, it is not the public’s concern how many firefighters show up.  All they know is that there is a fire with entrapment and they expect us to show up, save lives and put the fire out.  Period.  If we show up and perform proficiently and professionally, we can maintain a positive relationship with the public.  The public want results, not excuses.  When the bell rings, and its time to go to work, remember that size doesn’t matter.