Have a Plan!

Have a Plan!

If you have been trying to get hired by a fire department, you have probably had some interesting experiences – both good and bad. You have run into problems that you may or may not have overcome.

Here’s an example of a simple fire problem. You give an on-scene size-up at a residential fire. There is smoke blowing out of a bedroom window.  You order your engineer to hook up. You and your firefighters start pulling lines.

WAIT! STOP EVERYTHING! If you followed this sequence, you have just lost the fire!

Here is the problem. You went from sizing up to tactics in zero to sixty. Most candidates start off on the right foot by starting with a size-up of the fire. Then, they make a fatal mistake by going directly into tactics without a plan. This move – your move – is not unique. Most will confuse tactics with a solid plan. They are wrong.

Here is the NUGGET: Once you have been given the fire problem, focus all your energies – and, I mean all – on developing a plan. The plan comes first.

Without a plan, you are out of control. By taking a few more moments, you could have developed a plan necessary to get that fire under control. When asked, one candidate backtracked and said, “My plan was to confine and put out the bedroom fire.” Okay. But if you didn’t say that, to begin with then you don’t have a plan.

Moral of the story – Size up, plan, and then tactics.

Captain Rob Smith