Since the first event 10 years ago in Orlando, Fla., the U.K./U.S. Fire Service Symposium has grown into a widely respected think tank for the international exchange of experience and ideas. This year's event, held April 30 to May 3 in Santa Rosa, Calif., was attended by more than 30 delegates.

John Pooley, assistant chief ambulance officer of the London Ambulance Service opened the sessions with a presentation entitled “The London Underground Bombing and United Kingdom Resilience.” He described in detail the four separate yet coordinated bombings that affected seven locations throughout the London Transit System on the morning of July 5, 2005. These attacks resulted in 52 civilian and four terrorist deaths, along with more than 700 additional injuries. Part of the massive operations included the evacuation of 200,000 passengers and 2,500 subway workers.

As with any large-scale underground mass-casualty incident, Pooley said that communications were a major issue. One message clearly mentioned was for the incident commander not to hesitate to use the old-fashioned method of runners from the command post to the forward areas to relay pertinent information and obtain additional facts to assess the totality of the incident. Pooley observed that if communications ever worked flawlessly at a large-scale emergency, the incident commander should view it as a bonus, not as the norm. He strongly suggested that departments have a backup plan for communications, even if it means having face-to-face contact through a series of runners.

Mass coordination

Dr. Cortez Lawrence, director of the National Fire Programs Division of the U.S. Fire Administration, discussed the federal response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. His discussion centered on the importance of leadership, especially by the incident commander in any catastrophic emergency operation. His observations included that an effective leader must possess:

• A presence that exudes confidence to subordinates;
• A vision for the overall plan and the ability to effectively communicate his or her intentions to everyone;
• Infectous energy;
• Strong decision-making skills based on triaged information; and
• Technical competence.

The leader also must remember that the campaign includes both operations (the fight) and logistics (the means) and neglect neither; allow subordinates to make pragmatic decisions, then back their decisions; and provide the media with timely information and updates.

Former Oklahoma City Asst. Fire Chief Jon Hanson made a retrospective presentation on the 1995 Murrah Federal Building bombing and the lessons that are still applicable for today's responders. This included the need during size-up for the incident commander and staff to quickly get a sense of the origin, scope and consequences of the emergency. In the case of the Murrah bombing, initial responders centered on the main building while dozens of other structures in a 10-block area suffered severe secondary damage with a significant number of collateral causalities.

Hanson also stressed the need to make accountability of all responders a priority, especially in light of the tragic death of a nurse who was struck by falling debris while trying to assist a trapped victim in the collapse zone. He also indicated the need to ensure that all responders were routinely rotated out of the rescue and recovery areas; were able to decompress, refocus and talk to their families; and regularly received critical incident stress debriefings.

Youth oriented

The emphasis of the symposium discussion then switched to “Youth Cultures and Responsibilities: The Role of the Fire Service.” Two presentations discussed unique programs in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Asst. Fire Chief Steve Kreis discussed “From Gang Violence to Customer Service,” a program initiated by the Phoenix Fire Department to defuse violence directed toward first responders, especially crews arriving on the scene of an emergency involving gang activities. The program has successfully delivered to various gangs the fire department's response and rules of engagement at these scenes:

• The fire department is a neutral party.
• Fire personnel will treat all victims equally, assessing the most critical and then moving down triage levels.
• Fire personnel will always treat injured police officers first.
• If personnel are threatened, they will leave.

The Gang Violence initiative is a result of Phoenix's Basic Customer Service philosophy:

• Deliver the best possible service.
• Be nice.
• Standard problem-solving works on standard runs.
• Regard everyone as a customer.
• When deciding what to do, use the “Headline Test.” Would it play well in the media?
• Don't disqualify customers' need for service by who they are.
• Be customer-centered, but remember firefighters are the first customers.
• Strive for continuous improvement.

Chief Fire Officer Peter Holland then discussed the “Prince's Trust,” a cooperative agreement between the non-profit organization established by Prince Phillip and the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service to intervene with at-risk youths. The program is similar to an extensive Outward Bound experience coupled with training and educational opportunities. The Lancashire Brigade assists with developing the confidence, leadership skills and education of youth who otherwise might fall through the cracks. The program has been highly successful, especially in providing these youth with the self-esteem and confidence to continue their studies and work toward meaningful educational or vocational certificates.

Bobby Ewell, the recreation supervisor of the Santa Rosa (Calif.) Parks Department, outlined his city's recreation, after-school and neighborhood programs that address the needs of five distinct areas of this city and its population of more than 156,000 citizens. While the programs are similar, the delivery is accomplished by hiring individuals from each neighborhood who are familiar with the traditions, customs and native languages of each predominant group. The programs have significantly reduced inner-city tensions and allowed other departments such as fire and police to be welcomed into otherwise highly cliquish neighborhoods.

Asst. Chief Fire Officer Howard Robinson of the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Services discussed the customer service problem, especially in the area of fire prevention to his community that consists primarily of seven distinct ethnic and religious groups. He specifically outlined a program developed for the Hindu community following the tragic deaths of four family members in a residential fire sparked by a candle left unattended at a shrine during the Celebration of Diwali. This tragedy sparked the Leicestershire Brigade to develop additional fire safety programs for other groups, including the Jewish, Islamic, Christian, Buddhist and Sikh religions.

On the horizon

The symposium attendees then turned their discussion to the future and the symposium's 1999 “Vision 2010,” an attempt to outline 10 key action steps for the successful operations of fire service organizations in the 21st century. That white paper focused on the fire service's need for awareness and interaction in community, politics, equity, technology, change, work force, funding, leadership, role and vision.

Because this paper was compiled prior to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, Madrid and London, the attendees discussed the need for its update to accommodate the fire service's growing role in homeland security. Attendees agreed to work on several of the individual sections over the course of the next year, making its revision the primary focus of the 2007 U.K./U.S. Fire Service Symposium, scheduled for next April in the United Kingdom. The goal will be to again publish the revised compendium as a guide for leaders throughout the international fire service community.

Robert R. Rielage is the chief of Wyoming (Ohio) Fire — EMS, a full service combination fire department bordering Cincinnati. He previously served as the fire marshal for the State of Ohio. He is the immediate past-president of the Institution of Fire Engineers — USA Branch and a member of the Fire Chief Magazine Editorial Advisory Board. Rielage holds a master's degree in public administration from Norwich University and is a graduate of the Kennedy School's Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard University.