The recent NBA skirmish involving both players and fans shocked the sporting world as well as the rest of the nation. Opinions vary on who was at fault and whether criminal penalties should be levied against any or all of the participants, but the one thing that is universally accepted is that this incident was one of the lowest moments in American sports.

The NBA sent a clear message that such behavior will not be tolerated when the commissioner took decisive action against the player involved. How would the American fire service have handled a similar occurrence?

Behavior modification

The adage “sometimes our actions speak so loud that others can't hear what we're saying” is certainly true for the safety, health and survival of the American fire service. After 30 years, firefighter fatality rates have remained virtually unchanged. It would appear by our action or lack thereof that the American fire service accepts these deaths as occupational hazards. Many organizations return to their regular way of doing business just as soon as the heat regarding an injury or death subsides. Many departments that have experienced line-of-duty deaths in the past decade would be hard-pressed to show that the same occurrence would not happen again tomorrow.

There is no cookbook method of addressing culture in an organization, but there is a process called Organizational Behavior Modification, or OB Mod, that can help. There are four basic reinforcement strategies to OB Mod. The first of these strategies is positive reinforcement, or the administration of positive consequences for desirable behavior. Rewards are contingent on the person's behavior and must be given as soon as possible after that behavior. In cultural-shift efforts, this could include awards for safety achievements, exceeding fitness or wellness standards, or for innovative safety programs.

Negative reinforcement or avoidance is the withdrawal of negative consequences, which tends to increase the likelihood of repeating the desired behavior in similar settings. The teaching of firefighter self-rescue is a form of negative reinforcement — a member follows a safety rule not necessarily to stay safe, but to avoid the disciplinary action that is sure to occur if seen by a supervisor. Care must be taken to ensure that time is spent training firefighters how not to get in trouble in the first place and how to get out if something goes wrong.

Punishment often is mistaken as negative, but it isn't. Punishment is the administration of negative consequences or the withdrawal of positive consequences to reduce the likelihood of repeating the behavior in similar settings. Too many departments have totally removed the negative consequences of violating safety rules. A driver who passes through a red light without stopping, a firefighter who doesn't don protective clothing in a hazard zone or a chief officer who doesn't implement the IMS at a major emergency is less likely to repeat these behaviors if there is a consequence.

The final OB Mod strategy is extinction, or the withdrawal of the reinforcing consequences. Perhaps awards should not be given for heroism if the act was committed in direct violation of safety rules, such as rescue attempts without available protective equipment. Perhaps fire service organizations should not support fire departments that obviously disregard safety rules.

Why can't we stop driving apparatus without seatbelts? Why can't we train people to do the jobs we expect them to perform before they are assigned to do them? Why do we continue to allow members of our departments to operate in the hazard zone without personal protective equipment? Why do we create situations to cover for those with underlying medical situations that could kill them, instead of providing treatment, rehabilitation or assistance? In every case it is simply culture.

It will take a personal commitment from the person who sets the tone in the organization — the fire chief — to begin a cultural shift in an organization. Officers must follow safety rules and be examples of those rules. Those who can't follow safety rules should be trained and developed; those who won't follow safety rules should be candidates for corrective action.

The fire chief shouldn't accept that we have to seriously injury or kill any firefighter in our department. Though we can't control the behavior of any individual in our organization except ourselves, we can control the effort that our organizations put into the cause of safety, health and survival. Are you willing to say as a fire chief, “The culture of the fire department I am responsible for will change”? If chiefs don't initiate cultural change, who will? If they don't start now, when will the culture change?

I. David Daniels is chief of the Fulton County (Ga.) Fire Department. He holds a bachelor of science degree in fire services administration, and is certified as a quality improvement specialist, safety and health specialist, and fire service health & safety officer.