One of the strengths of the fire service is the ability to handle situations that others consider emergencies as daily occurrences. Words like “courage” and “heroism” are often used to describe what the fire service does and how it does it. However, there's sometimes a tendency on the part of incident commanders to take “determination” to the extreme, and in some cases to the detriment of their strategic goals.

As far back in history as the Han Dynasty of China (A.D. 23 – 220), the waving of a white flag has been the international sign of surrender. The use of the white flag also has peacemaking symbolism and is mentioned in the Geneva Convention, which serves as the international guideline on the handling of prisoners of war. Though the fire service has structured much of what it does on military models, it has a bit to learn about the concept of waving of the white flag.

There are any number of reasons why incident commanders feel the need to stick with a given set of actions at an incident. Unfortunately, “staying the course” at an incident is too often a function of habit, rather than a strategic action.

Incident commanders often have more confidence in their tactical decisions rather than those of a strategic nature. This focus at the tactical level can cause the IC to loose sight of the strategic goal. This isn't to suggest that tactical efficiency is not important, but that it must be balanced with the accomplishing the strategic goal. The incident commander needs to be able to recognize when things just aren't going as with respect to strategic achievement. When it becomes apparent that a strategic goal is not being met, the IC must be ready and willing to embrace the opportunities to “wave the white flag.”

The first opportunity to wave the flag is prior to deployment of resources. Important in pre-deployment “surrender” is the recognition of circumstances where risks to be taken outweigh benefits to be gained. An increasing issue for fire departments is the fact many arrive at an incident lacking the level of resources needed to perform tactical operations to support certain strategic goals. The white flag in this case should be waved when the IC recognizes that “discretion is the better part of valor.” To use a schoolyard analogy, never pick a fight you’re sure too loose. The same is true of an incident with more problems inherent than there are resources to address them. The first arriving company officer will want to consider waving the white flag by waiting to make entry into a house fire until adequate resources arrive or possibly even calling for additional alarms.

Another opportunity to wave the flag occurs if you assess a situation and realize you are in too deep. Such situations can occur when an incident commander looses sight of his or her span of control and end up trying managing too many functions. Waving the white flag in this case is simply saying, “I’m going to quit trying to do this all alone and I’m going to allow someone else to help me”. This goal can be accomplished through the expansion of the IMS structure, especially in the operations section using task forces, strike teams, divisions, groups and branches.

Perhaps the most obvious situation when the white flag should come out is when a firefighter cannot be unaccounted for. In this situation, the strategic goal of life safety must outweigh the goal of property conservation. Surrender to the incident does not necessarily mean giving up ground that is already taken; it does mean, however, focusing primary effort on locating the missing firefighter. Dealing with the incident itself must become secondary while addressing the safety of responders.

Unfortunately, the culture of an organization can instill a reluctance to wave the white flag. If the responders or the organization itself do not demonstrate trust in the personnel that have been placed in command, the command personnel will be less likely to make a white-flag decision because they fear it will be perceived as a sign of weakness and further degrade confidence. One example is that of an IC who becomes overly concerned with not allowing a building to burn down. Generally, the pressure affecting the IC’s decision-making emanates from the members of the department more so that it does from the public. The pressure manifests itself as a desire to conform to a perceived set of expectations – expectations that may not fit the incident or the commander they are being applied to. This can lead to cases where pride overcomes effective decision-making and causes an IC to stick with a strategy or tactic that does more harm than good simply through fear of being negatively portrayed by others in the organization, both during and after the incident.

The ability to recognize when to wave the white flag is actually a strength for an effective incident commander. It shows that the IC has the ability to recognize risk to the responders and balance them against the strategic or tactical benefits to be gained. The sometimes unpopular act of asking for additional resources, though capitulating temporarily to the incident, can have the effect of increasing the overall ability or the accomplish what the IC wants to accomplish. The incident commander needs to be willing to place the lives of the responders above the perceived pressure to do what has “always been done” purely for tradition’s sake. As William Shakespeare once wrote, “Caution is preferable to rash bravery.” Know when to wave the white flag.

I. David Daniels is fire chief of the Fulton County (Ga.) Fire Department, a metro department surrounding the city of Atlanta. He holds a master's degree in human resources management. He is a member of the NFPA’s Fire Service Occupational Safety and Health and the Professional Qualifications for Incident Management Functional Positions committees.