Animal House, Part 1

The level of harmony in a multi-unit station all depends on you

During my career, I’ve had the opportunity to work in departments ranging in size from single-unit stations to four-unit madhouses, and for some reason, I always seem to gravitate toward the big houses. There’s something about being forced to live with a large number of firefighters in a cramped area that appeals to me. 

One evening, while watching the TV show “Big Brother” at one of our stations in Ontario, Calif., one of our engineers, Mark Zinda, made the observation that what happened on the show was exactly like life in the fire department. We had a good laugh as we discussed the similarities: Little cliques and friendships are formed, unfounded rumors are started and all sorts of interesting human behaviors are displayed when people are forced to live with each other.

What makes us behave the way we do when we’re at work? Boredom? Stress? Animosity? Jealousy? Fear? Greed? Something else? I guess you could say it’s all these things at different times. And if all these things come into play at a single-unit station, imagine what goes on at a large station with eight to 16 firefighters.

There’s always been more animosity, tension, conflict and drama in the big houses, and because of the larger number of personnel in these houses, problems and challenges can grow exponentially at times. Ultimately, the captain gets to deal with all of them.

Big Station, Big Problems
Here are just a few of the challenges and antics I’ve noticed over the years as a firefighter and company officer living in larger stations:

• In Ontario, truck companies run fewer calls than engine companies, which creates tension from time to time, because the truckies ultimately get stuck doing more station maintenance while the engine runs emergency calls. (I guess some people feel that cleaning a toilet until you can eat a bowl of Cheerios out of it is much more important than those pesky emergency responses.)
• On the flip side, engine firefighters get their undies in a wad when “lazy-ass truckies” run only a third of their calls. In a multi-unit station, any perceived difference in the number of daily responsibilities assigned to each unit results in a great deal of frustration, ill feelings and lip quivering. In other words, stand by for some conflict and trash talking among the crews when someone thinks they’ve been assigned more duties than someone else.
• I’ve seen a few truckies throw themselves on the ground in a starvation fit because it’s 5:30 p.m. and they haven’t eaten dinner yet, all because those thoughtless water fairies haven’t cooked din din on time. Easy Bluto, you’ll eat, I promise. I have yet to see the skeletal remains of a truck firefighter lying in the kitchen after he succumbed to starvation.
• Ever use this one to foster a healthy relationship between truck and engine companies? You roll out of bed looking like Don King after getting 11 solid hours in the rack, waddle into the kitchen for a cup ’o personality and ask the engine company if they had any calls last night, knowing damn well they were up five times after midnight? Good times, my friend, good times.

In a small station, it’s almost impossible to generate the same level of hatred and discontent simply because there aren’t enough people to pick on. So the challenge for any company officer at any multi-unit station becomes managing the madhouse effectively.

During my career, I’ve witnessed both effective management and not-so-effective
management in a larger firehouse, and I’ve discovered that all the officers who effectively managed and helped develop a good multi-company station also had the ability to deal with a multitude of human behaviors and instill a few values along the way. There’s no secret formula for success in a large firehouse as an officer, but there are a few things I’ve learned that can be fairly useful when dealing with people: You must be able to get along with people, accept the differences of each person’s job and have a good time.

Getting Along Starts With You
I’ve written about leading by example in the past, but it really rings true in a larger station. Company officers who expect and enforce cooperation, consideration and communication tend to be successful; those who don’t will soon have a station of firefighters following their lead.

Cooperation
Cooperation with other companies is crucial because it fosters teamwork. On several occasions throughout my career, I’ve seen companies maintain complete
separation from and a lack of cooperation between the units. Example: I can recall several occasions when, as a firefighter, I worked on our unit with my company while the other company completed their task, cleaned up their mess and leisurely strolled away to take a break. I don’t understand how one crew can watch another crew work on something and not at least offer to pitch in. These types of actions often cause some really bad feelings between crews that unfortunately spill over onto emergency calls.

Captain Andres, the other company officer in my station, and I share the same philosophy about station cooperation: We don’t consider our crews two
separate units. We’re Station 131, not Truck 131 and Medic/Engine 131. We all have our own duties and responsibilities, but no one stops working until we complete every task. This philosophy helps keep the peace in the station, which is also quite noticeable on calls.

If you have truck and engine companies that don’t work well with each other during a simple task around the station, how are they going to work it out on a call? From my experience, people don’t usually forget their feelings once the bell rings; the drama
carries over onto the fireground.

Consideration
A long time ago, my wife, Dawn, taught me to be considerate by setting an example; she always thinks of everyone before she thinks of herself, which is a rare trait in this day and age. You can be considerate in words and in actions. (Personally, I’m still learning to be considerate with my words, but I try to be considerate in my actions.)

When company officers are considerate toward other units, it’s repaid tenfold. Consider this scenario: You are the truck captain returning to the station around lunchtime, and your crew decides to stop at the local sandwich shop. Do you make a quick phone call to see if the engine company at the station needs anything for lunch or not? The answer is easy: Do what you’d want them to do for you and your crew if the situation were reversed. I’ll bet the favor will be returned. Remember: Little acts of consideration add up, and a little consideration goes a long way.

Communication
Communication is probably the single most important factor when it comes to getting along in a big house, because it allows us to voice our concerns and opinions, exchange ideas and get to know each other better. Basically, it helps us build relationships with our co-workers.

We have opportunities to communicate all day long. Sometimes we choose to take advantage of them, and other times we fail to realize their importance. But things tend to fester when they aren’t communicated. At a fire a while back, my truck company got an assignment that I disagreed with. I didn’t have time to argue with the officer who gave us the assignment, so we kicked it up a notch and got it done. Then we managed to get on the roof and ventilate the building, which was our primary job.

Once we returned to the station, I told the officer that I wasn’t happy about the assignment. To be honest, we didn’t see eye to eye, so I decided to forget about it before starting World War III with a good friend. Oddly enough, however, the issue came up again several months later and we had a private, spirited discussion about the call. After
everything was said and done, we both understood each other’s point of view, and we were able to put the issue to rest.

The one problem with this situation: I should have continued to try to talk it out with the officer when I first approached him. I can usually air things out as soon as they happen, especially with my own shift, but I failed to do so in this instance because 1) the initial discussion didn’t go as planned, as we appeared to be at opposite ends of the spectrum, and 2) I didn’t want the disagreement to affect our friendship. In other words, I decided not to deal with the problem even though it bothered me. And when a company officer decides to blow off a problem, it usually comes back to bite them in the rear end.
It’s especially important to communicate properly in a larger house, because our inaction forces all the other crews and companies in the firehouse to deal with the baggage of one poorly managed individual or company. This often causes a lot of discomfort between the crews.

Once the drama of a particular problem begins, the captain has a few options in the old “conflict resolution” briefcase:

• The Ostrich Technique: Do nothing, stick your head in the sand and hope it goes away—a decision that will come back to bite you, as mentioned above. This technique is derived from the philosophy that if given enough time, all problems will eventually fix themselves or disappear.
• The Jellyfish Technique: This technique is only slightly different than the Ostrich Technique in that the lack of a spine causes you not to do your job. The battalion chief then finds out you have no spine and must remind you that you’re responsible for problem resolution within the fire station.
• The Fire Captain Technique: This technique is crazy, but I’d like to touch on it anyway. It requires you to discover the crux of the problem and deal with the soap opera. It might be a difficult technique to master, but I hear it’s worked from time to time.

Conclusion
When you’re the “big, bad company officer,” it’s your job to defuse the uncomfortable moments around the station and try to keep the peace. If you work in a multi-unit house, you must be able to effectively communicate with your fellow officers and their crews in order to deal with or prevent problems that may become bigger issues in the station.           

When you’re a firefighter, there’s nothing worse or more destructive than dealing with two captains who can’t get along. Most of the time people don’t get along because they can’t or won’t communicate.  To get along with people, you must communicate with them, be considerate of them and their job in the firehouse and always try to enjoy the time spent with your fellow officers and crew. Remember: If you set a good example, your firefighters will follow suit, and your big house will become a great place to work.

Ray Gayk is a company officer with the Ontario (Calif.) Fire Department (OFD). Gayk is a 16-year veteran of the fire service who has been actively involved with the OFD's development of engineer and captain mentor programs. Gayk has also been a training officer and currently works on Truck 131 in downtown Ontario.