Managing a Fire Company Flashcards
What are MCS?
Minimum Company Standards
A company fire officer’s job description should be centered around:
Managing their crew members delivering service to the public as safely as possible, as competently as possible, and as nicely as possible.
How many expectations are there of a Company Officer?
8
P.22
What is the definition of leadership?
The capacity to lead
What is the definition of leader?
A person who leads
What is the definition of “lead”?
To direct the operations, activity, or performance of; to guide on a way especially by going in advance; and/or to bring to some conclusion or condition
What is the definition of “manage”?
To handle or direct with a degree of skill; to work upon or try to alter for a purpose; to succeed in accomplishing; to direct the professional career of; and/or to achieve one’s purpose
What is the definition of manager?
A person who directs a team
What is the definition of supervise?
To be directly in charge of an activity
A company officer needs to be a ___ all the time and a ___ whenever necessary.
Manager; Supervisor
The definition of authority is:
the right to do work
The definition of power is:
The exercise of authority
What are the two types of authority?
Organizational authority—the ability of a person to influence the behavior of others using the authority conferred upon him/her by the organization pursuant to the individual’s position or rank in the organization.
Personal authority—the ability of a person to influence the behavior of others by means other than using the authority given to them by the organization.
The standing you have with others based on your competencies, behaviors, values, treatment of others, and your personal integrity best summarizes:
Personal Authority
The person on the crew with the most ____ has the most influence on the other crew members.
Personal authority
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 established:
NIOSH
NIOSH is part of what organization?
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US Department of Health and Human Services
What is a leading factor of almost all NIOSH LODD investigations?
Not following established SOPs of the lack of having best practice SOPs in place to follow
How long is a diffuser for testing hydrants?
At least 16 inches long
What are the greatest service delivery risks of a company officer for likelihood to testify in court?
- Fire Incidents
- EMS Incidents
- Driving or apparatus movements
A bell ringer is a person that shows up to work anywhere from what time frame before work?
15 minutes to 1 second
What is the most important thing a department must maintain in order to deliver the best possible service?
All of the people who work for the organization
What is the body composition that firefighters need to possess and retain to be a firefighter?
Body fat % less than 20% for men, less than 30% for women
What is the aerobic capacity needed to be a firefighter?
42mL minimum
What are the tiers of fitness levels?
Tier 1–Low body fat (below 10%)
Tier 2–Medium body fat (around 15%)
Tier 3–High body fat (20%+) absolute minimum physical condition to be a firefighter
Tier 4–Physical condition does not allow a person to be a firefighter
When working out on shift, what is the suggested heart rate?
Below 75% of maximum as much as possible
On shift workouts should be limited to what time duration?
30-45 minutes
When working out on shift, members should not be more than how many seconds away from getting into proper response gear?
60-80 seconds
There is no activity that does more for making the company officer more “in charge” of the company than ___.
Company drilling
What is the most important activity that needs to take place on the company level?
Company drilling
Company drilling addresses the company officers job desription for how many of the expectations?
3 of 8
5. Safety manager
6. Training officer
7. Delivering excellent customer service
What are the 4 levels of competence?
Level 0–people in academy trying to be FF 1&2
Level 1–“Green”
Level 2–can do critical task without thinking about it. Senior FF on auto-pilot
Level 3–person who knows the hows and whys of the activity, enables a person to teach the skill to someone else
The majority of company drilling time should be focused on what type of activities?
High risk activities responded to on a shift-to-shift basis
High Risk Low-frequency, Non-Discretionary Decision Making Time activities should have what percentage of training devoted to it?
50%
Gordon Graham’s training focus says you should devote 25% of training to what category activities?
Low Risk LF—NDMT & High Risk HF—NDMT
High Risk LF—NDMT events require what level of training from the company officer and the crew?
Level 3 for the CO, no less than Level 2 for the crew
What has been proven to be the best transference learning method (where participation leads to understanding, which leads to higher performances in a live setting)?
Training in context
Low frequency-high risk drills performed every ___ is the bare minimum drilling required to maintain any competence level.
3 weeks
Low frequency-high risk drills performed once every ___ is the bare minimum drilling required to increase competence levels.
2-3 shifts
Dehydration causing more than a ___reduction in body mass is associated with moderate to significant impairments on attention, executive function, and motor coordination.
2%
What 3 things does eating meals together at the firehouse promote?
Facilitates team building and unity
Promotes mental health
Facilitates eating the proper nutrition for peak energy levels
How much time should be spent around the table after eating?
At least 15-20 minutes
What is a short sleep duration defined as?
Less than 7 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period
What are the stages of NREM sleep?
NREM Stage 1–1-7 minutes, 2-5% of sleep
NREM Stage 2—10-25 minutes in initial sleep cycle, 45-55% of sleep
NREM Stage 3—Slow wave sleep, few minutes, 3-8% of sleep
NREM Stage 4—slow wave sleep, first third of night, 20-40 minutes, 10-15% of sleep
NREM sleep consists of what percentage of the sleep period?
60-80%
How long does REM sleep cycle last?
1-5 minutes, progressively prolonged as cycle progresses
When does dreaming occur?
REM sleep
How much of sleep consists of REM sleep?
20-40%
Sleeping ___ hours or less a night on a chronic basis increases mortality risk by roughly ___%.
5; 15
4-5 hours of sleep will maintain cognitive performance for ___ days
5-6
Less than 4 hours of sleep leads to a rapid decline in performance rendering the soldier ineffective in ___ days.
2-3
The most effective treatment for dealing with sleep loss is to sleep longer (___ hours a night) or take a short nap lasting no more than ___.
8; 2 hours
A nap as short as ___ offers a 34% improvement in task performance and a 50% increase in overall alertness.
26 minutes
People who have been awake for longer than ___ hours have significantly more motor and cognitive deficits.
16 hours
A rough night is defined as having less than how many hours of sleep or being woken up during nighttime sleep?
6 hours
How much should you nap in the first 8-12 hours once off duty?
At least 2 hours
What percentage of firefighters will have PTSD by the time they retire?
20%
What minimum lengths of exercise are recommended and for what minimum total time per week?
30 minutes; 2.5 hours
NFPA 1710 sets the standard for getting out of the station in what timeframe for EMS and fire response?
60 seconds for EMS, 80 seconds for fire
What are the different response codes for driving?
Code 1–driving while not assigned to incident
Code 2–Assigned to non-emergency incident
Code 3–assigned to emergency incident
Code 4–Emergency scene hazards stabilized, scene is safe
What is the max speed allowed when a fire apparatus has to use the center or oncoming lanes?
20mph
Units using the freeway to respond to calls will respond at what level?
Code 2
What is the best way to handle a violent situation?
With situational awareness, proper assessment of the incident scene, along with no placing your crew where there is a likelihood of violence occurring
Out of the main traits of emotional awareness, what is the most important characteristic when delivering EMS service to customers?
Social Awareness
____ equates to possessing the ability to look at and understand the perspective of the other people you are interacting with (empathy).
Social awareness
What percentage of communication is based on body language? Tone of voice? Actual words?
Over 60%; 30%; less than 10%
What is the judgement ratio for company officers?
51% competence as a firefighter, 49% how long you get along with fellow coworkers
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act does what?
Prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, or sex
What reaffirmed Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act?
Civil Rights Act of 1991
How was the EEOC established and who does the EEOC work for/under?
Established through Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act; works for the DOJ
What are the top HR related issues that most people get in trouble for in the fire station?
Verbal conduct, Physical conduct, Visual harassment, Sexual harassment
The most effective communication styles must include what?
A feedback loop
Performance can improve by how much when employees feel their boss truly cares about them?
25%
The authority or power given to someone to do something is:
Empowerment
An employee should be at least what level of competence before a company officer spends time on employee development?
Level 2
Managing peoples behaviors starts with what?
Addressing them
Most counseling should come in the form of feedback given when?
In the moment
Career counseling (verbal counseling) should be given when?
As soon as possible after the incident and then documented in the company officers personal logbook
What are the best neutral territories to have private conversations?
Apparatus floor or park bench behind the station
What 2 categories do most HR issues fall into?
Performance or attitude
Who should handle all off-duty infractions?
Fire chief’s office and/or the personnel department
What is an API?
Action Plan for Improvement
What is the purpose of an API?
Identify and define specific issue in a members work performance or behavior not meeting standard
Clarifying expectation or standard
Providing an action plan for improvement or correction of issue
What is NFPA 1582?
Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments
What is NFPA 1583?
Standard on Health-Related Fitness Programs for Fire Departments
