From emergency decisions to everyday choices- how a simple process can help create better outcomes.

Anyone who has attended any major emergency incidents will know how much pressure the Incident Commander can be put under.

Under these circumstances, they need to be able to make the right choices, and they need to have the skills and experience to make these choices when everything else seems to be going wrong.

One of the most challenging ones I attended was when I was sent to be the Incident commander of a fire in a 17-floor tower block of flats.

The fire was on the top 2 floors (16 and 17) and initial reports was that there were persons trapped within the floors.

The initial officer in charge asked for 5 appliances and I was sent as the incident commander.

Upon arrival, I was greeted by the current incident commander and given the following briefing- “We have possible persons trapped and a fire and smoke logging on the top two floors- 3 Breathing apparatus teams are fighting the fire, but we have just lost radio contact with them. I have just been told that there was only one lift working and it has now failed with fire crews trapped inside- and we are also having problems with the rising fire main and are having difficulty getting water to the fire!”

 I went to smile as at first I thought he was winding me up, but just then an officer came over and told us that the rising main had failed and water was running down inside the lift shaft and this is what had probably caused the lift to fail.

Looking back on this scenario, it felt like the ones that our training department would use in their promotion assessments- similar to the one in a huge Glasgow department store with the fire in the basement, then the sub basement, then an explosion, then a subway train goes missing!

Everything that could go wrong has went wrong and I was about to make choices that would be scrutinised by all in attendance, analysed by management and possibly an external inquiry, if anyone is killed or injured.

This is the reality of Incident Command and risk critical decision making. You are placed in situations where you have to make choices under extreme pressure with potentially serious consequences, should things go wrong.

My 3 step choices process is designed to help people focus on the outcomes in situations like this and was developed based on my experience of training risk critical decision making, and as you can see, first-hand experience of making these decisions when it really matters.

So, lets return to the fire, and the choices I was about to make.

Once I received the initial brief, I confirmed with the initial incident commander the situation as I saw it.

1.      We have a fire with smoke logging on the top two floors

2.      There may be people trapped in the flat or adjacent flats

3.      We have crews attempting to fight the fire with limited or no water.

4.      We have no communications between the ground and the upper floors

5.      No lifts are working, and we have crews trapped in a lift which may or may not be near the smoke level.

He agreed that all this was correct and then it was down to me to make some difficult choices.

I could:

1.      Point behind him and shout “there’s an Eagle”, and when he turned to see, I could run away

2.      Pretend that I am going back to my car for a flashlight, and just never return.

3.      Leave him in charge and say that I will monitor his performance- (I know of people who have actually done this)!

4.      Formally take charge of the incident.

To me there was only one choice- it had to be the eagle trick!! (just kidding)

There is a process to formally take charge of an incident, and once I implemented this process, the major choices in relation to this incident would be down to myself.

If you apply the 3-step choices process to the decisions I made, it keeps you focussed on the outcomes you want to achieve, whilst identifying other factors and utilising learned experience.

The overarching specific outcomes I wanted to achieve were crew safety and public safety.

Any choices I make at this incident would have to help me achieve these outcomes.

In Identifying other factors, I considered the major issues of no working lifts, and also no water to the fire floor, as well as no communications links between the fire teams and the ground.

One of the most important parts of the 3-step process in this incident was Maximising Learned experience. I knew most of the crews at the incident, and I was fortunate enough to have 3 extremely experienced officers, who I knew well, already in attendance.

Maximising learned experience means that the person making the choices must utilise their own experience, and the experience of others to achieve the outcome.

I knew when I briefed them and gave them their resources, they would carry out their tasks to the highest standard possible.

Maximising learned experience is so underutilised in all walks of life and it is partly because some managers do not have the proper leadership, management skills and knowledge of how to put it into practice. The good news is that this can be easily taught.

As I had taught Incident Command, one of the first tasks was to use my own Learned experience and make sure the proper controls, delegation, and chains of command were in place. I also requested another 5 fire appliances as I had to consider that I might have to physically run hose up all the stairs to the fire floor, as well as sending additional Breathing Apparatus wearers up the stairs as well.

If we look at the crew safety of the crews trapped in the lift, once you start identifying other factors and start Maximising Learned experience, you ensure that this is being addressed.

The main risk to the crews in the lift was smoke inhalation, as we had no way of knowing if the lift was near the top when it failed, and no way of contacting the crew to ask them due to the communications failure. One officer suggested that we should use positive pressure ventilation in the lift at ground floor level and this would create enough pressure to force any smoke upwards. I could see no negative issues with this, and it was implemented to great effect. It was a great suggestion from an experienced officer and allowed the specific outcome of crew safety for the lift crews to be met.

The next issue was restoring communications and water to the crews on the fire floor. A decision was made to send crews up to check the water riser valves on each floor. Sometimes these are vandalised, and this would stop the water reaching the top of the tower.

Sure enough, two valves were opened, and once these were closed, the water pressure on the fire floor was sufficient to continue fighting the fire.

The lack of communications between the fire floor and the ground floor was rectified by firefighters with radios being placed around the perimeter of the building at ground floor level, and at a safe distance from the base of the building as some windows had shattered due to the fire.

I remember getting a radio message to tell me that an Area Manager was now in attendance and he was soon followed by an Assistant Chief Officer.

Thankfully, the Area Manager never tried the eagle trick, and I gave him a full briefing, before he took charge of the incident.

The outcome of the incident was that lift engineers attended and quickly reinstated both lifts.

No firefighters had taken in any smoke when trapped in the lift- this may have been due to the decision taken by the officer to use positive pressure ventilation fans to pressurise the lift shaft from the bottom. I think the officer received a commendation for his actions and this was well deserved.

As I recall, one member of the public suffered slight smoke inhalation and was taken to hospital for a precautionary check.

Key learning points

It should be noted that this incident took place in 2010, and I never fully developed my 3-step process until 2018!

I remembered the key choices I made at this incident and the reasons for making them.

I also had a record of all the messages that went back to the Fire Service control room.

When I designed the 3-step process, I wanted to make it easy to understand, and easier to implement. I also had to make sure it was based on my years of practical experience, as well as my knowledge of risk critical decision making.

The 3-step choices process is subconsciously, how I made risk critical decisions in an emergency situation. This is validated by comparing the process to the choices I made at this incident, as well as hundreds of other incidents.

The process was designed to help other people use this simple, but highly effective approach, and hopefully help them make better choices and achieve better outcomes.

The training we deliver shows people how to use the process in any situation.

People are defined by the choices they make, and once people learn how to be outcome focussed and master the other tools and techniques, they will consistently make better choices.

I would welcome your views and opinions on this process, and if you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.