T hink back to your childhood days. Do you remember your parents telling you that life was all about change? As adults, we have learned that change is constant, and we have to adapt. While exciting, change can be stressful and difficult. It’s no wonder we often resist technology changes. Not only can it be difficult to adapt to a different way of doing things, even if it does offer the hope of doing things better as it applies to the jobs we do, but technology can also threaten our sense of mastery. We may perceive a loss of control.
If you’re a fire service veteran, you’ll likely be able to recount old stories of firefighters who bristled at the thought of using self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Today, few firefighters would enter a burning building without wearing an SCBA, assuming one is available. For many, this discipline has extended into use where the need for an SCBA isn’t always apparent, such as in certain training situations or during overhaul.
Getting the most out of a TI
For thermal imagers (TIs), compared to SCBA, there is still a lot of work left to do. You may not easily find someone in your peer group who claims thermal imagers to be gimmicky or unnecessary, but that doesn’t mean that TIs are always used well. While too many departments still don’t have a thermal imager, even those that do don’t necessarily use them to their maximum benefit.
Think about your department. Does the TI come off the apparatus at every call where it can be used? Do you have TIs available to aid in size-up? How often do you use TIs for common “smells-and-bells” calls?
My guess is that you believe your department can do more with your TIs. Why is this? Firefighters always have their helmets on, flashlights on their gear and an array of tools for any scenario. Is the TI absence in these cases due to a lack of training, a lack of belief that the TI will be helpful or something else? Could it be that there’s a belief that the TI is only really needed for certain operations or incidents? Could this stem from a bias toward tradition and unease toward doing things differently?
Delving into the psychology of firefighters is not something I’m equipped to do, but analyzing attitudes as they relate to the basic concept of change and using them to decipher gaps in TI usage is instructive. Much has been written about resistance to change, but one of the better summaries I found is a blog entry titled “Top 12 Reasons Why People Resist Change” by Torben Rick, a corporate executive who has implemented change-management techniques in various organizations. Rick lists 12 common reasons people resist change. Nearly all of them might apply to TI usage, but a few stand out.
The first is communication. If your department all of a sudden put TIs on your rigs without training and communicating the need to use these TIs, it’s unlikely many will understand what the benefits are. Firefighters may be willing to use the product, but won’t without training and understanding.
Two other barriers are fear of the unknown and lack of competence. Department chatter may include statements like “It’s too complicated” or “We have specialists who use that, not me.” Training is essential, but coaching and providing active support (and perhaps rewards for using TIs) can help engage firefighters and get them using the tool.
Getting buy-in from firefighters who are going to be using TIs is often vital. Communicating new deployments of TIs is a necessary step, but not necessarily sufficient. Those in leadership positions should hold meetings where they solicit ideas for using TIs, share experiences, address opportunities and concerns and write standard operating procedures (SOPs) around this collaborative brainstorming. Firefighters who are part of the process are not only more knowledgeable, but, since they have helped craft the process, are likely more apt to reach for the tool when an opportunity presents.
Finally, and I save this for last because it fits a certain cliche, firefighters are often accused of being connected to the “old way.” Emotional connections and tried-and-true routines can be powerful obstacles to overcome. Your department will need to prove the benefits to those who resist anything new by showing how those who use TIs consistently accomplish tasks safer, faster and more effective than those who don’t.
If your department uses effective tactics to knock down these barriers, you stand an excellent chance of fostering much increased and much more effective TI usage. As this usage increases, firefighters will find their own creative ways to use TIs, further increasing the tool’s effectiveness. And soon, your department will find the idea of responding to a call without a TI as foreign as entering a burning building without SCBA.
