NASHVILLE, TN—To hear the story of Boston Fire Department’s amazing turnaround, as told by its top officer, is nothing short of miraculous.
In his keynote address at the Firehouse Expo opening ceremony, Boston Fire Commissioner/Chief Joseph E. Finn spoke of how health and safety have become the new trends in his department since he was appointed to the position in 2014.
“I named this keynote address, 'Picking up the Pieces,’ because for the better part of two years, that’s exactly what we’ve been doing,” Finn said.
Finn said for the 20 years before his appointment the city had a mayor and administration that considered the fire department a “necessary evil” and did everything in its power to destroy the morale and the reputation of one of the most proud and storied fire departments in the nation. He said the department was plagued with constant and unnecessary battles at the bargaining table and the intentional neglect of the department’s infrastructure—the firehouses and apparatus. The safety health and wellness of the firefighters themselves were a low priority to the point of “gross negligence,” Finn said, adding that cumulatively, the conditions had a devastating effect on the fire department.
Together with a new administration, Mayor Martin Walsh, and the full support of the Boston Fire union president Richie Paris, Finn has improved the management/labor relation in the city and made change possible.
Finn said there are many political entities in the fire service that have critical roles on the effectiveness and safety of the department.
“I am not only talking about commissioners and chiefs of department, but all those political entities that govern the communities we serve—whether it’s a mayor, a city manager, board of selectmen, county commissioner, city councilor, a tribal leader—have a direct impact on a department’s budget, and to a greater degree, whether the department will be successful or not,” Finn said.
Mutual respect among all the entities is the common denominator to being a first-class fire department, Finn said. And that lack of respect and neglect took its toll on the Boston Fire Department from faulty apparatus to fire houses that were crumbling, he added.
More importantly, the negligence led to a cancer rate among firefighters that was 2-1/2 times greater than the city’s average, he said.
“The Boston Fire Department was hurting,’’ Finn said.
Turning point
The incumbent mayor decided not to seek a sixth term opening up an opportunity to make some real changes, Finn said, noting the union quickly got behind one of the eight candidates seeking the job, a state legislator who was considered a blue-collar man with a reputation of hard work.
“Marty knew what it’s like to work for a living and truly respected hard-working men and women,” Finn said.
After Walsh was elected, he appointed Finn the commissioner/chief of the department in July 2014 and the work on rebuilding the department began.
During the 20 years of the previous administration, the department learned a lot and it looked introspectively to come up with a course of direction moving forward, Finn said.
“We knew we had to change and check our egos at the door and work cooperatively and respectfully for the greater good. Mutual respect and cooperation is the hallmark of any great fire department."
And Finn set out to refurbish the fire department and make necessary improvements.
Topping the list of big issues that needed to be corrected was an unregulated work scheduled that allowed unlimited trading of a 42-hour work week, giving firefighters a way to avoid training and working with commanders they didn’t like. It presented untold challenges for management. “People could come and go as they pleased,” Finn said. “Continuity and consistency broke down and the effectiveness of the department suffered.”
Finn made it clear that he needed to get everyone on one schedule and the union overwhelmingly agreed to one 24-hour schedule, limited to five swaps, and firefighters couldn’t work any more than 38 consecutive hours.
“It was truly a win-win,” Finn said, adding the benefit was recognized immediately and morale was on the mend.
Training was next and Finn launched a program called “Back to Basics.” He said first-alarm companies would train together to become more efficient rather than having divergent companies from across the city training together when they would never work with each other.
“There is nothing more important on a fireground, tactically, than having the first-alarm response execute with proficiency,’’ Finn said. “Firefighting is nothing more than small unit tactics and everyone needs to do their assignments.”
Next was improving the fleet. Finn said the city has given him $20 million to restore the fleet. Money has also been appropriated for two fire station replacements and six others are under consideration.
Cancer battle
Finn said the most important initiative is the reduction of occupational cancer. He said since 1990, 190 firefighters have succumbed to occupational cancer.
“This is truly a staggering number,” Finn said, pointing out that in 2014, Boston had two LODDs, which were tragic, but no less tragic than the fact that the department lost four firefighters to cancer that same year.
He said the only recognition those firefighters lost to cancer received were from his family and the Boston Fire Department.
“And that is truly sad because their careers and the suffering they endured are no less heroic than a line-of-duty death, and we need to change that and get them the recognition they deserve,” Finn said.
In Boston, the department experiences a new cancer diagnosis every three weeks, according to Finn, and that statistic is numbing.
“We need to take decisive and doctoral action if we are going to reverse the devastating trend,” Finn said, adding the labor and management need to form a cohesive bond to produce meaningful cultural change.
To combat the epidemic, Finn is working on getting equipment to clean and dry turnout gear in every fire station in the city. Two-thirds of the stations are now covered, with a plan to get the rest of the city covered soon.
Each firefighter has several protective hoods and change them out regularly. Firefighters also have two sets of gear, he said.
“There is no excuse for any firefighter to start the shift without clean gear,” Finn said, adding that the department will also have brand-new, state-of-the-art 45-minute SCBAs in service very soon.
“I have a great team and we’re making a difference,” Finn said.
Finn has established a safety, health and wellness division. One of the first things the division did was to create a video to raise awareness of the cancer problem and let Boston firefighters know that the city cares.
“The video has had a dramatic impact not only in the Boston Fire Department, but across the fire service,” Finn said.
The video won a major national award and has been viewed by firefighters nationwide. Finn asked for a show of hands from the packed ballroom from those who have seen the video; which was more than half. He said survivors, those battling cancer and widows of firefighters who lost their spouses to cancer participated in the video.
Finn said the video was to raise awareness of the problem, “and, to be honest, scare the bejesus out of them because it is was a real issue.”
A second video was designed to teach firefighters what they needed to do to protect themselves and to realize they need to have the training engrained in their daily routines to reverse the trend.
Finn said the department has changed the way it handles overhaul and rotates firefighters out quickly. It has also made other tactical changes. Firefighters are also now subscribing to the O2x health and fitness program run by Navy seals.
Finn said all the training and equipment means nothing if the firefighters don’t care for themselves and take personal responsibility for themselves. He had some tough words for those who come out of fires with soot and snot on their faces and in their lungs.
“They are stupid,” Finn said to loud applause from those in the audience.
Finn also offered some sobering thoughts and predictions about the effects of cancer on firefighters. He said he believes it will soon surpass heart disease as the number one killer of firefighters.
“It is the true challenge before us,” Finn said.
