I write this article in the direct aftermath of the events in Washington, D.C., when protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol, seeking to disrupt lawful and Constitutional processes. As an American citizen, I was filled with incredible sadness and anxiety. As a 30-year military veteran, I felt a call to arms to defend my country. As a firefighter—as are many who are reading this—I studied it. What could we do to help to protect, respond to, mitigate and recover from such an event and to return to our communities a sense of order and control?
There no doubt will be articles and after-action reports forthcoming that will discuss the strategies and tactics angle. How about from the community risk reduction (CRR) perspective?
CRR and security
In my March 2019 Fire Prevention column, titled “The Strategic War for Resilient Communities,” I challenged that today’s fire service members must transition their mindset from kindly community civil servants to front-line troops; that their ability to control and mitigate any event to which their department responds not only correlates to the security and resilience of a community but also its citizens’ perception of it. This philosophy is based on the belief that if citizens feel insecure, then the community is unsecure, and unsteadiness sets in and chaos reigns.
In addition to comparing front-line troops to engine and ladder companies and special forces to rescue companies, I stated the need for solid battle plans that include intelligence-gathering, accurately identifying and describing the enemy, and the “winning of hearts and minds” to rally the troops and community. Those who are responsible for this would be your CRR and prevention personnel or your reconnaissance and intelligence troops. All good commanders will support and deploy their troops to maximize effectiveness, and for the fire service, it means all troops being utilized and deployed as part of an overall plan, in lieu of the traditional but separate operations and prevention divisions.
The first step in CRR is conducting a community-risk assessment to identify community hazards, risks and vulnerabilities. A true risk assessment should be combined with operations. What is discovered will determine everything from audiences to educate to fire station staffing and resource allocations—bringing all five E’s (education, engineering, enforcement, economic incentives and emergency response) into one operational picture and plan.
However, for small- and medium-size career and volunteer departments that don’t have prevention divisions or “have one person fighting holes,” protecting and mitigating are the key. Chances are that staffing and resources are scarce. A true CRR program can be daunting. For many small- and medium-size departments, it’s fully unachievable. However, when dealing with life safety, something is better than nothing, and a CRR program can be adjusted and scaled to fit your needs.
Civil unrest hazards and risks
Remember, CRR personnel are the intelligence and recon units of their department. They are embedded within the community. They should have their fingers on the pulse. Although some “targets” of unrest are obvious, such as city hall, federal buildings and important infrastructures, others are known only to those who are closest to the community. This is where yearlong CRR relationships and community investments pay off: There is the official list of potential targets and unrest, and there’s the list of those that are learned during neighborhood watch meetings, working with school resource officers, and other formal and informal community groups and leaders who truly “know the streets.” CRR personnel should be involved in their community at all levels, all year long, gathering intelligence.
Internal, external customers
A full CRR program for such incidents can get very complex. It can include everything from reinforcing potential targets to automatic aid agreements. A comparable program for a small- or medium-size department?
First, there are the internal customers.
Do your members have appropriate PPE? Are members trained and equipped for stop the bleed, trauma care and triage?
Does your department have protocols for these events, are members aware of them, have they been trained on them, and do those protocols match up with local EMS and law enforcement plans? Although you might not be in position to write such plans and protocols, you certainly can liaise with other agencies, gather intelligence, advise, educate and prepare.
Do your members know where fire department connections, fire hydrants and alarm panels are located? Have radio frequencies been tested inside of and outside of these locations to include ground-to-air channels?
Second, there are the external customers.
Do you have relationships with those who oversee or work in potential targets of civil unrest? Have those locations been preplanned? Although some locations might have security concerns for allowing full preplans, including photographs and measurements, most, if not all, buildings have a basic, posted fire escape plan (required by code) that can be copied.
Do these locations have emergency plans, and do they parallel yours? Have inspections been performed or courtesy life safety surveys been offered, ensuring clear exits, serviceable and available fire extinguishers, and operational fire alarms and other protection systems?
Have medivac landing zones been identified and grid coordinates recorded? Have these locations been offered training in CPR, first aid and stop the bleed? Are they aware of the importance of having automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, and bleeding control kits?
The IAP and the VIP
You will find that this looks similar to your incident action plan (or battle plan). This underscores the importance and the need for department operations and CRR personnel to work in concert and for fire chiefs to fully utilize all of their troops efficiently and effectively for an overall strategic plan to serve their community. From gathering intelligence by having close community relationships, to educating and training citizens to prevent and prepare for an incident, CRR brings special and unique skills to the plan that any commander needs to be successful and victorious.
Lastly, we can’t forget our individual role in today’s increasingly polarized and anxious community. In or out of uniform, firefighters are seen as noble people who neutrally serve others in their time of need—the right people who do the right thing simply because it’s the right thing to do. Our presence represents calm, justice and a sense that everything will be OK. We can’t ignore the simple importance of our badge and what it represents for stable and secure communities.
The social currency that we are afforded is budgeted, and the “bank” is a tough and unforgiving lender. Spend the currency that your badge affords you wisely, because going into collections can be devastating for any community.
For more CRR information and assistance, visit the Vision 20/20 website.
