Three Sun Tzu Principles that Will Transform Fire Officers' Fireground Mindset

Firefighting, like warfare, is a high-stakes discipline in which lives, property and the safety of responders hang in the balance. Although Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” was written more than 2,500 years ago, many of his teachings remain deeply relevant in today’s emergency services. By viewing firefighting through the lens of strategy, preparedness and situational awareness, we can extract valuable lessons from this ancient Chinese general and tactician.

Victory is decided before the battle begins

I was a young lieutenant in a volunteer fire department that was poorly trained and poorly equipped. One day, I responded to a fire alarm at a single-family house with flames showing on the second floor. My initial reaction was to follow the textbook: Look for victims. But how? I had only a chauffeur and a rookie firefighter with me. Support was at least 10 minutes out.

I knew that if I went inside under those conditions, I would put both the rookie’s life and my own at risk. I also knew that when the second unit arrived, it likely would attempt a fast attack regardless of our position. It would pull the nozzle and begin its exterior attack even if we still were inside. The concepts of defensive, offensive and transitional operations simply weren’t part of the culture.

The only thing that I could do was open doors and windows and search visually for victims. If I entered, it couldn’t be far. We had no personal radios to report our situation.

When I heard the second unit arrive, I decided to pull out, but before we could, a powerful water stream hit our location. I regretted going even 10 feet inside.

A captain overrode my order not to deploy water streams while firefighters still were inside. I confronted him, but he insisted that I was wrong. He said that it was his duty to extinguish the fire as quickly as possible and to search for victims afterward.

Sun Tzu believed that victory is decided before the battle begins based on a careful comparison of the opposing sides, including the generals and the solders. At that moment, I realized that with poor training and a lack of ambition to improve, my department already was defeated. We could handle small calls, such as dumpster fires, vehicle fires, minor rescues and ambulance transports, but anything larger was beyond our capacity.

Knowing where you are, who you are and who your team is

In the fire service, the “enemy,” of course, isn’t a human adversary; it’s fire behavior itself. To know fire is to understand its science: combustion, heat transfer, building construction and smoke movement. Firefighters also must “know themselves”—their limitations, their training, their equipment and their teammates’ abilities.

In dynamic and hazardous environments, such as the fireground, reassessment isn’t a sign of hesitation; it’s a mark of professionalism. Fires evolve rapidly, and what was a sound plan moments ago quickly can become unsafe or ineffective. Reassessing fireground operations is essential to maintaining control, protecting personnel and adapting strategy in real time.

Since the early 2000s, the concept of flow path has gained increasing attention, particularly between 2010–2012, thanks to groundbreaking research by National Institute of Standards and Technology and UL Research Institute’s Fire Safety Research Institute. However, even today, some fire officers still fail to fully understand the concept or plan accordingly.

All of this rests on a human-powered system. If your firefighters aren’t where they’re supposed to be, everything is lost. Training, commitment and clear goals form the base of the pyramid called success. Don’t believe your own propaganda; be honest with yourself.

Preplanning, realistic training and honest after-action reviews are all expressions of this Sun Tzu principle. Incident commanders who understand the strengths and weaknesses of their teams and the behavior of fire in specific structural environments are better equipped to make decisions that preserve lives and property.

Every battle is won before it is fought

In the 1980s, Peru was in the middle of a civil war. An extremist group attempted to seize power by destroying infrastructure. One day, an intelligence officer informed me, as the person responsible for national firefighter safety, that a message containing the word “market” was intercepted. There were no details, but for us the meaning was clear. We should prepare for a possible car bomb or an intentional fire in a mall or supermarket.

We developed the best plans that we could, reviewed hydrants, checked emergency exits, and created preplans for potential attacks and emergency responses while staying as flexible as possible. Three months later, a terrorist attack that involved arson occurred in a local mall. This time, we succeeded, because the fire was extinguished quickly and no lives were lost.

Preparation is the foundation of effective firefighting. This aligns perfectly with the proactive mindset of fire prevention, public education, code enforcement and rigorous preplanning. Fire departments that prioritize readiness through drills, map studies, simulations and community engagement essentially “win” many battles before the first pumper rolls out of the bay.

A successful fireground operation starts six months before the alarm sounds, through training, operational guidelines and comprehensive risk assessments, including buildings, factories and other structures. These preparations shape the first six minutes of action and crew deployment, ultimately setting the stage for the next six hours of response.

This principle also underscores the importance of turnout gear maintenance, equipment checks and clear standard operating procedures. Success on the fireground starts long before the call comes in.

Knowing the terrain empowers you to move forward without hesitation

Sun Tzu relied on spies to succeed in battle. For us, it is about information, too: geography, construction and access. Understanding terrain translates in the fire service to knowing the layout of buildings, road networks, hydrant locations and the vulnerabilities of different structural materials.

In this context, fire inspections are an invaluable tool for gathering intelligence. Regular inspections provide detailed insights into building construction, occupancy, hazards and fire protection systems. By incorporating these findings into the department’s intelligence system, incident commanders are better equipped to make informed decisions.

According to NFPA 1: Fire Code, regular inspections and risk assessments are essential for maintaining fire safety standards and identifying potential hazards in buildings. NFPA 1620: Standard for Pre-Incident Planning also stresses the importance of collecting critical information, including building layout, water supply and fire protection systems, to guide responders during emergencies.

Incident commanders who arrive at a fire with a deep familiarity of their district—thanks to GIS mapping, pre-incident surveys, fire inspections and regular walkthroughs—can deploy units with confidence, to minimize risks and maximize efficiency.

Thermal imaging cameras enhance situational awareness, to help to locate victims, identify hotspots and assess fire spread, all while improving firefighter safety by enabling them to make informed decisions quickly.

Strategy, preparedness and situational awareness

Learning about “The Art of War” and interpreting its meaning can improve you as a fire officer.