Fire Service Time Management [PODCAST]

Today's lean fire prevention organizations must function more effectively and efficiently than ever.  The key to achieving effectiveness and efficiency is time management. In his book, The Effective Executive, Peter Drucker provides a 3 step process for time management:

1. Record time
2. Manage time
3. Consolidate time

Related Posts: 

• Time Management for the Fire Inspector
• Time Requirements for Common Fire Prevention Tasks
• How to Prove You Need More Money and More People

Sun Tzu and the Art of Fireground Leadership

The Art of War by Sun Tzu is the oldest military work in existence.  Written in 500 BC, this ancient text on military tactics is still studied by today’s warriors.  The principles for victorious warfare laid out by Sun Tzu can also be applied to fire service leadership and fireground tactics.  Sun Tzu and the Art of Fireground Leadership breaks down the content of Art of War into four key principles required for fire service success - preparation, responsibility, tactics, leadership.

Fireground Leadership presents the ancient principles that must be applied for victory in any battle, demonstrates how these relate to today’s modern fire service, and provides practical guidance on the applying these principles to achieve fireground success.

Sun Tzu and the Art of Fireground Leadership enables the reader to understand the principles of ancient victorious warriors and teaches how to apply them to practical fire service leadership and fireground strategies!

The book is available in Kindle and print versions from Amazon, http://amzn.to/2ioRGXE.

Join the social media conversation with, #suntzufireground.

About the Author

Aaron Johnson has more than a decade of fire service experience and holds multiple fire service certifications.  Aaron began his career as an aircraft rescue firefighter moved to driver/operator, then transitioned into fire prevention. He currently serves as Fire Marshal for Rural/Metro Fire in south Florida. Aaron regularly speaks at industry conferences and has authored more than 400 articles, blog posts, and books.

Contact the Author

E-mail: thecodecoach@gmail.com

Website: www.thecodecoach.com

Join My Book Launch Street Team

On January 23, 2017 I will be releasing my newest book, Sun Tzu and the Art of Fireground Leadership.

The Art of War, by Sun Tzu is the oldest military work in existence.  Written in 500 BC, this ancient work on military tactics is still studied by today’s warriors.  The principles for victorious warfare laid out by Sun Tzu can also be applied to fire service leadership and fireground tactics.  The Art of Fireground Leadership breaks down the contents of Art of War into four key principles required for fire service success - preparation, responsibility, tactics, leadership.

I am looking for a few good people to join the street team to get the word out!  Here’s what street team members get:

• FREE digital copy of the book
• Eligible for weekly drawing for books and prizes
• List of tweets to share on social media
• Exclusive group membership/networking

What I want from you:

• Post a review of the book on Amazon
• Share and post about the book on social media

On the week of January 23, I will be tweeting every 15 minutes for the entire day. I would love for you to do the same!

Join the Street Team

The Art of ARFF (part 10) - Conclusion

In the final chapters of The Art of War, Sun Tzu discusses the use of fire as a weapon, and the utilization of spies to bring victory. In war, fire was used  to burn soldiers in their camp and destroy supplies, fuel, and weaponry. Sun Tzu makes the point that, in order for fire to be a useful tool, the supplies for creating fire must always be kept available.

In order to carry out an attack, we must have means available. The material for raising fire should always be kept in readiness. -Sun Tzu

In the modern fire service we have many tools available to us.  Tools for the suppression of fire, prevention of fire, and the rescue of victims. However, for these tools to be most effective they must be available and ready to use.  As firefighters, it is our responsibility to be aware of the most current tools and tactics for the completion of our tasks.  We must know what tools are available.  Those tools must be kept ready.  The knowledge for using the tools must be kept sharp. 

Do we know what tools and equipment is available? Do we know what tools and equipment our specific department/unit has available?  Are those tools properly maintained and ready to be deployed when needed?

The enlightened ruler lays his plans well ahead; the good general cultivates his resources. -Sun Tzu

The act of pre-planning and being aware of the needs of your operation and community, will allow the "ruler" to ensure that the proper tools, equipment, and resources will be available.  It is the leaders responsibility to plan and prepare, not just for the current needs of the community and department, but also for the future.  The leader must take time to examine and reflect and get a sense of where the community is headed and what its needs will be. 

To "cultivate" is to prepare and use, and acquire and develop. We must be cultivating tomorrows resources today.  When tomorrow comes, with its emergencies and needs, it will be too late to prepare and plan, obtain equipment, or train personnel.  The leader must look forward and prepare for tomorrow's unseen emergency, right now.

Thus, what enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge. - Sun Tzu

The more we know about the communities we protect, the better prepared we can be. The time to learn about new technology, new industrial processes, or new structures or building methods, is not when we respond to it for the first time, but well in advance, in the pre-planning stages. 

A key to gaining foreknowledge in our communities is in the relationships that we build.  Sun Tzu lists 5 kinds of spies that must be utilized if victory is to be obtained. These 5 types of spies can be applied to the types of relationships that we must foster.

Local spies. Foreknowledge of a community and its coming needs can be found by understanding the communities history.  Building relationships with long-term residents and community leaders is essential.  By understanding its history and the goals a picture of the future of the community can be formed. From this picture, plans for future department needs can be determined.

Inward spies. When it comes to new technology, processes, or materials, the representatives and users must be consulted.  As leaders we must be secure enough to humble ourselves and know that we do not know every detail about everything.  We must turn to the experts in the technology, process, or materials.  These experts are passionate about their product, and can tell you every nuance about it.  It is the firefighters job to apply the product knowledge to practical application of fire prevention or fire suppression.

Converted spies. The fire service must look outside of itself in order to adequately plan for the future.  We must work collaboratively with other organizations (non-profit, law enforcement, engineering, mutual aid departments, etc.).  What do these organizations see in the future? How does the fire department fit into their plan? How do they fit into the fire department plan?

Doomed spies. There are those individuals who seem to have given up.  These are the ones who have seen the history, seen plans made (or not), and still experienced failure.  These may be the disgruntled ones.  In talking to these individuals much can be gained by understanding their mindset, and what they have seen.  The 'exit interview' is critical component of human resources.  Every leader should engage leaving employees in an exit interview.  It is in these exit interviews that the employee will potentially be most honest.  The feedback received will show current areas of weakness in the department, and allow proper future plans to be put into place. 

Surviving spies.  In magazines, books, conferences, and classes the fire service has a wealth of knowledge to draw from. By knowing the stories and lessons learned from those who have experienced what we are experiencing or have been where we are planning to go we can establish foreknowledge of what to expect. It is from these "voices from the future" that we can adequately plan, prepare, and cultivate the resources that will be needed. 

The five keys to victory in fire ground leadership, that we can garner from Sun Tzu and this series of articles are:

1. Prevention - the truest victory is in avoiding the battle
2. Leadership - the leader must do the hard task of leading his troops
3. Training - the troops must have access to needed resources and pre-planning and train and exercise their use
4. Tactics - quick victory is key, and can only be achieved through the use of proper tactics
5. Responsibilities - everyone has a role to play, it takes everyone doing their specific function to be victorious

Other articles in this series:

• Part 1 - Laying Plans
• Part 2 - Waging War
• Part 3 - Attack by Strategem
• Part 4 - Tactical Dispositions, Energy, and Strong Points
• Part 5 - Maneuvering
• Part 6 - Variation in Tactics
• Part 7 - The Army on the March
• Part 8 - Terrain
• Part 9 - The Nine Situations
• Part 10 - Conclusion

Fire Service Sun Tzu [Part 1]



Photo courtesy of Om Imaging

 In his landmark work on battlefield strategies, The Art of War , Sun Tzu aptly outlines his strategy for victory in battle.  These strategies, when properly applied, will guarantee certain victory.  Sun Tzu discusses the process of war from "laying plans", to "attack by strategem" and "tactical dispositions", to exploiting the enemies weaknesses.


The principles of  The Art of War,although written for battlefield purposes, can just as powerfully be applied to the fire service. Through a series of posts, I want to demonstrate how these tactics can be applied to achieve success in the fire service.


Sun Tzu opens by stating that the art of war is governed by five constant factors.  These five factors should be taken into consideration when "seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field".

1. The Moral Law
2. Heaven
3. Earth
4. The Commander
5. Method and Discipline

Sun Tzu says, "the MORAL LAW causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by danger".

This is the first essential that must be in place to ensure victory. If the firefighter is being led into "battle" by a chief that they do not trust, they will go there own way and experience loss.  Or, a new leader will rise up, one without the title, but others will follow him, then you have internal division, which will ultimately lead to destruction.  A firefighter who experiences a chief not acting in the best interest of his people will not be in accord with him. 

A community that is not in accord with their fire department (or its leadership) will not support it.  In fire prevention, our primary enemy is education.  We can talk all we want to attempt to educate - on fire safety, purpose of inspections, building construction, fire department practices - however, if there is no trust, if the community is not in "accord" with its public officials, the education battle will be lost.

However, as a community, sees its department and official going to bat for them, standing up for them, listening to them, trust will be built.  As this trust is built then the community will follow.

HEAVEN "signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons."  When Sun Tzu wrote of the heavens he was  considering  the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water), the four seasons, the winds, and temperatures.    As a firefighter the "heavens" play a large role in containing and extinguishing a fire.  Knowing what is burning (wood, metal, plastics, etc.),  the wind direction, humidity, temperature, and time of day is essential in forming a plan of attack for fire extinguishment.

In prevention, knowing the political climate, or understanding where people are coming from, or where there mentality is based plays a huge role in forming a plan of education and outreach.

The EARTH is comprised of distance, danger, security, open ground, and the chances of life and death.  These are the things which are palpable.  That which is real and solid.  This is the firefighters equivalent to risk versus reward.  What are the risks involved? Does the potential reward outweigh the risks?

In overcoming fire prevention hurdles, the challenge (in order to be victorious), is to make the risk real to the community.  Make the community see the loss, and therefore, take action to prevent it.

Closely related to the moral law is the COMMANDER.  This has all to do with the character of the leader. The commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage, and self-control.  These are charactersitics that any fire service leader, should stand for, and strive to instill in his subordinates.  Check yourself.  Which of these are you weakest in?  Which of these are you strongest in?  Cultivate these characteristics in order to be the leader of a victorious crew.

The physical logistics of a department are summed up in METHOD AND DISCIPLINE.  This is understanding the proper rank structure, and chain of command, maintaining supplies and equipment, and controlling finances.  Without proper tools (and there maintenance) any army or fire crew will fail in its fight.  In order to stay ahead of the game, it is of utmost importance to control finances.  Without finances equipment falls into disarray, newest technology cannot be purchased, proper training is not affected,  and personnel are not appropriately compensated.  Beyond simply managing the available finances, a victorious leader must create new, constant, and evolving streams of income.

"These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail." - Sun Tzu

Working Your "Calling"

This two part video from Fire Engineering features Chief Lasky discussing the "calling" of the fire service.

Three traits that must be demonstrated by the fire service professional is integrity, honor, and pride.

Chief Lasky - Part 1

"We exist to help people." -Chief Lasky



Chief Lasky - Part 2

"...learn every day." - Chief Lasky

The hero part of this job is becoming a public servant.