Take a Lesson from History: Don’t be a Merovingian

<span><img src="http://blog.firechief.com/mutual_aid/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/daniel-gardiner.jpg" alt="" /><strong><person>Daniel B.C. Gardiner</person></strong> The Merovingian dynasty of Frankish kings ruled an area in present-day <location value="LC/fr" idsrc="xmltag.org">France</location> and <location value="LC/de" idsrc="xmltag.org">Germany</location> from the 5th to 8th century A.D. They were descended from Merovech, whose grandson was Emperor Clovis, the founder of the Frankish monarchy. After the death of Clovis I, the kingdom was divided among his descendants into various kingdoms. These kingdoms, whose borders were constantly shifting, were often combined; for brief periods until they were united in a single realm in 539. Most notably, the Merovingians were largely honorific, specializing in ornamental uniforms, parades and other self-aggrandizing activities, and were widely recognized for their popular honor guards, and yet were incompetent in the governance and protection of their kingdom. The last Merovingian king was deposed in 751; or so it was thought for hundreds of years! Unfortunately, there may be a resurrection of the Merovingian Dynasty within a small minority of fire departments. Ask yourself: Is your fire department all fluff, all hat and no cattle? Are you great during the <chron>Memorial Day</chron> parade? Are your uniforms impressive, and do you give a great public appearance? Do you have command and control problems on the fireground? Does you fire department lack updated SOP/SOGs? If you have an affirmative answer to the above questions, you are on the way to becoming a <org>Merovingian Fire Department</org>. The Merovingians were incompetent, but looked good. They rallied the public to their favor. But they could not rule, and were doomed to failure. Fire departments have a long tradition of high public visibility, which is great. However what happens on the fireground supersedes all other activities of the fire department. Recent reports of deceased fire victims being found long after a fire has been put out negates any good or perceived good will the fire department has with the public. In <chron>May 2011</chron>, the <location value="LU/us.wi.milkee" idsrc="xmltag.org">Milwaukee</location> (Wis.) <org>Police Department</org> discovered the body of a female on a Monday morning. The home had been damaged in a fire on the previous Friday evening. "The question is why did we miss this fire victim?” <location value="LU/us.wi.milkee" idsrc="xmltag.org">Milwaukee</location> Fire Chief <person>Mark Rohlfing</person> said. <org>The Milwaukee Fire Department</org> is reviewing its policies after fire crews failed to find the woman's body inside the burned home . In <chron>December 2009</chron>, in <location value="LU/us.ct.faield" idsrc="xmltag.org">Fairfield, Conn.</location>, a woman was found dead by an electrical utility worker in a condominium unit the morning after a fire burned an adjacent unit. Mutual-aid units were blamed for the lapse. This horrific oversight is not particular to large or small, volunteer, combination or career department, but shows something lacking in their procedures and perhaps leadership. Training on primary and secondary searches is a fundamental in structural firefighting. SOP/SOG’s on how, when, and where to search is a basic training topic. Ongoing training must take place in order to make sure the fire department is effective and efficient. Effectiveness refers to the capability of producing a specific, desired outcome. Efficiency refers to completing a given number of work items (like occupant location & removal) in a satisfactory way, according to some measure, or time frame. The fire department must not only be trained to work as single units, but to work with other units within the department forming a cohesive force. It is unknown if the installation of smoke alarms would have saved these two women. Certainly all fire departments should be playing a role in making sure people can save themselves before the fire department gets the call or arrives at their home, by being alerted to a fire by their smoke alarms. To be clear, don’t bother being good at the parade, honors ceremony, public relations events, or other self aggrandizing events, when you lack skills on the fireground! Be good in fire prevention, public education, in addition to being good on the fireground. These will all you to keep the public confidence you have built up over the years. One tragic oversight like the two mentioned here, flush the public confidence in you fire department down the drain. Work hard to make sure homes in your jurisdiction have monitored fire alarms systems or at least smoke alarms that will alert occupants to fire. And of course; continue to train so you don’t have to try and explain lapses in your fireground operations. Don’t be a Merovingian! <i><person>Daniel B.C. Gardiner</person> retired as the chief of department of Fairfield (Conn.) Fire-Rescue, serving in all ranks within the department for over 30 years. He is a past president of the <org>Fire Department Safety Officers Association</org> as well as a past President of the <org>International Society of Fire Service Instructors</org>. He currently serves on two <org value="ACORN:4192743935" idsrc="xmltag.org">NFPA</org> technical committees: Standard for Providing Fire and Emergency Services to the Public (<org value="ACORN:4192743935" idsrc="xmltag.org">NFPA</org> 1201), and Recommended Practice in Fire and Emergency Services Organization Risk Management (<org value="ACORN:4192743935" idsrc="xmltag.org">NFPA</org> 1250).</i></span>