3 Page Case Study Advanced Fire Administration

Unit II Addendum

As you continue working on your 1-year written transition plan, you have already realized the importance

of the Washington Fire Department (WFD) organizational culture and mission needed to implement the

process of consensus building. This weighed heavily on your heart as you recently observed concerns

during the warehouse fire and overheard county fire officers complaining about the unwillingness of WFD

personnel to accept orders and to follow the National Incident Management System (NIMS).

As a result, you decided to have a meeting with your managers/chief officers to gather information. From

previous employment as a fire chief, you understood the importance and value of experience and intuition

in the decision-making process. Your goal was to encourage group members to consider ideas for

solutions using their experience and intuition to gain buy-in. You recognized the influence that chief fire

officers have on the likelihood of change and the need for their support. Your agenda for the meeting was

to create a positive climate for change and introduce new ideas within the organization about the role of

management in fire and emergency services (FES) in emergencies. This is based on the comments from

the county fire officials and your observation of freelancing on the fireground that compromised the entire

firefighting operation. During your meeting, you discovered that WFD personnel did not follow orders

under the county fire officers because of the county’s lack of fireground experience. As you listen further,

you begin to understand that WFD chief officers did not place any value in the key incident command

functions of NIMS used on every incident involving more than one resource. The WFD chief officer’s

understanding of NIMS was that NIMS was only to be used on major disasters such as hurricanes,

wildland fires, and mass shootings. In addition, they believe whoever was in command must retain

command instead of passing command to the next most appropriate and qualified officer when he or she

arrived.