SENTIALS OF FIRE FIGHTING® AND RESCUE CTURAL FIRE FIGHTING: INITIAL RESPONSE STRATEGY AND TACTICS
PUMPING AND AERIAL APPARATUS DRIVER/OPERATOR HANDBOOK
CHIEF OFFICER OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY, HEALTH, AND WELLNESS FIRE INSPECTION AND CODE ENFORCEMENT
VE FIRE INSTRUCTOR
In order to assist with their task, this group decided that a cultural survey would be helpful in charting the future path of the organization. It would provide a baseline of what the culture was at that time and provide direction on how to proceed for the future. Discussions on this began in late 2019 and a group was selected to develop it. Again, progress slowed down in early 2020 due to the COVID pandemic and its effect on many staff members working from remote locations. Once office operations returned to normal, the group set out to develop the employee survey to evaluate the organizational culture. The original draft version contained 183 questions. It was determined that qualified assistance would be required to refine the document. FPP staff sought assistance from the University Assessment department who ultimately helped to narrow the survey down to 30 questions contained in 6 blocks. The survey was administered to employees from June 26 th through July 7 th of 2021. The results were finalized on September 30, 2021. The information provided insight on how the culture could be improved in the future. The plan is to repeat this survey every two to three years to identify cultural changes. • FPP Leadership Series “Growth Seekers” Group — The purpose of the FPP Leadership Series was to connect our staff to industry leaders through open communication to build an understanding of how the Mission and Values of FPP impact the fire service and emergency response communities. • Meeting Guide Group — The purpose of this group was to develop guidelines to be used during the RLC meetings. These guidelines would encourage participation, creative thought, and innovative ideas to be shared. Historically, employees met with their supervisor once a year to discuss progress and performance when they were getting their CEAT annual appraisal. The RLC group determined that it would be helpful to all of those involved if a modified version of the annual appraisal would occur on a more frequent (quarterly) basis. An appraisal form was developed to guide the discussions. There is a specific topic for each one of the sessions. Lastly, a showcase program was developed to provide information on what the role of specific departments/individuals are within the total organization. Members of each department do a presentation to the rest of the staff highlighting what they do and how they do it. These are presented on a monthly basis. Towards the end of the RLC project, a group of supervisory level employees was assembled to devise a plan on how to develop these skills and qualities. The group produced a three-tier approach to developing qualities and skills needed to assume leadership roles at FPP. Each tier provided information on what qualities were required to meet the requirements of that tier (Tables 1 through 3) . All of the various RLC committees and groups made significant progress and accomplished their assigned tasks. Based on that, in October 2021, FPP Director Hannan declared the project a success and that all aspects were complete so the project was concluded. A video detailing the RLC process and works was developed in December 2021. Manual Development Process Through the Years Just as the fire service, its equipment, and techniques have evolved since IFSTA’s formation in 1934, so has the manner that the training materials are physically developed. At the validation conference, someone such as Heisler or Hudiburg, would sit in front of a room full of delegates and read the draft to the group. Comments were discussed and changes made to the draft as required. When everyone was comfortable with the draft and its changes, it was considered validated and ready for publication. Once validated, the staff would take the draft back to the office and prepare it for publishing. The text was edited and proofed. Most of the illustrations were hand-drawn and there were few photographs in the early manuals. The manuals were all published in black and white. They were reproduced by lithograph and then bound into manuals for sale. The manuals were sold out of the Oklahoma A&M College bookstore.
18 IFSTA /FPP: THE FIRST 90 YEARS
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