The Fire Department has decided to reconsider the suspensions.

It has been a while since the Fire Department has been featured here, it’s good to know that they are still out there trying. Two Virginia volunteer firefighters were issued suspensions for saving the life of an 18 month child.

The two firefighters responded to a medical emergency in an Engine as first responders. They did an assessment and determined immediate transport was required. They were near a local hospital. There was no ambulance available, in a reasonable amount of time.  So they transported the child in the engine. She was in the hospital within thirteen minutes of their response. The nearest ambulance was twenty minutes out.

A fire engine is not certified to transport patients, policy doesn’t allow for fire engines to transport patients. The girl, who had a life threatening condition was treated and released.

It used to be that “Policy and Procedure” was a guide to decision making.  Policy and Procedure contemplated what should be done under normal circumstances and allowed for deviations when justified on a case by case basis.  This was to complicated for bureaucrats to implement.

Some commenters about the story feel like the firefighters had notice of what was required of them, made a conscious decision to disregard those requirements and should now be content to pay the price.  They got it half right.

Under the old model of policy and procedure (as a guide) the firefighters decision to transport would have been reviewed, weeks later, over cups of stale coffee and a decision would have been rendered. Under the new rules, DOOM on you, no deviation will be tolerated, punishment is preordained and the firefighters must still deal with the crisis at hand. Not the best environment for patient care.

Captain Kelly, with the Fire Department, tried to waffle out a third course of action.  It is actually a course of action that I favor. However, I’m a little twisted. He suggests that the department is likely to recognize and reward the lifesaving efforts of the two volunteers after they serve their suspensions.

There is ample precedent for such an approach.  Yossarian from Catch-22 was awarded a medal for missing the target entirely and bringing his flight of bombers back through the flak a second time. Catch-22 , if you are unfamiliar with it, is the greatest management text ever written.

In Texas, a fledgeling police union CLEAT made their bones defending a Fort Worth Police Officer who was commended and fired for the same action.

It was Christmas time and armed robberies were on the rise.  The Fort Worth Police Department put out “shotgun squads”.  Oh, for the good old days.  A shotgun squad was a police officer hiding in the back room of an appropriate venue.  When the robber came in and announced his intent, the officer stepped out and identified himself.  When the offender turned to see who was making all the noise, it got even louder.

This particular offender survived.  He listened to the officer testify, “and then I stepped out and announced myself and when the defendant turned towards me I fired.”

Out of shear meanness the defense attorney put the defendant on the stand.  The defendant stated that he didn’t remember no warning.  The defense attorney asked him do you remember what the cop said?  To which the defendant replied, “Yeah, he stepped out, yelled Merry Christmas Motherfucker, then he shot me!” Potato, potatoe.

The officer got his job back.

In the long run two contradictory results for the same action is self defeating and makes any administration look stupid and weak. There is one right answer here. The backbone of any organization, what makes it work, and work well are its people.  It is not to be found sitting in a three ring binder.

These two volunteers did the right thing, at the right time, and got the right result.  That they did so does not represent a failure on their part.  To over turn their suspensions and give them a commendation tells them and the rest of the firefighters, we trust you to do the right thing under the guidance provided by your training and policy.

The highest level of performance is not rote playback but assimilation.  That is when your people are confronted with a situation they are unprepared for and based on their training solve the problem, in an appropriate manner.