A Great Description Of A Battalion Chief's Duties

[x635 4,066]

A friend of mine wrote this piece for the Georgetown TX FD website, and it is posted here with permission.

http://fire.georgetown.org/operations/rank-structure/

Battalion Chief (BC) – The Battalion Chief is really the person who insures that day to day operations are possible. Consider this: there are 168 hours in a week and the Fire Chief and Assistant Chief work 40 hours a week. For most of the time, the Battalion Chief is the highest ranking officer on duty. Before the oncoming shift starts and outgoing shift leaves, the Battalion Chief must make sure that there are enough people on duty. Does this sound easy? Imagine having 50 people who work for you. Each person has a very specific role and every role must be covered. You might have one or two extra people on some days, but what if too many people call in sick at the last minute? What do you do? Perhaps you can hire an overtime firefighter, who is not a paramedic, but you need a paramedic. Do you get on the phone and hope you can find a paramedic who can quickly come in? Do you move four people around so you can finally put that firefighter where you don’t need a paramedic and move the paramedic from his station to another station? This is just one job that a BC may face every day, and the shift hasn’t even started yet. Schedules have to be planned in advance. Vacations need to be scheduled and assignments need to be considered. If a firefighter gets injured or a vehicle has an accident, it is the Battalion Chief who makes the initial investigation report. The list of jobs and responsibilities can go on and on. Every detail of the battalion is handled, in some way, by the BC. Sometimes a decision is made to take an issue to a higher level, but that is rare. Besides the day to day logistical paperwork and time spent on the phone that takes up much of the chief’s time, there is the chaos of an emergency scene which requires a great deal of communication and information coordination

[wraftery 1,275]

A friend of mine wrote this piece for the Georgetown TX FD website, and it is posted here with permission.

Tell your friend to keep writing. So far he only covered about the first half hour he spent after walking in the firehouse door. Even if he was lucky enough to grab a cup of coffee before walking to his (and the other BC's) office, it got cold sitting on his desk while he straightened out the manning problems.

Next paragraph should be what the offgoing BC is going to tell him. It will wreck all the plans he had for the day for training, etc. Now the phone rings and Engine 2 was to be at the city garage a half hour ago. Where are they? Oh, wait... we got a run...6-Story ordinary...multiple calls...smoke on 4, 5, and 6.

Thank God, a fire...I needed the break.

[x635 4,066]

Here's the entire rank structure, for context reasons:

http://fire.georgetown.org/operations/rank-structure/

[JFLYNN 681]

A friend of mine wrote this piece for the Georgetown TX FD website, and it is posted here with permission.

Frankly, that description of a Battalion Chief's duties leaves much to be desired. I do not have the time right now but I'm sure others will chime in. The description you reference sounds like it could be handled by a scehduling clerk mostly, or even a computer program. How about including a few details in regard to showing true leadership, conducting training, developing pre-fire and emergency plans, observing your subordinate supervisors and how they operate and conduct training, mentoring junior Company Officers and Company Commanders, inspecting personnel, apparatus, facilities and equipment, overseeing building inspections, developing and maintaining relationships with outside agencies such as PD, EMS, Buidling Department, Water Department, Schools, Community Groups, etc, oh, and we might want to mention what a Battalion Chief does at a fire or emergency, no?

[wraftery 1,275]

Battalion(s) – The city currently has one Battalion. This is usually made up of 4 to 5 stations and the companies that are quartered there. These companies and personnel are supervised by a Battalion Chief. There is a Battalion Chief (BC) assigned to each of the three shifts. Battalion Chiefs also are assigned to staff positions, such as Training & Safety

What does "usually made up of 4 to 5 stations and the companies that are quartered there" mean? Are there 4 Stations or 5 stations? Are they operating with stations being browned out?

And what about the"unusual" days? What does that mean?

This description of a Battalion seems to be carefully and purposely worded the way it is. I perceive there is something between the lines but I cant read what it is.

[efdcapt115 1,511]

Thank God, a fire...I needed the break.

You are too much! lol

[capt2102 64]

I have almost 22 years running the shift... and I believe I have it down to a science. First thing you do when you walk in the door is pour yourself a cup of coffee. The night shift will have 2 pots going. You might not get to drink it, but it's nice to have. The next thing to do is discuss what to have for dinner. This is where all of that preplanning comes into play. The only day there is no question what is on the menue is Sunday. Sunday is gravy (red sause with meat) for the Italian Battalion. Stay Safe.

[FirNaTine 370]

Seth does the BC have an Aide and if so what is his function? Many problems the BC encounters can be mitigated or completely resolved if he has a reliable and responsible Aide. Again the big word is "if". Many good aides can actually make their BC look good. Then there are those who are nothing but personal chauffers.

[wraftery 1,275]

I have almost 22 years running the shift... and I believe I have it down to a science. First thing you do when you walk in the door is pour yourself a cup of coffee. The night shift will have 2 pots going. You might not get to drink it, but it's nice to have. The next thing to do is discuss what to have for dinner. This is where all of that preplanning comes into play. The only day there is no question what is on the menue is Sunday. Sunday is gravy (red sause with meat) for the Italian Battalion. Stay Safe.

Make sure you quickly read the paper to find out what you didn't say to the journal news reporter.

Mangia bene, mi fratelli pompieri.

[efdcapt115 1,511]

Mangia bene, mi fratelli pompieri.

Eat well, my brother pompier ladder?

[TimesUp 148]

Go to 8:45. It shows a very calm,very orientated Deputy Chief assigning tasks and keeping up with any progress. He has an aid that is helping him with who's up next. But the calm he projects is what is key to me. I've seen it the other way and it makes for a interesting job.

[efdcapt115 1,511]

Go to 8:45. It shows a very calm,very orientated Deputy Chief assigning tasks and keeping up with any progress. He has an aid that is helping him with who's up next. But the calm he projects is what is key to me. I've seen it the other way and it makes for a interesting job.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

[FirNaTine 370]

Now that's a perfect example of being Cool, Calm, and Collective. No doubt that BC has seen his fare share of Jobs.

[wraftery 1,275]

Battalion(s) – The city currently has one Battalion. This is usually made up of 4 to 5 stations and the companies that are quartered there. These companies and personnel are supervised by a Battalion Chief. There is a Battalion Chief (BC) assigned to each of the three shifts. Battalion Chiefs also are assigned to staff positions, such as Training & Safety

What does "usually made up of 4 to 5 stations and the companies that are quartered there" mean? Are there 4 Stations or 5 stations? Are they operating with stations being browned out?

And what about the"unusual" days? What does that mean?

This description of a Battalion seems to be carefully and purposely worded the way it is. I perceive there is something between the lines but I cant read what it is.

Anybody have any thoughts or insight into this?

[x635 4,066]

I agree with many of your points. I posted this only for discussion.

This department places a lot of emphasis on company officers to be leaders.

While it does make the Battalion Chief's duties sound administrative, it is a large part of the job. The Battalion Chief only responds on larger calls. He has to make sure that he has 2 Texas Forest Service certified firefighters assigned and available for a 7 day deployment on instantaneous notice, for example. He has to make sure that one engine has a Paramedic on it. Has to make sure the Rescue is manned. Make sure the HazMat unit is manned. Making sure that each district has coverage if an engine is assigned to training. Keep up with all the other responsiblities.

Basically, the logistics of the entire shift falls on their shoulders. Do you really need a Battalion Chief responding on every alarm, or can a Captain or Lt. handle most of the Command duties? You don't need supervisors supervising supervisors, no one learns that way. There is a great deal of emphais placed on leadership development. The Officers train just as much as the firefighters. The Dispatchers are pretty on the ball, and if it sounds like a serious incident where ICS will be needed, then they respond.

The Battalion Chief may run with a aide, especially if they are training.

There is a Safety/Training Battalion that covers that end of the stick.

4 Stations, fully staffed, with a variety of specialized apparatus cross-staffed. No brownouts, would not even consider it as that is a threat to firefighter and public safety.

The Annual Report is quite interesting:

http://fire.georgetown.org/files/2010/04/2011-Annual-Report-optimized.pdf

[efdcapt115 1,511]

Read on the website a fifth (brand spanking new) firehouse is opening in spring of 2012. And if you count the original firehouse from 1892 that now serves as Headquarters, with:

Reserve Quint – 1996 Sutphen 75″ Quint (Reserve)

Fire Boat – 1989 Deck Boat

2002 Wells Cargo Fire Education Trailer

2003 Fire Safety House from Scotty,

they already have five firehouses, so the new one will make six (unless they are planning on moving out of the original building).

[Bnechis 3,961]

Do you really need a Battalion Chief responding on every alarm, or can a Captain or Lt. handle most of the Command duties? You don't need supervisors supervising supervisors, no one learns that way.

Can a Capt. or Lt. handle command.....depends on the call type and the dept. staffing.

On an EMS call...sure

Public assist sure

Automatic Alarm & fire calls...What are you sending and what is your staffing?

An engine with 3ff/1of....pump operator, Capt.(IC) and 2 FF's going in...ok what if its a probie and a FF with a year or 2? Should the capt. be IC or supervising his company? What happens when you get 8 or more FF's on scene and no company officers? How do you handle span of control?

[wraftery 1,275]

I am not talking Georgetown TX here because I don't know anything about them. These comments are general comments and points.

Fires come in boxes. The IC must have reliable information about all six sides of the box. If the Capt(IC) is inside behind the nozzleman or doing a search, he has very little knowledge of what happening to the box because he is inside the box. In the first few minutes it is necessary for him to command and attack at the same time but all efforts should be made to get a Chief officer on scene asap to establish proper overall command of the incident.

As we all know, the first couple of minutes of an incident are possibly the most dangerous minutes of the entire incident. It's the time when things can go wrong very quickly. The BC should be on scene in the least possible time behind the first due. If the BC doesn't leave his quarters until an incident is confirmed, it is the equivalent of sending a police officer to "check it out" before notifying the FD.

Automatic Fire alarms and reporting systems don't ask you lower your response. They tell you that THERE IS a fire. There are two things you can do on automatics. One is to go look and see assuming there is no fire. The other is to assume the alarm system is doing what it is supposed to do...reporting a fire. Don't ever get lulled into that "it's probably nothing" mindset. One day it will come back to haunt you. Go on every run lke it is going to be a worker. A BC should always run on automatics because those automatics are reporting a fire in a structure.

Think about this hypothetical conversation:

NIOSH:"(Battalion) Chief, the timeline of this incident shows you arriving 10 minutes after the initial 911 call. That puts you arriving on scene 2 minutes after flashover and subsequent mayday call. Why the delay?"

Battalion Chief: "Well, sir, about a year or so ago, the Department changed the criteria for the BC's to respond. We no longer respond to a number of calls that we used to because we weren't getting time to get our paperwork done, and that's a major part of the BC's job."

'Nuff said?