Developing expertise: Katherine Lamb discusses how experiential learning transforms decision-making abilities for incident commanders
Iain Hoey
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By Katherine Lamb, Director, K Lamb Associates
The operational landscape and responsibilities of International Fire Service have changed dramatically over the last 15 years, which greatly affects the scope, severity and importantly the numbers of incidents attended worldwide.
With resource constraints and imposed efficiency savings, Fire Departments (FD) must focus on developing the knowledge and expertise concerning these new building construction techniques, complex fire prevention strategies, multi-occupancy premises, and inter-operability command protocols that are required to resolve these complex incidents.
Increasingly it has been recognised that FD’s must develop the ability of their personnel to think and make effective decisions on the fire-ground.
Effective incident commanders possess a wealth of knowledge concerning the risks and hazards they face.
They need to know the organisational rulebook, doctrine, policy & procedural framework and know which should be applied at incidents.
Training needs to focus on decision making behaviours rather than specific procedural or role-based competencies to develop Effective Commanders.
Testing the ability of an individual to resolve an incident by turning to the right page in the procedure manual and apply an organisational procedure by rote will not improve decision making.
Decision making can only be improved by applying experiential knowledge in realistic settings and learn what works and what doesn’t.
This training must be practiced in settings that replicate the time and stress demands of real incidents.
Individuals need to be given repeated opportunities to apply knowledge, experience and skill, acquired from training or operational exposure to develop command competence and expertise.
The two-dimensional information they have learned must become an effective mental model in their head.
A training and evaluation environment that replicates real life competencies and requires decision making, cements this learning, especially when coupled with appropriate decisions, and appropriate outcomes in the training scenarios.
‘Built Environment’ and Fire Engineering experts have a critical role to play in the development of incident commanders.
They possess expert and detailed knowledge of the risks and hazards that will be faced by firefighters in the 21st century.
This knowledge must inform agency operational practice, the development of accurate and effective policy and procedure and importantly inform the development of training programs and the competence assessment of commanders.
FD’s must train their personnel to appropriately analyse the risk of the incident to the affected individuals, the building, the community and importantly the safety of their personnel, to evaluate that information accurately and then implement the most effective plan to resolve the incident.
In a world where incident numbers are dropping due to improvements in fire safety regulations, building design or vehicle safety systems, training and appropriate skills evaluation is essential in the development of assertive, effective and safe commanders.
About the IFSJ Influencer
Katherine Lamb is a respected authority on Fire Service Incident Command training & certification.
She developed Effective Command, a behavioural marking system for training and assessing command competence, which is used Internationally as Best Practice.
She also leads Incident Command training companies delivering accredited training in the UK & Canada.
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