When obviously unsafe actions occurred, neither officers or coworkers made any attempt to stop the behavior and it was only addressed by another firefighter not on duty. Multiple issues come into play in the scenario. Unsafe behaviors that are clearly in violation of departmental regulations, a lack of empowerment for individuals to speak up and question the actions, and a culture that does not make safety a priority all work together to foster a situation which is both dangerous and ignored. Departments must work toward an open and safety-oriented culture where opinions are respected and policies and procedures are utilized and taken seriously. Unit III Case Study Two firefighters were riding and standing on the turntable of a ladder
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The elephant in the room, and most obvious issue, is the firefighters riding on top of a moving ladder truck. Not only could they have fallen off the ladder during the time the apparatus was in route but the members could have been struck by the bridge had they not been paying close attention. The next major issue in this case is the fact the officer in charge clearly neglected written departmental policy. By allowing the firefighters to ride on top of the truck unsecured he placed their lives in harm’s way. The other firefighters on the apparatus did not speak up as to the dangers of this activity. The engine company witnessed the behavior and elected to turn a blind eye to the situation making it seem fine to disregard policy and procedures. “Of all the factors affecting safety, attitude is the hardest to address” (Dodson,2016). The attitude of the employees clearly shows blatant disregard for the policies established by the department. Sometimes the attitude and departmental culture can lead members to overlook certain safe …show more content…
Within this particular department members need to be empowered to “speak up”(Ford, 2017). If a junior member felt that they could stop the practice by saying something, it is possible this situation would not have occurred. This is clearly an unsafe practice despite written policies which were in place. The leadership had established that riding outside of the apparatus was forbidden. The officer in charge clearly abandoned the policy and no one said anything. This, in my opinion, would call for immediate suspension of the officer and the officer of the engine for not taking any action. The leadership must take a hard line on failure to follow safe practices. However, the underlying problem exists at the cultural level. “The foundation of the future lies in the concept of empowerment”. (Ford, 2017). Therefore, members must have the ability to convey their thoughts and concerns when it comes to safety issues. The culture of the department must allow for and encourage this freedom of
The elephant in the room, and most obvious issue, is the firefighters riding on top of a moving ladder truck. Not only could they have fallen off the ladder during the time the apparatus was in route but the members could have been struck by the bridge had they not been paying close attention. The next major issue in this case is the fact the officer in charge clearly neglected written departmental policy. By allowing the firefighters to ride on top of the truck unsecured he placed their lives in harm’s way. The other firefighters on the apparatus did not speak up as to the dangers of this activity. The engine company witnessed the behavior and elected to turn a blind eye to the situation making it seem fine to disregard policy and procedures. “Of all the factors affecting safety, attitude is the hardest to address” (Dodson,2016). The attitude of the employees clearly shows blatant disregard for the policies established by the department. Sometimes the attitude and departmental culture can lead members to overlook certain safe …show more content…
Within this particular department members need to be empowered to “speak up”(Ford, 2017). If a junior member felt that they could stop the practice by saying something, it is possible this situation would not have occurred. This is clearly an unsafe practice despite written policies which were in place. The leadership had established that riding outside of the apparatus was forbidden. The officer in charge clearly abandoned the policy and no one said anything. This, in my opinion, would call for immediate suspension of the officer and the officer of the engine for not taking any action. The leadership must take a hard line on failure to follow safe practices. However, the underlying problem exists at the cultural level. “The foundation of the future lies in the concept of empowerment”. (Ford, 2017). Therefore, members must have the ability to convey their thoughts and concerns when it comes to safety issues. The culture of the department must allow for and encourage this freedom of