Choosing to Command: Crew Resource Management Applied to Emergency Operations - Softcover

Rubin, Dennis L.

9781593705114: Choosing to Command: Crew Resource Management Applied to Emergency Operations

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1593705115 ISBN 13: 9781593705114

Publisher: Fire Engineering Books, 2025

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The time has come for all public safety industry organizations to adopt and incorporate crew resource management or similar programs focused on making the best critical decisions at incidents. The goal of Dennis Rubin’s essential new book is to urge organizations to integrate a critical decision-making model into the incident command system and use methods to improve critical decision making to bring about the next significant improvements for firefighter safety, operational efficiency, and effectiveness.

There are many tactics, strategy, and command courses available at local, state, national, and international levels. But there isn’t much information included in these amazing courses that addresses critical decision making. This book aims to change that. Here you will find a discussion of the history and current science of crew resource management as well as invaluable information on:

• Leadership and teamwork

• Communicating under stress

• Task allocation

• Applications to operating conditions, such as abandoned buildings, aviation fires, and more

Crew resource management uses the basic philosophy that to err is human, and that’s never truer than in stressful situations. Building on the successful work of such organizations as the Federal Aviation Administration and the US Armed Forces in developing crew resource management, this book focuses on making the best decision at an incident the first time―every time.

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About the Author

Dennis L. Rubin has fire and rescue experience spanning more than 45 years. Rubin has served as a line firefighter and emergency medical technician, company officer, staff officer, command officer, and chief of the department in Atlanta, Georgia; Washington, DC; and Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Departments.

Chief Rubin’s educational accomplishments include a masters in Organizational Leadership from Waldorf University, a bachelor of science in Fire Administration from the University of Maryland, and an associate degree in applied science in Fire Science Management from the Northern Virginia Community College. Rubin is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program and the Naval Post Graduate School’s Executive Leadership Course in Homeland Security. Rubin is a certified incident safety officer and has obtained the Chief Fire Officer Designation and Chief Medical Officer Designation bestowed by the Center for Public Safety Excellence. Rubin is a nationally registered emergency medical technician.

Rubin is a popular lecturer at local, state, national, and international venues. Rubin’s teaching credentials are significant. Rubin was an adjunct faculty member with several state fire-rescue training agencies. He is part of the contract faculty at the National Fire Academy. Rubin has been a member of seven National Fire Academy course development teams to include Incident Command, Leadership, Infection Control for the Fire Service, Incident Safety Officer, and Tactical Operations.

Rubin is the author of several emergency service textbooks all published by Fire Engineering Books. Rubin’s first release was Rube’s Rules for Survival. This book is a collection of case studies dealing with the mission critical topic of fire fighter safety. The next book that Rubin authored was D.C. Fire, discussing his 4 years as the fire chief of our nation’s capital. Rubin’s third textbook is It’s Always About Leadership, which reviews Rubin’s leadership principles. The fourth text is titled Choosing to Command. This textbook discusses critical decision-making at fire-rescue incidents. Chief Rubin contributes to several fire-rescue service publications and has written more than 200 technical articles relating to fire rescue department operations, administration, emergency management, training, and safety. Rubin has three children and five grandchildren. Rubin is an active member of the Kansas City, Kansas, Downtown Rotary Club.

Excerpt. � Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

“Choosing To Command:

The Time Has Come”

December 28, 1978, United Airlines Flight #173 crash landed in Portland, Oregon. The plane was out of fuel about eight miles short of the Portland airport, killing ten (10) and injuring twenty-three (23) of the souls on board that evening. The investigation and crash mitigation that followed would be a perpetual game changer for the safety of all US commercial flights. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) would discover a flawed decision-making process that was used on this doomed flight. The Captain was a senior airline pilot that was assisted by two other pilots that were well qualified and capable to fly the Mc Donnell Douglas DC-8 Series 61. As the three pilots neared the Portland International Airport approach, the pesky nose gear light would not come on to indicate that the nose gear was down and locked. The Captain decided to complete a “go around” while the trio worked on the immediate problem at hand. The pilot-in-charge lost track of the remaining fuel level. Both the first and second officers pointed out the remaining fuel was getting very low. After the engines began to flame out, from fuel starvation, the pilot in-charge realized that the plane could not make the runway. An off-airport crash landing was unfortunately eminent. The NTSB determined that this crash was avoidable and the direct cause was reported as pilot (human) error.

To prevent similar air disasters (caused by human error), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandated the development and implantation of a best practice decision making model that could be used by the pilot-in-charge and the cockpit crew members. The FAA allowed the airlines a two (2) year grace period to have the best practice decision making model. The decision-making model needed to be developed and in place (including training) by all US Commercial Air Carriers. Much like other FAA mandates, this one was carefully watched for compliance. All commercial carriers developed a version of the decision-making program that was originally named Cockpit Resource Management (CRM). In a nutshell, the reality is that there will always be human errors in just about everything that we do. CRM (today called Crew Resource Management) takes advantage of the collective brain power available to make the best decision the first time and hopefully every time.

That does not take the final authority away from the pilot-in-charge of the aircraft. The aircraft captain will always have the responsibility and legal authority to be the final decision-maker for everything involving flight operations. However, CRM offers process and procedures that allow for input for all pilots on board. Rather than a “lone ranger”, today’s airline pilots are encouraged required to seek input and weigh the professional opinion of the entire flight crew. If the captain of United 173 would have heeded the several warnings from the two support pilots, the crash landing could have been avoided. As it would be revealed in the crash investigation, the nose gear was fully functional and only the indicator light had failed. Couple that fact with the written procedure to follow for nose gear problems that was disregarded, an emergency landing process that would have safely landed United 173 at Portland International Airport.

Just how does making the best decision possible, the first time and every time, fits into commanding an emergency event? This question almost answers itself. Of course, high quality, effective command decisions will go a long way to prevent firefighter injuries and deaths, along with saving property and natural resources. There is limited information available that discusses the command decision making process. Choosing To Command: Crew Resource Management Applied to Emergency Operations promises to add to the body of knowledge for all emergency services disciplines. This text uses the four pillars that are found in most aviation crew resource management materials. The four pillars to improve decision making are:

1. Teamwork and Leadership

2. Effective Communications under Stress

3. Task Allocation

4. Critical Decision Making

A chapter is dedicated to each of these four important decision improvement topics. Although these four might sound germane or intuitive, that is far from reality. For instance, standing in the way of building a high functioning command team could be ego, rank, culture, age, and arrogance to mention a few of the barriers. Strategies to resolved each of these and much more is covered in this text.

The concept of building a command team at every incident where members must enter an immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH) environment is introduced to the reader. The days of a single person (incident commander) managing an entire incident where firefighters are placed at extreme risk must be long gone. Command Teams enhance firefighter safety, survival, and operational efficiency. This text identifies four command roles (Incident Commander; Incident Safety Officer; Personnel Accountability Officer; and Deputy Incident Commander) that must be staffed with qualified members every time our troops are placed in IDLH hazard zone situations. Here is a short excerpt from the Command Team development Chapter 5:

… “When discussing the need for incident command teams, the focus inherently

goes to staffing or the lack of staffing. Many departments have staffing levels that

are limited or understaffed to handle a significant hazard zone incident. With

the staffing issue being a reality, the organizational leadership needs to look to

other creative ways to staff all four incident command team positions. As a

reminder, based on the size and complexity of the incident, the command team

may need to grow beyond the four positions that are identified in this Chapter.

If the overhead positions of operations, planning, logistics, finance/administration,

liaison, and information officer, the incident command team could grow

significantly. Remember that the focus of this text is to discuss the CRM process.

There are many ICS training programs. Please take the time to be knowledgeable

and competent in the use and application of the ICS.

Departments have staffed the various command team positions in a variety

of ways. A best practice example can be found in most major metropolitan city

fire departments. Typically, two command officers and a designated safety

officer are dispatched on the initial alarm. Each command officer is assigned

a field incident technician (chief’s aid). The total command team staffing equals

five members with each role being able to be filled with one additional member

that can be deployed in a position as needed. For some departments, having

a command team of four will be difficult to provide. The answer can be found

in making a specific request to automatic and mutual aid partners to provide

the needed overhead support. An additional company(ies) can be requested to

fill positions, if their personnel are trained in the positions that need to be filled.

Finally, some departments provide a stipend payment for volunteers and career

departments offer overtime payments for members that are called back to duty

when a structural fire alarm or other hazard zone type of alarm is initially dis-

patched. Finally, some staffing models use members from medic/ambulance

units. This is a great idea, except when medical services are needed. Members

filling positions might need to be reassigned to provide pre-hospital care, thereby

vacating the various command team positions. To provide the correct level of

staff will take effort and creativity on the part of the organizational

leadership.” …

Well, there you have it, a peak of one of the Fire Engineering Books to soon be released editions. If you are an incident commander or other command team member or aspire to serve in any emergency services command team rolls, this text is a must addition to your library. Thank you for all that you do to protect Norther America! I hope to see you at FDIC International 2025 in the classroom or at the Book Store to continue our discussion about Choosing To Command.

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