A couple of years ago, I started getting the daily paper delivered to my house. I stopped getting it before because the delivery person always threw it under the shrubs and I was tired of digging it out every day. It was a service issue, not a publication or content problem. So here I am today, getting the paper again and I realized the other day, I still have a service issue. Every once in a while, a section of the paper is missing. It is the section with the funny papers and crossword that aren’t being inserted before delivery. This isn’t an earth shattering problem I grant you. I don’t have big issues with the paper, but I have small problems and I notice them. I notice the small things.
This led me to question what small things are being missed in the battalion when we provide service and who is noticing them. If we respond to a medical call and have to move the coffee table, do we put it back when we leave? Do we take time to speak with the home or car owner after the fire is extinguished? If your service provides emergency medical care you know that the number one complaint is a courtesy based complaint. People will complain when they aren’t treated with respect. Most people would guess that it was a medical treatment they complained about, but no, actually it’s how they were treated the generates the most concern, and those complaints usually get tied to a medical issue. It’s a small thing that starts the ball rolling and becomes bigger later on.
Firefighters come to work and check their equipment but fail to enter the SCBA check into the computer. If something bad happens later, a small thing becomes a large problem later. If it’s not written down, it didn’t happen. How about an incident commander who doesn’t fill out a tactical work sheet but runs the fire well. At the end of the fire, someone gets hurt and investigators want to see the worksheet, small things add up.
General Colin Powell wrote in his book, “My American Journey” that during rope training he noticed a small problem with a soldiers connection. The soldier was connected to a rope that wasn’t attached to the helicopter. A small thing in the huey, but a big problem on the other side of the door. Powell was just being thorough and it paid off. Being thorough can pay off for firefighters too.
If we take the time to recognize and correct the small things, later on during the heat of the fire, it won’t be a problem for us, and when people do comment on the fire, it will be about the fire and not the small thing we did or didn’t do. People notice the small things.
The Third Bugle 