The Basis to Evaluate the Needs of Any Fire Department - Report Example

Name : Institution : Course : Title : Creative Reflection/ Log Tutor : @2010 Creative reflection/ log Outline Introduction Background information Aims Body i. Context ii. Description of the actual incident iii. The incidents importance iv. Concerns about the incident v. Thoughts and feelings about the incident vi. The incidents impact on the study and other future roles Conclusion Introduction This report will outline the analysis of the local authorities who have been trusted with the job of safeguarding the local people against fires and other emergencies. It also outlines the criticism about their effectiveness in delivering the services to the people. The analysis of this incident was initiated by the fact that the department has shouldered a lot of criticism for a while now for allegedly delivering ineffective and poor quality services to the residents. To gather enough information to sum up a conclusive report, a study was done to investigate what the locals thought of the fire department’s performance. The study also aimed at identifying what could be causing the department to lurk behind in its duties Background information In many parts of the country and cities there has been an increase in fire and this almost always leads to loss life, properties and damages. However the fire department services have shown a decreased ability to control this trend. A trend that has proved to be catastrophic as it results to great losses and an even surging view of the fire department by the public. This study was therefore timely as it would show find and outline the department’s strengths and weaknesses. These could be availed to the council for the betterment of its department by giving encouragement and also by providing an opportunity to expand and improve. On the other hand the weaknesses found could be used to point out and explain the undertakings of the department and why they lead to failure. By understanding these weaknesses the source can be found and addressed properly for improvement. The report will also try to show whether the council is doing enough to offer the fire services. This means, does the council have the most qualified stuff, does it have the best equipment, the required support from the government, is the council really putting what it has to maximum use to contain these incidents? And such questions. Context of the incident As mentioned, above this report will outline the increased occurrences of fire around the country and the conceived idea that the fire department is not doing enough to contain the fires. The report will also outline the opinions of the public on the issue, the major causes of the fires and the places with the highest occurrence, the strengths and weaknesses of the department’s services, opportunities and threats that befall the fire services and investigations. The report will also provide the basis that we can use to evaluate the needs of any fire department. Details of the incident To achieve the above I undertook several fire departments to use as my case studies and one of these was Tayside fire and rescue department that provides emergency services for about 400,000 people in Scotland. I chose this station because not very long ago it provided poor services like most departments in the country. Communication between personnel and other stations proved difficult since its operations covers a large area. For me this problem became more significant with the fact that the people of Scotland always had a problem in contacting this department in times of emergency. I felt that the decision made by the department to let Microsoft implement a system that could ease their congestion made things better. This is perhaps because this system the best modern communication that has helped a lot in uplifting the standards and services offered by the department. I think the most useful part of this program is that the fire-fighters can be trained on new skills online without having to travel. It is my opinion that this system has played a big role in raising the competency of the fire fighters. Having analyzed the previously used system, I felt that the new system did also improve and accelerate the communication between the fire fighters a situation that was not present before. In the past the locals wasted a lot of time trying to locate the fire fighters in case an emergency arose (Beauchamp 2001). This is unlike the present system that allows direct contact with the fire department’s employees in case of emergency. The second case that I undertook was that one of the ongoing changes in the fire departments of the United Kingdom. For me the most important reason that triggered this thirst for change is the desire to ready the government to combat some of the threats that have been brought about by the changing world movements and organizations for example terrorism (Cardcop 2009). Having read a report by Professor Sir Brian on fire investigations and rescue services, I realized that the changes could also have been triggered by the report that called for the modernization of the services to enable the department to offer better services. For me however the most significant aspect of this report is the fact that it did not sit well with the workers an incident that made the council include a better package for the employees. This package included a better pay, better working conditions and putting in place a time frame for implementing these changes. This in my opinion must be somehow related to the positive changes that have been noticed in the department. Subsequently I felt that the fact that investigators had to have some detailed knowledge of the basics of the science of fire, and also the fact that they had to cooperate with the people who were present during the whole time the fire was on had something to do with the changed approach to investigating the fire. Having learned that I realized that what really makes the difference is determining what caused the fire, arson or just a mere accident (Tausch 2009). Later I came to realize that this department had come under a lot of criticism just like the other departments for offering poor services and poorly coordinating the other emergency services offered. At the time I did not know the reason until I learned that this was because the department was responsible for a very wide area consisting London one of the most important city in the UK. Having analyzed the situation I now few that some of these incidents could have been reduced if this lack of coordination could have been addressed earlier as soon as it had been discovered. Subsequently I learned that the department has consolidated the previous existing 45 control rooms to about 9 regional centres a move that has helped immensely in reducing criticism and improved services. The new fire rooms operate as one and as I have come to learn if one team is overwhelmed the regional centres can dispatch other teams to assist (Raynsford 2004). The last case study I looked into was the one concerning fire fighting in Zambia. This case is unlike the ones seen in the UK and Scotland; this is because after the investigations it was found that the council had insufficient materials to fight fire effectively. Most departments interviewed had no trucks for fighting fire or the trucks were down. Having read the report on this case I feel that the government was right to advice the council to buy proper fire fighting equipment and also to offer help to the council in training its workers. I however question the commitment of the government for this course. For me however the most important aspect of this report is the fact that improvements were noted after the purchase of machinery and training of workers (Dmmu, 2008). Significance of the incidence Having learned about the shortcomings of the fire fighting departments, I now wonder whether the blame should only be directed to the council alone. For me there are various stakeholders responsible for the poor services provided. One of these stakeholders is the government. Having discussed the issues above I now think that this study has been important in highlighting the starting point in the offering the local council the support they need by the government through the relevant agencies and ministries. In my opinion what needs to be done is help the council identify and tackle their problems a process that will help them develop an action plan. The incident is also important because I think it will help the council revise their visions and aims for both the investigating and rescue service departments. Equally the study could be of help in aiding the council takes full responsibility of having to improve its services. In my opinion this can be achieved by encouraging sharing of ideas, an aspect good enough to act as basis for encouraging innovation and welcoming constructive criticism. For me, ensuring the workers are well developed and managed and also ensuring that they are representative of the council that they serve, can be a significant aspect in effecting competent management at the councils. Through this, I think the council could earn top professional reputation through the fire investigations and rescue services, a reputation that they ought to have in order to restore the trust of the locals. Thoughts, feelings and concerns At the time I was doing this study, I was worried that I would not find any good information that would help me draw a good report. I was also concerned that I would not be able to find any positive things the council and the governments were doing to improve the situation. I also feared that the locals would not give out any useful information relevant to the study. Contrary to what I believed, I found that the governments in all my case studies were doing as much as they could to improve the services offered by the councils to the local people. I also found that the council was open to ideas and help to improve the situation. All these case studies, I found out, had an ongoing activity aimed at improving the services offered either by training workers or sourcing for better equipments and facilities. Most of them also could show results of implementing the improvement systems. My thoughts especially on the situation in Zambia were that the council was not receiving enough support from the government especially in terms of funding. I must say I was surprised to find that the government was in the first line to offer help in training the employees. On the other hand I thought the UK fire fighting departments were the most efficient in the world. I was surprised to find that this was not the case. The information provided on these case studies was vast and enough for me to write a report something I was not expecting. Demands This study was not exactly easy for me as the assessment of the rescue and investigations departments was a very demanding task. This is because the area to be covered was vast and the number of people to be considered was large. The fact that the assessment was being carried out to enable the identification of the core areas of the fire unit, the problems the experience and ways to solve these problems did not make matters better for me as this is a very large study to undertake. I found it difficult to have to assess the situation before carrying out the actual study as the purpose of the study was to give answers to parts of a problem that was not previously known. This was very demanding for me in terms of time. Another challenge I faced was the uniqueness of each city or town as each had challenges and risks. The different areas had to be treated differently and therefore each had to be accompanied by its own recommendations. All these challenges demanded a lot of my effort, time and they also proved to be costly. Impact on studies This study helped me a lot in my studies and also in developing new skills I did not have. For example I learned a couple of research methodologies that I can use while doing research. One of this included the qualitative method appropriate for collecting information (Dmmu, 2008). I learned that the method is easy and cheap. I also found out that the method can be well understood by the interviewees as it is easy to find participants who are eager to participate. I learned that the data should be processed and the results published after all the interviews have been done. I also learned that it is important to include recommendations after the research for implementations. This study helped me learn a lot about time allocation and use of time. I learned that the research should be set up in a way that each activity consumes the appropriate amount of time without eating up the time set aside for other activities. At the end of the exercise I learned how to write a report about a study and issuing out recommendations. Impact on Role After finishing up with this study I realized that it had helped me grow as an aspiring fire fighter. Having learned about my case studies I realized that fire-fighters must be equipped with the right clothing that meets the required standards and with the best fire fighting equipments. For me the most useful issue I learned from was the lack of proper training. I realized that all fire fighters should be furnished with the relevant training according to the set standards. Equally I learned the importance of documenting all the inspections and investigations done in files that are well labelled for future reference. It was not lost to me that the council should ensure that all the dispatch policies are well followed and that the response is fast enough. Alternatively I felt that the fire services should practice the issue of citations. I wondered weren’t the judicial interventions warranted if hazards became imminent (Murray, 1996)? Conclusion The report was designed to outline the purposes of the fire investigating and rescue departments and their shortcomings and if any, the efforts being made to improve the situation. I based the report on three case studies, the fire stations in Scotland, in the UK and in Zambia. Each case study had its own unique situations and I duly highlighted all of them. I realized that all these fire departments ha major shortcomings in the way they respond to fire emergencies, fight fire and investigate the causes of fire. The council in Zambia for example has not done enough to invest in proper and efficient fire fighting equipments and the training is lacking. I learned during the study that their government is at least doing something to create a better and efficient fire fighting department. The department in the UK, I noted has done a recommendable job in ensuring that its department has improved and so did the fire departments in Scotland. In conclusion I have outlined the following as the results of the study; having done the study conclusively I realized that there has been a failure by the councils to meet the standards required for fire fighting. Similarly I felt that the council, fire investigation and rescue services have failed terribly because they have failed to train their employees as required just as I wondered why they have not equipped the workers adequately. Another inadequacy I under covered is the fact that the council and the fire investigation and rescue departments have failed to notify the public about the hazards associated with fire and measures of preventing it. The failure of the council to pursue the compliance of the stipulated by laws was also another issue I noted lacking. For me the most significant failure was the fact that the fire fighters dispatched in promptly leading to major losses in life and property. In the end I observed that these were the only major shortcomings the council was experiencing. Notably I realized that if these shortcomings were addressed properly, the reputation of the council would be saved and the criticism it was experiencing would be eliminated (Murray, 1996). References Beauchamp, T 2001, Principles of Ethics and behavior, New York: Oxford University Press. Cardcop, F 2009, Case Study – Emergency Services, viewed on 22 September 2010, Read More