The Training Wheel Diaries
What your first bike ride taught you about life.
Just one final piece of duct tape. The wheel may fall off but there is no way that ace of spades is coming off the fork of that hand-me-down bike. Today is the day. The training wheels are coming off and you will settle for nothing less than riding by yourself to that crooked tree and back. You push your old Huffy to the bottom of the driveway, don your yellow plastic sunglasses and hop on the bike. Dad steadies while you firmly plant your feet on the pedals. Slowly at first, you begin to move. Focus grips you as you begin pushing, faster. Staring at the handlebar, willing it to stay straight, you bite your lip and press on, faster. Dad lets go of the saddle and the wobbling starts: you bite down harder, focus on the handlebars and accelerate. As that ace of spades gains a higher pitch, it is just you, the handlebar and your feet — pushing as fast as they will go. The wind on your ears, you scarcely hear the faint sounds of your Dad screaming out behind you — Brea……K! Without knowing why, you are suddenly thrust into the air. Hands outstretched, you skip across a gravel path coming to a halt on your butt. Looking back, you see your Huffy firmly planted into the wheel well of a sedan parked in plain view. Tears well up as the sting of your abraded hands takes hold. Dad arrives, plucking you to your feet, sternly shouting: “Why didn’t you watch where you were going!?” “I waaas tt too focused on riding” you sniffle. You have to have a better appreciation for all of your surroundings he scolds. “You cant get task saturated on one thing and block out the rest of the environment around you!” “Why are you saying such big words when I am hurt?” you think.
Your dad was right though; task saturation is a well researched, albeit poorly publicized, problem. No more is task saturation more important to understand than in the emergency field. Police officers and firefighters face this daemon on a daily basis. But the dynamic of activity on an emergency requires that someone take a step back and manage the problems: if every person is focused on the task at hand, the chance of someone getting hurt go up exponentially.
Task saturation, to a large degree, is inevitable and unavoidable. Just like riding your bike for the first time, if you did not focus on the direct task of keeping that wheel straight, there would have been no point in even getting on the bike. Bring that concept to the fireground and a firefighter with a 1 3/4 inch hose entering a burning structure on her knees, actively trying to suppress a fire, is bound by that task and has no idea what the fire is doing in the other room. If she is straight out of the academy, she may be focused solely on steering herself and not watching for flashover conditions that, like that car, could cause injury. Police, by the same token, can become task saturated when pursuing a suspect on foot and not notice the “Beware, Guard Dog” sign on the fence he just jumped.
Tactical Level thinking can mitigate many of the problems associated with task saturation. For example, lets say your brother was riding along with you that day. While you are focusing on keeping the bike in the north south position, he is gently but firmly advising you on where to steer, what obstacles are around, when to brake and when to take evasive action. Focused on the tactics of the ride you were doing, your brother will help to keep you safe. Similarly, a good fire officer will be about 6 feet back from her firefighters assessing the fire activity, noting changing conditions and dictating the next move. A sergeant assisting with the chase could also set up a close perimeter, thereby insuring the suspect is surrounded without forcing a close chase through dangerous backyards. But tactical level thinking too, has its limitations. A lieutenant has no idea what is happening in the floor or attic above her. She certainly has no idea what the outside of the home is looking like while she is inside providing direction to her task saturated firefighters. That sergeant may be unaware of a second armed suspect outside the perimeter intent on getting his accomplice out of harm’s way.
It is thus the Strategic Level approach that seals the envelope of emergency scene management. A great strategic thinker is well removed from the tasks and tactics of a problem. As a strategic level thinker for example, your father will have assessed the road you will be riding on: he will insure it has low traffic and parking levels, and does not bisect another busy street. He will be thinking about contingency plans should you get injured and be directing your brother in the best course of action in his tactical approach. It is that strategic level incident commander who holds all of the cards at her disposal. She can read the signs of danger on the outside of the house and dispatch additional tactical firefighting units to mitigate them. She can block roads, get eyes in the air, and coordinate the movements of all responding police officers. A sound strategic level manager, disciplined tactical officers, and talented task level front line engagement are a recipe for success on an emergency scene.
That cookbook is large. The key to success in tomorrow’s emergencies are to ensure all cooks understand and practice with the tools and ingredients available to them. The first step, of course, is to take off the training wheels and start to ride. RFS
About Me
I am a Firefighter, Paramedic, Lieutentant, and OEM Coordinator with the City of Aurora, CO. I see the passion of all emergency responders in this industry and seek to cultivate it to take our response to the next level. Join me in this team effort.
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