On the Hot Seat: Chris Naum of the Command Institute

Chris Naum is the chief of training for the Command Institute and the second vice president of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors. With more than 35 years of experience in the industry, Naum has gained extensive knowledge on building construction, structural collapse and command management. He spends much of his time traveling around the United States and internationally delivering training programs on building construction, command risk management and firefighter safety.

Naum was recently able to spend a few minutes with TargetSafety to discuss training firefighters for duty and some of the fire service’s most challenging issues.

Here are his comments from the question-and-answer session:

Question: You’ve traveled to different parts of the world to deliver training programs and your expertise is in building construction. Please talk a little about the things you teach when you’re out doing this?

Answer: “I began teaching and instructing over 30 years ago as an emerging and developing fire lieutenant in the typical firehouse setting. Thirty-five years later, I’ve been deeply blessed and humbly provided with opportunities that have taken me from the fire station, training ground and fire academy to state, national and international venues, conferences and symposiums, academies, institutions, colleges, board rooms and full circle back to the fire stations and training academies. I have continued to present lectures and training programs annually on the national and regional fire training and conference circuit continuously since 1986.

“My continued focus and mission has been within the defined areas of building construction, risk management and firefighter safety. I’ve developed an integrated approach and curriculum that addresses the most fundamental and mission critical subject areas of the fire service, related to combat fire suppression and engagement – the essence of firefighting operations.

“I often ask my students how much training have they had in the areas of building construction, fire behavior, fire dynamics and fire protection engineering. You’d be surprised at the responses. When we talk about firefighting within the built environment, of operations involving firefighting within a building, structure and occupancy, don’t you think we should know a lot about building construction principles and fire engineering? I promote what I have coined the 'Structural Anatomy of Building Construction' for the fire service. I have been promoting the mantra that building knowledge equals firefighter safety. Through increased education, knowledge, training and proficiencies, a firefighter, company or command officer can integrate the art and science of firefighting in a way that will promote a safer and more effective fireground during fire suppression operations.

“If you don't fully understand how a building truly performs or reacts under fire conditions and the variables that can influence its stability and degradation, movement of fire and products of combustion and the resource requirements for fire suppression in terms of staffing, apparatus and required fire flows, then you will be functioning and operating in a reactionary manner that is no longer acceptable within many of our modern building types, occupancies and structures.

“This places higher risk to your personnel and lessens the likelihood for effective, efficient and safe operations. You're just not doing your job effectively and you're at risk. These risks can equate into insurmountable operational challenges and could lead to adverse incident outcomes. Someone could get hurt, someone could die. It's that simple – it's that obvious.

“Teaching and lecturing around the country and internationally made me a better fire officer, commander and instructor because of the exposure and influence one obtains by interfacing and learning from students and brother firefighters. Though dialog, debate, conversation and engagement through the training process; which over time creates a more well rounded and astute perspective on our profession. Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that I profess and integrate the most recent learnings and emerging concepts driven by research, studies, reports and line-of-duty investigative studies in order to assimilate those lessons learned so to limit the continuing adverse trend in firefighter Line-of-Duty-Deaths.”

Question: In your opinion, what quality makes a truly great firefighter? Is it courage?

Answer: “The qualities that make a great firefighter always begin with courage; that attribute is shown when the candidate becomes sworn in as a firefighter and the badge gets pinned. I’ve come to know and had the honor of meeting many wonderful firefighters, company officers and chief officers from rural, suburban and urban fire service departments and organizations, certainly throughout these great Unites States as well as internationally over my past 35 years in the fire service. But those that I consider truly great; are the ones that maintained a clear vision and understanding of their roles and responsibility within the organization and who strived to mentor and educate all those around them regardless of rank or stature.

“These firefighter and officers were the ones that maintained a passion for learning and training, for education and knowledge and self development throughout their careers. These were the men and women who took advantage of every alarm and incident to learn something new or to hone a skill, technique or insight. They were the ones who combined operational experience with training and education and broaden their perspectives and knowledge well beyond the walls and confines of their department, jurisdiction or community.

“They were also the ones who clearly exhibited the calmness of a true leader, regardless of rank and who had visionary perspectives that didn’t settle for the status quo. They were the ones who did more listening than talking and who balanced the demands of their fire service obligations with those of their families and loved ones. They were the ones who became mentors, even before they knew they were mentors. These are some of the qualities and traits that I’ve seen in the truly great firefighters I’ve known and worked with.”

Question: What are some of the biggest challenges you see right now facing the industry?

Answer:“Today’s incident demands on the fireground are unlike those of the recent past, requiring incident commanders and commanding officers to have increased technical knowledge of building construction with a heightened sensitivity to fire behavior, a focus on operational structural stability and considerations related to occupancy risk versus the occupancy type.

“There is an immediate need for today’s emerging and operating command and company officers to increase their foundation of knowledge and insights related to the modern building occupancy, building construction and fire protection engineering. (Also), to adjust and modify traditional and conventional strategic operating profiles and training in order to safeguard companies, personnel and team compositions, while increasing our technical and operating proficiencies with a physically demanding and manually oriented operating environment.

“It’s no longer just brute force and sheer physical determination that define structural fire suppression operations – although any seasoned command and company officer knows that, at times, it’s what gets the job done under the most arduous and demanding of circumstances.

“However, from a methodical and disciplined perspective; today’s firefighting must be redefined and aligned to the built environment and associated with goal-oriented tactical operations that are defined by risk assessed and analyzed strategic processes that are executed under battle plans that promote the best in safety practices and survivability within known hostile structural fire environments.

“The emerging challenges of the decade ahead requires the fire service to fight fires; smarter, with a greater emphasis on integrating the emerging knowledge base of technical information and research that is challenging the foundation of over 80 years for firefighting principles and practices and driving the fire service toward a new way of viewing the fire ground while still maintaining the attributes and tradition of what the fire service represents and embodies to the our citizens and the public we so proudly serve with honor, courage, duty and the calling to protect life and property while increasing our own safety and survivability.”

Question: What do you consider to be the most important thing a trainer needs to remember to do his job well?

Answer: “From a fire fighting perspective, it’s that we’re all human, that we have physical limitations coupled with the inherent limiting conditions of our operating equipment and protective systems. The public has always looked to the fire service and our personnel with profound respect and admiration and reflected upon the traits and capabilities to, at times do very extraordinary things under the most challenging of circumstances. (Maintaining) a balance on focused training, skill development and competencies, coupled with sound perspectives on principled safety conscious work ethics and an emphasis on a fire service built upon safety, are fundamental to a trainer.

“As training officers, instructors and teachers, we have a profound responsibility to incorporate a degree of neutrality and maintain a balanced perspective and equilibrium without personal opinion on the technical and operational subject matter, materials, protocols and techniques to the themes, topics and subjects what we teach and instruct.

“This becomes especially crucial when presenting to younger recruits and advancing firefighters or emerging company officers; that we’re not invincible, but at the same time we can accomplish remarkable endeavors when we combine training, skills, knowledge and education to the manipulative tasks and assignments demanded by an emergency incident and theater of operation. Training, education, skills and knowledge couple with effective and efficient proficiencies become the quintessence and embodiment of the job of a training officer, fire instructor, lecturer and teacher.”

Question: If you could change one thing about the current training system, what would it be?

Answer: “I would seek to promote a greater degree of consistency and uniformity in subjects and methodologies while incorporating increased attention and committing more time within classically defined areas of engineering, physics, processes.

“I would seek to establish a unified and defined national training model and system that wasn’t restricted by geographical and political boarders and administrative constraints, thus creating increased national opportunities, mobility and amplified capabilities and efficiencies.”

Question: What do you think about the future of firefighting?

Answer: “The emerging body of research, studies and date being published is challenging many of the traditional beliefs, notions and practices that have defined the fire service since the early 1900s. More importantly, the principles and practices that have defined modern firefighting since the mid to late 1960s, and became institutionalized during the ‘war years’ within urban centers throughout the United States, is undergoing scrutiny as a result of the commanding movements and national campaigns for firefighter safety through the National Fallen Fire Fighters Foundation, The Everyone Goes Home Program and Campaign, the initiatives of the IAFC Safety, Health and Survival Section, the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigative Programs and the research promoted by UL and NIST, to name a few.

“Science is going to assimilate into the fire service at a much faster rate than many may think or wish for, and the prevailing emphasis towards firefighter safety and survivability will continue to shape and influence change throughout the fire service. It’s not going to be a matter of not wanting to change, the fire service will have to change, it’s inevitable, it’s needed and it’s long overdue. A whole new realm of firefighting lays before us, many things are already in motion, the composition and face of the United States Fire Service will be profoundly different in 2020 that what we are seeing in 2011.”

Question: Can you talk about the importance of being a trainer? It seems like a huge responsibility to be in charge of guys having the skills to perform life and death duties.

Answer: “It goes to the essence of the fire service. Training is its foundation and the training instructor makes the recruit a firefighter or creates the firefighter into a highly proficient and capable professional ready to meet the demands of their community and response area.

“Capable and skilled trainers must be able to convey the importance or skill development, training and knowledge and its influence on the firefighter’s survivability on the fireground. Without effective training that correlates to a proficient firefighter, the chances are that something not too nice has a greater probability to occur at some in the future.

“The fire service as seen the results of ineffective or derelict training or instructions and the impact it has had in significant fire fighter line-of-duty-deaths and injuries.

“To an instructor, recognizing and comprehending what you say and do will directly or indirectly influence a student for as long as an entire career is very important. Instructors who maintain high personal and classroom standards of excellence while maintaining a healthy level of engagement in personal growth and development appear to be the best in terms of quality, depth and proficiency.”