Dennis Compton on the FDIC Experience
Conference Director Diane Feldman recently spoke with Chief Dennis Compton, International Fire Service Training Association, who is speaking during the FDIC General Session on “Fire Service-Based EMS Advocates,” about the whole FDIC “experience.”
Diane Feldman: What does speaking at FDIC mean to you? Why did you pick your topic?
Dennis Compton: Attending and taking part in the FDIC is an honor that I don't take lightly. It is an outstanding gathering of people from throughout the fire service who come together to learn and share their thoughts and skills with each other. Each year, I am humbled to be selected to take part of the program. I have chosen to speak on the subject of fire service-based
DF: How long have you been teaching the fire service? How did you get into instructing?
DC: I have been teaching since about 1973. I started by teaching hydraulics classes and truck company operations classes at fire stations in the Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department when I was an engineer and captain there. I then began teaching at the college level and at national conferences in 1978.
DF: How many years have you been attending FDIC? What do you look forward to at FDIC each year?
DC: I've been attending and teaching at FDIC since 1979 when it was in
DF: What message would you like to give to a first-time attendee, or to someone who has never been to FDIC?
DC: Enjoy the experience and learn all you can. When you get back home, share what you've learned with your department. Map out your schedule of classes ahead of time and allow for opportunities to mingle. Have fun in the evenings, but in moderation. Don't let what happens at night spoil your learning opportunities during the day.
DF: What do you think is the most pressing issue in the fire service, why, and what can be done about it?
DC: There is not just one issue ... in fact, there are several that are equally important because they are interrelated, thus affecting each other. Perhaps the one I would have to single out is the current state of the national economy and the impact it's having on revenue and resources ... and, therefore, the performance of our fire departments. People a lot smarter than me will have to figure out how to jump start the economy again, but in the meantime, fire departments have to function as effectively and safely as possible. The leaders in our fire departments have to figure out how to adapt to current times without jeopardizing the safety of our firefighters while doing so. That won't be easy. It is imperative that even though we may have fewer resources to deliver the mission, we cannot accept that the result will be more firefighter injuries and line-of-duty deaths.
Avoiding this possibility will require more and better training, the best supervision and leadership we can muster, a review of departmental SOPs, and consistent risk/gain analysis by incident commanders and other fire officers when we develop strategy and assign resources to tactical positions at all kinds of emergency incidents. Programs like those offered at the FDIC can be a big help, and so can improving communications and cooperation inside fire departments. It's hard to deal with complicated internal matters like this one when the department can't come together internally to address even the most simple day-to-day issues. Besides working hard and smart to minimize the budget reductions we incur, we must take steps to modify what we do and how we do it based on the degree to which we are resourced by policy makers.