We all have been taught the basics of firefighting, or rescue, and along with this have come numerous documents, such as SOP's and FGP's.
There seem to be many people in ESO's that love to teach and live by the book, and any deviation from that is plainly wrong and should not be tolerated. More than a few people on these boards seem to be of the same thinking.
On the other hand there are a few that take on board things that are taught, yet are far more willing to adapt the procedures and teachings to achieve the best possible outcome. More like operating by the spirit of the book, not the letter.
What are your views on this?
I understand that organisations have to have structure and defined practices to be followed to avoid the possibility of legal action if things go pear shaped, and to provide a stable base of fundamentals upon which to learn and operate. This is especially the case in organisations such as the CFS and SES where many people don't have THAT much operational experience as they only do a handful of jobs a year. For this reason it is perhaps best to stick to the basics, as they are safe and easy to remember.
Be this as it may, it still worries me when at incidents you see actions taken that may be by the book, yet should have been modified to fit the incident. Thats the whole issue with emergency incidents, they are fluid and ever changing.
I'm certainly an advocate for doing things is in the spirit of the book, so that we can uphold our duty to the community, as long as any deviation is performed in the safest manner possible. I would also like to see the CFS follow other ESO's and rename their Standard Operating Procedures to Standard Operating Guidelines so that it reflects the fact that they are not rigid and should be used more as a guide than a procedure.
Over to you!
