My name is Chris Gannon and I am honored to have been invited by the Institute of Fire Engineers and the IAFC to speak at FRI 2009 in August.
Why? Some of you may have read the August 2008 article in Fire Chief magazine that described me as ‘Fires Mercenary’ or seen other media references to a ‘Modern Day Robin Hood’ or ‘Maverick’, what I am first and foremost is a Firefighter with a passion for improving conditions and systems for fellow firefighters around the world.
I want to share my story in the hope that it gives inspiration to everyone in these most challenging economic times.
From a pretty normal career in the UK fire service I was catapulted into a dream job as first national Fire Chief of a Caribbean paradise, the opportunity and success of designing and developing that organization from scratch has led to a career building fire departments in some of the most difficult environments imaginable. With limited budgets and resources I have had to totally rethink standard practices and come up with new, innovative and imaginative solutions that are now attracting interest from established organizations looking to improve service delivery or simply trying to manage shrinking budgets.
Firefighters are some of the most stubborn individuals on the planet and often oppose change, I was just the same, but having reviewed, built and restructured departments on 4 continents, I have not just embraced new ideas, I now pioneer them.
How many of you have brought in consultants to review your department after negative publicity, an employee dispute or just to get a better ISO PPC rating and been left with a long list of recommendations that end up gathering dust on the shelf? Most consultants are retired or base their knowledge on a career in one state or national organization, I bring a global library of practices and ideas to the table, a system, strategy or method being used in Australia might just improve your service but how would a Chief in Arizona know? I was the first to flick past the foreign articles in fire/rescue magazines or on the net because they didn’t relate to my department and after all mine is the best right?
The thing that sets me apart is that I work with the organization to implement the recommendations and prove that they work with hands on supervision until a satisfactory standard has been achieved and ready for local ownership, having the age, energy and enthusiasm to get down and dirty with the firefighters helps a lot with credibility and acceptance.
The way I do things is unconventional and sometimes controversial, I have had to argue and prove my methods to industry leaders, when I turn up people are often looking over my shoulder for the grizzled veteran before they realize that the young guy in front of them IS the expert!
I research and respect the society I am invited into and never impose myself on it, I look at every cultural, legal, and operational aspect affecting service delivery before giving advice, statistics only tell part of the story, to get the very best out of an organization you have to look at factors way beyond that.
The presentation at FRI 2009 is a funny, shocking remarkable true story that is sometimes hard to believe but if just one idea provokes thought, stimulates change or benefits your department in some way, it will be all the more satisfying to tell it.
It will be a privilege to address so many esteemed colleagues, I won’t be giving away all my trade secrets but I hope it entertains and gives you food for thought as you fight to convince city managers that there is no price tag on public safety.
See this presentation, International Solutions for Tough Times, at FRI on Thursday, August 27th from 1:30 – 3:30 pm. For the complete FRI program go to www.iafc.org/fri.
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