Bystander Videos Angry Captain at Landing Zone: More to this Story?

by on March 22, 2013

in Social Media Tips

Have you seen the video yet of the angry captain defending the landing zone from a videographer?

The incident is well covered by Statter911.com (includes video) and the Happy Medic has some good thoughts as well.

An Ugly Incident 

If you can handle it, watch the video. I found it really painful to watch. This is an ugly incident for the Captain, the fire department and for EMS and fire professionals everywhere.

Cumulative Stress?

While the Captain’s actions are both wrong and embarrassing I can’t help but wonder what else is going on in life that pushed him over the edge. Stress is cumulative and we can all reach a point where something seemingly benign pushes us over the edge.

Life is going to get more difficult for the Captain on top of what is already happened/happening to him in the weeks, months, or years before this video. Not only did he have a bad day, but what is likely his worst moment ever on the job is memorialized forever on the internet.

What happened in the minutes before this video that finally caused him to snap?

Co-Worker Self-Destructing

One of the stunning parts of the video is the Captain’s co-worker standing nearby. He can’t be heard or seem to be taking any actions to defuse the situation, redirect the captain, or somehow ease the tension.

Have you ever had to stop or redirect a peer that is self-destructing? The situation that comes to mind first is a partner screaming at a combative patient, “You MUST CHILL or ELSE?” With the “what else” being exchanging punches.

In hierarchical organizations it can be especially challenging to stop or re-direct a supervisor that is self-destructing.

Cameras are at Every Scene

Forget about the camera and focus on your job. This incident was destined to be one of the most boring helicopter landing videos ever, until the Captain visited the camera man.  

My concern isn’t about social media, bystanders with video cameras, or your department’s privacy policy. My concern is your stress and how you manage it before it explodes dangerously and publicly.  

Other articles about this incident:

Another First Amendment Issue on the Fire Law blog

What are his first and middle names? “Not So” on the Ambulance Driver blog

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Tagged as: Fire, Fire Department, Helicopter, Landing Zone, Mental Health, Social Media, Stress, Video, YouTube

  • http://www.facebook.com/drew.w.posner Drew Wheresmyclipboard Posner

    As bad as it was for this Captain, I don’t think he should lose his job over it, especially if it was a 1 time incident. This is a situation that can easily be remediated. It amazes me how many people did call for his firing on Facebook.
    The other part of the video that really stuck with me was him contaminating everything with his bloody gloves. He touched the vehicle, his radio, his shirt, and even the bystander with them. This is one of my biggest pet peeves of EMS providers, and most of the time their gloves aren’t really contaminated. In this situation, the blood on them is obvious, he was not just a hot head, but a risk to public health.

    • http://everydayemstips.com Greg Friese

      I am an optimist and want to believe this was his worst day ever. Nonetheless, this short burst of confrontational behavior may have ruined and or ended his career.

      • http://twitter.com/jennjilks Jennifer Jilks

        Well said, Greg. As a civilian, we honour those who work in this field. My blog readers are always keen to see equipment and the pros in action. Especially, they like the EMS in action! As a teacher, we are able to photograph groups of kids, with no loss of privacy. This is more about power and control, then safety, fatigue or privacy.
        I would hope there would be a debriefing, and all would learn from it.
        I recall a fatigued volunteer firefighter, who was helping recover a body, with many of us at Bala Falls watching. We were not rude, nor invasive, and the chief gave us a chilling look. He misunderstood that we were honouring him, the crew, and the victims. The extended family, overseas, viewed my video and thanked me for helping them understand what happened.

  • mpatk

    I think part of why the co-worker just stood by can be seen at the beginning of the confrontation. The co-worker is actually the first person to address the videographer, asking him (actually said please) to stop. Whether the firefighter would continue to be reasonable, we’ll never know because Capt. Smart interrupted the discussion between the firefighter and videographer. It would be difficult for the subordinate to “rescue” his Captain when the captain essentially dismissed him from the outset.

  • totwtytr

    The Captain is not a co worker, he’s the Captain. Fire Departments are paramilitary organizations and fire fighters take orders from lieutenants, captains, and above.

    MDFR runs three people on each ambulance. One of them is always an officer, who supervisors the other two paramedics, but generally doesn’t do patient care him or her self.

    Which is why none of the fire fighters tried to do anything to stop him. He was in charge.

    As to his actions, I don’t care what he has going on in his life. He’s paid to be a professional and it’s his responsibility to do so. At the least he needs counseling, at the most, demotion and a suspension.

    • http://everydayemstips.com Greg Friese

      Thanks for insight into crew configuration. The Captain’s status and culture that goes with it doesn’t bode well to adoption of crew resource management principles.

      In addition to counseling I would add a blood draw for drugs and alcohol and analysis of fatigue … how many hours of sleep in the last 24 to 48 hours.

      • totwtytr

        I don’t see the fire service changing their crew configurations in the near future. That three person thing is fairly common with them. In the MDFR case, that’s why they have crew cab ambulances.

        24 hour shifts are really counterproductive in busy EMS systems, but the fire fighters like them because it gives them a lot of time off. Which works when you have an outside job.

        The last time I read about it the LA City FD allowed up to 96 continuous hours on duty. Imagine what the fatigue/error rate is there.

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