In life we are often presented with many forks in the road in our decision making processes. Whatever fork in the road you choose to take, it comes with some sort of risk benefit analysis. While we typically have the tendency to focus on the good outcomes of our chosen path, what we often fail to do is consider the cost associated with not taking the other path in the fork. While some paths make more sense than others, every alternative path considered is your opportunity cost. After all, you are only one person, you can only focus so much of your time, attention and money on so many things. By considering opportunity cost, the paths in the road of life can be navigated more accurately. This couldn’t be more true in the every day operations of a firefighter.
In every emergency, key critical decisions are made in real time. In the most well run operations, information is processed and actions are planned and executed almost seamlessly as they unfold. Logic prevails and the most effective actions are chosen over the least effective ones. For instance, pulling up to a heavily involved structure fire in the Mt. Hope area of San Diego City, Firefighters Dallas Higgins and Joe Zakar immediately prioritized crawling through a window to rescue two small children instead of extinguishing the massive fire that began engulfing the house. It was a bold move that paid off, albeit at a cost. Firefighter Higgins sustained burns to his neck, hands, and feet and the house sustained more damage than if hose lines were deployed immediately to the fire. However, the lives of two children were saved because of their decision. I am not certain they did an opportunity cost analysis of the situation in this case, but they did follow their guiding principles. Oftentimes, these go hand in hand with addressing opportunity cost.
Some decisions, like this are easy. Others warrant a look at opportunity costs.
Find Your Guiding Principles and Priorities
The path Dallas and Joe chose was rescue, but it came at an opportunity cost of loosing more of the house than if they pulled a hose line. They made that decision easily and without hesitation because of the oath they swore at the beginning of their career. We as firefighters swear to protect life, property, and the environment. It’s stated in that order because those are the orders of our priorities. We also have a risk management principle. WE WILL RISK A LOT TO SAVE A LOT. WE WILL RISK NOTHING TO SAVE NOTHING. These two exemplified their oaths and risk management principles. Great firefighters are constantly honing this balance.
On scene, professional firefighters always ask themselves “Is what I am doing the best thing possible for the outcome of this emergency?” If the answer isn’t a resounding yes, perhaps it is time to reevaluate your actions or seek a better understanding of the emergency itself (time and information permitting). This is easier said than done in some cases, but it deserves a mention in all cases. Being one firefighter, company, task force, alarm assignment, etc. there is only so much work that you can do. You can’t do it all, so the actions you do choose should maximize the benefit and at least consider the cost of not doing something else. In our personal lives, without guiding principles, we are as aimless as a new firefighter on a once in a lifetime fire. So ask yourself, what are your guiding principles, what do you value, and where do you want to go in life? The opportunity costs for every decision will become evident the more you consider your guiding principles and priorities.
Should I…?
There are many firefighters out there that are frustrated with a lack of pay and benefit raises. They rage against the system and become embittered by the lack of pity from government and the citizens they swear to protect, yet they take pride in being “just a firefighter.” At what point does being embittered affect your performance in carrying out the oath you swore to the citizens of your city? Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing but respect for those wanting to be just a firefighter, and I believe all of us in the fire service deserve a healthy increase in pay and benefits to match the visible and invisible toll this profession take on us. However, I also think we are better than this. We must better ourselves, but what are the costs?
We have the resources and ability to control our fate and our pay raises, should we decide to better ourselves, both on and off the job. The easiest way to do this is to invest in ourselves by taking more classes, whether to ready ourselves for promotion or to gain a specialty premium to our base pay. Some of these classes and opportunities are provided free of charge and sometimes they are not. Either way, the question often gets asked is, should I? Should I take this class to get the specialty so then I get paid more? Well, the benefit of doing so is evident. 10% more pay. Grab your calculator and do the math over the course of your career. But what about the cost?
Let us consider a series of free classes that will give you the opportunity to make 10% more. If you make $50,000 per year, that is $5,000 more money in your pocket per year. Sounds like a great deal, given the classes are free, but is it truly free? Not if we consider the opportunity cost. Some of these costs are easy to calculate, and some are not. Say the classes last a month and in that time you would normally work four overtime shifts, totaling $2,000 in overtime income. Well, the opportunity cost for that free class is actually $2,000 in foregone overtime money. However, after less than a year, you will make up that loss by just working your normal shifts. If one of your guiding priorities is to make more money at work so you have to work less, this opportunity cost might be tolerable. However, say your guiding priority is spending more time at home with family because money isn’t as big of a concern. In this case, the opportunity cost for you is a month away from from your family. How do you put a price tag on that cost? Is it worth it? Are there other opportunities that you could pursue to increase your paycheck and be home more?
In Summary
Every decision we make as firefighters comes at the cost of not being able to do something else. As first responder organizations, we rely on policies, procedures and principles to take the guesswork out of most decision making processes. It is never a perfect process, but it does the job well most of the time. As fire officers, we can improve our decision making processes if we also consider the opportunity costs of our decisions. As investors in our careers, wallets, and happiness, it is incumbent on all of us to consider the opportunity costs in every decision we make. Doing so might not lead to immediate satisfaction, but it will reduce the instances of feeling completely and utterly lost in our decision making and investing paths.
The Firefighter Economist 
Good article!
LikeLike