Despite chief’s claim reporter is making ‘something out of nothing’, Reno changing drug & alcohol policy
Previously: Drugs & alcohol okay for on-duty firefighters in Reno, Nevada
What is going on in Reno, Nevada right now provides a good example of one of the common problems when dealing with news stories that impact the image of your department. Almost a month ago, Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez tried to make us believe Anjeanette Damon was just stirring the pot and creating a story that wasn’t there when the Reno Gazette-Journal reporter began asking questions about his department’s drug and alcohol policy. Chief Hernandez told Damon, “What I’m sensing is you’re trying to make an issue out of something that really isn’t an issue.”
Union president Dennis Jacobsen also defended the policy that allowed firefighters to work as long as their blood alcohol content was not over .08 percent, the legal limit for driving. The same policy seemed to permit a certain amount of marijuana, amphetamine and cocaine use.
The view within the fire service from around the country was quite different. Most of those commenting saw the department’s policy as a big problem with great potential for liability.
Despite this initial, rather defensive stance that put the blame on the news media, the latest story from reporter Damon indicates that the union and the city are now working together to change a policy that most people see as sending the wrong message to firefighters and the public:
The Reno firefighters union has come forward with an offer to amend the department’s negotiated drug and alcohol policy, proposing to drop the limits for a positive test to better match federal standards.
According to a draft policy change obtained by the Reno Gazette-Journal, the union would agree to lower the blood alcohol limit for a positive alcohol test to .04 percent from the current .08 percent limit. Limits for illegal drugs would be brought in line with federal standards for commercial driver’s licenses.
The proposed change comes in the wake of a Reno Gazette-Journal investigation into the policy negotiated by the union and the city in 2002 that sets a positive alcohol test at .08 percent and illegal drug limits between two and five times the legal limit for driving.
Instead of creating an “issue”, the reporter was shedding light on a questionable practice of local government. Isn’t that one of the most important roles of a free press? I know some may find it hard to believe, but our founding fathers didn’t give us the First Amendment just so we could keep tabs on Charlie Sheen’s sobriety or what Kim and Kanye are doing.
The initial reaction of Chief Hernandez and President Jacobsen is really standard operating procedure for leaders across the country, but it’s rarely effective. They tried to defend the indefensible.
At the same time, most people (including me) looking at it from the outside without the personal attachment to the organization, issue or policy had a very different initial view. We knew immediately it wasn’t going to fly and something would have to change.
Whether you’re a fire chief, union leader or anyone in a leadership position it’s best to fight that initial instinct of being defensive or immediately going on the attack when a reporter or a citizen tries to focus on a problem within your organization. Just as you would on the fireground, it’s crucial that you check the emotion at the door and deal honestly and effectively with solving the problem. But that’s harder to do, because unlike on the fireground, this is your emergency.
Only by stepping away from the emotion can you make a clear determination whether this is really a reporter creating something that isn’t there or someone who has discovered a legitimate problem within the organization you lead.
Making sure their voice and position were heard in Damon’s initial story was important. That’s something both the chief and union president were smart to realize. I’m sure they knew that hiding from the issue wasn’t the right tactic and would make the situation worse. But allowing yourself to see that outsiders view to make sure those first words don’t come back to haunt you is just as important.
