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FDNY is keenly interested in each building within the borders of the City of New York.  Its viewpoint is, of necessity, building-centric. To each building within the City of New York, FDNY tries to attach a reservoir of know-how and knowledge.  The military calls this "intelligence".  This is why FDNY has the CIDS system (Click Here). FDNY deems it important to get information into the hands of those who need it.

One of the lessons learned from the August 18, 2007 fire at 130 Liberty Street is that FDNY's 'know-how and knowledge' distribution infrastructure was broken.  It did not work.  We learned that instead of getting information into the hands of those who need it,  FDNY compartmentalizes information keeping those who needed the information in the dark. Some units of FDNY had access to the reservoir of know-how and knowledge pertaining to 130 Liberty Street; others did not. The left hand of FDNY and the right hand of FDNY cannot tap into the same reservoir of know-how and knowledge. One unit of FDNY may know something about a particular building; yet, the other units of FDNY may be ignorant.

In 2002 (Click Here) and again in 2006 (Click Here), one unit of FDNY -- those involved in the search for potential human remains -- figured out how to safely enter and work within 130 Liberty Street - not an ordinary building but a special needs building contaminated by noxious toxins on 9/11/2001.  Yet, this 'know-how' and 'knowledge' was not shared with the TEN HOUSE. 

Why?

Picture this. 

Attached to each building within the City of New York is a reservoir of Know-how and knowledge.  Every single member of FDNY and every single unit within FDNY ought to be able to communicate whatever know-how and knowledge each learns through a pipeline to this reservoir.  By the same token, a pipeline ought to be available so that every single member of FDNY and every single unit within FDNY can draw know-how and knowledge out.  In the case of 130 Liberty Street - and most likely in the case of other buildings within the City of New York if you subscribe to the tip of the iceberg school of thought - the pipelines communicating know-how and knowledge into and out of the reservoir of know-how and knowledge did not exist, were broken or were too cumbersome to use.

The know-how and knowledge learned during the 2002 discovery of how to safely enter and work within 130 Liberty Street (Click Here) was not communicated into a reservoir of know-how and knowledge attached to 130 Liberty Street. Instead, it was bottled up within one unit of FDNY. The know-how and knowledge learned during the 2006 discovery of how to safely enter and work within 130 Liberty Street (Click Here) was not communicated into a reservoir of know-how and knowledge attached to 130 Liberty Street. Instead, it was bottled up within one unit of FDNY. The pipelines did not exist, were broken or were too cumbersome to use. Without a working pipeline through which know-how and knowledge can be communicated, one unit of FDNY kept the other FDNY units of in the dark!

Just how dysfunctional is FDNY with regard to the communication of know-how and knowledge? The FDNY Commissioner himself (Click Here) acquired significant knowledge about 130 Liberty Street in 2002 (Click Here). - five year before the August 18, 2007 fatal fire. In 2002, Scoppetta learned that 130 Liberty Street was not an ordinary building but a special needs building.  Firefighters could not enter and work within it in ordinary clothes. Yet, paradoxically, FDNY regulations called for inspections to be done in ordinary clothes (Click Here).  Being alerted to the special needs of 130 Liberty Street in 2002, Scoppetta had ample time before August 18, 2007 to prepare. Yet, Scoppetta did not have a pipeline through which he could communicate his know-how and knowledge into a reservoir of know-how and knowledge attached to 130 Liberty Street that would be available and accessible by the entire Fire Department.  Instead, Scoppetta's 'know-how' and 'knowledge' simply remained bottled up in his head. If even the FDNY Commissioner lacks a pipeline, do you think those below him in the FDNY hierarchy have pipelines that work? [On the issue of preparation, keep in mind that Scoppetta didn't even bother to change the rule about inspections in ordinary clothes after 9/11/2001 changed the ordinary buildings at ground zero including 130 Liberty Street into special needs buildings.]

The captain of the local fire house was not in charge of the FDNY's know-how and knowledge infrastructure.  The very top of FDNY was in charge of it and the infrastructure was broken.  Being broken it deprived the Captain of the TEN HOUSE of the 'know-how' and 'knowledge' possessed by others within the FDNY including the 'know-how' and 'knowledge' bottled up in Scoppetta's head. This was a structural problem within FDNY: the 'know-how' and knowledge pipelines were broken or did not exist or were too cumbersome to use. This was a problem that Scoppetta needed to solve - not the Division Chief, not the Battalion chief and definitely not the captain of a local firehouse. The ball was dropped by the top of FDNY not the bottom. It was the responsibility of the top of FDNY to make sure 'know-how' and 'knowledge' is distributed to all units of FDNY.

The solution?

How about a FDNY buildings wiki (Click Here)?  Each building within FDNY gets its own page.  Each member of FDNY can access a page and make notes about a building.  A protocol can be set up so that the information can be structured into a template.  Instead of only a few people within FDNY entering information, all of FDNY can enter information.  Many hands make light work. With the passage of time, a history about a particular building gets built.  A WIKI would cost FDNY under a $1000.00 dollars. There are many, many off the shelf package that can be used.  Many wikis are open source - that is, FDNY can use them for free.  A FDNY buildings wiki would simplify the diffusion of 'know-how' and 'knowledge' throughout FDNY giving all units equal access to the lessons learned about particular buildings. FDNY must have a computer guy who is familiar with the concept of a wiki (Click Here). No? 

Your boss, Nick, is an information guy. His company is an information company. Ask him if anything that we have said here is incorrect. Mayor Bloomberg knows how important it is to be able to simply and easily distribute information throughout an organization so everybody in the organization can make use of it.

Nick, don't blame the Captain of the local firehouse who was in command for only a short time, when you had since 2002 to prepare. Haven't you heard of the sign on Harry Truman's desk, "The Buck Stops Here". It is despicable that you would try to pass the buck by sidelining three innocent, honest and hardworking fire officers when the buck belongs to you!