The firefighter's playbook for business emergencies
If you've been following me for a while, you'll know I'm also a Watch Commander with the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service.
When our fire engine pulls up to a burning building, people expect chaos. They expect the officer in charge (me) to leap out, screaming orders, rushing inside, flinging myself into the flames.
But that's not how it works.
In reality, the first 30 seconds are the most important part of the job - and they're more calm than you might expect.
Why This Matters to You
As the crew gets to work - breathing apparatus on, hose reels deployed, water supply secured - I'm not rushing anywhere. I'm scanning the scene and running through a mental checklist:
Is anyone inside? Where? How many?
What might have started this fire?
Any dangerous contents? Gas cylinders? Chemicals?
Are utilities like gas and electrics shut off?
How long has it been burning - are floors or stairs still safe?
Is there even any saveable life left inside?
It's fast. I might have only half a minute to decide the first move. But it's deliberate. And it's built on a playbook drilled into me long before we pulled out of the station.
That's not hesitation - it's preparation.
Because if I start sprinting around in a panic, everyone else will too. And in a fire, rushing without a plan can be deadly.
Why Most People Struggle With This
In business, crises don't always come with flashing blue lights, but the temptation to rush in is exactly the same.
A client drops a bombshell. A system goes down. A key staff member resigns with no notice.
Your instinct is to jump in shouting "Go, go, go!" - but if you don't know the facts, you'll send people in the wrong direction, waste resources, and end up fighting the wrong fire while the real problem burns on.
I see this all the time with business owners. When something goes wrong, they immediately throw themselves at the problem without stopping to assess what's actually happening. They make rushed decisions that often make things worse.
The Power of Your Emergency Playbook
My crew knows that if I look calm, they can focus on their jobs without second-guessing me. They trust the process because we've done the work before we arrived.
A prepared business can still move fast, but like a good incident commander, it moves fast in the right order.
And that only happens if you've built your playbook before the smoke starts rising. If your team knows their role, the sequence of actions, and how to make decisions without you standing over them, they can keep the business moving while you step back to get the full picture.
In my software business, we faced our own "fires" regularly - server crashes, major client complaints, team members suddenly leaving. But because we had clear procedures for each scenario, my team could handle the immediate response while I assessed the bigger picture.
The result? Problems got solved faster, with less stress, and often better than if I'd jumped in immediately.
Building Your Crisis Response System
There's always an officer in charge at a fire.
But what if suddenly there was no leader in your business? What if you weren't there? Would your team still get the job done?
Start by identifying your most common business "fires" - the crises that seem to happen repeatedly. For each one, create a simple response plan:
Immediate actions: What needs to happen in the first “30 seconds”?
Key information: What facts do you need before making decisions?
Decision makers: Who can act if you're not available?
Communication protocol: Who needs to know what, and when?
The goal isn't to eliminate all problems - it's to handle them calmly and effectively when they arise.
5 Takeaways for Staying Calm in the Chaos
Here's what I want you to remember:
1. Preparation beats panic: The best time to plan your crisis response is before the crisis hits.
2. Information before action: Those first 30 seconds gathering facts will save you hours of misdirected effort.
3. Trust your systems: If you've built good processes, use them. Don't abandon your playbook when the pressure’s on.
4. Lead by example: Your team takes their cue from you. Stay calm, and they'll stay focused.
5. Most importantly, remember that real leadership isn't about having all the answers immediately. It's about creating the conditions where the right answers emerge quickly and your team can execute them confidently.
Ready to test how well your business handles pressure?
Take a moment to consider: if you weren't available during your next crisis, would your team know exactly what to do?
That's all for this week! Think about one recurring problem in your business and create a 30-second response plan for it. You might be surprised how much clearer everything becomes when you're prepared to stay calm in the chaos.