My Second Book, Ready To Launch

Chief Warden Field Guide

Rules For Focused Success When Chaos Strikes

It’s finished! Courtesy of a life in lockdown these past couple of months, I have finally put the finishing touches on my second book, The Chief Warden Field Guide - Rules for focused success when chaos strikes.

The book has been written for the individual that either volunteers for, or gets lumbered with, the role of Chief Warden for any large facility such as a hi-rise building, large shopping centre, sporting stadium or similar.

In my 20 years in the Fire Brigade I routinely encountered people who had been appointed Chief Warden and given little to no training. I recall one retirement nursing home where the training that the night shift Chief Warden was given was to “… put on this white helmet when the alarm goes off and stand here, near the front door until the Fire Brigade arrives.” That was it. She was given no instruction on how the alarm panel worked. No advice that the Fire Brigade would need access to areas of the nursing home and would rely upon her for keys, access codes or information when they arrive. The risk this lack of interest and lack of planning represented, to the one hundred and fifty residents, an enormous, life threatening risk that I’m sure no resident or their relatives knew about or agreed to.

Similarly, in the 15 plus years of consulting in private industry, I’ve seen security personnel appointed as Chief Warden and given pretty much the same tuition. Here’s the white cap, stand here. Only this time it’s a fifty-storey skyscraper.

Consequently, the Chief Warden Field Guide was born. Gone are the days that this individual is simply someone who oversees a building’s evacuation. With this in mind the guide sets out the far reaching responsibilities before, during and after an emergency. The concluding chapters focus upon the broader responsibilities that may befall some Chief Wardens in the instances where an emergency spills over into business continuity considerations or even crisis management.

The book is intended to be a choose your own adventure book. Meaning, I urge you to read only those chapters that apply to your setting or interests. If you choose to read it front to back then each chapter builds upon the last but for Chief Wardens with experience under their belt they may already have mastered some of the situations and contingencies the book deals with.

Viola! Finished.

Available in e-book for Kindle via Amazon or Apple iTunes iBook if you are an iBook user. If neither of these are to your taste then head over to Kobo and get your copy there.