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Chesterfield Fire and EMS Department

Why Evidence-Based Decision-Making Matters

Robert Avsec, MS

Mar 01, 2014|AEDR 2014 Vol. 2 Issue 1|Perspectives

One of my former mentors, Deputy Chief (Ret.) Jim Graham of the Chesterfield County (VA) Fire and EMS Department, was a huge proponent of the use of information, whether on a fireground operation, developing a new training program, or addressing budget reductions. One of his favorite sayings—one that stays with me to this day—was "We must constantly strive to become better at data-driven decision making, instead of following the 'I think, I feel, or I believe' model." However, he usually followed that up with the caveat that we should strive to ensure that we had good...

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