In facilities management, the term “firefighting” gets used a lot.
Sometimes it is said with pride. Sometimes with frustration. Usually both.
It describes the daily scramble to deal with leaks, outages, complaints, failed equipment, last-minute shutdowns, vendor delays, and emergencies that seem to arrive all at once. It is an “us against them” kind of phrase. The “fight” part represents the friction of having to justify things that seem obvious. The “fire” part is not always about actual flames. It is about the events that spark action, create risk, and force facilities teams into response mode.
The reality is that most facility teams are not sitting around waiting for problems. They are working around the clock to keep buildings operating, people safe, and occupants comfortable. The problem is that when preventive maintenance, planning, and documentation fall behind, the work becomes more reactive than proactive.
“Most firefighting starts with a lack of a solid preventive maintenance program,” said Barry Henson, VP of operations at Environmental Service Partners. “Deferring maintenance due to cost concerns leads to increased cost and potential downtime for a business when failure occurs. Properly maintained equipment will fail at some point due to delayed replacement. Planning for the future should include a schedule for equipment that’s aging, showing signs of wear, or problematic.”
That is often where the cycle begins.
Equipment is kept running longer than it should be. Repairs are patched together. Temporary fixes become permanent solutions. Teams become so good at making things work that leadership does not always see the level of risk building in the background.
“A lot of times, the fire drill can come from making things work without replacing,” Henson added. “Leadership is not made aware of the critical needs because the facilities managers are able to temporarily fix. They see that repairs can still be made but do not fully understand the criticality of the aging equipment. Partnering with the financial side of the business, providing information on future needs, conditions of equipment, and potential loss, is a great starting point for facilities teams.”
That last point matters.
Facilities leaders are often asked to do more with less, but it is difficult to make a case for capital improvements if the only conversation happening is about what broke yesterday. The strongest organizations shift the conversation toward what is likely to break tomorrow and what the impact could be if nothing changes.
“From my experience, the best facilities teams do a few things differently day to day,” said Dr. Charles Clay, a healthcare infrastructure executive. “They operate with discipline around preventive maintenance, daily prioritization, and communication. They do not just react to work orders. They use huddles, clear escalation paths, and visible metrics to stay aligned on what matters most for safety, reliability, and service.”
That discipline creates a very different kind of operation.
Instead of chasing every alarm, teams know what matters most. Instead of scrambling to locate information, they already have the drawings, shutdown procedures, asset histories, and contact information they need. Instead of reacting to repeat failures, they can start looking for patterns.
“High-performing teams also spend time looking ahead at risk, not just responding to what broke today,” Clay said.
That is where building information becomes so important.
When drawings, asset data, procedures, and system relationships are scattered across shared drives, filing cabinets, desktops, inboxes, and vendor binders, it slows everything down. During an emergency, even a few extra minutes spent looking for the right document can increase downtime, create confusion, and raise safety concerns.
“Better building information changes coordination significantly,” Clay said. “When teams have accurate drawings, asset data, shutdown procedures, and system relationships readily available, response becomes faster and more coordinated. It reduces wasted time, improves handoffs between departments and vendors, and helps teams solve root causes instead of treating symptoms.”
One of the biggest differences between reactive teams and proactive teams is that proactive teams learn from every incident.
“One practical step leaders can take is to establish a regular review of recurring failures, deferred maintenance, and response trends,” Clay added. “Even a simple weekly review can help shift the conversation from ‘what happened’ to ‘what keeps happening and why.’”
The signs of improvement are usually easy to spot.
Fewer repeat failures. Better schedule adherence. Stronger communication across shifts. Supervisors spending less time chasing information and more time coaching, planning, and helping teams stay ahead of problems.
Still, even the best-run facility will never eliminate every emergency.
“A useful distinction is that facilities management will never eliminate every fire drill,” said Dean Stanberry from IFMA. “Buildings are living systems, people are unpredictable, and breakdowns do not wait for convenient timing. The better question is not how to avoid ever firefighting, but how to build a better fire department.”
That is probably the most important distinction of all.
The goal is not to create a world where nothing ever goes wrong. The goal is to create teams that are prepared, informed, and ready to respond when something does.
“Good teams have clear roles, escalation paths, asset knowledge, work intake standards, and enough historical data to tell the difference between a true emergency and noise,” Stanberry said. “They train for disruption before disruption arrives. Like an actual fire department, they are not spraying water all day. They are inspecting, drilling, maintaining equipment, refining response protocols, learning from incidents, and staying prepared to act fast when conditions change.”
Technology can play a major role in making that happen.
“Technology is a productivity enabler. You do not compete with it, you use it,” said Evgenii Davydov, a multi-site facilities manager. “Its real value is turning information into action. Mobile access to building and equipment information, real-time data, and digital records allows teams to diagnose issues quickly, coordinate effectively, and respond in minutes instead of hours. It also enables predictive maintenance, not just reactive fixes.”
The strongest facilities organizations are not the ones that never face disruption. They are the ones that know where to find the right information, understand the condition of their assets, recognize patterns before they become problems, and are prepared to act when conditions change.
Because in facilities management, firefighting is inevitable.
Living in firefighting mode is not.
Jack Rubinger is a content writer for facility solutions provider ARC Facilities. He has more than 20 years of building, technology, healthcare, higher education, and workplace safety writing experience. He can be reached at jack.rubinger@arcfacilities.com.