Recently, Fortune magazine published its 2007 list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” following what the magazine called “the most extensive employee survey in corporate America.” According to the article, more than 105,000 employees from 446 companies responded to 57 questions.

Employees were asked about their attitudes toward management, job satisfaction and camaraderie. Their response made up two-thirds of the company's score. The final third came from the individual companies' responses to questions about pay and benefits, diversity programs, opportunities, management philosophy, and more.

Because I like to play what-if, what if Fire Chief were to compile a list of the 100 Best Fire & Rescue Departments to work for? What criteria would be considered? Certainly attitude toward management, job satisfaction and camaraderie are applicable.

Obviously, leadership is important, but some departments run well in spite of the chief, with the real leaders working a level or two down.

Statistics might not necessarily determine the best when it comes to emergency response departments. For example, an effective pub-ed program might keep response numbers low. Wouldn't a working smoke detector in every home in the community raise a department's score? How do you measure a comprehensive training and safety program?

Health and wellness are priorities for top corporations in America. It makes even more sense for fire and emergency professionals who routinely respond to hazardous situations. Half of all fire service fatalities are due to heart and stress-related illness; that's a problem that a corporation would address full-force.

The companies listed by Fortune offer a multitude of perks and benefits that would be impossible to replicate in an emergency response industry. However, the employees at these companies do benefit from a management culture that values its work force, and job satisfaction, internal communication, potential for growth and a number of other areas can be duplicated by emergency response departments.

One company stood out: Standard Pacific of Irvine, Calif., ranked 85. The culture of the country's 11th largest home-builder was described by an employee as “be nice.” Where have we heard that before?

Over the years in numerous conversations, I've heard officers and firefighters say that they look to a handful of metro departments as the pinnacles of the fire service: Phoenix Fire Department, FDNY and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. On a more local level, different regions all have fire departments that are held in high regard departments that encourage education and certification and work to retain their personnel. What criteria make a fire and rescue department the best? I'd like to hear from you.

I believe that political involvement is an attribute that can make a department one of the best. The 19th Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Seminar and Dinner, sponsored by the Congressional Fire Services Institute, will be held March 28-29 in Washington, D.C. If you have never been to a CFSI event, I encourage you to attend. Make an appointment to see your state representatives and be seen by Congressional leaders and staffers. The U.S. government needs to put faces to the fire service.

Other business

Last month's editorial on exit lighting drew quite a response from readers. This month, Manny Muniz, a consultant and member of UL 924 and NFPA 101 committees, provides an update on egress signs and lighting. Muniz is interested in hearing what chiefs and officers think about appropriate lighting for areas of fluctuating light.

Since 1998, the Fire Chief franchise has grown beyond the magazine to include our Web site, Command Post, Wildfire, In Service Online, the Station Style Conference and more. This month, Rick Markley joins our staff as Fire Chief editor. Markley is an experienced business-to-business editor who comes to us from Rock Products, one of our sister publications. We look forward to working with Rick as we continue to develop new products to better “Every Department, Every Leader.” Fire departments that are held in high regard encourage education and certification, and they work to retain their personnel.