A 35-year-old nurse just moved into a new area and saw an ad from the local combination fire department asking for volunteer firefighters who might be interested in working as EMS personnel. The new resident called the department to make an appointment and inquire about volunteering. The nurse was impressed with the department and was truly interested in volunteering.

The recruitment officer explained the training and requirements the nurse had to meet in order to volunteer in EMS. The training was extensive and required a large amount of time, but the nurse felt that she could handle those requirements. But when the recruitment officer started talking about the requirements for various non-emergency duties and outlined the time required to do these things, as well the obligation to do other manual non-operational tasks, the time involved became too much for the nurse, who thanked the recruitment officer and declined the application.

If this story sound's familiar, there are some things to think about. In the airline industry, does one have to be a pilot to be a ticket agent? Does one have to be a pilot to be a baggage handler? Does one have to be a pilot to do airplane maintenance? Obviously, the answer's “no.” So why do fire service need personnel to be certified firefighters to enter run sheet information into a computer? Why do personnel have to be certified first responders or EMTs to restock an ambulance? Why are certified firefighters and EMTs needed to serve as budget analysts, fund-raisers, public educators, GIS support, historians, accreditation support managers, public information specialists, purchasing agents or other non-operational support positions necessary in a fire department?

In 2004 the federal government, the IAFC's Volunteer and Combination Officers Section, the International Association of Fire Fighters and the National Volunteer Fire Council developed a corps of citizen advocates, enabling the community to provide much needed non-operational assistance to fire and EMS services throughout the country. The types of jobs these citizen advocates would do are limited only by the imagination of the department or agency they assist. This corps of citizen advocates has the official name of Fire Corps, which is funded through the Department of Homeland Security with oversight from the U.S. Fire Administration.

Fire Corps is in no way intended to replace paid or volunteer emergency operations personnel, but it would help expand an agency's existing program. No one's job should be at risk if a Fire Corps program is developed. By instituting a Fire Corps program, a department or agency would add to its resources. It would relieve front-line responders from having to perform non-operational administrative tasks, freeing the front liners to focus on fighting fire and EMS work. Isn't this why they entered into the service as a career or volunteer in the first place?

The citizen advocates in Fire Corps give of their time freely, thus putting little or no financial burden on the department — while the department gains a major benefit. Just think about freeing up time for your fire and EMS personnel to train and, in the case of volunteers, to spend with their families. Wouldn't it be valuable to have citizens working with your department, training role-players, managing records and canteen services personnel, and supporting and performing the non-operation tasks that firefighters and EMS personnel now do?

Another not-so-obvious benefit of Fire Corps is the direct communication it provides with citizens, allowing the department or agency to better address ever-changing community needs. The agency that organizes a Fire Corps group also will acquire an army of new advocates in that community. They will be there to assist the department or agency they serve as political and public relations advocates, enabling the department or agency to obtain more funding and more.

A Fire Corps program is intended to be of minimal cost, depending on what the department wants the citizen advocates to provide. A department may want to provide only a few things, such as T-shirts, caps, and office space and supplies. Fire Corps is also eligible for grants to offset these expenses — you might even consider a citizen advocate to write such a grant.

If you're thinking that with everything else your fire or EMS administrators have to do, they don't have time or personnel to manage such a program, a Fire Corps citizen advocate can manage the program, especially one who has management experience. The Bernalillo County Fire Department in Albuquerque has an excellent Fire Corps program. Someone there will be happy to talk to you about the program. Contact the department at fire@bernco.gov.

If a department wishes to start a Fire Corps citizen advocate program, it must be a fire or EMS department, or be affiliated directly with a department or local, state, federal, or tribal fire or EMS agency. If a department or agency qualifies and is interested in starting such a program, it should also visit www.FireCorps.org. The “Resources” page is particularly helpful. It contains sample documents such as a citizen application, citizen handbook, SOPs and other policies. There is a reference section on the resource page that contains a PowerPoint presentation. The media section of the resource page contains a Fire Corps brochure and a logo application. The marketing section of the page contains a brochure and various ads.

If your department already has a Fire Corps program or you have started a similar initiative, register at the Fire Corps Web site or call 202-887-4809.

If a department or agency uses Fire Corps, it will no longer have as difficult a time recruiting operational members. It will have little problem getting personnel to train and do key operational work around the station. Time is everyone's enemy in our service whether we're career, volunteer or combination departments. Fire Corps gives us the valuable time we need to provide the vital services that we're known for in our communities.

Chief Mike Chiaramonte, CFO, is a 40-year member of the Lynbrook (N.Y.) Fire Department and a past chief of the department. He's currently the chief fire inspector, where he's responsible for code enforcement and prevention education. Chiaramonte was a past chairman and board member of the IAFC Volunteer and Combination Officers Section Board and president of the IAFC Eastern Division. He's also a National Fire Academy Instructor and an adviser to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Chiaramonte is a state EMT-B and an instructor at the Nassau County EMS Academy. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Houston and a master's degree from Hofstra University, both in communications education.