Well, I am assuming that most of you that you are reasonably glad that the silly season of political campaigning is over. Regardless of your political persuasion, this particular process is simultaneously entertaining and frustrating.

The national focus on fire services and emergency services over the past decade may take a slightly different path now. I don't know whether it will be good, better or worse than the past.

My basic orientation to government was pretty simple. I was a GS3 with the U.S. Forest Service in 1960. My perspective was very limited at the time, but I recall that someone in the bureaucracy determined when fire season started and when it ended. My paycheck was linked to both dates, so I was pretty interested in when it was likely to happen. But it didn't make much difference to me who made that decision.

Today we have a new president taking the reins of a government that has greatly influenced the direction of the American fire service for at least the last 15 years. Are things going to get better or are they going to get worse?

When we began our careers in the fire service, we likely took an oath of office. One of the things that we are supposed to be doing as firefighters is supporting the constitution of our states and the constitution of our country. That isn't a theoretical task; it is actually a call to duty.

If we want to see the American fireservice move in a specific direction, now is the time either to reaffirm our oaths of office or remain witnesses to where others take it. The best alternative is to express our concerns in a meaningful manner to the politicians soon. We need to talk about what we would like to see happen, and we need to repeat the message over and over. The presidents of our states and international organizations have been doing an excellent job of that. But more effort needs to come from regional organizations and every white hat who calls himself or herself a leader.

Here are 10 action items for engaging in the political process.

• Let local, regional, state and federal legislators know you exist. If they were recently re-elected, write them a letter congratulating them. It makes no difference whether you were on their side or not. Now is the time to let them know that you are paying attention to their renewed opportunity.

• Extend invitations to these individuals to attend your next official meeting. Many will say thanks but no thanks. That is not the point, however; asking them is. Now is the time for us to start speaking to some of our future friends, those who will be members of the national fire service caucus.

• Start writing letters to support potential legislation. Let legislators know that you have an interest in their activity. Ask their opinions on these matters and find out what they know about the issues. Make this letter separate from the others.

• Attend their functions. Many of these are fund raisers, but often junior members of legislature will put on events where the entrée is not $1,000 per plate. Wear a name tag and make friends with the legislators' key staffers.

• Ask members of Congress to be part of the fire caucus. Freshman members likely will need to be told why joining is important. Be sure to let the Congressional Fire Services Caucus in Washington, D.C., know that you are communicating with senators and representatives.

• Attend the Congressional Fire Service Institute's annual caucus dinner; it is the one party that you can attend with 5,000 of your closest friends. You won't see everybody or do everything during that event, but attending reinforces that the American fire service is cohesive.

• Communicate with legislators on something other than fire issues. Believe it or not, if you sing only one note, people don't have to listen to too many of your songs. The fire service has a stake in a bunch of issues including energy, land use and taxation.

• Build tighter and more comprehensive networks for information exchange. Providing input to the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the International Association of Fire Fighters lobbyists is critical. While much work has been done in the last 15 or 20 years to make those systems effective, incremental improvement is still needed.

• Keep the department membership informed. Expand newsletters, Web sites and other forms of communication to galvanize your response on any particular issue. The recent presidential campaign taught us the power of the microenvironment. We live in an instant-messaging world and we need to be fully engaged in that process.

• Celebrate success and diagnose failure. Success can result in future failure and past failures can be the foundation for future successes.

Having traveled around the world and having looked at many forms of government, I can assure you that our system is the messiest of them all. However, it is one of the finest examples of decision-making. Wrangling and posturing between candidates now has turned into wrangling and posturing between parties and officials. One silly season gives way to another silly season, which will give way to yet another. It will make you hold your belly with laughter and slam your fist in frustration. But participating in the process will make the system and its results better. The stakes are too high for fire chiefs to remain disengaged.

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With more than 40 years in the fire service, Ronny J. Coleman has served as fire chief in Fullerton and San Clemente, Calif., and was the fire marshal of the state of California from 1992 to 1999. He is a certified fire chief and a master instructor in the California Fire Service Training and Education System. A Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers, he has an associate's degree in fire science, a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in vocational education.

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