Why are some volunteer and combination fire departments thriving today while others flounder? Is it a leadership issue, inability to adapt to a changing environment, or both? When it comes to personnel, why do some chiefs lament over current economic and social conditions, believing the proverbial glass is half empty and draining fast, while others see it as a glass half full, with an opportunity to fill it closer to capacity?
It's easy to blame changes in society for a lack of personnel — a down economy means many residents have had to find second jobs, which restricts time for volunteerism. However, this may in fact be the perfect time to recruit fire and EMS candidates.
Sociologists are saying that even after the economy recovers, many Americans will begin to re-evaluate what is really important in their lives. It may be a long time before society in general again feels the need for that larger home, prestigious car or newer boat with all the bell and whistles. Instead, most Americans may wander back to less expensive and more traditional family oriented activities, including community service for adults. People already are saying that they want to be part of a social network that also has value for the time they invest in it.
Does this sound like a perfect opportunity for your department? It should! And as my first three departments show, there is no one method necessary to overcome recruitment challenges.
Immediately after high school, I completed 30 hours of volunteer firefighter training and 40 hours of Red Cross advanced first aid training. With the Red Cross certification, I began working for a local recreation department, where I was assigned to a community park with a swimming pool. That park was located a few blocks away from the Madison Place Fire Station in Cincinnati. I wandered up to the station during lunch one day and came back a daytime firefighter. My boss allowed me to take my lunch anytime the fire siren sounded. It was a good deal for him as well because, in anticipation of a possible daytime fire call, I brown-bagged lunch and ate while working so that my actual lunch hour would be available for the fire department.
While in the Air Force, I joined the Ralston (Neb.) Volunteer Fire Department. Some of the older members were reluctant to invest a lot of time with me because they knew I eventually would be assigned overseas. But others thought it wasn't a bad idea to attract members from the military, as many lived in the area. The more progressive leaders prevailed, and although I lived almost a mile from the station and very rarely made the first truck, I saw a lot of fires during my two-year tour at the base. Ralston covered a variety of buildings in its first-due area, from residential and commercial structures to farmhouses with very sophisticated equipment stored in nearby barns. It was my introduction to pumper/water tender operations, and my first time to use a Plectron, the forerunner of today's more compact pagers.
When I got out of the military, my wife and I settled in a district served by the Groesbeck Volunteer Fire Department, a private corporation that contracted with Colerain Township, Ohio, for fire and EMS coverage. Anyone could become a probationary firefighter, but members voted by secret ballot for final approval. Two “no” votes barred someone from full membership. One lieutenant said that he always voted “no” for any new member, so one other negative vote meant a person would have to wait a year to re-apply. That rule remained in place until the Colerain Township Fire Department consolidated elements of four fire agencies, including Groesbeck, into a single entity.
What hoops does your department make a new member jump through? Eliminating these barriers was a way for Madison Place and Ralston to get additional volunteers to contribute to their departments.
What are some of the best ways to ensure quality volunteers and to have a successful ongoing recruitment and retention program? I posed this question to Chief Dave Gillespie of the Chesterfield-Union Township Fire Department in Madison County, Ind. The department closely parallels my own agency in that it can muster enough firefighters, EMTs and medics to staff two engines, a ladder company and two EMS units. It also has a water tender and brush truck for its more rural areas.
Gillespie took over the department in 2004. At that time, firefighters and EMTs had to live in the town or township they served. The numbers of volunteers had slowly eroded until the department changed its residency requirement and indicated that applicants who lived more than a mile outside the response area had to remain at the station when on duty. This change nearly doubled the size of the department and raised the quality of the applicants.
The department also raised its overall professionalism by requiring all fire personnel to attain Firefighter I and II certifications, either through the department's recruit academy or through the other fire programs recognized by the state of Indiana. Finally, the department instituted both uniform and grooming standards for all members, as well as a promotional process requiring a combination of education, training and experience for every position, from chauffeur to chief officer.
“‘Flexibility held to a standard’ is what I like to call it,” Gillespie said. “It works for us.”
The department has found equal success in its retention efforts because it provides a friendly work place focused on the fire-service tradition in a family environment. The department extends an open invitation for spouses and children to visit the station and spend time with their on-duty family member. The department also has family centered events such as the annual department picnic, and families are encouraged to march with their firefighter during the town's Fourth of July parade.
Individual companies also are encouraged to adopt their own logo and motto to promote ownership in their apparatus and in the department.
So what are some other tried-and-true methods of recruitment?
Be visible. Be a part of the major activities in the community. Let people see firefighters in venues other than at fire and EMS calls, where they are expected to be.
Also hang banners or posters on apparatus or community displays that tell everyone that the department is looking for new members. I recently saw a poster in Hagerstown, Md., that showed several firefighters standing beside an engine with the caption “Picture Yourself Here — Volunteers Needed.”
Host regular public-education programs and use the local media to promote fire- and life-safety campaigns, including recruitment. Talk up the department and all the good it does, using recent statistics in your message. For example, last year Wyoming Fire-EMS made 587 fire and 1,410 EMS calls and the volunteer agency saved the community the nearly $2.2 million a comparable all-career department would cost. Constantly remind folks that you are a volunteer department and not only protect the community, but save them a lot of money besides.
Simplify the process. Place your application on the department's Web site and give applicants a preview of the training they will need to become firefighters and/or EMTs.
Have a standard application process that includes a background check, physical and an orientation that may include a Big Brother/Sister to mentor the applicant. Also have a plan in place to welcome, train and equip these new members, and extend that welcome to their families.
Start young. Institute a Fire Explorer, Junior Firefighter or Fire Cadet Program that shows young men and women the value of volunteering for community service and provides a meaningful way for them to be of value to the fire-service organization. Our cadet program has run for 42 years and has provided scores of firefighters throughout the years.
Also partner with other local groups, from the school district to the local houses of worship, to help promote the spirit of volunteerism and community service within their membership.
Show gratitude. Have an annual community recognition evening that presents longevity or special-merit awards such as Firefighter or EMT of the Year. These events also can serve as open houses to recruit new members.
Remember that not everyone can be an interior structural firefighter, but there should be a meaningful job for every volunteer in the organization.
Ride with pride. Set a high standard and ethic for both your personnel and your service delivery. The more professional your operations, the more individuals will value belonging to your department.
Chief Robert R. Rielage, CFO, EFO, MIFireE, is the chief of Wyoming (Ohio) Fire-EMS, a 78-member combination fire department bordering Cincinnati. He previously served as the fire marshal of the state of Ohio. A graduate of the Kennedy School's Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard University, Rielage holds a master's degree in public administration from Norwich University and is the immediate past-president of the Institution of Fire Engineers-USA Branch. He is a member of the FIRE CHIEF Editorial Advisory Board.
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For More Info
Several good publications can help with recruitment and retention programs.
The U.S. Fire Administration produced the report, “Recruitment and Retention in the Volunteer Fire Service-Problems and Solutions.” It is available for download at www.usfa.dhs.gov/applications/publications.
The International Association of Fire Chiefs' Volunteer and Combination Officers Section offers four white papers related to recruitment and retention:
- Blue Ribbon Report, “Preserving and Improving the Future of the Volunteer Fire Service.”
- Red Ribbon Report, “Leading the Transition in Volunteer and Combination Fire Departments.”
- White Ribbon Report, “Keeping the Lights on, the Trucks Running, and the Volunteers Responding.”
- Orange Ribbon Report, “Leading and Managing EMS in Volunteer and Combination Fire Departments.”
They are available at www.iafc.org.
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