A few months ago, I saw an editorial cartoon by Paul Combs entitled “Endangered Species” that pictured a panda, a polar bear, a Bengal tiger and a volunteer firefighter. The recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters is a topic that is constantly on the minds of most fire chiefs who use them as the primary or supplementary source of staffing their departments for emergency response. How and whom we recruit usually draws a lot of comments. As the recruiting process takes time, effort and money, we’d like to see that it results in quality recruits who become active firefighters — not just numbers and names on a roster. While recruitment and retention can be a daunting task, there are several encouraging signs on the horizon.
First, the IAFC’s Volunteer and Combination Officers Section last month held a summit entitled “Constructing a National Blueprint for Expanding the Future of Volunteerism in the Emergency Service Community.” In preparation for the summit, the VCOS invited many of us to provide input via an extensive online survey. The survey consisted of about 60 questions designed to capture the composition of individual fire departments. We were asked about levels of training, authority of officers and required officer certifications, as well as the use of pay, benefits and other incentives to attract or retain volunteer firefighters.
The stated goal of the summit was to produce a strategic plan that will be used to address issues, challenges and concerns about volunteerism, which is critical to the future of the emergency response community and the financial well-being of our nation. This strategic plan will develop a final product that will be published by the VCOS as a future white paper on volunteerism. I’ve mentioned in several of my columns the quality of the previous papers published by the VCOS, so I am looking forward to seeing the end product of this summit.
The second encouraging sign is that the SAFER Act has begun to fund some multi-year grants designed to help departments recruit and retain volunteers. For example, the Ohio Fire Chiefs Association recently announced the receipt of a four-year, $1.2 million SAFER Grant to help attract volunteers. As 80% of Ohio’s approximately 1,200 fire departments use some form of volunteers, there is a vested interest in keeping these ranks in sufficient numbers to continue today’s service levels and provide for firefighter safety.
Ohio’s grant money will be spent on a recruitment campaign that will model successful campaigns already being used in Alaska, Idaho and California. They have hired a marketing firm, the Redden Group located in Boise, Idaho, to design television commercials, printed materials, Facebook ads and an interactive Web page to help spread the message that volunteers are needed. This portion of the campaign hopefully will generate at least 3,500 responses from potential volunteers.
Simultaneously, the Redden Group also will design and then facilitate 16 two-day workshops over the next four years to train 400 fire-service leaders from throughout the state on the keys to recruitment and retention. Grant money will be used to reimburse all the travel and housing expenses of the attendees, as well as provide quality instructors and subject materials. Topics to be covered include:
- Collecting and reviewing applications
- Improving interview techniques
- Describing expectations
- Valuating prospects
- Motivating new volunteers
- Creating a cohesive environment
- Anticipating retention challenges
- Rewarding performance with incentives
- Implementing a local recruiting campaign
Successful recruitment isn’t just a six-month push for volunteers — although it may have to start as one. It isn’t a one-year, or even four-year, funded grant. It is an ongoing, dynamic and multi-faceted program that ensures adequate personnel are available to respond in your community.
What does that mean? First, a job must exist for each volunteer who meets your hiring standard. Even those who no longer physically can handle interior structural firefighting may fill a valued position. For instance, they may be used in secretarial or record-keeping, or they may be used to regularly check and maintain equipment. Perhaps they may serve solely as a driver/engineer, or handle driver training for the newer members. Successful recruitment also can be accomplished through a Fire Cadet, Explorer or junior-firefighter program. While each of these help teenagers become more familiar with the fire service, you need to pick the kind of youth program that is right for your department. The long-term value of a youth program was discussed in last May’s column.
One further suggestion for recruitment is in order. To have a successful recruitment program, you must determine the demographics of your community and then reach out to the diverse groups you serve and ask each of them to help you market your department with their members. You might ask, “How can I find out the demographics of my community?” One answer is to use the 2010 census information that is about to be published. This data may be available by census tract, zip code or your specific community, depending on the area you service. Once you check your community’s demographics, you can begin marketing your department through civic groups, community centers, educational facilities such as universities or community colleges, and houses of worship.
Word of mouth is always a strong marketing tool, so enlist department members, friends, neighbors, civic leaders and clergy so that you cover the full spectrum of your community. Invite candidates to an open house or to attend a drill or training exercise. Assign an officer to candidates in order to answer any questions and explain what exactly is happening. Make sure that candidates are aware of the expectations of the department and that they can accomplish those realistically. Similarly, make sure that the candidates feel comfortable and that they discuss their expectations of the department.
In the city of Wyoming’s 2010 Annual Report that is distributed to each household, there is a description of Wyoming Fire–EMS. In part, it reads as follows:
Diversity – a Mirror of Wyoming
Wyoming Fire-EMS is a 78 member predominately volunteer department. In large part, these members are your friends and neighbors who live or work in or near Wyoming. Our ISO Class 3 fire rating puts us in the 97th percentile of all fire and EMS operations in the United States. The department has 45 active volunteer firefighters, 24 paramedics, 7 fire cadets and a career fire chief. Wyoming’s unique ability to rely so heavily on volunteer personnel saves residents of the City of Wyoming over $2.2 M in the cost of comparable career department each year.
More importantly, these volunteers mirror the population of Wyoming. We are young and old; men and women; liberal and conservative; African American and Caucasian; Christian, Jew, Agnostic and perhaps an Atheist or two. We come with a highly educated background: four members have PhDs; over a dozen have or are candidates for a Masters Degree; and the majority have or are working toward their Bachelor’s Degree. But when there is an emergency in the City, this group becomes the highly skilled and trained team of Fire and Medical professionals needed to handle the situation. Our strength comes from the diversity of our people.
Good luck with your recruiting!
Editor's Note: It recently was announced that Wyoming Fire– EMS will receive a $215,000, four-year SAFER Grant for the recruitment and retention of volunteers.
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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