The effectiveness and efficiency of a fire department is dependent on having an adequate number of personnel with the necessary skills to perform a variety of tasks both on and off the incident scene. The strategies and tactics developed by an incident commander are only as effective as the human resource capabilities of the units to which functional responsibilities are assigned under the incident command system.

Successful human resource planning requires always having individuals who are qualified and willing to assume new positions of responsibility in the fire department. This isn't easy to do in career departments, and is an even more difficult task in combination and volunteer departments.

This human resource challenge involves more than just the recruitment and retention of members. While that's extremely important, effective human resource management further contributes to fire department effectiveness and efficiency through the identification of firefighters with the knowledge and skills to advance to the rank of line officer.

Defining roles, responsibilities

Making sure your firefighters understand the similarities and differences between their roles and responsibilities and those of a line officer is extremely important. It's this understanding and a realistic preview that will enable firefighters to determine whether they should seek line officer positions. It also will help them make a successful transition to line officer.

A line officer serves as the supervisor of a crew. He or she is responsible for a limited number of firefighters and is assigned a specific task to perform. Through effective delegation, a line officer should be given the necessary authority to accomplish the assigned responsibilities. A line officer is then held accountable for the performance of assigned responsibilities.

The success of a unit is based in large part on the leadership of the line officer. An appropriate leadership style must be selected based on the situation at hand. While firefighters will follow the orders of a line officer because of his or her legitimate authority over them, successful line officers enhance their ability to lead others through their leadership abilities and expertise.

The line officer also is responsible for motivating firefighters to perform both on and off the incident scene. The leadership style of the line officer plays an integral role in the organizational climate and morale within a station.

While leadership and teamwork certainly distinguish the best from the rest, technical expertise is integral to the success of any crew. Whether the assignment involves firefighting, rescue operations, emergency medical response or a hazmat response, the technical knowledge and skills of each and every member of the crew can determine success in completing assignments.

The line officer must have the technical knowledge required to perform assigned tasks, but he or she also should have advanced knowledge and skills in technical areas such as building construction, rescue and hazardous materials. Firefighters, on the other hand, use technical skills and knowledge to implement the action plans developed by the incident commander. Their actions on the incident scene carry out the tactics that support the strategies and contribute to the objectives established by the incident commander.

The firefighter must use the knowledge and skills imparted in basic and advanced training to function as a member of an assigned crew. Formal training should be supported and enhanced through the continuous informal training a firefighting professional engages in. One of the most important components of the preparation of a firefighter is the experience gained over time. Significant insights can be earned when a member of the fire service approaches every call as an opportunity to learn something new.

Preparing to be a line officer

In many organizations, it's possible for a first-level supervisor to be hired without technical knowledge of the business of the organization. This isn't the case in fire departments. The first-level supervisor, or line officer, must be an experienced firefighter who understands the technical aspects of firefighting, rescue operations and hazmat response. There's no substitute for experience when it comes to being a firefighter or line officer.

It's been said that one can't become a successful firefighter or fire officer by reading books. While book knowledge alone won't provide the skills required to become an effective firefighter or line officer, the knowledge and insights gained through reading fire service books and publications provide an essential enhancement in a profession that's experiencing dynamic changes and new technologies.

Those who commit to engage in continuous education also will make successful line officers. They seek to continually increase their skills and knowledge to enhance their ability to supervise and lead the firefighters assigned to them.

The preparation of line officers involves more, however, than technical training. Technical competence isn't enough. Successful line officers must complement their technical training with supervisory and leadership training. Line officers need the same type of training that's provided by businesses and other organizations to individuals accepting first-line supervisory positions.

Supervisory training should be designed to provide line officers with a thorough understanding of the roles and responsibilities of a line officer, and should provide the knowledge and the opportunity to develop their skills in management and leadership. As with the technical courses, the hands-on component of these courses is essential.

Supervisory training for a line officer should include the inter-related management functions of planning, organizing, directing and controlling. Decision-making and communication should also be addressed, as should the distinctions between management and leadership. The use of case studies and experiential exercises are prevalent in these courses.

While formal courses certainly are desirable, there are many other educational opportunities that firefighters aspiring to a line officer position can and should pursue. Articles in fire service publications, as well as conferences and seminars, are important professional development opportunities for line officers. An often overlooked educational resource involves learning lessons about effective supervision and leadership through observing others.

Line officers as supervisors

In promotional assessment, it's important to differentiate between firefighters who currently have supervisory and leadership skills and those who demonstrate the potential to develop such skills. It's important that human resource planning activities include both categories of potential line officers.

An incident commander must be able to rely on the work of each of the tactical units, operating under the direction of a line officer, to accomplish action plans. As a supervisor, the line officer is responsible for planning, organizing, assigning work, directing, coordinating, controlling and communicating.

The line officer performs many of the same functions as a chief officer; the difference is in the scope of responsibility and authority. The line officer is responsible for the day-to-day administrative oversight of the assigned operating unit. This includes handling human resource matters; administering policies, procedures and work rules; and training firefighting personnel.

There are a variety of ways to assess a firefighter's supervisory skills. Personnel testing and assessment measures are used by many career fire departments. A valuable measure of supervisory potential is the track record of a firefighter since joining the fire department. Individuals who have demonstrated successful informal leadership, both on an off the incident scene, may have the respect and trust of other firefighters that will contribute to their success as a line officer.

As supervisors, line officers motivate assigned personnel through the use of legitimate power. Legitimate power is what the fire department grants to the line officer based on the position that he or she holds. This positional power enables the line officer to reward and punish firefighters. Firefighters follow orders or directives, not because they want to, but because the line officer is the boss and they wish to avoid the consequences of not complying with the boss's orders and directives.

Successful line officers recognize that legitimate power, while effective as a motivator, must be complemented with two other types of power: referent and expert.

1. Referent power is granted by those whom we supervise or lead. It is based on the fact that others respect and trust us and desire to work with and for us.

2. Expert power is based on the technical knowledge that we possess as line officers. Firefighters want to follow the orders and directives of a line officer who knows what he or she is doing. The technical expertise of the line officer can be an important determinant of the safety of firefighting personnel.

A successful line officer will seek to become both a supervisor and a leader. The line officer who's perceived by firefighters as a competent leader will benefit from the legitimate power delegated to him or her as a line officer and the leadership ability to motivate assigned personnel to want to follow orders and directives.

Making the transition

Line officer qualifications should include both technical and supervisory knowledge and skills. The successful line officer also will have a willingness or interest in serving as a fire officer. Those individuals who lack qualification or interest are likely to experience difficulties as a line officer.

Most new line officers approach their new role and responsibilities with enthusiasm. This should be expected and is an important determinant of success as a fire officer. While it goes without saying that a successful line officer must be qualified, it's equally important that the individual really wants to be a line officer.

Also, any firefighter looking to make an effective transition to line officer must recognize that there will be a significant professional and personal change. The firefighter promoted to a line officer position must assume a new set of roles and responsibilities.

A problem that many firefighters face as they make the transition to line officer relates to the working relationships and friendships that they have developed with other firefighters. A failure to acknowledge that the line officer is now the supervisor of assigned firefighters can compromise the ability of the new line officer to supervise and lead.

The relationships of the newly promoted line officer with other firefighters, who previously served as peers, will necessarily change. This isn't to say that long-standing friendships shouldn't be maintained, but as a line officer the individual now has responsibilities both on and off the incident scene that will necessitate functioning in a supervisory relationship with subordinate personnel in their operating unit.

A related barrier to an effective transition from firefighter to line officer involves how the new fire officer reacts to others in the fire department. The new line officer must recognize and respect his or her new position within the fire department and must not become infatuated with the power and status of promotion.

Another obstacle to making an effective transition is failing to recognize how their responsibilities change as firefighters advance to line officers. Their new job is to supervise rather than do the work. While there are those unusual occasions where it may be necessary for a line officer to be on the tip of a hoseline or operate power extrication equipment, this should be the exception rather than the rule. The line officer is responsible for providing the direction and, as necessary, the instruction as to how to perform evolutions.

When the line officer becomes a hands-on participant in performing these tasks, a number of undesirable consequences may result. The most important consequence is that the line officer loses the ability to oversee the operation and provide for the safety of personnel. As well, line officers may send a message that they don't trust their firefighters or have confidence in their skills and abilities.

A less frequently encountered barrier, but one that can be extremely detrimental to the new line officer's ability to function, relates to improper delegation. Effective delegation requires that an individual be given the necessary authority to accomplish assigned responsibilities. When the necessary authority to accomplish responsibilities isn't granted to the line officer, it may become impossible for the line officer to succeed.

Ensuring promotional success

Every firefighter who advances to the line officer ranks has a desire, often a passion, to succeed as a fire officer. Their success as fire officers will be based on three factors: the line officer, those supervised by the line officer and the situation under which they supervise. There are a number of things that can be done to ensure a successful transition from firefighter to line officer.

Perhaps the most significant factor in ensuring a successful transition from firefighter to line officer involves the qualification and preparation of the line officer. It's important to select firefighters who are both qualified and interested in advancing to a line officer position. Both technical qualification and supervisory and leadership skills and abilities should be considered.

New line officers must recognize and thoroughly perform the roles and responsibilities that come with the new position. In doing so, they must respect their position within the fire department organizational structure and supervise others in the same professional manner that they would like to be treated.

Developing the supervisory and leadership skills of the new line officer should be viewed as a shared responsibility of the fire department and the individual. The fire department should make necessary training and educational opportunities available prior to and after promotion to the rank of line officer. The line officer who aggressively seeks professional development opportunities enhances his or her ability to succeed as a line officer.

There are many situational factors that can contribute to the successful transition of the firefighter to a line officer position. It should be the responsibility of the chief officers in the department to support the new line officer during and after the transition process. The personnel, station or responsibilities assigned to a new line officer can be the difference between success and failure. The chief officers of the department should take this into consideration when assigning specific responsibilities to the new line officer.

A new line officer's success is also the result of the cooperation of those personnel for whom he or she is now responsible. The development of an effective working relationship between the line officer and the firefighters in the operating unit is an important aspect of making a successful transition to line officer.

Regardless of the professional or personal reasons that motivate firefighters to seek or accept a position as a line officer, they are accepting a position that's crucial to the effectiveness and efficiency of their fire department. These individuals deserve our respect, appreciation and support as they step up to the plate to serve their fire departments and the communities they protect.

The fire service needs fire officers who will bring a high level of qualification and commitment to their responsibilities. Firefighters should be encouraged to aspire to be line officers and perhaps, some day, chief. The future of our fire departments is dependent on having a cadre of qualified and willing officers who are prepared to lead us as we face the many challenges of the coming century.

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Robert S. Fleming, Ed.D., is an associate professor of management and management information systems at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J. A former fire chief, he has been active in the fire service for nearly 30 years and serves on the Board of Visitors for the National Fire Academy. Fleming is certified as a fire instructor in Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.