In the 1950s, veterans returning from war were looking for the American Dream: a stable job, a new car and their own home. New roads and suburban communities were built to accommodate these families and their Baby Boomer children. Commuting to work became the norm, and this took adults away from their community during the day. This phenomenon, along with increased populations, started to put a strain on volunteer fire departments.

Combination fire departments formed with the hiring of daytime drivers or skeleton fire crews; nighttime operations relied entirely on volunteers. Many fire departments also began to provide some level of first aid or medical response, though the local funeral director provided transport in many rural settings. Fire based — EMS slowly evolved in the '60s and '70s as a way to decrease response time to the hospital and increase the level of patient care.

Beside EMS, the fire service felt pressure to expand its roles into such areas as technical and farm rescue, vehicle extrication, hazmat and incident command. Recently CBRNE, terrorism and all-hazard mitigation were added to those responsibilities. These pressures, coupled with the need for ongoing training, continuing education and growing citizen expectations for service without new taxes, pushed the fire service into countless forms of the combination fire department.

These departments have grown from the original volunteers augmented by paid daytime drivers to full-time career personnel augmented with 12- or 24-hour shift part-time firefighters. There are, however, several weaknesses to this hybrid department. Appropriate scheduling without violating the Fair Labor Standards Act and the constant personnel adjustments during a 24-hour shift make it difficult to ensure both the proper quantity and quality of trained firefighters on each rig. Fire chiefs soon learned that balancing the needs and expectations of career, volunteer and/or part-time members presented new leadership challenges. Without solid professional leadership, a combination department could quickly fragment into several factions that could result in a severely dysfunctional organization.

Part of the leadership challenge with a combination fire department is keeping a pulse on the cultural differences between full-time and part-time and career and volunteer personnel. On one hand, the part-time or volunteer members may feel that all the maintenance and cleanup duties belong to the “paid” career personnel; on the other hand, career members may feel that the volunteers aren't pulling their weight in training or picking their runs when attending only certain emergencies.

Some departments face even more dire cultural differences that could easily lead to a huge rift: career firefighter resentment reporting to volunteer officers; volunteers relegated to picking up hose and equipment at a fire; or, perhaps worst of all, separate career and volunteer apparatus and equipment. Only highly skilled proactive leaders survive to effect change in such cultures. Leadership by example leads to trust developed through honesty and integrity coupled with fair, firm and consistent treatment of all individuals.

Recognizing the unique nature and leadership needs of combination departments, the International Association of Fire Chiefs formed the Volunteer Chief Officers Section (now the Volunteer & Combination Officers Section) in 1994. In fact, so many members expressed interest for the section that it was granted a seat on the IAFC Board of Directors simultaneously with its entry as a section. This section is dedicated to professionalism through the education and training of those officers who serve on combination fire departments.

Today's combination fire departments have become sophisticated delivery systems. They use some of the most modern fire and EMS equipment available coupled with a highly professional staff. These departments act as a bridge for communities that have outgrown their volunteer fire department but can't afford the cost of a totally career staff. Most combination departments strive to meet state training certification and national response standards, but they may constantly suffer from the turnover of personnel. Part-time members tend to move on to career opportunities after using the combination department as a stepping-stone for training and experience. The challenge remains to retain these individuals as career firefighters.

Recently, several fire service analysts came full circle and began to suggest that some form of a combination fire department may be a solution for maintaining adequate staffing levels in career departments without the subsequent downsizing of stations and layoff of personnel during a downturn in a local economy. It also provides an outlet for those willing to offer their time and talents to their community.

Whatever may lie ahead, fire chiefs of combination departments face the challenges of the 21st century knowing their efforts must be centered on providing highly motivated and professional personnel who remain connected to the community and dedicated to the safety of its citizens.