By TIM DORAN
In 1990, the Bridgehampton (NY) Fire Department, an all-volunteer organization on the south fork of Long Island, began planning for its 100th anniversary. The department formed a committee and began to lay out plans for a parade and celebration that would take place on June 17, 1995.
The committee worked tirelessly to devise a bulletproof plan. The date was growing near when unexpected opposition started to surface. The committee, department leadership, and fire district officials were taken aback by this opposition, but thorough planning enabled them to factually, intelligently, and professionally address all the concerns, and the celebration was permitted to proceed. It was a fantastic day, and the committee’s hard work ensured that the celebration went off flawlessly. However, I still remember thinking, “How could anyone be opposed to celebrating a century of volunteerism and community service?” We were proud of our contributions to our community and of our history. I just could not understand how anyone would not want to celebrate this milestone.
Without really intending, I began to study this phenomenon of push-back, and I soon realized that this was not an isolated incident. A few years ago, my research became more intentional and focused, and I began to understand that opposition and indifference were facts of life for many fire service organizations—career, volunteer, combination, department, company, it doesn’t matter. Today, your favorite Internet search engine is certain to return thousands of results for inquiries regarding the fire service, and many of them are less than positive. For example, you will find headlines such as “New fire truck voted down,” “New fire station voted down,” “Fire department shutting down,” “Lack of volunteer firefighters,” and so on. Of course, not all the hits are relevant, and many are duplications, but these stories, combined with many discussions between firefighters and fire officers from across our nation, strongly suggest that we have a problem.
Finding Solutions
So, what does all this mean, what’s going on, and what do we do about it? There are many forces at work here. Some of them are within our span of influence and control, but many, such as economics, demographics, family composition and dynamics, a more transient society, and increased call loads, are not. Increased training requirements, a general lack of support for all things governmental, unfunded mandates, and technology are at least somewhat within our span of influence and control. We cannot eliminate these issues, but we can manage their impact well enough to allow us to continue moving forward. Public perception and our image are just two areas where we are absolutely in the “driver’s seat” and where we must focus our efforts.
These issues have been creeping up on us for many years, and we have ignored them. My dad always told me that when there is a problem in my life, the first place to look for the cause and then the answer is in the mirror. When our communities become indifferent to us, it is our fault; it is avoidable and repairable, and we are the answer. We need to face the facts that emergency response, even exceptional emergency response, is not enough, and we do a terrible job of marketing ourselves and protecting our image. It’s time that we learn to market to and communicate with the outside world.
200 Years of Tradition Unimpeded by Progress
We have all heard this said in a tongue-in-cheek manner, and it is always good for a chuckle. However, the reality is that it is very pointed: The fire service is getting older. The average age in many departments is higher than ever before. As people age, they become more entrenched in their beliefs and ways; it is the same with the organizations to which they belong. Many things are done a certain way just because “that’s how they have always been done.”
If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always gotten, and that may not serve you well in the world today. Albert Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result,” yet many organizations have remained structurally and operationally unchanged for decades.
The modern volunteer fire service has significant DNA from what I call the “Leave It to Beaver” model. In that era, the average blue-collar family in the United States could live a modest but comfortable life on one paycheck. Stay-at-home moms were there when the kids got home from school, and dinner was on the table soon after dad got home from work (at least, this is how my family did it). Life was less complicated, communities were tight-knit, and people were encouraged to be involved from a young age. This worked well until shifting economics changed the rules in the mid to late 1970s.
Fast forward to 2017, and we can barely take our eyes off our smartphones long enough to say hello to one another. Society is now incredibly inward focused, and we expect constant and immediate gratification. Single-parent homes and “latchkey kids” are the norm, and very few households can survive on one paycheck. Our communities are fractured along any number of lines, and volunteer fire organizations across the nation are suffering. Volunteerism is trending down, and those who do volunteer struggle to balance family life, work, and time for the firehouse. Emergency services are expected, but little, if any, thought is given to the processes and people who make it all happen. Our communities are now indifferent.
Community Indifference
I believe that opposition grows out of systemic indifference and addressing indifference will substantially reduce opposition; therefore, this will be the focus of this article. Our communities are made up of many components and subsets, but for the purpose of this article, “community” can be defined as everyone who lives in, works in, visits, or passes through our response area. It is important to note that understanding the demographics of your community is essential to your organization’s success. Our communities are made up of different ethnicities, cultures, faiths, genders, orientations, generations, socioeconomic positions, and time in the community, just to name a few. These factors are the basis for varied values, communication styles and preferences, commitment to the community, tendency to volunteer, and political and world views. Take the time to understand and appreciate the composition of your community.
Webster defines “indifference” as: (1) The quality, state, or fact of being indifferent, (2) lack of difference or distinction between two or more things, and (3) absence of compulsion to or toward one thing or another. This article discusses indifference in the context of a community that takes its fire department and its volunteers for granted until they are needed. I will repeat this because I cannot stress how important it is for volunteer fire service leaders to understand that emergency response, even exceptional emergency response, is not enough and never has been! We are on borrowed time. In a world littered with distractions, where numerous agencies are competing for limited tax dollars and taxpayers are overburdened, where life is pulling our potential volunteers in many directions at the same time, and where there is almost certain competition for our fund-raising efforts, acknowledging this fact is more important than ever.
Where Do We Start?
Overcoming indifference is largely an internal process. Getting your house in order is the single most important task in developing exceptional community support, and it requires a cultural change. One word of caution: Rules and regulations, policies and bylaws, and the like are somewhere between useless and destructive; you cannot mandate cultural change. Leadership must develop a team of “agents for change.” Leadership and the team must develop and communicate a salient case for change, and all members must be Fully Informed and Ready to Engage the public and the naysayers in your department. Every new event or initiative must be accompanied by a well-prepared “elevator pitch” (so-called because the concept is that you have the duration of an elevator ride to get your message across) that provides your members with a mechanism to properly answer questions from other members—in other words, short, sweet, to the point, and with the listener in mind. If the message is not about the listener, he is not listening. What’s in it for him?
Building and maintaining effective teams is a process with the following eight core principles:
Commitment to excellence. All levels of management and leadership must have a commitment to treating people with trust, openness, and honesty. Teams are used to multiply the strength of the organization. People are empowered to take direct action, make decisions, and initiate change.
Culture. A comprehensive culture must exist to support and enhance productive people and the team process.
Trust. Openness, honesty, and constructive feedback are highly valued and demonstrated organizational traits. All team members are treated consistently and are rewarded based on contributions to the goals of the organization regardless of function, position, or rank.
Teamwork. Clearly identifiable teams are used as the primary means to direct, organize, and perform the work as opposed to individual job functions or independent tasks.
Team continuity and development. Team continuity is important to the team member and the organization and should be maintained as long as the team member exceeds the minimal acceptable performance requirements and the team as a whole benefits.
Education/training. An active education and training program focused on organizational issues, community issues, and operational improvements should be in place for all personnel and positions. Its objectives include enhancing people’s skills; increasing team flexibility; sharing tools, technology, knowledge, and understanding; and preparing for the future. Education and training are viewed as a tactical and strategic advantage, and the knowledge gained is measured by the successful application to the job.
Work design. Design jobs and tasks to reinforce the organizational goal of a team-based, empowered workforce.
Congruence. People policies, organizational development, and education and training should be consistent with the organization’s mission, vision, and value statements as well as organizational goals and community needs.
Once you have your team or teams developed, start building the foundation. Start out as if you were about to launch a brand-new business; if you are not running your volunteer organization like a for-profit business, you may want to rethink things.
The cornerstones of the foundation are the mission statement, vision statement, statement of core values, and statement of organizational goals. These documents tell your members and the community what your organization is about. Be certain that your members understand and are well aligned with these statements. Your members are your best cheerleaders.
Organizational “Statements”
A “mission statement” is a statement of the purpose of a company, organization, or person. Its reason for existing is as a written declaration of an organization’s core purpose and focus that normally remains unchanged over time. Organizations summarize their goals and objectives in mission and “vision statements”; both serve different purposes for an organization but are often confused with each other. A mission statement describes what a company wants to do now; a vision statement outlines what a company wants to be in the future. A “statement of core values” outlines the principles that guide an organization’s internal conduct as well as its relationship with the external world. It may include brief statements regarding health and safety, diversity, teamwork and shared leadership, effective communication, integrity, community service and involvement, and innovation. A “statement of organizational goals” is just that; it simply outlines what the organization endeavors to do.
Once these foundational documents are in place, create a “standard of cover.” A standard of cover is a response performance analysis system that also serves as a valuable communication tool. If properly constructed, a standard of cover provides your membership and your community with a clearer understanding of what your organization does, how things are done, and what resources are available. Following is an executive summary from a standard of cover I developed when I was a chief officer:
“The ____ Fire Department’s fundamental role is to provide emergency medical, fire suppression, rescue and prevention services that will preserve and protect both life and property in our community. Since inception in 1895, we have incorporated efficiencies and services in response to demands. And as a result, we have built a reputation as a leader and innovator in the delivery of emergency services within our region. The Department was one of the first in our area to have a Hurst Tool, SCBA, 1.75” Hand Lines, Thermal Imaging Cameras and more. We adopted aggressive firefighting strategies and tactics and trained to make them effective. This document is designed to help preserve that spirit.”
Our volunteers are proud of what they do and whom they serve. But, as is often the case in emergency services, the ability to precisely explain our roles is sometimes overly general, vague, or even idealistic. In response, this document is designed to offer a more detailed overview of what we do and how we operate.
This document will also look at our ability or inability to deal with change and endeavor to help us understand that rather than resting on inflexible traditions. We will benefit from having set standards based on achieving measurable outcomes, and our performance should be measured according to those standards. These methods of performance measurement and self-evaluation will help promote accountability and professionalism and serve as the foundation for improved community service.
I started this document as an overview of how we began and how we have grown. Each community we serve will also be described along with unique facts about its climate, population, and funding. The balance of this document will describe the resources available to deliver services as well as how we staff and respond.
One section will also discuss community interactions and outline tasks for improved engagement and discussions regarding improvements to issues such as your Insurance Services Office rating, training, health and safety, and officer development. Another important section of this report is the community risk assessment that lists unique and common hazards within our service area, each one quantified according to frequency of occurrence and potential impact on the community.
Identifying and understanding the risks within our community are significant pieces of developing a “standard of response cover.” This document will conclude with an overview of critical tasking by incident type and guidelines for response coverage. When done properly, the process of developing a standard of cover is deeply reflective and can lead your organization to significant improvements, and it will be covered by your standard operating procedures.
Valuable Programs
Another valuable tool is the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s Vulnerability Assessment Program, which is the fire service equivalent of a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis, itself a business tool aimed at self-analytics for the purposes of growth, risk reduction, and timely improvements. The Vulnerability Assessment Program (VAP) is an assessment tool designed to help identify situations, policies, and procedures within your fire service organization that may lead to a firefighter injury or fatality as well as recommend low- and no-cost solutions to reduce or eliminate those risk factors. Conducting a VAP demonstrates a significant commitment to improvement and to the well-being of your membership. Any internal improvements translate into improvements for the community and can become part of your marketing strategy.
Be Responsible
The last piece of the puzzle is “general housekeeping.” Encourage your membership to be responsible in the public eye. Social media is far reaching, and everyone has a camera these days. Do not issue gag orders! Gag orders imply that you have something to hide. Simply remind members that they represent your organization 24/7, not just at the time of a call. If they have a sticker or plate on their vehicle, wear department gear, or identify with your organization in any way, they need to be particularly mindful that everything they say and do will come back to the entire team.
Conflict resolution is another part of the general housekeeping process. There will be conflicts, disagreements, and discontented people. Meet these challenges head on. Do not try to solve them with e-mails, text messages, letters, or any other indirect methods. Conflict resolution is a face-to-face activity. Always meet at your headquarters, and never meet alone. Do not allow issues to fester. Treat everyone equally and with respect; express genuine concern and compassion; accentuate the positive; and look for a path forward that lifts them up, allows them to save face, and pulls them back into the family. Disciplinary actions are a last resort!
These are just a few key initiatives to help get your house in order. Once your membership buys into the process and respects the efforts and commitment of leadership, things will get better quickly. You will need to determine additional steps based on your situation. Again, rules and regulations are, at best, a last resort. Lift people up, and increase their value; pride through professionalism will take over, your organization will become a more respected and welcoming place, and the positivity will spill out into the community.
Engage Your Public
There are currently six distinct generations alive in America. Each generation has its own set of values; a preferred method of communication; a different work ethic; a different family structure or dynamic; and differing views on politics, the community, and the world. It is imperative that fire service leaders learn to function across these lines.
Engaging the public is a big step and will require a team effort. Creating a public image that is not based solely in emergency response is a long-term effort that requires involvement in multiple avenues. To start, create a “stop doing” list. Do not begin by creating signs, billboards, Web pages, newspaper ads—anything except member-driven, face-to-face recruiting is a waste of time and money. Your members must become active recruiters as well as your biggest cheerleaders. Additionally, advertising for members tells the whole world that you have a problem, and this may have unintentional consequences. Stop public communications until you have a properly trained public information officer (PIO) and a defined communication plan. The political axiom that all press is good press does not serve us well. Stop operating in secret. Open your doors, invite the public in, and be welcoming and transparent.
Also, get involved. We all may be busy, but there is a lot at stake here, and many hands make light work. Assign team members to attend various outside meetings. Your organization needs visibility at the town board, the village board, the board of education, the community action council, the parent-teacher association, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and so on. If members of your community are involved, your organization must be involved. Let them know you are interested in their cause, you care about their concerns, and you are willing to work with them. You will be surprised at how much they will appreciate your involvement and how little they will ask for. People support groups that are not acting like mysterious, closed-door organizations.
Create a Fire Explorers or Junior Firefighters program. Few activities will be as rewarding as grooming a group of young people to become future volunteers. This can become the lifeblood of your recruitment efforts and will help create relationships with their parents, expanding your span of influence. Your program must be well structured and well led by a team, not an individual. At a minimum, the team must have a motherly figure who bakes food and always has a bandage, the fun big brother/sister that they can confide in, and the seasoned firefighter who can train and inspire them.
Open your doors. Get the community in as often as possible. Have pancake breakfasts, barbecues, spaghetti dinners, a movie night, an ice cream social, an open house, or any other family-friendly event. Just remember, these are not to make money! If you do make a buck, be thankful, but never forget that these activities are about increasing your span of influence. Also, don’t be afraid to ask local merchants to sponsor an event. Lift them up, make them the hero for the night, and reap the rewards. Be humble and thankful, and give them public praise. It’s good for your image and for their businesses—a win-win.
Appoint a PIO and develop a marketing program. The purpose of the program is twofold: to create community awareness and to improve morale and pride. Just remember that if the message is not about the listener, he is not listening. If all you do is report on your activities, you will fail. Instead, use a subtle approach, such as public service announcements (PSAs). Announce your drills, explain their importance, and thank the community for understanding if you happen to inconvenience them. Also, report your activities in the PSAs at the same time each month. Again, make it about the community! “The members of the [blank] fire department are honored to serve our community.” Talk about the number and type of calls to which you responded, but keep it “high level.” Mention the hours that the volunteers donated to the community and always talk about training, drills, member achievements, and upcoming events. Also make sure to advertise the events you are hosting daily.
Train in public view. Get out and show off! Train out on the ramp, in a visible parking area, or in a vacant field—anywhere the community can see you. Get out for driver training and flow testing. If you’re testing hydrants and wells, don’t forget to announce it! Make sure the community knows you are out testing the water supply for their benefit.
Create a community auxiliary. Many communities have citizens who would like to contribute but are not interested in being firefighters. These people will be extremely valuable in fund-raising, events planning and support, community outreach, and much more. Don’t overlook them.
Develop a Web site and social media page. Gear them toward the community; there is no point in advertising to other firefighters. Talk about activities and post pictures. Include any community events, contact information, equipment and facilities, and so on. Post your mission, vision, value, goals, and standard of cover. Praise your membership individually and as a team. I once saw a fire department Web site that had a weekly member spotlight; this is a great idea for any department.
Have a donation link and a page dedicated to thanking and praising your past contributors and supporters. Also, have a space to sell or award merchandise for a certain donation level. “Buy a brick” programs can also be very effective. Just like hosting events, these programs are about more than money; they are also about creating bonds. More than anything, donors are motivated by their experiences and values. A review of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs reveals many of the reasons that people’s donations fall into the higher categories of love/belonging/social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization.
Emergency Response
Good enough is never good enough. The quest for excellence is never-ending. Treat everyone as if they are your grandmother, and always go the extra mile. Train like your life depends on it, because it might. Become a lifelong learner, share what you learn, and encourage others to do the same.
Nothing here is difficult or even new. This is life in corporate America. Businesses exist to provide a product or service that turns a profit. We exist to provide a service, and our profit is backing from our community when we have needs. This is gained through exceptional service, community support, innovation, marketing, communication, and relationships. Is the fire service any different? This is a marathon, not a sprint. Take everything in its time and endeavor to persevere.
TIM DORAN is a 30-year volunteer fire service member and a former chief of the Bridgehampton (NY) Fire Department. He also served for several years with the Lisle (NY) Fire Company. Doran is a fire officer III, fire instructor II, and National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Everyone Goes Home advocate and is employed as a business executive in the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning industry.
