Bob Dylan wrote the song “The Times They Are A-Changin’” back when some of you reading this may not have even been born. I was never a big fan of Dylan, but the words and gist of the song are very applicable to today’s fire service. Today’s fire service is changing-every day!
I hate to be a fatalist, but firefighting as we know it today is a dying occupation. There is one reason for this: the automatic sprinkler. To quote Vina Drennan, whose husband, Fire Department of New York Captain John Drennan, died of burns suffered in a flashover, “We know how to stop fires.” She speaks the truth.
We in the United States know how to stop fires. Now, don’t get me wrong. There will always be hostile fires. There will always be arsonists. Additionally, automatic sprinklers are mechanical devices, and, at times, mechanical devices malfunction. There will always be fires.
But soon (soon is a relative term), perhaps in my lifetime, all communities in the United States will have mandatory residential automatic sprinkler legislation; soon after, retrofit legislation will begin to surface. Pretty soon, the number of fires will decrease and those that still occur will be less destructive and deadly. To my knowledge, no civilian has ever died in a fire in a residence that had full sprinkler protection.
So, where am I going with this? We as a service will have to reinvent ourselves. To use Vina Drennan’s example: “It will be similar to what the iron lung industry had to do after Dr. Jonas Salk invented the polio vaccine.” We will have to come up with other ways to meet the public’s needs. Some of us are already providing services in addition to fire protection, such as EMS, haz mat, confined space, and other forms of rescue.
I’m not sure what will evolve, but I can assure you that muscle may be replaced by brain power. Therefore, education will become more and more necessary in the future of the fire service (if that’s what it will be called 25 years from now).
-John “Skip” Coleman, deputy chief of fire prevention, Toledo (OH) Department of Fire and Rescue, is author of Incident Management for the Street-Smart Fire Officer (Fire Engineering, 1997) and Managing Major Fires (Fire Engineering, 2000), a technical editor of Fire Engineering, and a member of the FDIC Educational Advisory Board.
Question: Some departments are now requiring a minimum number of college credits for new firefighter recruits. Additional credits or a college degree is needed for promotion to the company officer or chief rank. Are these requirements necessary for improving the professionalism of the fire service? Or, are we better off continuing to rely on experience, seniority, and technical knowledge when recruiting and promoting personnel?
Thomas Dunne, deputy chief, Fire Department of New York
Response: FDNY now requires a bachelor’s degree for promotion to the chief rank. There are also minimum credit requirements for new recruits and company officers.
I’m sure that the college degree I earned prior to joining the department helped develop my analytical skills, but I never viewed it as an integral part of my development as a firefighter. I am not in favor of stressing college requirements, particularly at a time when many departments are wrestling with inexperience and reduced fire activity. Now more than ever, practical experience and seniority should be emphasized.
I do think there is a great deal to be gained from courses in fire science, medical care, and emergency management. Such study should be mandated for certain ranks and should also give a firefighter additional consideration for promotion.
Efforts to “professionalize” the fire service are admirable, but there is also a down side. I know several excellent firefighters and company officers who have decided not to pursue promotional opportunities because of the additional credits required.
Ours is still a profession of “doers” who perform a life-and-death function. Motivated individuals who pursue job-related college courses should be rewarded for their efforts, but it is a mistake to place too much emphasis on academic criteria.
I had the benefit of learning from men who were veterans of the busiest era in the history of American firefighting. They taught by setting an example and by sharing their knowledge. But, I don’t ever recall them discussing their college transcripts.
Rick Lasky, chief, Lewisville (TX) Fire Department
Response: I think it’s always in our best interest to promote education and encourage our personnel and those wishing to join the fire service to pursue anything that will enhance their educational background. Some departments require a degree or so many college hours for new applicants and those wishing to promote.
Lewisville does not require a degree or a specified number of college hours for new firefighters; however, all of a candidate’s educational background is looked at when applicants are interviewed. This includes college, certifications, and any other schools attended that may enhance their position and performance within our department.
As for the new recruit, restricting the applicants to those who have a degree or college time can limit the candidate pool and the department could lose out on some pretty good people. Again, education is important, but taking a look at the candidate’s entire background is always advantageous. The number of colleges and universities offering firefighter degree programs that fit a firefighter’s schedule and lifestyle and off-campus (distance) learning from accredited institutions have made it easier for firefighters to work toward a degree and still take employment with a fire department.
As for those wishing to promote, again, I think both sides should be considered. Having a degree and no experience can get you someone with all the “skins” on the wall but who may have difficulty in the newly acquired position because of a lack of experience. On the other hand, having someone with experience only can yield the same results. What seems to work well at the new firefighter candidate or officer level is striking a balance between education and experience. Some of this, as it is in Lewisville, can be achieved by giving credit for time in the previous rank in lieu of a degree or college time. When that works, you gain more applicants from a more diverse background who can bring both sides to the table-and you can end up with some pretty good people.
Education is very important. Anything that can be done to enhance education is always the way to go. But, in many cases, allowing both experience and education to play a role in the selection or promotional process has worked well.
Ron Hiraki, assistant chief, Gig Harbor (WA) Fire & Medic One
Response: We do not require a college degree or credits for hiring or promotion to company officer. About four years ago, we made a two-year degree a requirement for promotion to the chief officer ranks. The chief position already required a four-year degree. The department “grandfathered” chief officers who did not have a two-year degree or granted them additional time to obtain their degree. Those members have since completed their degree. We pay 50 percent of the cost of approved college degree programs and a two or four percent premium once the two- or four-year degree is completed.
Last year, we realized that some of our most experienced company officers would not be eligible to take the battalion chief’s exam. After a collaborative discussion with the union, we dropped the two-year degree requirement but awarded preference points to members who had a degree.
A college degree will not ensure a good fire officer. However, formal education can provide technical knowledge (e.g., finance, law, and human resources) and increase the creditability of senior chief officers. This is especially important when working with senior officials from outside the fire service. A college degree is an important part of improving professionalism. However, a sincere effort, having the courage to implement change, and helping other people develop their skills are necessary parts of improving professionalism. If you have a degree, you have to do something with it besides hang it on your wall.
John Salka, battalion chief, Fire Department of New York
Response: Requiring college credits to get hired in a fire department is a good idea. It shows that the candidates are able to handle college-level instruction and study and that they have some exposure to the real world. Many folks attend college right out of high school, long before they become interested in a fire service career, so it would be quite difficult to require that this college work be related to the fire service.
Requiring college credits or degrees for promotion within a fire department is another story. Once a person selects a career in the fire service, volumes of information that are both helpful and necessary for them to develop the skills needed to achieve promotion to a company-officer or chief-officer rank are available.
The tactics, procedures, theories, and strategies used by fire service officers are quite complex and specialized, yet many departments allow a captain with a college degree in U.S. history to be promoted to chief while excluding a more senior captain from even taking the exam because he has no “degree.”
Requiring the college degree to be fire related for promotion does not solve the problem; it only further limits the number of people eligible for promotion because the person with the history degree is now also ineligible. What is needed is a study program designed for officers of various ranks. The program could even be a self-study collection of books, articles, and other activities that any member interested in moving up to the next rank could use. Completion of this study program, in addition to having spent a required number of years with the department, would be a much more effective and fair method of selecting officers of any rank.
Michael J. Allora, lieutenant, Clifton (NJ) Fire Department
Response: Individuals should have a minimum number of college credits or a minimum number of years of military service when applying for a position as a firefighter. The college credits may not necessarily be toward a fire science degree. Many of the classes a firefighter will be completing during training are transferable for college credits at county colleges. Requiring a firefighter to have a minimum number of college credits will be the foundation for progression to company officer and chief officer.
Company officers should be required to have a minimum number of college credits toward a degree in fire science. An associate’s degree in fire science is not an unreasonable requirement. The company officer will have to make many decisions in the firehouse, on the training ground, and on the fireground. These decisions should be based on safe firefighting practices and principles. Some of the knowledge will be based on experience. Some will come from the study of firefighting strategy and tactics, personnel management, hazardous materials, and building construction. This list is by no means all-inclusive. Chief officers should be working toward a bachelor’s degree in fire science.
Perhaps the most important requirement is continuing education in the basics of firefighting. If we require individuals to have a minimum number of college credits when hired, we should require that they complete a minimum number of continuing education credits in the basics of firefighting after graduation from the fire academy. Many firefighters do not aspire to be company officers, but we still need educated firefighters.
Christopher J. Weir, EFO, division chief, Port Orange (FL) Department of Fire & Rescue
Response: While in the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP), I wrote an applied research paper (ARP) detailing that there has been an increase in fire service organizations around the world that require a bachelor’s degree for chief officer ranks. For example, during my tenure with the Fort Lauderdale (FL) Fire-Rescue Department, you couldn’t qualify to take the examination for battalion chief without a bachelor’s degree in a related field. In 2009, you will need a bachelor’s degree to enter the EFOP. You already need an associate’s degree to qualify for consideration in the EFOP. This is a message from the nation’s top fire academic institution to start raising the education bar at the state and local levels. Many departments already have these requirements in their organizations.
The fire service of today is two things: (1) a fire and medical emergency management service and (2) a special operations management organization involving high-tech qualifications in many fields of emergency management, fire prevention, and homeland security. The time has come to raise the professional bar to become a proven top-notch management organization and remove the “vocational stigma” assigned to us by some political leaders and uninformed member of the public. They think that, in this post 9-11 era, we still sit around, play checkers, do public education, use the aerial to change light bulbs, and wait for the “big one.”
A college degree raises the professional bar. Let’s look at report writing as an example. As a chief officer, I have seen absolutely horribly written fire reports and memoranda from a good number of company officers over the years. When I ask the company officers for rewrites, they say they do not see anything wrong with the report. The grammar, sentence structure, and details often are not there. This is a nationwide issue. There is a need to provide these personnel with college-level composition/technical report writing classes.
In my EFOP ARP research, I have found that many fire service organizations require a minimum of college credits (usually 30) just to get in the front door. Front-line company officers cannot sit for an exam without an associate’s degree; chief officer positions require an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, depending on the department’s size and technology level. Classified advertising specifies bachelor’s and master’s degrees for fire chiefs. Many candidates with some college credits or various levels of degrees are entering the fire service today. This is good for the fire service and helps to create a good resource pool for the future when veterans leave.
Entering the fire academy for firefighter certification and then qualifying for EMT or paramedic certification will garner a number of college credits toward an associate’s degree. Add the college credits earned for specialty certifications for fire inspector, haz-mat technician and specialist, fire service instructor, Fire Officer I, and Fire Officer II-why not just keep going and finish it off? There’s an abundance of ways to get a degree today: online courses, degrees at a distance, schedule-friendly classes, career portfolios offering experiential credits, and local community colleges offering limited bachelor degree programs, for example. I think the message is clear.
It’s not so much the college degree earned for promotion; it’s what you do with the degree once you’ve earned it. College courses offer an enormous amount of information on public budgets, grant writing (alternative funding), human resource management, handling stress and time-management initiatives (multitasking), labor/management relations, negotiations, risk management, strategic planning, tactics and strategy, team building, program building, fire prevention initiatives, report writing (sorely needed!) and composition of reports, computer tech.
College education is sorely needed in today’s fire service. It gives us great credibility with our city manager, commissioners/council members, elected officials, and the public we serve.
It’s up to the individuals to plan for the position they would like to achieve in their organization. That plan will determine the intellectual tools they will need to realize their goals.
Bobby Shelton, FF/EMT – I, Cincinnati (OH) Fire Department
Response: I have noticed that many departments are now requiring a degree of some sort for new firefighters, and in looking at ads for chief officers, a bachelor’s degree or better is a must.
The fire service in many ways mirrors the trends of society in general. Today, we have a more technologically advanced and better-educated workforce. The fire service is no different. The question is, Are we excluding good people because they do not have a degree? The answer in my opinion is a resounding YES.
I agree that higher education is important, but it does not ensure improvement in the professionalism of the fire service. Attitude, not a piece of paper, improves that. A combination of experience, seniority, and technical knowledge forms a good basis; higher education is the icing on the cake.
Nowadays, good people are hard to come by. If we say that only certain people can apply for fire department jobs or only certain people can be promoted, we are excluding a pool of people of diverse backgrounds and experiences because they do not have a degree. Not having higher education does not necessarily mean they are not as qualified as an individual with a degree-sometimes they are more qualified.
In the final analysis, we want the best qualified people for jobs in the fire service. “Best” means more than a degree. Sometimes the degree is not even related to fire service courses. Some fire departments stipulate a bachelor’s degree or higher for chief officers. We all know of chiefs who have secular knowledge but not an ounce of common sense or an idea of what we do. They studied and went to school just to go up the promotional ladder. Which would you rather have, a firefighter or chief officer who is technically proficient and experienced or a person with a degree who doesn’t have a clue? It’s something to think about.
Craig H. Shelley, EFO, CFO, MIFireE, fire protection advisor
Response: When I started with the fire service in the 1960s, not much thought was given to applicants with degrees for entry-level positions. In the 1990s, many departments required degrees for entry-level positions as well as promotions. If you were to ask me in the 1960s if this was necessary, I would have answered with a resounding no. But today, I would answer just as emphatically, “Yes.”
With promotion in the fire service come responsibility and accountability. Years ago, a fire officer needed to know only basic fire behavior and leadership skills. Fire officers today must know building construction, chemistry, fire service administration, building code interpretation, budgeting, project management, and much more. They are professional managers who one day interact with their peers in the fire station and the next day with a CEO of a major corporation. They must be prepared.
College courses and degree programs prepare the fire service for the responsibilities and challenges. Completing the requirements for a degree helped me to develop analytical, research, and presentation skills that have helped me in my career. A degree in fire protection engineering, for example, helps to develop skills useful for the engineering field as well as management. It also opens the door for those desiring to pursue the fire prevention/protection engineering side. Fire protection engineers can blend a passion for saving lives with a penchant for math and science; they can help to save lives not only through manual fire suppression but also by designing a fire protection system.
Jeffrey Schwering, lieutenant, Crestwood (MO) Department of Fire Services
Response: We, as fire service professionals, must be willing to accept change. Formal education is a big part of that necessary change. In my department, a minimum of an associate’s degree in fire service management is required to attain the rank of captain.
The fire service can’t sit idly by and think seniority and experience will get us through the new challenges we face every day. We must be proactive in handling all new challenges. This means formal education. Formal education is expensive and time consuming but effective in giving us another tool to use to better serve our customers.
The need for formal education can and should be combined with seniority, experience, and technical knowledge, to create a more educated firefighter and fire officer. This combination hopefully will lead to a safer fireground, a more professional attitude, and a decrease in line-of-duty deaths.
Gerard Moroney, lieutenant,Jackson (NJ) Fire District
Response: Experience, seniority, and technical knowledge are all essential aspects of the promotional process. For an officer to gain the respect of the firefighters, he must have a strong grasp of the technical knowledge to complete the task at hand. The company officer all the way up to chief of department are expected to maintain knowledge of all types of emergencies ranging from room-and-contents fires (bread and butter) to EMS to technical rescue to haz mat to terrorism. Unfortunately, in today’s society, this still is not enough.
The fire service must take the next step in being recognized as a professional organization. It no longer is called only to put the wet stuff on the red stuff. Fire chiefs and fire officers are expected to be knowledgeable in budgeting, public relations, master planning, recruitment and retention, as well as have all of the technical know-how needed to perform their duties properly. Officers should have attained a minimum of an associate’s degree in a fire-related field. Chief officers should have attained a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a fire-related field, and the chief of department should have attained a minimum of a master’s degree, which should be in public administration or business administration. The MPA or MBA would give the chief the knowledge needed to handle day-to-day operations while at the same time give some credibility to the title.
Paul J. Urbano, captain, Anchorage (AK) Fire Department
Response: Are these requirements necessary for improving the professionalism of the fire service? The short answer is yes; however, we need to avoid setting our members up for failure. Imagine developing a top-notch program that requires college credits for hire or promotion only to find a very small number of applicants eligible. How successful would the program be? What would this do for morale?
It’s important to have a plan (vision) that identifies the educational requirements and how your department will implement those requirements.
First, we need to enable our personnel to meet this new requirement. Examples would be the following: degree program availability (locally or at a distance), coordinating with local educational institutions to schedule classes to coincide with your department’s work schedule, tuition assistance, and time off (TDY).
Currently, our department of nearly 400 has 41 members with associate’s degrees and 85 members with bachelor’s degrees. With enabling factors such as those listed above, many more are in the process of earning their degrees locally and at a distance.
The department (and ultimately the community) benefits by having a more educated workforce. If educational incentives are offered (four percent, associate’s; eight percent, bachelor’s), members benefit also.
Experience, seniority, and technical knowledge are important components of a firefighter; adding the element of higher education places the fire service a few notches higher on the “improving professionalism in the fire service” scale. Proactive planning is the key to a successful educational program.
Jason Camper, firefighter, Parker (CO) Fire District
Response: My department currently has no higher educational requirements (aside from high school and state EMT) for the new recruit. We do, however, have them for lieutenant (associate’s degree), battalion and division chief (bachelor’s degree), and chief (master’s degree). With the fire service taking on so many roles these days, having a college education can be an asset. Hazardous-materials chemistry, technical rescue load-rating calculations, and EMS drug dosages and rates can all be challenging under pressure without the knowledge needed to complete the tasks.
And then there is the writing of letters and reports that some day may end up in court being picked apart by an attorney. The need for strong verbal and written communication skills is evident.
That being said, I have noticed a trend of firefighters being hired with a vast amount of college education and a minimal amount of “life skill” and mechanical aptitude. We must not lose sight of the fact that firefighting is a blue-collar career. We may also frequently find ourselves servicing a chain saw, removing a garbage disposal unit, or troubleshooting a gas furnace. I’m not saying that education is not important (I have an associate’s degree myself), but we need to find a balance of experience, technical knowledge, and college education.
Tom Sitz, lieutenant, Painesville Twp. (OH) Fire
Response: College credits are necessary for improving the professionalism of the fire service. It takes three things to be a good fire officer: technical expertise, experience, and formal education. If you can develop a system that blends all three of these things, you can consistently promote the most qualified candidates. To make the system work, the candidates must have all three. Formal education without fireground experience or technical expertise is dangerous. You can certainly be an excellent fire officer based solely on technical expertise and experience, but experience is a very tough thing to keep track of (experience and seniority are not synonymous). The formal education part will help beef up this part of your decision-making process as an officer.
Michael Stanley, B.S., EMT-P, lieutenant, Aurora (CO)Fire Department
Response: I wholeheartedly say yes to the schooling. It is no revelation that over the past few decades the fire service has been rapidly evolving. No longer are we called to just put out fires. Technical skills are still important but no longer exclusively imperative. As services expand into areas such as fire prevention and emergency management, we need to encourage the development of “soft” skills. My first captain used to say, “I got hired because I was good with things with handles.” However, times have changed, and more skills for leading our organizations are necessary.
Depending only on experience as a method of evaluation yields a diagnostic tool that provides quantitative and not qualitative data-just because a candidate has 20 years of experience, that does not make him the ideal candidate. Education alone does not identify the ideal candidate, either. However, it does demonstrate a commitment to learning and also provides a new skill set that relies less on technical abilities. Additionally, hiring and promoting individuals with college degrees further validates firefighting as a profession and not just a job. This validation is crucial for our administrators who must daily interact with business people and bureaucrats for the fire service to survive.
As the fire service continues to grow, it is crucial that we develop as well. Those who do not have a college degree should go back to school and get one. They should dedicate themselves to being lifelong learners.
Dan Smits, shift commander, Calumet City (IL) Fire Department
Response: This issue has been debated for several years; opinions have varied and often have been biased in some way. As a chief officer and a 29-year veteran of the fire service, I have never stopped going to school. At present, I am completing my MBA.
Clearly, our job entails more than education, and my experience has been that many things I have learned over the years have assisted me in writing, organizational management, mathematics, and other areas of responsibility. Our job is no longer about just putting the wet stuff on the red stuff. It entails managing a very diverse business and our employees having to get into areas such as haz mat and EMS that require many skills that can best be obtained through a formal education.
One thing to remember, though, is that experience is vital in any occupation. A balance of education and experience is the best.
Lance C. Peeples, instructor, St. Louis County (MO) Fire Academy
Response: One of Philadelphia’s earliest firefighters once said, “Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other.” Certainly, Benjamin Franklin’s remarks are quite instructive. Education and experience are not mutually exclusive. They are both methods of arriving at a certain level of knowledge and then being able to apply that knowledge. Some of the best firefighters I have known did not have the advantage of higher formal education, but they were always trying to learn more about the job. However, their experience was often paid for at a very high cost.
How much easier to simply pick up a book and benefit from the experience of veteran firefighters. The cost of a $50 book is certainly less expensive than a broken leg or a severe burn, or even death. In addition, since the number of actual fires to which we respond is down, it might well take an entire career to gain the experience our fathers picked up in three or four years. Obviously, tenure and actual experience are not the same concepts. One needs tenure to gain experience. But it does not automatically follow that experience is to be had from long tenure. It also does not automatically follow that simply because one has read a book about how to force a door that the schoolboy will be able to force a tough door with victims trapped behind it. Experience does matter.
Experience and education are not mutually exclusive; both are required to provide fire officers with the knowledge needed to solve the myriad challenges facing the fire service today.
Danny Kistner, battalion chief, Garland (TX) Fire Department
Response: Few topics generate more debate than that of higher education for firefighters. When I first entered the fire service, a high school diploma or GED was the only educational qualification necessary for employment. Personally, at that time I had some college without a degree. An argument can be made that the fire service teaches recruits and incumbents all they need to know for success as a firefighter or line officer. Although this may be true, the argument can be refined to demonstrate that this rationale does little to prepare the executive leadership of tomorrow.
The fire service has changed significantly over the past 20 years. The public we serve has changed as well. A more erudite public translates into a demand for greater accountability-accountability in planning, scene performance, and fiscal management. Firefighters have also demanded a greater accountability from their officers and leaders for greater efficiency on the fireground and also for the protection of their lives in the short and long terms. With this accountability comes an increased responsibility to demonstrate competency.
Touting how many college credits you have does little to defend the rationale for higher education. However, education in related fields tied with professional certifications or designations can certainly give an individual the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for forecasting, planning, and problem solving a multitude of topics that can overwhelm the unprepared and inexperienced.
John M. Moschella, EFO, deputy chief, Revere (MA) Fire Department; adjunct professor, Anna Maria College, Paxton, MA
Response: Education and professionalism go hand in hand. The time-honored tradition of learning by way of consensus and experience is now being replaced by qualified research. This is not to say that these values do not have their place in the fire service. Our profession was founded on such principles and should continue to regard them as invaluable. Nevertheless, it is to say that research and education must be the foundation of a scientific discipline, which the fire service is.
Technical knowledge, experience, and seniority are not in opposition to academic knowledge, nor should they be considered as such. They go hand in hand. Promotions should be based of any number of factors, including experience; technical knowledge; and, of course, formal education.
An academic curriculum, one composed of technical knowledge as well as liberal and humanistic instruction, is sound preparation for a career in the fire service. Take for example the Republic of Taiwan, where a candidate for fire officer must obtain an academic degree in fire science as a prerequisite for promotion. A more local example might be the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy. Simply put, a more educated and trained firefighter can better serve the needs of the population.
Perry Eliasson, firefighter, Port Arthur (TX) Fire Department
Response: College education will be essential; however, it must be blended with experience and technical knowledge. In my 100-member department, we have a couple of academics who are great in the classroom or locked up in the emergency operations center but who are totally useless at a fire scene. So as repetitive as it is, knowledge and skills of the basics must be evaluated for correctness and ability. I do mean basics: the use and function of a fog nozzle, the proper use of PPV, selection of hoseline, and method of attack, for example. Of what use is it to have an excellent understanding of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and personnel direction and motivation and then direct an initial attack with a 11⁄2-inch handline at an industrial facility because, on your arrival, just thick black smoke, not fire, was coming from a 40 × 100 two-story structure? Teach the knowledge of the old leatherheads, drill in their experience, and blend in the advanced technology/academics.
Carl D. Avery, program coordinator, NBFSPQ – Fire Instructor II, TERC Regional Extrication Judge, York County Fire School,Emigsville, PA
Response: College offers a wealth of opportunities to expand one’s knowledge, which may lead to improved skills, but I question how much value should be given to college credits or degrees. The same can be said of simple seniority. Since, typically, officer candidates are not being hired off the street, a track record of performance is a better predictor of future success than a degree, credits, or simple seniority. How an individual acquired a skill should never be as important as how that person can execute the skill. Going to college can be an indication of a desire to improve one’s self, but it should not be the prime indicator for leadership.
College or simple seniority alone should not be the lead influence in selecting a leader. Both are learning opportunities. True professionalism comes from what the organization and the candidate value in their job performance and how that integrates with their consumers. We must remember that the bulk of the fire service’s interaction with the community comes from tradesmen. Our job is much more of a trade than a profession. This may ruffle some feathers. The fact is that the day-to-day operations of a fire department require skilled laborers. People who can relate to those tradespeople will achieve more than one who cannot. We need to remember our managers are leading skilled tradespeople and that they must possess the skills and knowledge to get the most out of them.
Brian Singles, firefighter, Hampton (VA) Fire Department
Response: Having a college degree this day and age is somewhat of a good thing, but having knowledge and experience in the fire service is just as important. I don’t think that the fire service should require prospective candidates to have a degree just to get on the hiring roster. One reason for this is that most recruit firefighters are starting their firefighting career right out of high school. Once these folks decide to make this their long-term career, they should consider taking college classes to better themselves for the future.
Most of us are taught that experience is still the best teacher, not only in the fire department but also in life. Becoming a parent is a huge challenge, and I do not know of any college that is teaching about that.
Fighting fire is also a huge challenge. You first have to learn the basics taught in recruit school and for the next few years after you graduate. Good students gain knowledge from the seasoned veterans as they go through their time in the fire service. They constantly pick the veterans’ brains to gain from their knowledge and experience.
A college degree should be a requirement for chief officers and fire officers who choose the path of support operations-training, fire prevention, hazardous materials, EMS, and so on. I don’t think it should be a pressing requirement for line officers, the ones getting dirty, fighting fire, and commanding an engine or truck company. A college degree does not make a fire officer. If you are a suppression officer and you want your crew to look up to you, you had better have lots of fire service time as a good firefighter first. Just reading a fire department manual on pumping operations or how to raise a ground ladder doesn’t make you a fire officer. Getting out there and drilling with your crew shows that you are a good leader, even if the training is on something as simple as salvage and overhaul.
Whether you are just starting your fire department career or have been in the fire department for many years, education, along with good common sense and experience, will take you a long way.
Joseph D. Pronesti, captain, City of Elyria (OH) Fire Department
Response: Although a college degree is important, no college degree will help when it comes to real-world experience, self-motivation, and continuous training.
A college degree may show that you attended classes and received a degree, but the fire service is one of the fields where it’s what you read or study today, not what you read a few years ago in a college course, that matters.
I support college degrees for chief officers because of the management responsibilities; a degree is not a necessity for a firefighter or company officer. What is important is having an officer constantly “in the books” or on the Internet preparing for the next fire or emergency.
My “professors” are firefighters like Vinnie Dunn, John Coleman, Frank Brannigan, and Anthony Avillo. I recommend them as a start to an “education” in this wonderful service.
David Polikoff, captain, Montgomery County (MD) Fire and Rescue
Response: At this time my department has no college requirement for employment. We do require college for the rank of lieutenant and higher. I feel there needs to be a mixture of experience, seniority, and technical knowledge as well as some college when it comes to the rank of officer. The ranks of lieutenant and captain need to rely more heavily on experience, seniority, and technical knowledge, not just college. These are the individuals making the critical decisions at the initial phase of the fire. Experience and technical knowledge will lead to a far better outcome than book smarts alone.
Ed Herrmann, lieutenant, City of Boynton Beach (FL) Fire-Rescue
Response: We have two very different situations here. The importance of continuing education in the modern fire-rescue service cannot be overstated; however, the timing of that training should be flexible.
Over the past 18 years, I have seen the average age of recruits drop significantly. While this is generally a plus when it comes to things like physical fitness, the loss of prefire department life experience can be seen as a serious issue for our service. The days of turning to your crew’s electrician, plumber, mechanic, or carpenter, for example, for information may be coming to a close. It will be very difficult to attract this type of potential firefighter if we mandate that they take even more preparatory time, after fire academy, away from their families (many already have families) before we will consider hiring them. For this level, it seems wise to stick to the basics of fire academy and EMT. With these, they demonstrate that they have the physical ability to do the job and are capable of learning a significant amount of new information under a fair degree of stress.
Promotional exams are a different arena altogether. We will be depending on these candidates to develop and act on complex strategies based on knowledge, skills, and abilities acquired through formal and on-the-job training and experience. Credits and degrees are simply a concrete means of ensuring that a certain level of information has been presented to, and was learned by, these future leaders.
Randall W. Hanifen, lieutenant, West Chester (OH) Fire Department
Response: College credits and degrees should not completely decide which candidates should be hired or which employees should be promoted, but they should represent a good portion of the overall score. From an entrance standpoint, earning college credits shows a level of initiative departments desire in personnel. More important are the college credits and degree requirements for promotional opportunities. First, we must examine what college is designed to teach. From an undergraduate standpoint, the college curriculum is designed to teach math, communication, and critical-thinking skills related to the field of study. The graduate-level curriculum is designed to expand on the undergraduate curriculum and incorporates many character-building and outside world-learning experiences such as ethics and strategic planning. The postgraduate curriculum emphasizes the ability to research and theorize new concepts in a particular field of study.
Next, we must examine the positive qualities of an officer. I would suggest an ability to solve problems and effectively communicate plus an expanded knowledge of the core knowledge of the fire service. Once the promotion above line officer is made, the job focus must change to business management- analysis and critical thinking become necessities.
Finally, we must ask ourselves why other professions have college-degree requirements. I would say that they have seen the correlation between job performance and a college degree. We must push forward on the education front and show that we are a profession, not just a trade.
Jack M. Smith, training officer, Barrow, Alaska
Response: College education can provide fire and emergency services personnel with skills that enhance performance and capability. It should be one consideration in the hiring and promotional process. Our profession and leadership must continue to move forward. This means learning skills from building construction to computer science to improve the way we do business.
The fire service must be careful not to focus solely on the knowledge an individual is expected to possess. Having worked with mental health clinicians and physicians who could not solve the simplest problem, I have observed that the real world requires more than just knowledge. This might be where the adage “Actions speak louder than words” bears true. Those with experience putting the wet stuff on the red stuff have demonstrated capability and hopefully applied knowledge to task.
Leaders must also possess people skills. Individuals learn the techniques in college; being a leader in the field requires more than just credits. Having numerous abbreviations after your name does not make you a firefighter or a leader. We should continue to seek individuals interested in professional growth, both academically and experientially.
Jim Grady III, chief, Frankfort (IL) Fire District
Response: Currently, our only requirement for new hires/recruits is Firefighter II/Paramedic certification. For promotions, we require certification at the fire officer levels, where most of the courses are college credited or recognized. A degree gives you extra points within the process.
College credits are needed for professional development and enlightenment. We still need to have men and women who have goods skills in the trades, are practical, and have common sense. I am a firm believer in education, but we cannot trade off experience for a degree. Rather, we need to have a well-rounded person who has street smarts, common sense, seniority, technical knowledge, and education.
Also, we need to be the mentors for the future. Therefore, although putting out the house fire is extremely important, we must realize that there are more personnel and political fires to put out as you go up in rank. Putting it all together makes for a better firefighter and officer.
Mitch Brooks, lieutenant, Columbus (OH) Division of Fire
Response: An education is a great thing, but I don’t believe that a college degree makes you a better firefighter. I have worked with some real idiots who have had numerous degrees, and I have worked with some really smart firefighters and officers who have had zero college credits. Firefighting is a hot, dirty, sweaty job for which no degree will prepare you.
However, a degree is a must for a senior management position. These days, a fire department is a business, and a person needs to have good business savvy for the job of assistant chief or chief of department.
Arthur Peter Mata (ret.), Flint (MI) Fire Department; staff, Holland City (MI) Fire
Response: Much is to be said for education. Having a B.A. in management/organizational development has helped me a great deal in understanding bad management of those with little or no formal education. However, my education came many years after being a line firefighter, a paramedic, and an officer.
I would not be a firefighter/trainer today if I were required to have a college degree when I was hired. My first tour of duty was with a very blue-collar fire department, where education was not held in high regard. I worked with real heroes-people with common sense, military experience, and an understanding of humility, making them the very best the fire service could offer to a community. Yes, in today’s world they may have been (and some were) involved in legal litigation. But, they were honest-to-God firefighters. They taught me how to fight fire, protect myself, serve my community, and care for each other. In all my classes, no professor could have done the same. That was the fire service of the 1970s.
Today, I am employed by an organization whose chief does not require that new hires have any formal education. In the 1970s, that may have been acceptable, but in today’s world that is not acceptable. This disregard of formal education is often reflected in today’s officer ranks. Only one officer in this department has served in the armed forces. The lack of formal education among some of the others surfaces quickly in discipline, order, and understanding of standard management procedures. Formal education would fill this void.
This brings us back to our original question. Yes, education should be a factor for a new hire, but so should service to our country, maturity, and commitment to one’s community. The fire chief alone should not have the final say (having seen the difference between civil service and a chief only system) in hiring today’s firefighter. With budgets diminishing and department membership shrinking, the fire service has too much at stake. ■
