By JIMMY VANCLEVE
The McLean County Central District Fire Department (MCCDFD) in Calhoun, Kentucky, is a small, rural, all-volunteer fire department of 30 members with a first-due response area of 103 square miles. The department averages about 450 calls each year and has training for its members, which averages around 100 hours in house annually. With agriculture having such a significant impact on our community, we concentrate most of our training in the winter months when we can have the greatest attendance.
The management structure has typically been chief, deputy chief, two assistant chiefs, two captains, two lieutenants, and two sergeants. Similar to many small, rural departments, MCCFDF has the same two struggles: funding and membership. Over the past 10 years, there has been a nearly complete turnover of its membership; there are now only four members with 10 or more years of continuous service. The department has also operated a junior firefighter program on and off for the past 15 years.
The Scenario
In 2012, we started the year with a lot of ambitions and desires including making a strong push for a new fire station and replacing the tanker. At the time, the management structure was thin because of the department’s youth. We had filled the slots for chief, deputy chief, assistant chief, two lieutenants, and two sergeants. Although we had not filled all of the management positions, we were grooming some of the young members to become officers. We had a chaplain that we call for certain situations.
On April 1, we were dispatched for a missing airplane that had taken off from one of the local grass runways in our county. As chief, I met with our sheriff, who briefed me on the situation, and I began doling out assignments to MCCDFD members. The missing plane was piloted by our deputy chief.
We searched and found the down aircraft just beyond the end of the runway. The deputy chief was killed on impact. We limited scene access for our members, and a handful of capable members were hand-picked to perform the extrication from the wreckage for one of our own.
We made it through this difficult event and attempted to bring back a sense of normalcy. We did not replace the position, so we were an officer down at this point. Keep in mind that our community is small and our interdepartment relationships go deeper than just “the brotherhood of firefighters”; we are all friends who socialize regularly. This loss hit our members hard, but we were on the road to recovery when, about three months later, an accident took the life of a man in our community. This gentleman was not a fire department member, but he was a strong supporter of our department and a good friend to several of our members. The accident was a horrific scene and caused severe emotional trauma to several of our members.
These back-to-back events proved to be a major challenge; despite counseling, our members were losing interest, and we could not seem to revive the department. We slacked off on the rigorous training details, and we met only about once a month.
That September, as if we had not endured enough already, our assistant chief became sick and was hospitalized. This was not a normal illness; it was a sudden attack of some sort of severe infection that seemed to get worse every day. Our assistant chief worked out of town as the state fire training director and was home only on the weekends. Even with this schedule, he made the second-most runs in the department, making him one of the most active MCCDFD members. As his illness progressed, our department began meeting nightly to hold prayer vigils to ask for healing and understanding. The whole community would turn out to meet with us and pray.
Our assistant chief died within three weeks of becoming ill; his death devastated our department. We were not prepared for this. At this point, except for me as the chief officer, we had lost all of our chief officer staff within six months. No one-from me down to the newest recruit-wanted to meet, train, or respond. It was a very dangerous situation for our district and community.
We talked among ourselves, trying to make sense of what had happened during the past few months. We discussed options about how to get back on track. I contacted several people I considered to be the world’s leading authorities for fire department problems, but I could not find the answers I wanted to hear. Needless to say, we limped by for the next few months. Luckily, there were no more serious incidents in that time. This allowed some of our wounds to heal, but as any seasoned officer knows, you have to have runs every now and then to keep the interest in the department.
The Solution
As we moved into 2013, we began our regimented training program. I work as the regional fire rescue training coordinator, so it was an easy task to call one of our most dynamic trainers. I assigned him to my department to provide his motivational style of training. It worked; members began to revive their interest in training as well as making responses. Our junior firefighter numbers were increasing, and new members’ interest in the department was growing as well. We had to promote many of our young firefighters to officer ranks. We began sending the newly appointed officers to management seminars to allow them to gain the self-confidence they needed. We were doing what was necessary, and it seemed to be working.
At this point, I received great advice from John Buckman, director of firefighting training for Indiana. While talking to him about my problems, he pointed out that I needed to stop and listen to myself. He told me that it was not MY department, MY members, and MY training program. John was right. Once I thought about that, I changed my attitude and began sharing MY department. It is now OUR department.
One trait of a good leader is to not be afraid of responsibility. One trait of a GREAT leader is sharing that responsibility. I have been told that a fire department chief’s most important job is to enable ALL of his staff to do his job. Knowing that someone else can do a job that you have been doing for years can be a tough pill to swallow; I learned that lesson the hard way. However, I finally realized that I needed help in the department. I asked for help, and I had several takers. I took advantage of the offers and appointed a training officer, a junior firefighter officer, and a maintenance officer. These personnel are doing a tremendous job!
As chief, I am used to taking a situation and steering it into the direction in which I want it to go. Will my “Superman cape” protect me from everything? No! After the events of 2012, MCCDFD quickly went to the bottom and, for a while, it looked as if we would not come back up. Only after I shared the responsibilities did we begin to see some improvements.
Delegation can allow members to gain some ownership of the department. It will allow others to become active and will take a lot of burden and responsibility off of your shoulders. It will also free up a lot of time for you to work on other projects. Mentoring is an attribute that EVERY officer should exercise. Share the wealth of knowledge that you have. Others in the department should know how to do your job. Remember, the real reason that you are in the fire department is to help others … so why not start by helping YOUR members.
Community activities provide your members with an opportunity to work together in a nonstressful environment and promote the department. Providing first aid at community events and staffing a booth at the county fair are great ways to promote your department to the public.
Actively recruit all ages. For example, a MCCDFD junior firefighter joined our department and brought his father with him. Then, when this junior firefighter’s younger brother became old enough, he joined as well.
Finally, take a look at your training program. Meaningful, interesting, quality training will earn your members’ respect. The training should be fun while providing a message that members will retain. Training must be needs-oriented and specific to the department.
JIMMY VANCLEVE has been a volunteer firefighter for 24 years. He is the chief of the McLean County Central District Fire Department in Calhoun, Kentucky. He works as the Area 3 fire training coordinator for the Kentucky Fire Commission and coordinates the Fire Rescue Science Technology program and Paramedic Technology program at the Owensboro (KY) Community & Technical College. VanCleve also serves on the Firefighter Professional Qualifications Committee for the National Fire Protection Association. He was recently appointed to the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services by Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear.
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