Officer Mentoring Preserves Fire Service Heritage

BY DOUG SCHRAGE

MANY FIRE DEPARTMENTS FACE THE CHALLENGE of compensating for the loss of experience, skill, and institutional knowledge when senior members retire. Normally, the older veterans pass on this valuable information to newer firefighters and officers; this is essential in developing future leaders, regardless of whether there is a formal officer development program.

However, abnormally high turnover and substantial departmental growth may interfere with this transfer of knowledge. Losing a large number of experienced members in a short time negatively impacts safety, operational effectiveness, and the passing on of important fire service traditions and values.

(1) The new officer instructs two probationary firefighters on considerations when stretching the first attack line. At the far right, the mentor, a retired captain, is observing. Later, the mentor and officer will discuss the mentor’s observations on the new captain’s direction of the firefighters. (Photos by Paul J. Urbano.)

In the late 1990s, the Anchorage (AK) Fire Department lost 60 of its most experienced personnel, many of them company officers, when they took voluntary unplanned retirements. This represented approximately one-fifth of the department’s membership.

Soon after, the department also expanded to improve fire protection in previously underserved areas, opening two new fire stations, two engine companies, a truck company, and three new mobile intensive care units. The number of personnel increased from about 250 in 2000 to 398 in 2005.

As a result of this combined turnover and growth, the overall number of experienced firefighters declined significantly. More than 80 percent of line personnel had fewer than 10 years of firefighting experience. Ninety percent of company officers had fewer than five years in the position; 60 percent had fewer than 10 years of firefighting experience.

MENTOR PROGRAM

The department addressed this situation by developing a new officer mentoring pilot program that combined informal, supervisory, and formal approaches to officer development. The program was intended to facilitate the transition of new company officers from crew members to crew leaders while bridging the gap in institutional knowledge and compensating for the loss of more experienced members. The mentoring program, if fully implemented, would be part of a three-part approach to company officer development, including advanced firefighter preparation and a nine-week biennial company officer academy.

The mentorship program was designed to

• assist new officers in transitioning from crew members to crew leaders and managers;
• help new officers and their crews appreciate the organization’s history and traditions;
• provide a program for company officer development;
• help new officers develop critical decision-making skills in leadership, supervision, and incident management;
• provide to new officers reassurance and develop their confidence; and
• provide feedback to senior staff regarding training, organizational, and operational needs and concerns.

MATCHING MENTORS AND PROTÉGÉS

The pilot program matched three carefully selected retired officers (mentors) with three newly promoted company officers (protégés). To ensure a successful mentorship, individuals were carefully paired, matching the protégé’s individual characteristics and learning styles with the appropriate mentor.

Mentors were selected from the retired officer corps. A pool of eligible mentors was established based on a review of mentor candidates’ resumes and personal interviews. A good mentor candidate would

• be committed to personal and organizational development;
• exhibit a calm, steady demeanor;
• possess training, coaching, and counseling skills;
• have a positive work history and be in good standing on retirement;
• have good rapport with members of all disciplines within the department;
• continue to associate and be familiar with department members; and
• demonstrate communication abilities.

On his promotion, each prospective company officer would select a mentor from the pool; the officer could consult any or all of them in making the selection. If a candidate did not choose a specific mentor, the battalion chief would assign one from the pool.

Each mentor reported for duty with his protégé on every shift for the first month after that person’s promotion to company officer, a total of 25 shifts for all three mentor/protégé pairs. Each mentor spent up to 12 hours per day guiding, counseling, and serving as a resource to the new officer. Mentors received personal protective equipment and responded on all calls. In addition, mentors received written directions on leadership, supervision, incident management, and decision-making topics with which to guide their charges.

(2) At an old power plant that was converted into a warehouse, the mentor discusses hazards of old buildings, such as the door (center), which used to open to a landing but now presents a hazard if it is used as an escape route.

The new officers and mentors were assigned to busy fire companies in multicompany stations. The higher run volume and station activity provided the new officers maximum on-the-job experience and offered mentors more opportunities to observe and instruct their protégés. Also, assigning mentors to larger stations brought them in contact with other officers and crews, maximizing the mentors’ ability to bridge the generation gap.

During the mentorship, each mentor was required to facilitate specific daily activities with the protégé and his crew, such as daily case scenarios or chalk talks, response area familiarization/tours, and company drills. The daily case scenarios involved diagramming a known building on a white board and reviewing the strategy and tactics for an actual or fictitious fire. For the response area or building tours, the crew would travel to target hazards in the area and review building construction, layout, and features; their effect on fire behavior; and hazards to occupants and firefighters.

In addition, each mentor was to provide the protégé feedback regarding customer contact, corrective actions, critical thinking, and command/composure. For each shift, each protégé recorded this feedback in a journal of benchmarks and activities reviewed for content and compliance with program specifications. Typical journal entries described an activity performed, general observations, and lessons learned. The mentors shared their personal experiences, which were instructive and helped lend perspective to the protégés.

The program required the protégé and mentor to meet to establish the new officer’s personal goals for the mentorship, which they reviewed weekly to gauge progress. Typical goals included “improve scene management,” “learn how to motivate crew members and improve morale,” and “develop skills to resolve conflict and promote a harmonious environment.”

MENTOR DUTIES

Although they were experienced officers, the mentors would serve only as observers in the program to maintain the new company officers’ authority over their crews and protect the mentors from injury or exposure. The mentors had no supervisory authority over the protégés or their crews; they were subject to the control and supervision of their protégé.

(3) The mentor describes a fire he experienced and the lessons learned, asking firefighters, “What would you do if you had this fire today?” Although the mentoring is solely for the new captain (fourth from right), occasionally all company members get involved with classroom and practical drills and benefit as well.

At an incident scene, mentors could not participate directly in any operation, enter any potentially immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH) atmospheres or hot zones, or drive apparatus. They were to remain sufficiently far from all medical patients to avoid exposure and so they would not interfere with the delivery of care. The mentors evaluated performance for instruction purposes only; such information could not be used for any personnel action, including completion of probation.

The protégé or the mentor could terminate the mentorship at any time if both felt they had met the program goals. If either felt it was not going well, the new officer could choose another mentor.

EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Under the program, the mentor was to provide continual feedback to the protégé, and the protégé was encouraged to evaluate himself. Self-evaluation areas included prehospital medicine, documentation/communication, health/safety, emergency response, fireground procedures, supervision, and training. At the end of the program, there was overall improvement in all areas except for training and fireground procedure, which remained unchanged. When asked why their self-evaluation scores for training decreased, two of the protégés explained that prior to their promotion and the mentorship, they didn’t realize how much they didn’t know. The decrease reflected their increased awareness of their inexperience in that area.

Protégés perceived the greatest improvement in documentation/communication. The most significant improvement was in the protégé’s perceived level of preparedness as a result of the mentorship program.

At the end of the program, the protégés all agreed that it was successful in helping them achieve their personal goals. One stated that although he would have met the specified benchmarks and improved without the program, the mentorship accelerated his development.

An exit interview conducted with each mentor/protégé pair elicited the following comments:

• The three mentors remarked that the protégés were so consumed with daily activities that it was difficult to focus on the mentorship.
• All three protégés remarked that some additional form of preparation is necessary for new officers prior to or on achieving acting status.
• Mentors and protégés agreed that retired officers were a better choice for mentors than incumbent company officers. One mentor said that many newer officers lacked the critical thinking skills obtained only from years of experience. A protégé remarked that incumbents have an opportunity to mentor every day. Some do; others don’t or aren’t capable. Another protégé said that he would have felt subordinate to or pressured to yield to an incumbent officer and therefore would be less free to learn on his own.
• The respondents’ reactions were mixed as to whether the program should be mandatory for new officers. All participants said that the experience was positive. Three responded that they couldn’t imagine a candidate saying no to the opportunity; however, if a candidate did so, he wouldn’t have benefited from it anyway. A mentor commented that officers who needed the program most would be least likely to participate voluntarily.
• One mentor noted that the program’s success depends on the qualities of the goals protégés set and their own commitment to personal development. It was also noted that the careful, complementary pairing of mentor and protégé is of paramount importance.
• All protégés said the mentors had a significant positive impact on their crews. The mentors downplayed their impact.
• The highlight for all participants was the chalk talks. Of all of the specified exercises, they had the maximum impact on the protégés and crews.

Recommendations for improving the mentor program included the following:

• The program should be divided and expanded to reflect two preparation and development levels. A mandatory initial orientation should follow the company officer academy and precede official acting status. Orientation should involve basic supervision under incumbent company officers while the new officer is performing routine duties. The mentoring program should remain essentially in its current form as an option for new officers on promotion, using retired officers as mentors.
• Future protégés should be assigned to busy, multicompany stations, but their schedules should be cleared in advance of all superfluous activities such as scheduled classroom training and administrative details, to maximize the time spent interacting with crew and mentor.
• The number of company drills specified in the mentor program should be reduced to one per month, to match the ongoing requirement of all companies.
• The daily journal entries should be mandatory and should include a section for the most important lesson learned that day. Together, the mentors and protégés should have the discretion to modify programmed activities to tailor the program to meet individual needs and make the most of their time together. This should be reinforced in the program orientation meeting.
• The training center should research and provide critical decision-making training to all line personnel.

* * *

After making some or all of these modifications, the mentor program will be implemented permanently. Reliance on retired officers as mentors may diminish in the future as the department closes the current gap in institutional knowledge and experience. At that time, the department may consider applying the program to other ranks, including battalion chief. The inaugural participants’ careers will be monitored to gauge the program’s lasting impact.

DOUG SCHRAGE is the operations chief for the Anchorage (AK) Fire Department and a 26-year veteran of the fire service. He has a master’s degree in fire and emergency management administration from Oklahoma State University, a bachelor’s degree in fire service administration from Western Oregon University, and an associate’s degree in fire service administration from the University of Alaska-Anchorage. He is active in the Alaska fire service and education communities and holds several professional memberships.