BY WILLIAM C. RIVENBARK, Ph.D., AND GEORGE H. McCALL
The National Fire Academy (NFA) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) have both made it clear that higher education is an important ingredient in the career advancement of fire personnel and that higher education is critical to managing the complexities of the fire service. The NFA strongly supports professional development programs that encourage both associate and baccalaureate degrees.1 The fundamental issue is to raise the organizational capacity of fire departments. In other words, fire personnel must possess the necessary skills to function in a changing environment.
The South Carolina State Firemen’s Association (SCSFA) is actively supporting higher education in the state. As part of this effort, the SCSFA initiated a survey to determine the current attitude among South Carolina fire chiefs toward higher education and to determine what incentives fire departments offer members to pursue higher education. This article presents the survey results and discusses how the SCSFA is encouraging higher education with the assistance of local technical colleges and scholarships.
FIRE SERVICE EDUCATION IN SOUTH CAROLINA
Criminal justice programs have existed for more than 25 years in South Carolina, providing professional development in higher education for law enforcement personnel. However, this has not traditionally been the case for fire service personnel. The SCSFA created the Higher Education Committee (HEC) in the early 1990s to address this problem. The committee developed a consortium between South Carolina technical colleges, the University of Memphis in Tennessee, and the NFA program that offers degrees through distance delivery.
Individuals interested in higher education and the fire service can now obtain an associate’s degree in business from South Carolina technical colleges, majoring in management with core classes in fire administration. All the participating community colleges have articulation agreements with the University of Memphis to obtain a baccalaureate in fire administration or fire prevention technology. The first classes under this new arrangement were offered in January 1995.
In 1996, the SCSFA sanctioned the HEC to survey the attitudes among South Carolina chiefs toward higher education and to determine if incentives were in place to encourage fire personnel to take advantage of the new consortium. The HEC believed that, regardless of incentives, without the support of fire chiefs, fire personnel would not pursue higher education if it would not increase the probability of advancement.2
SURVEY OF FIRE CHIEFS
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The HEC conducted the survey under the auspices of the SCSFA in May 1997, distributing 54 surveys to South Carolina chiefs of departments with 20 or more career firefighters. From this number, 48 surveys were completed and returned, a response rate of 89 percent. Table 1 presents the demographics of the respondents.
Based on survey responses, the average South Carolina chief is white, male, age 45 or older, and possesses at least 21 years of experience. In addition, the average level of education is a high school degree. The survey revealed, however, that eight respondents have college degrees and one respondent has a master’s degree.
For a given set of work factors, the chiefs were asked to indicate how they perceived the work of college-educated employees compared with that of employees without a higher education. There were 38 responses to these questions, since not all chiefs supervise college-educated employees.
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Regarding work factors such as reliability, motivation, work attitude, and performance during emergency response, the majority of respondents reported no difference between college-educated employees and employees without higher education (see Table 2). The majority of respondents did, however, report that college-educated employees were better or much better in the areas of communication skills, problem solving, creativity, and quality of work. Approximately 68 percent of the respondents also reported that college-educated employees were stronger candidates for promotion when compared with employees without higher education.
The chiefs were then asked to respond to a series of questions regarding the departmental incentives available for pursuing higher education. Table 3 shows the four incentive options contained in the survey and the percentage of departments offering each. Forty-seven chiefs responded to the questions, and many of the departments offer a combination of incentives.
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As shown in Table 3, fire departments in South Carolina offer several incentives to pursue higher education. Although the survey did not contain a specific question asking if the chiefs supported these incentives, the number of departments that reported multiple options is an indication of support.
The results of the responses were very revealing. A clear distinction emerged between work factors that can be enhanced while on the job and work factors that tend to correlate with higher education. For example, chiefs found no difference between employees during emergency response, but they noted a difference in communication skills. Although these differences are not critical for basic firefighters, they are major for individuals seeking advancement in fire service administration.
The importance placed on higher education in making promotional decisions indicates support for the pursuit of higher education. Again, approximately 68 percent of the chiefs reported that college-educated employees were stronger candidates for promotion.
The HEC concluded from the survey results that South Carolina chiefs support higher education but that additional incentives were needed to encourage the pursuit of higher education in the fire service. The SCSFA already supported its membership by providing nine $500 scholarships annually. After the report was released, and with the support of the HEC, the SCSFA increased the number of scholarships to 14 and increased the scholarship amount to $1,000. The SCSFA also committed to a long-term goal of 20 annual scholarships.
HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE FUTURE
No longer confined to strictly fire suppression duties, fire departments must respond to incidents such as those involving hazardous materials and terrorism and play a greater role in fire prevention through plans review, fire inspections, educational programs, and code enforcement. These and other changes associated with fire and emergency services have necessarily increased the importance of higher education. This is nothing new for career fire officials, understanding that professionalism and education are more critical today than ever before.3
The SCSFA is committed not only to higher education but to the support required to integrate higher education into the fire departments of South Carolina. The pursuit of higher education among career fire personnel provides two major advantages for the fire service. First, it increases the organizational capacity of fire departments to handle the complex issues currently facing the fire and emergency services. Second, it is an excellent way for fire personnel to obtain the skills and knowledge outlined by NFPA 1021, Standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications-1997, for career advancement.4
The demand for higher education will eventually reach all fire departments, but left to its current absent state, it will take years. The SCSFA took the leadership role to accelerate the demand for higher education in the interest of the people of South Carolina. Other statewide associations representing fire chiefs, fire marshals, fire instructors, and firefighters have taken similar positions or actions in support of higher education.
We urge more fire and emergency service organizations to be active in this effort. To those in state fire association leadership positions, we implore you to be catalysts for change in higher education by leading and assisting your membership.
For copies of the study, contact the SCSFA at P.O. Box 67, Simpsonville, SC 29681.
Endnotes
- Kaplan, Edward J. “National Fire Academy Issues Higher Education Challenge.” Fire Engineering, March 1994, 120-122.
- This article is based on the following report: South Carolina Fire Chiefs’ Perceptions of Higher Education for Firefighters 1997, South Carolina State Firemen’s Association, 1997.
- Scott, David. “Leadership 101.” NFPA Journal, May/June 1996, 93-95.
- National Fire Protection Association. NFPA 1021, Standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications-1997, 1021-1-1021-18.
WILLIAM C. RIVENBARK, Ph.D., is a faculty member with the Institute of Government at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He is the director of the North Carolina Local Government Performance Measurement Project, specializing in local government administration. He served in several management positions with the city of Greenville, South Carolina, prior to joining the Institute of Government.
GEORGE H. McCALL is fire marshal with the Wade Hampton Fire Department in Greenville, South Carolina. He has a master of public administration degree from the University of South Carolina and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Clemson University. He is a member of the Institution of Fire Engineers and the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. He formerly served as chair of the Higher Education Committee for the South Carolina State Firemen’s Association.
