With the race for president in full swing, we hear the pundits talk about how demographics change, affect, or alter the election of the leader of the free world. Well, what about the fire service? What about our side of it-the volunteer side? If you have been an active volunteer for some time and watched the trends in membership, funding, training, and so on, you know that these trends directly correspond to your local demographics. The departments that have adjusted and changed to keep up with the times have been successful. The others are still in business, but they typically suffer in one or more of the areas mentioned in this article.
As you know, change is stressful; painful; and, many times, difficult to accept. But in many cases, if you do not adjust to the situation around you, pain, stress, and (worst case) failure are the end results. Although we do not or should not change with each poll, bump in the road, or new set of data like most politicians, we have to adjust to trends. It’s all in the demographics!
Responses
Thirty years ago, most fire departments responded to fires, accidents, and the occasional storm cleanup. Today, if your department is involved with emergency medical services (EMS), then you will respond to twice as many EMS calls as you will fires. Today’s fires, although greatly reduced in frequency, are burning much faster, flashing over sooner, and discharging massive amounts of heat and toxic gases that did not exist 30-plus years ago.
Although your number of fires may be down thanks to better building codes, fire alarms, and fire prevention, you now may be asked to respond to all types of general hazard alarms that require a response such as carbon monoxide, down wires, flooding, service calls, and technical rescue alarms. Today, many volunteer fire departments offer some type of technical response such as rope rescue (high- or low-angle), water (swift or rising), hazardous materials, extraction, or trench; the type should depend on your area’s (i.e., demographic) requirements. Although these are all great services we provide, they still cost a lot of time, training, and money.
In any business, time is money. And more time equals more money. So, your additional responses will require additional training classes as well as equipment and personal time to complete these tasks. So, how do demographics affect this? There are only so many hours in the day.
Outside the station doors, we have three types of time that make up our life: home, work, and personal. If one of them is not working, your station life cannot work. So, take all the training needed to fight a fire and operate equipment such as an emergency medical technician, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and so on. How many more personal hours do you have available to give? The answer is a personal one that can change from year to year and even month to month or day to day.
How can a fire department work with its new demographics? What does your community really need? Why would you have a boat or a dive team if you do not protect a body of water? Sure, having a dive team is “cool,” but what is the need? If there are no cliffs or areas where high-angle rescues are possible, why put thousands of dollars into equipment and training? Sure, you must be prepared for the odd case, but is there a countywide team you can call for that rare response to a small pond or rooftop that your department does not handle?
To determine your needs, look at your community, its location, its needs, and its geographics. Every service your department provides has a cost, and that cost is paid for by the taxpayers. Therefore, you need to spend their tax money responsibly. If you don’t or will not need a service, don’t do it. Although it might be fun to be or have a “(fill in the blank) rescue team,” is it needed? Conduct a study of your response area, including the hazards (i.e., water, cliffs, hazardous materials), the expected frequency or chance of a type of response, and the support of the surrounding area. For support, if your county has a full hazmat team, do you need a team in your station? Think of the costs to the taxpayers for the team; they will be paying twice as much.
Do not do, supply, or offer more than your community needs or your staffing can support. In many locations, more money can be gathered for a service, but the additional staffing and available hours are more difficult to supply.
Stations
When I started in the volunteer fire service, many, if not most, of the stations I knew about belonged to older departments, and the fire company’s membership owned the station and the grounds and the district (taxpayers) owned the equipment (apparatus and gear). Many companies charged the district rent to house the equipment; this covered the day-to-day costs of the station and would help cover some capital projects.
Thirty years later, the “rent” many departments receive is just enough to cover the electricity, heat, and snow plowing (if you are in the Northeast) bills for the year. Very little is left over for capital projects such as new roofs and building renovations. What happens next? The department must either borrow money in large sums or many little projects are completed to keep the building standing and somewhat operational. Departments can fix the immediate need but not the long-term problem.
With new changes in the tax laws, companies could be required to track the money given to them from the taxpayer with audits. Do you want your company’s records reviewed?
Also, companies are forced to do fund-raisers to keep the lights on and the doors open. As a result, members spend hours on a boot drive, during breakfast and dinner, or some other event and the funds are not used on the membership but for a building. As times have changed and the economy remains poor, the amount of money a department raises will not cover one of the monthly bills. There is also the added workload placed on a volunteer force pushed to do more training with less available time.
What needs acceptance is district (taxpayer)-owned buildings. Now, some of you will say, “I don’t want to be controlled,” “We will lose our freedom,” or “We won’t be able to do what we want.” So, what are you losing? In far too many cases, it is a “bar” area. In years past, the firehouse was one of the main social hubs of the community. It was where people socialized, talked business, had family time, and got information. In many cases, it was the Friday or Saturday night out. Today, in most areas, the days of the firehouse being the community’s social centerpiece are long gone. Between the increased call volume, training requirements, the many methods of communication, our busy family lives, commuting to work out of town, and the change in the drinking age, things have changed. In most communities, the residents (taxpayers) want and expect a professional fire department-i.e., a level of knowledge and service not related to money issues. That is where we are and need to be.
The majority of district-owned stations and departments hold social events such as parties for Christmas and New Year’s, inductions, and summer picnics to bring the membership and their families together. Also, many have a monthly social night on a Friday or Saturday to celebrate what we are, why we are there, and each other. One of the most enjoyable events that I attend is my department’s annual softball game. The president and chief choose teams, and we play under the lights at a local field. Afterward, we have a cookout with refreshments at the station. Imagine if the money raised from fund-raisers went to support the members and not pay the electric bill. And, even more important, imagine no longer being potentially liable for people, members and nonmembers, consuming alcohol on the grounds? If there were ever such an issue, both the company and district would be paying.
Owning property that is open for use by the public opens up your organization to many liabilities. Every crack in the sidewalk, every pothole, any staircase, or any water on the floor is the opportunity for someone to fall and file a lawsuit. Although we have insurance, it is more limited, with less separation than a taxpayer-owned and -protected building. For example, one company was sued from a slip/trip by someone who was just looking to make money. Her case was weak, so she was offered a settlement, and the case was closed. Most likely, the department’s yearly insurance premiums went up because of this lawsuit.
This department was fortunate; if it was a “real” case, would there have been enough insurance to cover the costs? Would the company’s leadership be noted in the suit? What if the company had to pay more than the insurance covered? The lesson learned is to remove that problem before it starts.
Training
About 30 years ago, to join a volunteer department, you filled out a one-page application; you were voted in; you were given a helmet, a coat, and three-quarter boots; and you received a quick talk about the truck on which you would ride (not the first-due). The on-the-job training started at the next drill night. When the first class was offered, you showed up, and the formal training took place. The senior members were the officers and the chief. They had many years of experience and learned their craft hands-on. Sure, there were changes in the fire service then as well; bunker gear was becoming commonplace, self-contained breathing apparatus was now on every riding seat, and the cabs were becoming enclosed with heat and air-conditioning.
In today’s volunteer fire departments, the application now includes a criminal background check, and you must get voted in following a full physical and minimal training prior to stepping onto any truck. Then, you need more than 100 hours of basic training to be allowed to go interior for the first time.
Now, our training is much more advanced, with a greater need and emphasis placed on book studies. Buildings are now made of lighter weight materials (trusses are no longer new), and the structures are tighter and flash over sooner because of the British thermal unit loading and heat release rates of our solid gasoline furnishings. We also have to spend more time and money training on thermal imaging camera (TIC) use, hazmat, and technical rescue (rope, water, trench, and so on).
Thirty years ago, many departments did not have a training line item in their yearly budgets. Money was pulled from some item to pick up some equipment, books, or maybe a class. Then, along came the VHS tape, and training budgets boomed. You could purchase a VHS tape (now a DVD) on just about any topic. By doing so, you had an expert in your own station offering insight on any topic on which you wanted to train.
Training conferences have also grown into large shows with instructors teaching classroom and hands-on and testing on everything related to firefighting. With these conferences come travel and housing expenses.
In the recent past, there was a call to look into the spending on travel and cost of these conferences. Many taxpayers questioned how their money was being spent. Some departments got into hot water regarding what they were funding and their lack of accountability.
In short, do the right thing with your taxpayer-supplied money. If you do the right thing, there will be no issues. Know your rules and laws. To ensure that your members are doing the right thing, require them to attend a specific number of training classes (one or two per day), and have the attendance certifications submitted once they return. An additional step could be a trip report with a short write-up on each training class they took and what they can offer the department with their new knowledge.
To allow for more training, things will have to change, and soon. You cannot expect your volunteers to take increased time away from their families or time off from their paying jobs or, worse, leave without pay to train for the local fire department.
Most households today have both parents working just to pay the bills. So, time off, whether for a family vacation, sick time, and so on, can no longer be used toward the local volunteer fire department. Very few of a dwindling number of employers are offering or allowing paid time off for fire calls, let alone for training or fire prevention. Although this is a sad fact, most businesses do not care about a volunteer service of any kind, nor do they have the financial ability to fund it. If they cannot afford to fund more training, how can they afford a paid department? It is time for many departments to look at how they fund members’ training.
In the June 2007 issue of Fire Engineering, I wrote the article, “Paid Two-Week Training Spurs Retention and Recruitment,” on how our training could follow some of the ideas of the National Guard. If we do not adjust to, adapt to, or change with the times, we will fall behind. We have changed for the better in many ways, but when was the last time you used three-quarter boots and rode the back step? If the communities, states, and federal government do not support the volunteer fire service in the ways needed, many locations will be forced to create paid departments at huge taxpayer expense and with the possibility of fewer members on some crews. The cost increases will be vast, and they will only increase with time. By paying more for training now and going forward, greater amounts of money can be saved in the future.
Recruitment and Retention
People are not kicking down the doors of volunteer stations to get in. Why? We offer no pay and little benefits, hours are horrible, and you can get injured or killed every time the pager goes off. However, in return, you can be a part of something bigger than you, help your neighbors in their greatest time of need, and experience that adrenaline rush going to an alarm. That is the mantra of the local volunteer fire department.
Over the past 25 years, many states have enacted plans to help with volunteer member recruitment and retention. These come in the form of tax breaks (that are typically way too low to really help-about $150 per year), retirement programs [Length of Service Award Programs (LOSAPs)], paid on call, and daycare. Although all offer some type of “give back” for the hours and years of service, none have pulled in many new members; they have been more of a reward for past service.
For example, the state of New York’s LOSAP rewards volunteer firefighters with retirement benefits after their years of service to their communities. The 30-year program contributes $20 per month for each year of service, adding up to $600 a month to the member after his retirement. Although most of us cannot retire on $600 a month, it does offer a nice supplement to your overall retirement equation. However, I do not know of one member who joined or stayed solely based on this program. More importantly, it does not help our youngest and newest members with the high cost of living that chases them away from their communities. Many don’t return home or stay very long after college because of a lack of good paying jobs and high student loans.
The idea of a paid-on-call program could make a difference. For example, for a family in which both parents work-one full-time and one part-time-paid-on-call could eliminate the need for the part-time job. And, to the recent college grad living at home, a fill-in job would be a good temporary starter until he finds a career. Perhaps the extra income will keep him on the job or around the town longer because he can now afford a local apartment. These are small costs compared to the alternative. All these ideas have merit and cost additional taxpayer funds, but they are much cheaper than funding a paid department.
Public Perception and Scrutiny
Social media is here to stay. Pictures and videos from phones are being taken at every response and alarm, and if there is one mistake, a bad call, or a response turns into “one of those calls,” it will be all over social media within hours.
How many times have you heard someone around the station, while he watches a video of another department’s alarm, say, “They screwed up,” “We could have saved it,” “I could have made that room,” or “I would do better”? Although these videos are a great training aid, offering ideas of different ways of doing things or sometimes showing what not to do, you cannot rush to judgment based on a short video or bad word-of-mouth on a department. Remember, you were not there! And, most likely, you will have one of “those” alarms during your career. Would you enjoy anonymous viewers openly bad-mouthing you and your department on the Web for everyone to read?
In the past year, my department was involved in an accident when our engine hit black ice during a response. Fortunately, the six members on board received only minor injuries, but the engine was totaled. On social media, we received many well wishes from all over. Some were from close friends, and others were from strangers. I also received a message from a “professional driver” in Florida about how “untrained and unprepared” we were for this type of weather. In reality, black ice or freezing rain was not in the forecast; we had a senior driver who was well-trained and experienced, and we were responding with due care. We were as ready as we could be. I reminded the guys in the jump seat to belt up. So, these negative comments came from someone who lives and drives in a place that does not get icy roads.
Be careful of what you post, comment, or believe on social media. Unless you were there, you do not know the full story. In the end, you will either look like a fool, be called out, or both; it is not a party or a “happy” event. You should post only the great things that you do for your community and the positive camaraderie of your membership.
Drones at alarms are one of the fire service’s newest social media issues. Drones are usually privately owned, taking images and videos that are then placed on the Internet without department or local press scrutiny. Regardless of your political leanings, the press does indeed shield us from images of accidents for the protection of the families involved; this does not happen with drones. And, many do not follow the Federal Aviation Administration’s rules or general guidance of any emergency scene.
So what do we do? Be smart regarding what you post on social media. In most cases, you don’t know all the facts. While on the scene, be careful of what you might say and the language you use. The excitement and stress can get the best of us at any time. However, there is no “redo” with a video.
Also, make sure you and those around you follow your social media standard operating procedures; it is now normal to have lawyers request (subpoena) all pictures and videos from alarms from fire department members for a potential case. Although the department most likely is not being sued, you are now part of the litigation at levels never before seen.
The new demographics show a large percentage of our communities are looking for and receiving information on the Internet, so you are being watched. Be careful, but also learn how to use it to your advantage, such as selling your department by creating a department Web site and placing the URL on your signs and apparatus, and keep your site up to date. Show the alarms to which you have responded and the services you offer. By doing this, you are now reaching your community and how they communicate. Your department could gain much-needed support for a future purchase or service change, or you could even attract a few new members.
These are just a few topics that show how demographics have changed over the past years and how we need to adjust to those changes. Departments that have adjusted have prospered and grown stronger. Bunker gear, TICs, and not riding on back step are just a few firematic changes that have taken hold in departments and have improved overall safety. Many other firematic changes have been forced by code, science, or intelligent thought.
Should we embrace the other changes our demographics have created? Should the other areas of our department start to do the same? If we do not or are not willing to work, adjust, or change with the times (not just change for the “latest thing”), we will fall behind and not be able to support our communities and, in the worst case, we will be replaced. Pay attention to your local demographics, and make sure you understand where they stand and where they are heading.
References
“Climbing the Ladder: Officer to Chief.” Fire Engineering. September 2011.
“Paid Two-Week Training Spurs Retention and Recruitment.” Fire Engineering. June 2007.
TIMOTHY PILLSWORTH is a member of the Washingtonville (NY) Fire Department. He is a past chief and life member of the Winona Lake Engine Company, Orange Lake Fire District, in Newburgh, New York. He has presented at FDIC on engine company operations and leadership and has author/co-authored many articles on personal protective equipment (PPE), volunteerism, engine company operations, and attack system flow testing. Pillsworth is the author of the PPE chapter in Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and II. He is a project engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.
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