Fire Department Succession Planning: Paying It Forward for the Next Generation of Officers

Indianapolis fire captain and firefighters

BY JIM STEVENSON

In the fire service, members might compare themselves to other fire department members. They might even compare their department or union contract to other departments or union contracts. During my 24 years in the fire service, rarely have I heard anyone compare the fire service to corporate America. One thing that major corporations are required to do, per Federal Regulation 17 CFR § 23.603, Part (a), is to have a business continuity and disaster recovery plan in place to enable that business to continue or resume operations by the next business day with minimal disturbance to the market.¹

The fire service is different from the corporate world, which focuses on profits and keeping stockholders happy. In the fire service, we are concerned with keeping our stakeholders (taxpayers) safe and guaranteeing continuity of government and operation readiness. How does this apply to the fire service? Depending on your department’s size, four or five senior officers retiring at the same time could affect the quality of officer leadership for the crews as they “break in” a new officer.

Because of financial constraints for some departments, what can they do to ensure a properly trained person fills the open position without emptying the training budget? Low-cost options are available to assist departments of all sizes.

Like most career fire departments, my department has an informal succession plan for frontline members: the promotional process. It ensures that when one member retires, the next person up for that position is promoted to the open position and so on all the way down to hiring a new firefighter. Whether this process operates according to seniority, testing, or a combination of the two, it fills open positions, but it does not ensure that a properly trained person is filling the open position. That person should have the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to properly perform the position’s duties before promotion.

Succession Concerns Common

Two years ago, I was a member of a fire staff and command executive leadership program. The program of nine week-long classes covered many leadership topics. Each student had to choose a topic pertaining to his department, produce a research paper, and present it in the final week. Mine was on creating a company officer development program. I was surprised by the number of classmates who also presented on their department’s need for such a program. Most presentations stated that their departments considered the state’s Fire Officer I, II, and III courses as both a starting and ending point for officer training. Most of these departments also overlooked the need for a formal succession planning program.

In an initial online search for books on succession planning, I found 45. Expanding the search to include succession management, I found more than 800.

The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) believes that succession management is critical for everyone in the fire service and created a 34-page guide for departments to create their own succession plans; it includes plans from three fire departments to use as a template.

Succession Planning vs. Officer Development

Although similar, a company officer development program differs from a succession plan. An officer development program prepares a senior firefighter to become an initial line officer. It can encompass all officers but is usually limited to the initial line officer position. A succession plan prepares a senior firefighter to become an initial line officer, but it can also prepare a firefighter to become a fire engine operator (FEO), a sergeant to become a lieutenant, and so on, up the chain of command to fire chief. It is not a one-time event or class but an ongoing process starting with a new hire to becoming a fire chief. You should evaluate a succession plan constantly to maximize its effectiveness.

Mentoring and Job Shadowing

Mentoring and job shadowing are the most common methods used in a formal succession plan. In mentoring, a mentor provides a protégé advice, direction, and encouragement. In job shadowing, a member accompanies the person holding a position though a typical day and learns about a position that interests him.

As a senior firefighter, I was mentored by a senior lieutenant who would switch seats with me in the engine. I sat up front in the officer’s seat and the lieutenant sat in the back of the cab; this allowed me to experience the officer role with a “safety net.” As the engine pulled up to a scene, the lieutenant would observe or would direct my actions if needed. If I was doing everything correctly, the lieutenant would act as a crew member, not an officer. After the run was over, on returning to the station, I entered the required reports; he stood by to answer any questions. The lieutenant was there for me on the way to the call, at the call, and after the call. My biggest regret was that I did not pick his brain more on the topic that takes up most of an officer’s time—crew management during downtime at the station.

At my department, we have FEO positions and backup FEOs. A backup FEO drives when a regular FEO is off for the shift. After I became a sergeant, my FEO was a senior firefighter who was close to becoming sergeant. The firefighter assigned to the back of the engine was a backup FEO. Similar to what my previous lieutenant did for me, I moved the backup FEO up front to drive, the FEO rotated to the officer’s position, and I sat in the back of the cab—it was a win for everyone. The backup FEO could ask the experienced FEO if he had any questions; the FEO/senior firefighter had an officer there to help him prepare for his upcoming promotion. I was able to pay it forward as had been done for me by preparing an upcoming officer for a new role while having a “safety net” if needed.

Mentoring can include more than scene management and reports. Based on the position the member is being shown, it can include employee evaluations, writing and responding to e-mails, attending meetings, ordering supplies (station and emergency medical service), budgets, and much more to help the person understand the rationale for decisions.

Mentoring does not depend on your department’s size. Many officers I know switched place with their FEOs when the FEO was a senior firefighter. It gave the officer a chance to relive his driving days while helping a department member prepare for the future. This was all done informally since my department does not have a formal mentoring plan for front line department members.

Strategy and Tactics for Officers

I have taught many Fire Officer I and II classes in Michigan. The one topic students bring up in every class is strategies and tactics. Upcoming officers are the most nervous about commanding their first fire scene. They’ve all been in numerous fires but only viewed the fire scene from their perspective as part of an interior attack, a ventilation, or a rapid intervention team. They have not viewed the fire scene comprehensively.

With mentoring, an upcoming officer can take charge of the fire scene with his mentor nearby to help take some of the pressure off his shoulders as he performs this new role. Postincident analysis can be a useful learning tool for upcoming officers. They can ask questions and pick the minds of other officers to understand the rationale for their fireground decisions. Mentoring allows a person a chance to learn from another’s experience, both good and bad.

Administrative Positions

Job shadowing can be useful to determine if a person wants the position when it becomes available. Based on how your department operates, 40-hour administrative positions could be filled based on qualifications, seniority, testing, or a combination. Many people don’t know what goes on behind the scenes with such jobs; a member may be interested in the position for a variety of reasons. Once brought in for job shadowing, he may realize there is much more involved than first imagined and reconsider pursuing the position. Unlike line positions with which people are familiar and can be mentored, full-time administrative positions require both job shadowing and mentoring. After a person has finished job shadowing for an administrative position and is still interested, then the mentoring can begin.

For administrative positions, I found the biggest skills needed are organization and computer skills. Depending on the position, the mentoring could last from a few weeks to a few months. This position may require certification classes (e.g., inspector, instructor, instructor/coordinator, health safety officer). However, some departments require obtaining these certifications prior to accepting the position; others allow a grace period to obtain the certifications after accepting the position. The National Fire Academy is a low-cost option for some of these classes, offering classes and housing at no cost and travel cost reimbursement.

Our Succession Plan

My department has a formal succession plan. Except for the deputy fire chief position, which is filled according to department seniority, soon-to-be-vacant, 40-hour administrative positions are filled from a list. Every year in early October, the department sends an e-mail to all department members stating that anyone interested in any 40-hour positions who meets the qualifications may submit his name for the list for that position. The cutoff date to submit names is in the middle of November.

In early December, the compiled list for each position is posted in order of seniority. If the person holding that 40-hour position retires during the next year, the most senior member on that position’s list is offered it. If he accepts, he would be brought in for job shadowing and mentoring prior to the current person’s retirement. Once the prospect comes in for job shadowing, he has a three-week window in which he can decide to continue or return to his line position. This allows for an in-depth learning experience to continue the work of that position without disruption.

To take this process to another level, the individual at the top of each position list could be brought in to job shadow for two weeks a year, allowing the list to be modified if a prospect reconsiders wanting the position. Once someone on the list is willing to accept the position when vacant, he could come in twice a year for two weeks at a time, for job shadowing and mentoring, which will allow better continuity if the position suddenly becomes vacant.

Succession Plans Are Needed

A lot of departments do not have a formal succession plan, just the promotional process, and departments differ on how they promote—testing, straight seniority, or a combination. No process is perfect; not everybody is prepared for the promotion and its responsibilities. Today, departments need to create and adopt a succession plan to allow continuity from the probationary new hire all the way up the chain of command to the fire chief. Succession planning is important for the department’s long-term success.

To fit your department’s needs, you can design a formal or informal, a simple or a complex succession plan. Once the plan is in place, the looming threat of multiple or sudden retirements is vanquished. We can help shape and prepare the next generation of officers through a succession plan that allows us to transfer our knowledge and experience to them. Your department can then continue to shine with well-prepared officers.

Reference

1. Business continuity and disaster recovery, 17 CFR § 23.603 17 CFR § 23.603, Part (a) (2022).

JIM STEVENSON is a training coordinator for the Michigan Bureau of Fire Services and an adjunct instructor at the Macomb Community College Fire Academy. He is a 25-year veteran of the fire service, having served with the Warren (MI) Fire Department and retired as the chief of training. He has a bachelor’s degree in public affairs management from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in public administration from Central Michigan University. Stevenson is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University’s School of Fire Staff and Command Executive Leadership Program Class 23.

Succession Planning: Paying It Forward for the Next Generation of Officers