Page 25 - InCommand Volume 30

What do you consider the most challenging issue or issues facing your department today?
The most challenging issue facing
my department today remains the same as it was when I was hired 23 years
ago: staffing. Because of the nature of serving a “university town,” the census
of the community we support changes drastically throughout the year. From August – May, our run volumes are high, as the university is in session for the academic year, and we support 29,000 students who become “residents” of our city. But during the roughly 3-month summer, as the university’s students return home, faculty and staff take vacations, and businesses reduce hours, our run volumes reduce drastically. Justifying higher staffing levels, when you consider the summertime, has been practically impossible.
If you could look into a crystal ball and see 5 or 10 years into the future, what do you think the fire service of the future will look like?
In the next five to ten years, I expect that will remain largely the same, with firefighters putting water on the fire, using rope and hydraulics to help people out of scary situations, and supporting members of their communities as they are having the worst day of their lives. But, I am hopeful that we will see an increased focus on firefighter health, primarily in the category of Cancer Prevention. I look for Clean Cab technology to become standard on new apparatus purchases, that decontamination of apparatus interior will have financial support
from multiple aspects so that cleaners
are developed along with methods of decontamination for older apparatus.
I also hope that firefighter health monitoring will become enculturated and a regular part of everyday activities for all departments instead of the “that thing
we should have done” after the fire. I’m optimistic that research laboratories will become engaged partners and involved
in most, if not all, training fires, and that doctors will be coming into the stations for health screenings instead of firefighters remembering to schedule appointments on their off days.
To what extent do you think
that training, specifically a good continuing education program within a department, affects quality service delivery? Can you tell us a little about the structure and requirements of your department’s training program?
A well organized and managed
training program sets an attitude of professionalism throughout the ranks. This is not limited to picking classes and scheduling dates, it really needs to begin with a comprehensive needs assessment, and then selection of training that improves performance in the areas of greatest need. Leaders should recognize that the extra care to match instructors,
as well as content, to the specific needs
of the department will always enhance
the training experiences for their ranks. When it comes to my department,
most techniques being taught can be “Athenized” to meet our needs, and instructors who recognize our need to do this are always welcomed partners. While we wish we had the staffing to execute techniques “by the books,” we do not.
So, until we do, we make the needed adjustments, carefully watch ourselves, watch out for our brothers and sisters, and train until we can’t get it wrong.
Hiring good people is only half the battle. Specifically, what do you look for in hiring a new recruit, and once hired, how do you motivate your firefighters to perform effectively on a consistent basis?
In today’s marketplace we look for candidates who are not only bright and committed, but also willing to consider moving to Athens. We are just far enough away that our community may not seem as appealing as bigger cities. I would
argue, though, that Athens has to be
the best place to live, if only candidates are willing to consider us. Once tested,
we are looking for the same as other departments. We want people who are excited to get into the fire service, willing and able to do the job, and understand that we are one of the few full-time departments left that do not do EMS. We work closely with Athens County EMS, and they do a great job!
Staffing has always been an issue of contention within the fire service. Specifically, NFPA 1710 has raised just as many issues as it has attempted
to address. What are your views on minimum staffing requirements, resource deployment standards, and a “one size fits all” approach?
One size never fits all. For this to
work in practice, every town would
have to be identical to every other town, and we know that is not true. For my department, in addition to our residential community, we serve a large university with all kinds of laboratories, dormitories, and other buildings with multiple stories. Our neighboring departments likely do not have farm houses over two stories, while other areas support airports and power plants. Fire department staffing needs to be as unique as the communities we serve. In Athens, we function at the minimum of minimum staffing levels. We do our best to make it work. Our predecessors provided an extremely strong foundation to work from and
we continue to refine our response approached under our specific constraints every day. The unfortunate bottom line is that regardless of all the data, all the articles outlining need, NFPA 1710, and requests for more funding, we are at the mercy of budgets and the perception
of need by our stakeholders. Until they vociferously demand a bigger department, our staffing will not increase.
APRIL/MAY/JUNE 2020 • www.ohiofirechiefs.org I n C o m m a n d 25