Page 31 - InCommand Volume 36

What do you consider the most challenging issue or issues facing your department today?
• Staffing – the CFD is understaffed by 67 as of this date, with 30 more scheduled to retire
• Fleet – 60 of the heavy fire fleet is out of life cycle which is costing the fire department hundreds of thousands of dollars per month
• Firehouse replacement infrastructure plan – currently the fire department operates out of
26 firehouses, there are at least 5 firehouses in need of being replaced
• Increased diversity, the CFD had roughly 280 (32%) minorities
on the department in the early 1990’s, currently the numbers have dropped to 178 (20.2%). We are aggressively engaging the minority community at an earlier age and are now allowing fire recruit candidates to sign-up for the entry-level examination at age 17 without being a graduate of high school
or being in possession of a valid
driver’s license.
• Educating the membership on the
department’s strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat analysis (SWOT).
What do you consider the most challenging issue facing the U.S. fire service?
Funding, Staffing, Recruitment and Retention of minorities, customer service, data collection, reducing all-hazards and staying current on best practices.
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? I think we will utilize more information technology platforms including artificial intelligence to deliver customer services to the community.
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? The CFD holds a state charter
to educate the rank-in-file in the department. We teach the volunteer, firefighter I-II, fire safety inspector, hazardous material awareness and technician, emergency medical technician basic and paramedic, NFPA 1001 and 1002 curriculum, as well. The members that are paramedic certified by contract received 32 hours of continuing education on overtime in house. All other members receive continuing education for firefighter, fire safety, and emergency medical technician basic receive their of Target Solutions. The Training Center offers in-service training several times a year of a multitude of subject matters.
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? Fire recruits that are hired by the
City of Cincinnati go through an exhaustive process that takes anywhere from 12 to 15 months. We require
no pre-certifications. What we are looking for are people with a servant’s heart because at the end of the day, we, the fire service, are people serving people. We are looking for people
with a good solid working foundation, ethical, intelligent, motivated, in decent physical shape, or ones that
can be molded. We are looking for people who will accept the challenge
of becoming a Cincinnati Firefighter. How do we keep them motivated? Easy, by telling them that every day they wear the uniform, they have hit the lottery, because they were chosen out of many to join such an awesome
fire department, which is steeped in 168 years of traditions. I also recognize them when they perform well.
How would you describe your management style? Along these same lines, what do you consider to be some of the greatest challenges facing a fire chief in the management of a contemporary fire department?
My management style is transformational and collaborative depending on circumstances. I am always pushing my people to do better, and at the same time be better, I see the value in people sometimes long before they see it in themselves. On the other head, I am a collaborator. I do not believe in re-inventing policy or procedures. If someone else has solved a problem in the fire service, I will accept good advice, no matter what size or type of department it is coming from.
Do you have a close working relationship with neighboring fire departments?
We do have some developing relationships with our mutual-aid partners, the CFD is currently building a 20-million-dollar regional fire training center that will allow for some joint training from time-to-time. We are currently signing some first responder agreements on our boarder for a fee that will allow CFD to first respond because of proximity. We also have some long-standing mass casualty policies in place with the Greater Cincinnati Airport (CVG) as well
as the deployment of our Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit (Bomb) unit.
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 • www.ohiofirechiefs.org I n C o m m a n d 31