Being the Senior Firefighter

Indianapolis firefighter climbing a ladder while fire burns through a roof
An Indianapolis (IN) firefighter climbs a ladder during a fire response in July 2024. Photo: IFD PIO

In the world of fire service training, many training sessions are conducted for officer leadership and management. The goal is to develop officers or future officers into good leaders and excellent managers and for these members to be more effective in their positions.

Although this training is very worthwhile and value-added for the individual, there is a need to also consider those individuals who do not want to become officers and are content with just being a firefighter. Every fire department will have senior firefighters working for them and with them, along with junior firefighters and recruit firefighters.

The “senior man” or “firefighter” is sometimes overlooked in the leadership or management training initiatives, but the contribution of these members to the fire service is invaluable. This column will examine what senior firefighters must be and do to be an effective leader within their own department and crew.

Leaders and Managers

We have used two terms so far: leadership and management. The senior firefighter is going to be a leader rather than a manager. The company officer will be the manager and leader, with much of the support coming from the senior firefighter as that effective leader.

A leader is involved in developing personnel, is focused on the direction of personnel, and leads personnel in their actions. A manager, on the other hand, is concerned with managing personnel to be more efficient in an operation in conjunction with policies or directives.

Additional Traits

One of the traits that the senior firefighter must exhibit is leading by example. The expression, “Do as I say, not as I do,” speaks volumes about an ineffective leader. An effective leader will show by their actions what is expected to be adhered to, what is to be followed, and what is to be done, as other firefighters are witnessing the actions of the example. When there are no actions exemplified, there is no leadership, only empty words being spoken to a crew that will not listen at all.

The senior firefighter should be the “go-to guy” for the crew. Any questions or concerns that a crew member or the entire crew has should go through the senior firefighter first. These members are a buffer between the company officer and the crew. The go-to guy will assist the other firefighters with learning how to do things, knowing where things go, and explaining why certain things are done in the manner they are done.

Skills and Education

Additionally, senior firefighters must be competent in their job. Before they can show others how to do the job, they need to know what they are doing themselves. Their competency will come from training, on-the-job experience, and a desire to learn for their own benefit. When watched by other fellow crew members, their competency will be evident—or not.

Senior firefighters never stop learning. Due to their status in the station or with the crew, they can be instrumental in the training world. They can assist with organizing the training based on the crew’s needs and alleviate tasks from the company officer. They can also lead the training or assist the junior firefighter in leading the training. Working alongside a junior firefighter will assist with the development of these members’ confidence, skill level, and crew involvement as they develop into senior firefighters. The senior firefighters also need to learn themselves, and that should include attending external conferences, training sessions, or events, and reading periodicals on the web or in hard copy. Their education is not complete until they retire—and they hold that view themselves.

Respect, Elevating Others, and Tradition

Senior firefighters need to show respect for rank. This includes the company officer, chief officers, external stakeholders, and any member of the public. Their actions will demonstrate the importance of showing respect for rank, regardless of who holds that rank. Disagreements with other officers are allowed, but the senior firefighter will deal with their disagreements privately instead of publicly in front of the other crew members.

The senior firefighter will also elevate others—this is accomplished by being humble. One leadership style, servant leadership, sees the leader as serving the interests of the subordinates and ensures that they have what they need to succeed. One area that the senior firefighter will assist with is elevating other firefighters to become senior firefighters. They may get a transfer to another station or crew and can be the senior firefighter there. Another way is to let other firefighters have first access to opportunities. Even though they have the “seniority” to pull rank over the junior firefighters and take these opportunities themselves, it may be best to allow the other junior firefighters the chance to participate in something that will develop them.

Lastly, the senior firefighter needs to uphold tradition. As the senior people on the crew or in the station, these members will know what traditions are important to uphold and continue with. They will be able to explain why it is important to remember and practice based on their historical significance to the department, the station, or to them personally. They will also do this to pass on the torch to the next group of senior firefighters.

Every crew and fire department need a senior firefighter in their midst. These individuals’ contributions to the development of personnel are vital in supporting the department’s needs and the company officer’s management, and ultimately contribute to completing the mission.

Mark van der Feyst has been in the fire service since 1999 and is a firefighter with the Fort Gratiot (MI) Fire Department. He is an international instructor teaching in Canada, the United States, and India, and at FDIC. He is also the lead author of Residential Fire Rescue (Fire Engineering Books & Video). He can be contacted at Mark@FireStarTraining.com.

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