TRANSITION TO A COMBINATION DEPARTMENT
VOLUNTEERS CORNER
In rapidly growing communities, one of the biggest decisions is whether to add career personnel to the fire department. This transition to a combination fire department is a major change and requires detailed planning, cooperation, communication, and strong leadership. If there is concern about the ability of the volunteer fire service to provide adequate protection and alternate delivery systems are inevitable, departments are best advised to prepare for the change. While there is no easy road a chief can follow to guarantee a smooth transition, there are steps you can take to pave the way.
Sometimes problems can be addressed without major changes in operation, but in other cases the only choice is to add staffing. Community and fire department leaders must understand the basic concept of a combination department and how to integrate career personnel into a traditional volunteer system. Decision makers must know the advantages and disadvantages, the potential problems, and the benefits. The community and fire department must understand and support the concept (even though some individuals may be opposed to the idea).
REASONS TO SWITCH
Approximately 25 percent of the fire departments in the United States are some type of combination department. There are many advantages to a combination fire department. According to Managing Fire Services, edited by John L. Bryan and Raymond C. Picard (ICMA, 1979), “…combination fire departments provide generally equivalent fire protection services at a lower cost than fully paid departments.” They also can provide a quick response with a large labor pool.
A community may want to supplement its volunteer fire department after what it considers an inadequate response by its volunteers. For example, it may find that daytime responses are inadequate, since most volunteers are away at their full-time jobs. Or it may opt for a combination department in response to public pressure to improve services or demands for increased service levels, particularly for EMS, hazardous materials, and fire prevention.
MAKE CHANGES GRADUALLY
Keep in mind that each community and department has its own culture, resources, employees, history, and leadership. When making the transition, think through changes in advance and design them to address the problems identified. For example, if daytime response is a problem, schedule career personnel during the day.
Departments can view the change as an opportunity to deviate frorrv long-standing fire service traditions and adapt to the changing responsibilities of a fire department. Job descriptions for career personnel need not be limited to just “firefighting.” Hire personnel with the understanding thar they will have additional responsibilities—inspection, public fire education, and plan review, to name a few.
When establishing a work plan, make the transition a gradual one. Take into consideration existing personnel and service levels. Be loyal to the volunteers to gain their cooperation. Any plan will need political and marketing strategies: You must sell the idea of change to politicians, appointed officials, community leaders, citizens at large, and individual volunteer firefighters.
DEVELOPING QUALITY PERSONNEL
Probably the most important task is selecting the proper people. For career positions, select from the volunteer ranks. This shows confidence in existing volunteer personnel and gains their support. When selecting personnel, do more than consider potential firefighting skills. Communication skills, personality, and the ability to get along with others also are important qualities to look for. Then direct your efforts toward personnel development.
Support your people with specialized, quality training. Career firefighters have more opportunities to attend various programs; volunteers often cannot spare the time from their full-time employment. Career firefighters will benefit from attendance at the National Fire Academy, conferences, workshops, and seminars. Establish standards and challenge the career firefighters to meet them. This will indirectly train your volunteer firefighters: Career firefighters can share what they have learned, and your volunteers will be motivated to improve their levels of training to keep up.
TRANSITION TO A COMBINATION DEPARTMENT
Since the department is deviating from tradition, this is an excellent opportunity to improve its professionalism. In addition to required firefighting training, encourage your personnel to seek higher education.
COMMUNICATING HONESTLY
Be honest with the career firefighters. Don’t lead them to believe that there will be mass hirings and unlimited promotion opportunities. Don’t promise them what you can’t deliver. Tell them the plan —that they will be part of a small core of firefighters who will provide services to the community. Make sure they understand the need for volunteers and their role in supporting the combination fire department.
As is their right in many states, the career firefighters will be interested in organizing a labor union. This creates and solves many problems. On one hand, a labor agreement is a negotiated settlement that allows both employee and employer input to solve problems; issues are addressed and policies established. On the other hand, unions can create divisions within the department and an “us vs., them” atmosphere. Also, union bylaws may contradict fire department goals. If firefighters do organize a labor union, create an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual trust, not confrontation.
Communicate with existing volunteers. Use all available channels to” reach the “official” and “unofficial” leaders of the department. Talk to all affected people and answer as many questions as possible. Don’t be afraid to use an unofficial channel of communication—the rumor mill —to get the true picture. Convince all personnel that the department can provide for everyone’s needs and that both groups can coexist.
TRANSITION TO A COMBINATION DEPARTMENT
SOLVING INEVITABLE CONFLICTS
Some problems that arise during the transition include scheduling of career personnel and leave days; compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act; station, apparatus, and equipment maintenance; uniforms; and training standards. Solutions depend on the department’s culture and the type of combination department it is. Expect such problems and consult other combination departments to learn from their successes and failures.
Regardless of your best efforts, conflicts between groups are inevitable. One area that creates the most controversy with no clear-cut answers involves chain of command and “who’s in charge” issues. Career firefighters often resist taking orders or receiving direction from part-time personnel. They cite training levels and years of experience as reasons. The argument is not valid in the beginning, since new hires come from the volunteer ranks. However, as time passes, career firefighters have more opportunities to gain experience and to attend training programs.
The best way to address this problem is to accept the chain of command as a constantly evolving matter of policy that considers the training and experience of the individuals. In addition, establish standards for both career and volunteer officers. Personnel can better accept orders from people whom they feel have received proper and sufficient training and have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession. In many cases the people who demonstrate that they deserve such authority will receive it. Regardless of the formal chain of command, personnel will seek direction from those that they respect most.
Some organizations prefer to isolate career and volunteer firefighters as a solution. This certainly prevents much conflict and allows independence of both groups, but it also may stifle the organization’s growth: Separation severely limits communication between career and volunteer personnel, and communication is essential to problem solving.
WORKING AS A TEAM
The fire service depends on teamwork. If both groups are to operate together on emergencies, they should work and train together during times of less pressure and stress. Career and volunteer firefighters can develop a healthy respect for each other and learn to work out their differences. While individual goals may vary, the purpose of the organization is to provide the best possible service with the resources available. This requires all personnel to work together as a team. All must be convinced that it is their responsibility to make the system function at its highest level. Those that choose not to cooperate have no place in the department, whether career or volunteer. Don’t let a few disrupt the whole.
There is no singular method to introduce change. Self-imposed change is easier to accept than forced change, and the stronger the force, the greater the resistance. In turbulent environments, there is a greater need for support. If your organization is investigating the possibility of changing from a volunteer to a combination fire department, be prepared. You must have a plan. As part of the plan, begin with basic communication and try to eliminate all surprises. Use the concepts of team building and consensus management. Hopefully all involved parties will recognize the need for transition and offer their support, cooperation, and assistance to make the transition to a combination department a smooth one.
