Toolkit Aims to Boost IN Firefighter Recruitment and Retention

Firefighter putting on face piece

By Lauren Casey Bemis

When Hoosiers call 9-1-1 in an emergency, they expect a first responder to show up at their door and likely assume that person is being paid for their time. But what many people do not realize is that in the state of Indiana, 80 percent of the fire departments are staffed by volunteers. These are community members who are unpaid, showing up to help their neighbors when they need it most, and they are getting harder to find.

In today’s busy world, the volunteer pool in many rural communities is shrinking, which poses a great concern to public safety in all corners of the state.

“With technology at our fingertips, we’re always on the move. This shift impacts our daily routines and can reduce our chances to volunteer in our communities.” says Megan Thiele, FEMA Safer Grant Coordinator for the Indiana Fire Chiefs Association. “That changes our lives and the structure of our daily lives and may take away from the opportunity to volunteer in our community.”

Thanks to a FEMA Safer Grant, Indiana departments have a new tool to overcome volunteer recruitment and retention obstacles.

The Indiana Fire Chiefs Association (IFCA) joined with the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) to tackle this issue head-on.

This fall, IFCA and IAFC launched a new GIS toolkit to collect information and demographics from current firefighters. It stores the information in an accessible database so that chiefs and personnel can utilize the data in their communities to create successful recruitment strategies. They can also share what kinds of recruitment and marketing tactics have been successful in their communities and any department across the state can access that helpful information and use it in their own recruitment strategies.

“It’s important to have this toolkit so that we can see in real time who is volunteering, what we can do to volunteer, what strategies have worked, or maybe not worked, and learn some lessons along the way,” says Thiele.

A similar version of the GIS toolkit was first launched in North Carolina. IAFC Senior Program Manager Ellen Lemieux oversaw both toolkit launches and says the Indiana toolkit rollout builds off what they learned in North Carolina.

“There is a great need nationwide,” says Lemieux. “Even getting paid staff right now is challenging for these departments. That’s where we as a community need to come in and support them however we can.”

There are more than 800 volunteer and rescue departments across Indiana and Lemieux adds that while many volunteer firefighters are trained to fight fires, other volunteers can include people interested in driving or repairing the truck, people who could provide childcare for other volunteer firefighters, grant writers, marketing professionals, fundraisers and community liaisons. Each member of the volunteer department can play a critical role in community safety no matter how they are able to serve.

Firefighters from several Indiana departments have already taken the survey to help add data to the GIS toolkit. Many Kendallville firefighters in northeastern Indiana have added their insights to help build out the dashboard for their community.

Volunteer Captain Chad McKinley says this early participation in the program has already helped to guide their recruitment efforts.

“A lot of firefighters joined [in the past] because they had family members in the service, but more and more now it is not that way,” says McKinley. “You have to do community outreach because they aren’t coming to us anymore. We have to go to them.”

McKinley also notes that the toolkit can be a great tool for sharing best practices and ideas between other Indiana departments.

The toolkit is a live dashboard that continues to evolve and develop as more firefighters submit their survey information. The local demographics data in the toolkit will be updated every year going forward to capture the changing landscape of communities, especially in rural areas.

The launch of the GIS toolkit marks a significant milestone in the ongoing effort to strengthen the volunteer firefighting community in the state. Earlier this year, Governor Eric Holcomb announced the state would invest $10 million to purchase new Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for certain volunteer departments around the state, marking the first time the Indiana General Assembly allocated funds specifically for firefighter training and equipment.

An additional $7.7 million from the state has been allocated to the “Hub and Spoke Training Model” to eliminate training deserts in Indiana for firefighters. The training facilities are being built in areas where firefighters have typically had to drive more than 30 miles to train.

To view the GIS toolkit for Indiana, you can visit this link.

Fire Burns Through PA Aerospace Supplier

A large fire broke out Monday night at SPS Technologies, an aerospace supplier in Abington Township.

Detroit Rescue Crews Use Boats, Frontend Loaders Amid Severe Flooding

Rescue crews in Detroit Monday had to rescue families left trapped by severe flooding that left streets and homes under water.