There is no question that Social Media has made our world a lot smaller. It has become a powerful tool for every industry in the world, and without a doubt the Fire Service is included in that. Social media has connected firefighter in ways that could have never happened before. Building relationships is what will make the brotherhood and sisterhood stronger. In my opinion, that’s something that is truly needed.
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As our journey in the Brotherhood Academy Radio podcast continues on, we are seeing more and more stories and articles about fire departments struggling to recruit new members. All throughout the United States and Canada it is becoming a common topic of discussion. Recruitment is lacking, people don’t want to become involved in their local fire department. People don’t have the time to dedicate to their community.
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I have put together a list of six key points in order to make yourself a high-performing firefighter. These aren’t the only points that could be brought up, but these are things that stand out in my mind. I’m sure collectively we could all come up with a lot more.
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It doesn’t matter if it is a career fire department, volunteer or per-diem. We all experience this.
Negativity is contagious. Negativity can bring an entire organization down if it isn’t taken care of. The same goes with drama.
So how do we combat negativity and drama? The answer is simple, but you have to accept this answer in order for it to actually work. Are you ready?
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Is there something happening, changing or being created within your organization that you feel could be done differently? Are things not going quite the way you feel they should be going in your Fire Department? Are you feeling a little left out or not included in the direction your Fire Department is going? Or maybe you want that promotion and feel you deserve to become a Fire Officer.
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Who is responsible?
If we want to maintain a high quality membership and good morale within our organization, it’s time we all start stepping up and taking ownership within our organization and within our personal lives. Let’s stop passing the blame on to our Officers and our Chiefs and take responsibility for our weaknesses and our failures. If you want to make it down the long road to success, get on it.
Who is responsible for your training? You are.
Who is responsible for your test scores? You are.
Who is responsible for your personal fitness? You are.
Who is responsible for how you show up? You are.
Who is responsible for controlling drama? You are.
Who is responsible for your attitude? You are.
Who is responsible for how you react to negativity? You are.
Who is responsible for your health? You are.
Who is responsible for your ability to be promoted? You are.
Who is responsible for your education? You are.
Who is responsible for setting the tone within your organization? You are.
Who is responsible for your success? You are.
Do you get the point? You are the only one responsible for your faults, your weaknesses and your success.
Communities all across the United States are in need of people to join their local Volunteer Fire Department. A critical service, yet expensive to fund full time staffing, volunteer fire departments are experiencing a huge shortage of members. It seems as though volunteering for a fire department has become less popular nationwide. Forgotten though are the benefits of joining a volunteer fire department. With today’s changing society and culture, we have forgotten the value of community service and helping your neighbors. We tend to want to connect to people on social media from all around the world, but forget that we have wonderful people living right next door.
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Is your fire department membership aging faster than it can recruit? For a lot of us, we have an increasingly aging membership. Although the wealth of knowledge offered by our senior members is invaluable, we need to be sure we have someone to pass that knowledge down to. It seems as though the number of young people coming into the volunteer and call fire service has shrunken considerably in the last few decades.
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If you serve in a community that has a large coverage area you may be in the same boat as a lot of us. Some communities may only one or two fire stations, making response times a challenge. As nice as it would be to have all of our members respond to the station and get on a truck, for some communities it just doesn’t make sense. For a member to have to drive past a scene to get on a truck that is waiting for them at the station not only delays the truck from responding, but delays any sort of response all together. This isn’t saying all members should be bypassing the station either. There is a balance that each individual fire department needs to figure out to run smoothly.
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Negativity in any area of our lives is contagious, especially in the Fire Service. Many of us get discouraged in our fire departments when negativity is running rampant. It is so easy for us to get sucked into the ever popular craze of complaining and sobbing about what is or isn’t happening in our organization. Many times it can feel like Middle School all over again.
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