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Top five Issues facing FF's?
In your opinion, what are they top five issues facing FF's today? Now dont get ahead of me... we will work on fixing them a little later. Right now, lets just hear the issues
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dustin J. Millis on
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Thanks for the input so far everybody. I wana get some more responses and we will go from there
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Permalink Reply by Jason Koontz on
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1. Crappy attitudes and stupid arguments; meaning new vs old, union vs volunteer, volunteer vs volunteer, politicians vs fire dept, etc
2. lack of pride and ownership; of skills, equipment, station, team, dept
3. lack of interest to become a "master craftsman of firemanship"
4. lack of respect between firefighters
5. lack of funding for equipment, training, etc
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Permalink Reply by Todd on
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1. Funding. The vast majority of us, career and volunteer, were getting by on a shoestring BEFORE the economy went in the tank, and proper funding takes care of a lot of the other issues.
2. Staffing. This includes everybody, from career to volunteer.
3. Training. In this day and age when you have people out there doing the job with minimal formalized training it's a downright shame.
4. Too much manufacturer influence on the NFPA. Of course they want new standards....it means you have to buy more doo-dads.
5. Too much reliance on technology instead of good firefighting practices.
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Permalink Reply by Kevin Dunbar on
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1. Budget
2. Staffing
3. Fitness
4. NFPA
5. Lack of realistic training
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Permalink Reply by Norman E. Flanders on
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Excellent discussion......this will greatly vary and will get many opinions/comments. I've listed what I see as the biggest concerns and with the reason why it's listed. I've left out my opinions on how we can fix it...that will be later.
Good luck, stay safe, train often and share knowledge.
1. Recruitment - Is getting tougher and tougher. With all the changes by the fed. govt., state and local requirements/mandates this will only get worse. Its very hard to recruit new members when they are told the number of hours required to become a Level 1 FF. They say "Thanks, but NO THANKS." The fire service has a lot to offer but its just not appealing to today's citizen with all the requirements. Times are a changing.
2. Retention - With today's membership having to work longer work hours, trying to fit in more family commitments and some having to work two jobs, it's becoming tough to keep members. When it comes to making choices unfortunately the fire service looses out.
We as a fire department can only be so flexible and still insure our membership meets training requirements, can function as a professional team, is capable and knowledgeable in proper operation of the safety/rescue equipment, our apparatus and still perform in a safe and professional manner.
3. Training - This will always be a never ending process, of which it very well should be. We need to be abreast of what's new, will impact us and our FF capabilities, how to effectively operate all of our equipment, how to better be the professionals that we are, as well as, how we can all come home safely after each incident.
With all the changes by the fed. govt., state and local requirements/mandates in regards to training it's taking its toll on the volunteer fire service. Membership is dropping nationwide.
As a nation the requirements, hours and type of training varies gravely. There should be a national standard with various levels of training and hours which will be recognized by each state regardless of where you were trained. I know it's heading that way with the Pro-Board certification, but it needs to fine tuned to fit everyone and every FD.
4. Funding - This is a very tough area for the fire service. Its getting harder to set a fixed budget, make cuts that won't effect our services and not always ask our tax payers to give more, especially in these tough times.
Why can't the govt. give us funding without having to jump through hoops, stand on our heads, do a little dance and then fill out endless forms that require us to beg and plead.
Department fund raising is also tough as the community is not so willing to give at this time. And here's another area that puts additional time commitments on our membership.
5. Time Constraints - With today's fast paced environment, longer work hours, family commitments, and additional training requirements it's getting harder for the volunteer fire service. We've always had time constraints but within the last ten years its gotten worse.
Time constraints are getting tougher for a member who's forced to work longer hours or have that second job. How can they fit two - three hours of additional time into their day one day a week and make a four to five hour Sat. training session fit into what they have to do to survive? Again this has to do with training requirements mandated upon us.
Those powers to be forget that the volunteer fire service is that "VOLUNTEER'. They just keep asking for more from us and they continue to forget we have a primary job.
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Permalink Reply by Cory Deaton on
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1. lack of funds
2. lack of manpower
3. new boots thinking they know everything out of drill school
4. drama in the fire house
5. staffing
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Permalink Reply by brian rogers on
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1 . Funding, being a VFD we struggle with funding, seems there isn't enough money to go around
2. Training, being a VFD its hard to get all the guys to show up, kids and after school activities are their priorities
3. Equipment, for us we have older equipment that needs worked on from time to time.
4. Volunteering...... fast becoming a lost art
5. Respect, what has happened to this country, we have lost our sense of values and morals , I think.
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Okay kids... I've spent some time thinking about all of your responses. With the ever-growing number of ff's coming to this site, I think we can really make some positive changes and take a few big steps in the right direction. Who was it that said "there is power in numbers?" Idk either, but hey; it must be true. Anyway... I figure the best way to handle these is to take them one at a time. One issue that I see alot of you posting that I think would be one of the easier ones to handle is "ff fitness." Yes, I said that ff fitness is going to be one of the easier ones to tackle. Why? Because its one of the few that we have complete control of. So... how do we fix this you ask? Well... I cant make you get on the treadmill but I have an idea that I think may inspire. FFN Biggest Loser Challenge!!!! Is that copyrighted? IDK... oh well... wait... is copyrighted even a word??? lol anyway... I'm writing a blog about it right now so check it out!!!!!
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Permalink Reply by Barbara Leach on
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OK...here is my 2 cents on the matter. Although I am just about to start my fire 2, I carry my own liability so I can still do ride time for more experience and keep up on everything. Cant get hired unless you have your fire 2, which is fine. BUT you see 17 and 18 year old kids coming on that are more excited about hearing the sirens and hopping on an engine when you can have someone who actually gives a crap about the call and not the ride there. So why is it I cant be on volunteer status until I get my fire 2? UGH
Also, the public servants, fire, police, etc have lost so much respect, even within their own quarters. The men and women who defile the honor of the department and the profession by behaving in a manner less than which is honorable.
And yes, there are a lot of firefighters that are in need of some serious weight probation. I need to lose 20 pounds before academy as well as get healthy in general with a messed up arm and an unla compression along with a few minor other issues that wouldnt interfere with academy. That said, we could all use a little more fitness in our lives. But I also happen to think that in todays atmosphere, there are so many stressors, that it triggers the eating and lack of exercise.
Ok...I will shut up now...LOL
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Permalink Reply by Jay Nicholson on
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Derrek, from my experience, your problem isn't with the brass but with the elected officials who control the purse strings. Most of the time they are giving a budget and told to work with it or the city will find someone who can.
My top 5- budgets
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Permalink Reply by Harold Turrentine on
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1. Politics influencing promotions and equal opportunity & treatment of FF's
Here if you are not minority and not connected, you are discriminated against daily. Union needs to represent all equally, yet gets bad reviews when standing up for Caucasians. Courts are also getting worse not recognizing reverse discrimination.
The citizens have no idea how unprepared some of our officers and FF's are.
2. Poor leadership training across the board.
This stems from keeping info from people not in the click, sharing it only with a limited few.
3. No continuity of information from one administration to the next--at multiple levels in the department.
"I learned it on my own, they can too."
4. Limited training opportunities.
Special training for the few, not shared with the rest of the dept.
Lack of live fire training activities.
5. Pride.
The above causes loss of pride and ownership due to the lack of inclusion.
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Permalink Reply by Mick Shelley on
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Accountability
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