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Needing Members?
My name is Daniel, and I am a two year veteran fire fighter for the city of Caldwell fire and Rescue, An all volunteer fire dept. We have encountered a problem over the last two years, We do not have enough members, We cover a city of about 5,000+, and the surrounding area of about 20,000+ Our roster says we have twenty-one members, but only seven of those respond to the calls coming in. What I would like to know, if other departments out there are having the same problem, and what some of you might suggest to get our numbers back up.
Thanks,.
Daniel Elsner CVFD
Thanks,.
Daniel Elsner CVFD
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Norm Tindell on
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We have the same problem. The median age of the membership and of those who respond is rising. We currently use word of mouth, but I think we may soon be thinking about making recruiting presentations at the high school and at churches, etc. Flyers, newspaper ads and signs are okay, but you never know who's going to apply.
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Permalink Reply by Station10Capt106 on
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About a year ago I wrote a blog on this topic:
How do you attract volunteer firefighters?
This question has plagued many volunteer departments for decades. People volunteer for many different reasons: everyone in their family has done so for generations so they do so also, to help serve their community and others, to enrich their own life and add to their experiences, and to seek the glory and spotlight.
The first and last reason are the hardest to deal with. If someone joins just because their grandpa and father were on and that is their only motivation then you will not be able to reach them. Chances are they just feel the pressure from the family to follow tradition but their heart will not be in it. In contrast, the last one who joins just to flash a badge and drive down the street in a shiny red truck. They are in it just to look good and impress people and will be a danger to both themselves and their teammates.
The ones that are there to serve the community and also enrich their own lives are the heart and soul of the volunteer fire department. They are the hard workers. The ones who will work all day and then stay out all night to fight a fire and get up again in the morning to go to their regular job. They are the ones who will want to train. They realize that training is important and will provide them with the skills necessary to stay safe. They enrich their lives by adding knowledge and skills, by creating goodwill in the community and by helping their neighbors and friends.
Now all this is fine and dandy, but how do we attract and retain these people? It is getting harder and harder for volunteer departments to find people that are willing to devote some time. I am ashamed to say that most of my generation would rather spend all their free time playing video games or hanging out at the bars (and I'm not necessarily young either . . . just reaching my prime at 37!). People are much more mobile these days and because of that have not developed the sense of community and belonging that was the mainstay of rural America. Neighbors do not know neighbors anymore. Without knowing your community the desire to help and serve them diminishes.
In my opinion the future of the volunteer departments depends upon public relations. It is essential for the vol. departments to spend time out in the community. Get to know the people there. Host picnics and bbq's. Go to the schools and teach fire prevention. Have a dunk tank at the local fair. Install smoke detectors for the elderly. Bag groceries at the local store one day and hand out fire safety tips. Write letters to the editor or monthly news columns talking about all aspects of fire safety and prevention and also highlight and recognize the training and achievements of the members.
The community needs to know what we do and see us devoting the time to better ourselves. Make sure you talk up your training (don't exagerate or fake it) but do your weekly or monthly trainings out where the public can see you. Take pictures and submit them to the newspapers. Get to know the community during good times . . . don't wait until tragedy strikes before they see you.
Public relations is a big component of recruitment. Once the community sees you having a good time doing training or putting on a breakfast and sees how well everyone works together they will be more willing to want to be a part of that group. Remember, every time your department is seen by the public doing something it can be used as a chance for inviting someone to consider joining your ranks.
I believe it is best to screen your members. I would rather have a smaller department made up of quality, dedicated firefighters than to swell the ranks with bodies just to do so. If your department is filled with glory hounds and wannabe's or with those who don't want to put in the time necessary then these people will reflect badly upon the whole department making it even harder to attract good new members. Just because we are volunteers does not mean that we can not be professional, nor does it relieve us of certain duties and responsibilities. I want to know that I can trust the person next to me with my life and want them to have the same confidence in me too.
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Permalink Reply by Harold Richard Hair on
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my station has the exact problem and my capt just ran off another very active member. at a structure fire the otherday we had 1 driver 1 officer and me and my friend as intial attack. a 2 person attack team and now he is gone because of our capt. that never shows up anyway.
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Permalink Reply by Matthew Powers on
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Daniel, acquiring and retaining members is really an issue that has to be addressed by the white hats. As firefighters, we all want to help when the need arises, but the officers need to be the ones that are active about membership criteria. They are the ones that need to be able to direct the members, so they are the ones that need to select for their needs.
That being said, when it comes to recuiting for a vollunteer department, I have to agree with Station10Capt106. Being visible in the community will cause some people complain about the expense of the department, but these are not the ones that are going to join anyway. It may also cause some people to reflect about their ability to commit to their community. The last time we ran an EVOC course, and had some 36 man hours driving the trucks around town, we received 2 applications from candidates that could be very good for our community.
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Permalink Reply by Chief Don West Jr on
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We have had the same problem for some time. But recently we have been more visible in the town and our numbers have increased. We have gone from an average of 6 members responding to calls to an average of 10-12 responding and our roster has increased from 12 personnel to 16 personnel. We are in a very small town of 600 and cover the surrounding area of another 400 or so.
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Permalink Reply by Chief Dino on
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Here in TX the state has grant money to help recruit and retain members. Have you contacted SFFMA? Here's the link from their website to have them come out and help. http://www.sffma.org/smarty/index.php?page=recruitment_retention
Also, the grant period for AFG and SAFER just opened up this week. . . maybe some Fed money spent on recruiting?
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Permalink Reply by Nate on
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The department I am on just recently put me in charge of the recruiting efforts regarding college kids like myself. As juvenile and pathetic as it sounds, using social networks such as Facebook and things like that can get some real attention. All I put on it was that if any soon-to-be freshmen or other students are interested in training to become a firefighter, they could contact me and set up a meeting with myself and a few other members that go to the college as well. So far, the response has been steady, but not very enthusiastic. However, when the time gets closer to the new students moving in, I expect the turnout to increase, and genuine interest to shine through. Just my .02, but I hope it helped a little bit.
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Permalink Reply by Alan McGuigan on
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A very difficult situation, which must be handled carefully first i think you may want to sit down and talk to those individuals and find out why they are unable or are not responding to calls? with this information as long as everyone one is honest you might be able to get to the real reason firfighters are not responding and come up with some solutions , In our department we do have a requirement for a min response to calls I beleiev its 60 % of the calls you need to attend once you dont hit this level you are sat down and everyone tries to come up with a solution to the problem soemtimes its availabilty, change in job or family circumstance if attendance doesnt improve then another meeting is held tyou really have to try and work with the guys to see if some common ground can be reached but if this doesnt work we ask that the firefighter resign or go on a temp leave until there circumstances change and they can respond on a more acceptable basis a very difficult thing to do but one has to put the safety of the community and the other firefighters first
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Nate, this is a great use of newer technology. I commend your efforts. In my minds eye I see this as being effective, but I think you will be training a lot of people to retain a few. Around here we take in 3-4 people for 1 long term fella. I can see your numbers being 12-15 per member retained. If you are up to the task this is great. You just might inspire others to go home and join a department which helps us all in the end. We could not do much without our mutual aid departments.
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Getting out in the public is key i think having an open house, open to the public water ball games or fire competition, getting involved in community events letting people know what you do both professionaly and on social basis. However it is important to bring on the right people with the right attitude we open our practices up to those that are interested in the department to give them a chance to get a feel for what goes on and what we are all about This is strickly observational.
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That is why we get together with them beforehand to discuss the consequences and the time and energy it is going to entail. I understand and have had to accept the fact that there will be huge initial interest for the "cool" factor of it, but the lasting members will trickle in. Our last rookie school started with 38 members, and graduated 12. We shall see.
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Permalink Reply by Tony Leonard,Jr. on
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Unfortunetly,we are all being affected by this.Declining Employment,and Declining population,directly affects the number of members.Plus with more people raising thier children with the since of "let someone else do it"/"why do it if you don't get paid" it's not helping matters any.Don't get me wrong I know alot of people out there who want join up,but cannot due work regulations(contracts stating employees cannot put thier lives at risk,i.e. joining a vol.fire dept. or lose thier job),family commitments,etc. wont let them.Until things change,we're just going to have to find away survive,but sadly most of us won't.
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