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secreataries?
i think i posted this to the wrong area so doing it here..."Are secretaries/fundraiser considered officers? And can they go into the field and order firefighters and override Lieutenants?"
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Marc Hansen on
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Melissa,
In the departments I have belonged to none of the administrative positions (pres., vp, secretary, treasurer, or trustee) have operational authority. When the tones go off, or for all things garage and vehicle related all authority is vested in the operational positions (chief and line officers). Just because I voted someone to be treasurer because I think they are good with finances does not mean that I voted for them to run all things.
Besides tell her as secretary she should have been near the IC recording the time IC ordered things and the time they were completed...etc. If she wants to be head secretary then let her do that...be a secretary and keep "minutes" of the call.
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Permalink Reply by Melissa Elizabeth Phillips on
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tyvm for your answer..
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Permalink Reply by Russ on
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The Question causes me to ask what is the strtucture of your department? Using the (normal for me) description of a secretary in the context of a volunteer department,the secretary like the vice president or president of the fire department/company is a fiscal officer of the assocoation of firefighters and is not a member of the line or firefighting/delivery of services force. in my department i serve as a firefighter and i happen to be be the secretary of the firefighters association and have no command authority on the fireground above any officer(s) in our bilaws a line officer cannot serve as a fiscal officer and vice versa which is in some cases a good and bad thing depending on how your department is structured but to answer your question directly, NO a secretary is an administrative or fiscal officer not a line officer
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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Russ,
I wonder the same, because I asked the OP this and haven't received a concrete answer.
The issue is there is a difference between the secretary of an association of the dept and the full time position of a secretary for the dept.
The secretary of the association is just as you describe. The secretary of the dept is typically a fulltime, administrative position, where the authority ultimately lies with the chief.
As an intern/volunteer FF, the dept was set up similar. We had a FT chief with a FT administrative assistant (secretary). The difference was the "secretary" was actually a FF/EMT and held the position of LT within the dept........meaning the situation described doesn't pertain.So if a person holds the position of secretary as a FT position, that is their job....they really hold no authority on the fireground, UNLESS, they are actually a rank position. From what I see, it appears the secretary in this situation may be a FT position within the dept...but doesn't hold a fireground rank. As such, such a person has no say nor authority over anyone else on the dept that holds a rank.
So yeah, I'm still kind of confused with the actual position and structure of the FD the OP is mentioning to truly give advice. Care to clarify Melissa?
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she is the Secretary of the association and fundraiser, that's all.. and sometimes has to go with me to med calls..(because we didn't have many ppl during the week day).
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Permalink Reply by FETC on
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I understand that by-laws, associations, and voted / appointed postions create confusion compared to many of us who work fulltime and do not have many of those political complexities.
This is pretty simple to figure out though... Go ask the fire chief because he is in charge of fireground or emergency scene operations. FFN is not going to answer or fix your question.
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If she goes on med calls, then what is her training and position? Is she an EMT? Who is in charge of an EMS crew, the most senior EMT if there is no rank position, or is it whomever signs up?
Her rank within the association means absolutely squat when it comes to the fireground. If she is not a certified FF and doesn't act as a FF, she has no role telling anyone on the fireground of what to do, regardless of her title.
An EMS call, on the other hand, can be different if she is responding and acting as an EMT. It does depend on how the structure is set up for EMS calls, and typically the most senior EMT would be in charge of the call. So if she has been on the job for awhile, she may have seniority over the others and may be able to give orders to a non-EMT lieutenant.Where I volunteered at, it wasn't uncommon for the dept secretary, PD secretary or fire chief to respond for EMS calls, especially during the day with limited volunteer coverage. There was a signup sheet for the day if volunteers wanted to do a shift and several would come in to work. IF they signed up as a crew chief, they would be in charge of the call, regardless if other EMTs were senior. Volunteers could also sign up to be a driver, and they may not necessarily be an EMT, they could be a capt, LT, even Asst Chief, but the senior EMT was in charge of the call. Not sure how it works where you are.
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we are a volunteer group You have all answered my questions thank you!!! Do i delete it now or what?
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leave it alone so that others can benifit from the discussion
"I" however will be taking some asprin and trying to recover from the question-LOL
thanks John
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make sure its Aleve!! Ha ha!!
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Permalink Reply by Moose on
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The ony thing I can add here is the senior firefighter thing. But there was a Lt on scene, so the Lt should have outranked the senior firefighter. Always follow the chain of command, if no officers are on scene than the senior firefighter is in charge.
The secretary in my department is administrative only, and takes minutes of the meeting, sends and receives mail and resides over meetings if the president and vice president do not show...thats it. No other titles or powers granted...(thank god)
In my training and experience with LZ's, all headlights should be shut off when the chopper is making approach. The only lights allowed are the marker lights used to mark off the landing pad, and the light used to show wind direction. The headlights can blind the pilot and take away night vision and is dangerous. So when you hear the rotors and the pilot acknowledges that he/she see's the LZ, turn them off and let them do their thing.
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Permalink Reply by 55 TRUCK on
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Right you are Moose. I would like to point out that since this person is not a firefighter then if a person wanted to push it, one could look at her being on scene of ems calls as a violation of HIPPA. Just a thought.
One ore thing, if your gonna use medivacs all firefighters need to be trained in how to set up a LZ, how to communicate with the chopper & the use of proper hand arm and red lense flashlight signals when guiding them in or helping them to take off.
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