The Great Debate: Experience vs. Education

IAFC member Lt. Al Rufer discusses the great debate taking place in many firehouses across the country: do you promote the firefighter who is state certified and has 10 years of experience, or do you promote the firefighter who has their associate’s degree and five years of experience?

1 member likes this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dennis Reynolds on April 22, 2011 at 12:05pm

In my experience, basing promotions on one or the other is a recipe for disaster. Someone with 10 years on the job may have only fought two fires, likewise, someone with 2 years may have fought 100. Basing it on education, I have seen guys with Associates and Bachelors Degrees sitting in a corner rubbing their earlobes singing "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" when the defecation strikes the rotary oscelating device in a burning structure. Then there is the administrative work. Someone with 6 months on the job may know the policies and procedures better than a 25 year vet.

I set a minimum standard, compiled of Certifications and Time in Grade. Then you have an assessment center and use outside evaluators. This prevents any biased opinion for any candidate. Their performance is evaluated and scored. The best candidate gets promoted. For many states, there is a set amount of years of service you have to obtain before taking certain classes. For instance, Missouri requires 3 years for Driver/Operator Certification, Fire Officer, or Fire Instructor. While many will debate "Is three years enough?" I will debate that it depends on the experience. In most cases, three years is hardly enough time to grasp the concept of being a good firefighter. But nevertheless, it is a "Minimum" standard and it largely depends on the activity level of your organization.

Just my $.02

Dennis

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by joseph verneer on April 24, 2011 at 4:19pm

I agree with Bull . some young guy has book smart and no common sense ..u know goes by the book ..go to a scene car in ditch flat and all people are out of the car then i hear cut the battery cable and stablize the car...wat for ?just call the tow truck to tow it out .No damage to the car at all. no roll over no air bag deployed

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Lorenza Beacham on April 25, 2011 at 6:31pm

My Captain always said "There's five years experience and there's the same experience for five years."

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by George Parker on May 14, 2011 at 9:35am

Gryphonoilfields & logistics (UK) is currently recruiting workers willing to travel abroad for oilfields jobs.List of work opportunities includes many support roles such as Welders, Heavy Trucking jobs,Crane operators ,HSE officers, Firefighters,logistics support, maintenance jobs Project plan is 2011-2015.
For more details send in your resume/CV via email: jobs-gryphonoil@live.co.uk

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by capcityff on May 14, 2011 at 1:29pm

Like other said, it depends. I used to work for a suburban department for a few years that ran a couple thousand runs each year. Now I work for a big city that runs a couple hundred thousand each year. I probably gained more experience in my first six months at the big city department than I did in the few years at the suburban one.

A lot of the suburban guys had degrees, but the city guys have that experience that means a lot more.