Vollie dept. hiring a paid chief what do you think

Ok my department is in the process of hiring a paid chief. They opened it up to and said they would hire from within first. Now here is my problem, I went and picked up an application and job discription and my jaw hit the floor when I read the qualifications. Just some quick history on how we got to this point. Back when our curent vollie chief was the asst. chief the mayor asked him to write the qualifications and job description up. I was absolutely shocked when I started reading these qualifications and noticed that they were all of his qualifications and nobody else was even remotely qualified. Now I am not bashing the current chief he is a great guy but why would a vollie dept that runs less than 400 calls per year need someone like this.

Must be atleast firefighter I certified- I agree

Must be an Iowa certified Paramedic specialist- dont agree

Must have been on our dept. for no less than 5 years- I agree

Must have been in a supervisory role as a paramedic specialist for 5 years- dont agree

Must be a resident of the city- I agree however our by-laws state you must live in the city for 6 months before you can join the department. So that knocks out anybody from the outside.

Must have held the rank of fire captain or ems captain for no less than 2 years.- I agree

what you just read fits our current chiefs qualifications to the letter so I am starting to think this whole thing has been rigged from the start.

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Permalink Reply by kenny goines on March 18, 2009 at 8:53pm
Other than medic supervisor I see no problems with the description, and could almost agree with that as well if you run medical. As far as is it needed I say absolutely he will be the face of the department.
Permalink Reply by rfdjumper on March 18, 2009 at 8:53pm
Bingo!
Permalink Reply by Chad Furr on March 18, 2009 at 9:23pm
Hope you and your new chief get along because it sounds to me as if he is your man. Good luck
Permalink Reply by Robert C. Baker on March 18, 2009 at 9:50pm
Definately Pre- Selection. Hell even Ray Charles could see that one. What I don't understand is why does the
fire chief need to be a Paramedic, I know quiet a few that are EMT-B's and thats their choice no one ever said
they had to a paramedic, and I have also never seen in any fire employment section any add that ever said
" also must be a paramedic" in the job description. Hey here's an idea.... gather the members and the community together and before he can even start his new self made job, file a vote of no confidence, have everyone sign a petition to reopen the job outside of your community and find a real fire chief who;s not a bandaid mechanic.
Besides when have you ever saw a career fire chief running a gut bucket call?.
Permalink Reply by turk182 on March 18, 2009 at 9:53pm
In my county most fire departments do not have ambulances there are paid services very close about a quarter mile. But in your case I do not know what the medic thing would have to do with being chief.
Permalink Reply by Fire Capt. 1304 on March 18, 2009 at 11:33pm
You all share my thoughts exactly. As far as getting along with him, I do he is a really good guy and I have never had any problems with him except the whole creating his own job thing. I agree with those of you that think it is ok to have a paramedic as the chief. I just think that the role of FIRE chief would be just as well severed by an EMT-B as it would a paramedic. I really dont have a problem with him being the paid chief because he has done an excellent job as our current vollie chief I just couldnt belive what I was reading.
Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on March 18, 2009 at 11:42pm
Could be. I could think of much more qualifications for the position then the simplistic view the adopted. That sounds made to order and indicates that maybe the board may be behind it. Now what do you do? thats the million dollar question. If you dont support him then what does that say about you?
Permalink Reply by Fire Capt. 1304 on March 18, 2009 at 11:50pm
Oh dont get me wrong I support him 100%. And belive me it's not a case that I am mad because I cant have the job because some of the qualifications I agree with I dont have and am not qualified for the job anyways. I also know that the mayor wants him as the chief which is fine with me because like I said I like the guy. I was just thinking of the other people that would have been qualified for the position if the job description was'nt written the way it was.
Permalink Reply by John on March 18, 2009 at 11:53pm
Same here he should be a paramedic and I would say a level II as well.
Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on March 19, 2009 at 12:04am
Understand! I was appointed my position here 18 years ago because the previous Chief had got into trouble. As Asst Chief at the time we wanted to keep it in the Department too. The other Asst Chief recommended me. I wasnt really qualified in my eyes. However, I had the support of my volunteers. That made all the difference in the world. Within one year the City made me full time paid Chief and here I am 18 years latter about ready to retire. I have two Asst Chiefs. One paid and the other volunteer. My paid Asst Chief will most likely fill my position. I have been working with him for about three years toward that goal. Bottom line though is the support from the members. Sounds like you have it well in hand to do just that. Good luck Bro.
Permalink Reply by Jeremy Bell on March 19, 2009 at 12:10am
i do not agree that he should be paid for a dept that runs under 400 a year that just seems like a waste of valuable city money that could go to more training etc...as far as the qualifications go i do believe that most of those are good for the dept.he definately created his own job though
Permalink Reply by Fire Capt. 1304 on March 19, 2009 at 2:00am
Well when it's all said and done we will have a paid chief and one paid FF on during day hours. The majority of our calls are evenings and weekends and most of the calls we were not able to cover and had to mutual aid were not during the day hours. This has been the mayors project for a few years now and is trying to get it done before his term is up.

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