“Firefighters just like to hang-around the fire station and drink beer until there’s a fire.”

How many times have you heard someone express an opinion like this of Firefighters? Probably too many times. It’s a hard opinion to change when people read about Fire and EMS workers getting into trouble with the law for alcohol-related issues. It’s an opinion which is re-enforced by some fire stations in some parts of the country having bars on their premises.

Many departments, especially volunteer departments, want to keep the social aspect of belonging to their Fire Company alive and have always had a bar at the firehouse to facilitate this. But what do you do in this day and age when the image of drunken, brawling firemen is no longer acceptable public image? What does a department do when they feel that having a bar in the station is the way to attract, and retain, new members of their department?

Here is one idea.

Why not turn the beer bar into a coffee house? This would work especially well for firehouses in the center of town, or near colleges and would do several things for the department. First, it gets the beer and booze off the property! Second, it continues to provide a relaxed atmosphere where Firefighters, their families and friends can hang-out, and socialize (including the Juniors/Explorers!). Third, it makes the firehouse inviting for civilians to stop in and get a latte and meet some of the members...which may even serve as a recruiting tool for new members! Fourthly, it promotes a healthier lifestyle among the members and the public!

If your station has room, consider hiring a "bar band" to come play in an alcohol-free environment and get even more young adults into the station where they might get a taste of the firefighting community and might come back for an open house (conveniently scheduled for a day or two after the concert) and might join the department.

It all works together. The main point here is that there are other things to include in firehouse other than a bar. If your volunteer fire department is planning a new station, why not include something like a coffee house on the side with nice big parking lot away from the apparatus bays?

For many departments simply adopting a tough no-alcohol policy is enough, but for others the "Social Club" aspect is part of their tradition and not something they want to throw away. You can be an effective, professional department and still be a social network for your members, you just have to adapt to the times.

The Fire Service can be used to market a product, like Firehouse Subs in the Southeast, and a product can be used to market the Fire Service! Imagine the positive press you could generate for your department by shutting-down the beer taps and firing-up the espresso machine.

Imagine a full-service coffee place, with a clean atmosphere and huge window looking into the apparatus bay and a speaker in the coffee house so customers can hear the dispatcher without being too loud for them. Customers can watch the Firefighters doing crew drills, washing apparatus and hear calls being dispatched. Then they can see what happens in between runs as well. Sure, it means firefighters would have to behave a little more professionally in the apparatus bay, but is that a bad thing?

The American Revolution took shape in the coffee houses of the Colonies, where drinking coffee became a declaration of being an "American" and they were centers of community activity in many cities. Likewise, Firehouses have also been centers of community activity in America ever since Benjamin Franklin began the First Volunteer Fire Company in Philadelphia, in 1736. Why not bring the two together to help our small fire departments and our communities?

A coffee house in a fire station probably won’t work for every department, but it will in many. The idea is to open the station to the public in a safe, nonintrusive way, provide a place where members of the fire department can relax and socialize, and serve as an interface through which we can educate the public and let them get to us and how we operate better. What better PR is there than that?