How to deal with negativity in volunteer departments
By Cindy Devone-Pacheco

Not since the Great Depression has the United States undergone the difficult economic times that it’s experiencing today. Although reports indicate that the “Great Recession” ended several months ago, for many people—particularly those in the fire service—that just isn’t true. In fact, it may feel as though things are getting worse: Violent crime is up, the cost of food has increased, gas prices climb higher every week, yet budgets remain tight, the jobless rate remains high, etc.

So how is all of this affecting the volunteer fire service? How are the people who aren’t paid a dime to protect their communities weathering the storm? According to Chief Tim Holman of German Township (Ohio) Fire and EMS, negativity is a major issue for volunteers, as well as the fire service as a whole. He addressed this issue in his class, “Dealing with Negativity in Volunteer Departments,” at FDIC today. Below, he shares some of this thoughts on the impact negativity has on departments, as well as what can be done about it.

CDP: Why is negativity a big deal? Why does it need to be discussed?
Chief Tim Holman: Because, basically, if you have a bad attitude, that will affect day-to-day operations in the department. Everyone’s perception of the department may be different. Officers’ perceptions are different from firefighters’ perceptions. But officers set the tone for the rest of the organization, so it’s imperative that they come in with a positive attitude.

CDP: What are some of the main causes and effects of negativity?
TH: Some of the main causes are personal issues and the overall departmental environment. These can lead to certain behaviors, such as complaining and arguing. Many negative people don’t complete their duties. They may become insubordinate, and disrespectful of the job and the equipment. So negativity can have a very major impact on a department.

CDP: How do you combat negative behaviors and attitudes?
TH: What we’re trying to do is balance the view a negative person has about the department. We’re trying to determine what makes that firefighter believe what they believe about the department. And what proof do they have to support their beliefs?

Some people say, “I can’t do that.” That attitude will of course impact the department, so we need to ask, what do you need from us [officers] to make sure that you can do that?

CDP: What if negativity becomes extreme? What can you do in volunteer departments to combat that?
TH: Can I fire or discipline negativity? Some people think, well, you can’t fire a volunteer. But I think the first time you respond, you’re a volunteer. After that, the community expects you do to a job, so if you’re not doing that job, then you can be fired. I must stress that the objective is to not fire someone; it’s to change their behavior. But if you can’t change someone’s behavior in, say, 6 months, they need to get out of the organization.

CDP: Of course, the economy weighs heavily on everyone’s minds these days. Do you see negativity as a major issue in volunteer departments, and is it in direct response to the current economic climate?
TH: I think it’s a major issue in all organizations, not just the volunteer fire service or the fire service in general. It’s in restaurants and grocery stores. You can tell just by looking at many people that they don’t want to be where they are, and that impacts the organization for sure.

If you’re in a restaurant and you have one negative confrontation, you may lose that one customer from that point on, but many volunteer departments are funded by tax levies, so if you have too many negative experiences with those in your response area, they could decide to not fund those levies. The image of the department is tainted, and you lose community support. Other departments are funded by donations or fundraisers, which could also be greatly impacted if community support is lost.

CDP: There’s a lot of talk these days about the public’s changing perception of the fire service. Reports have come out citing sick time abuse, overtime manipulation, etc. Is the public’s perception weighing heavily on the volunteer fire service?
TH: I think right after 9/11, we had a window of opportunity because people thought of firefighters as wonderful. But now that window is closing. I’ve read case after case of departments that have violated people’s trust and ethics, and that just hampers the whole image of the department.

Now, with the economy the way it is, and with career departments and what they’re going through with the unions, it’s getting really ugly. And I think you’re going to see a lot more negativity in the fire service because of that. New York City just went from five firefighters and one officer to four firefighters and one officer, and the reason they did that was to save $32 million a year in overtime, but the negative side of that is they’ve decreased the number of responding firefighters. No one got fired; they shuffled people around, but it looks as though they decreased their staff.

Where is all the money that’s needed supposed to come from? The pie is only so big. Our national debt is $14 trillion, but if you add up all the states’ debt, that number is close to $100 trillion. So we need to take care of things ourselves. We shouldn’t be looking to the federal government to help us out. But all of that is going to continue to have an impact on negativity levels and the services we provide.

CDP: Have you noticed any trends regarding negativity? Of course, the economy plays a major role, but are there other major trends, events or issues that have had a sweeping effect on the volunteer fire service?
TH: I think the stress that people are under today plays a major role. There are many volunteers out there today that have two full-time jobs. They have their regular job, but they also put in the same number of hours, if not more, in the fire department. That puts stress not only on the family, but on the individual. And when they have to work in an environment that’s not really conducive to giving the volunteer everything they need to do their job, that’s also having a negative impact.

Overall, society now is pretty negative. Look at California, for example. It’s having a lot of financial trouble. People are asking themselves, will I have a job tomorrow? Should I pull all of my money out of the bank? There’s also more violence against first responders now more than we ever had. Two weeks ago a volunteer firefighter tried to help an individual involved in a motor vehicle accident, and he got shot. They have no idea why the person shot him. He was able to call for help, and he’s alive, but what’s going on? We’ve always been the good people. So is it time to arm our EMTs?

CDP: What advice do you have for departments that are really feeling the economic crunch and negativity is high, morale is low?
TH: That there’s always hope. We always have hope. And we have to control our destiny; we can’t rely on someone else to do it for us. So we must focus on the good things we’re doing and remember that no matter how bad it gets, we’re still providing a good service to the community. This doesn’t mean we should ignore the bad things, but we should put more emphasis on the good. We should also sit down every now and then and remind ourselves of all the accomplishments the volunteer fire service has made over the years. That helps change the tone from negative to positive.

CDP: What do you want attendees to take away from your class?
TH: I want people to understand that each one of us is responsible for the attitudes in our organization. I can’t complain about someone being negative if I’m negative. We need to be realistically upbeat. Attitudes can be problematic, but we need to work together to work out our problems, resolve our issues. Of course, some attitudes will be beyond our control, and we need to realize that. But each individual needs to take responsibility for themselves and understand the part they play in decreasing department negativity. We may not be able to eliminate it, but with a little work, we can decrease it.

Cindy Devone-Pacheco is senior editor for FireRescue magazine.

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