Brothers and Sisters.. I need some help..

All,
My volunteer department is facing something that I believe is pretty wide spread across the volunteer fire service field and I need some help in figuring out how to deal with it.. We have a firefighter who has been with the department for close to 50 years. He is in his early 70's. He is a past Chief and sitting Board of Directors member. He has made quite an impact on the department. His contributions to the department is something that will live LONG after he is gone. He is a fantastic gentleman and is willing to help in ANY way possible. He is as much a grand-father to everyone as he is a member of the department.

Now, having said that. Here is the delima. He has become what I consider a "liability". He is an unsafe driver of apparatus, he is unable to keep up with changing communications (radios, pagers, computers software, etc), he is unable to fight fire, unable to operate apparatus pumps, he has lived in our community for 70 years and is still unable to locate an address, he is a state certified "First Responder" and his patient care is slipping to the point that I'd not allow him to care for my family and I doubt that he could do his skills if he was unassisted. There are many more issues, but I don't want to bore you with more of the same sort of issues. I approached the rest of our officers and mentioned creating a "Lifetime Member" status for him and more or less just allow him to assist with station work, traffic control, support functions on a fire scene, etc. When this was mentioned, it started a firestorm of hell in the meeting.

SO this is where I need everyone's help. How on Earth do I work to remedy the situation when no one else has the testicular fortitude to address the problem?

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Permalink Reply by Dina Lynn on February 7, 2009 at 6:39pm

Tell him that you need his expertise in addreessing the new probies that come into the department and that it would be graciously appreciated if he would consider taking care of these tasks. That's the only thing i can think of.

Dina

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Permalink Reply by PFC Harmon on February 7, 2009 at 9:56pm

I would try to put him in a none active firefighting role, if he is as you described him he should understand. I would do something before he does something bad that will stay with the department forever.

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Permalink Reply by FETC on February 7, 2009 at 10:08pm

Unfortunately unless you are the Fire Chief of your department, this is something that you can't address.

Do I agree with you. Yes, as I have stated before, this is a young firefighters game and people need to
walk away when the time comes, unfortunately some people can't see when their time has come.

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Permalink Reply by T.J. on February 7, 2009 at 10:09pm

We had a older FF like this to and we made him a picture FF, this is were he comes and takes picturesx of our fires and accidents, he can ride in the truck still but he does nothing active but take pictures for use and he likes it a lot, he still gets to hang out with the brothers:)

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Permalink Reply by John on February 7, 2009 at 10:43pm

Time to have him help as a probie trainer most likely, if he is unsafe to drive, and fight fires his only chance is to help train new hires.

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Permalink Reply by Rescue601 on February 7, 2009 at 10:48pm

I don't think its widespread at all, but it does happen at departments that don't have SOP's to address the issue. Have you considered talking to the individual himself and explain your concerns?

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Permalink Reply by FETC on February 7, 2009 at 11:12pm

Thanks for being respectful Brian but I must have touched a nerve. I guess what you are saying is your department isn't handling their younger liabilities either. Bottom line is nobody would have this problem, a 70 year old firefighter if they had a health and wellness standard that firefighters needed to meet annually to remain an active firefighter.

Usually the only people who are threatened by any policy are the liabilities themselves....

I agree with your last sentence though, another LODD that we will have to pay for under the PSOB, that shouldn't have been active but sadly I hope he doesn't kill the entire crew or another innocent family in a civilian car during an apparatus response.

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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on February 8, 2009 at 12:40am

Unfortunately, the guy who SAYS what everyone else is thinking but won't say, is the one who has his head handed to him.
First of all, you don't kick a guy like this off of the fire department. The last thing a department needs is the perception that they don't appreciate a long serving member.
So, you de-activate them, retire them, but CELEBRATE them.
Age should never be the determining factor. Ability should drive any decision to keep a person at active status.
A person such as you described stays on for that long, because they feel that they need to, because you have declining membership or no one has addressed the erosion of skills. So, he continues believing that he is still productive. Some just simply don't know when it's time to step back.
There should be clear guidelines that can be used to measure deficiencies and proficiencies. If the manifest weight says that he can no longer perform at the acceptable levels, then he should do what is best for the department and go inactive.
But, you had better have someone(s) waiting to take his place. Otherwise, the decision will become a target for the folks who would argue that someone is better than no one.
Have that party for him and make a big deal out of it. It's the least you can do for a long serving member.
TCSS.
Art

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Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on February 8, 2009 at 2:51am

Nothing we are gonna say is going to help you deal with a problem the rest of your crew dosnt see. I have seen this problem with other agencies and it comes down to the person either stepping out themselves or they pass on. Its a sad situation but one you cant change by yourself.

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Permalink Reply by Ed on February 8, 2009 at 5:37pm

I sure hope that my message did not come off in a way as to insinuate that I wanted to remove him from the department. I absolutely would not want to do something like that. I think his experience is invaluable and something that he must pass onto others, even guys that we've had for 10 years.

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Permalink Reply by Ed on February 8, 2009 at 5:42pm

FETC, I understand what you're saying. I'm 30, but at my full-time department, I work guys that are in their 50's and they're MORE than getting the job done. So Brian, I don't believe that he's saying that "old guys" are incapable, just that there is a young trend in the service right now. There are times when the majority of the guys in the house are "older" (30's-50's), but now we're in a cycle of EARLY 20's. Hell, I feel old and I'm 30..

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Permalink Reply by Ed on February 8, 2009 at 5:44pm

I have considered pulling him aside and asking if he sees the problem, but I'm afraid that it would cause more problems, especially when the rest of the officers are in denial. But I suppose I have to do whats best for the department.... Right?