manpower

How can you get more manpower? when you don't have all the money an all the new stuff like the bigger departmnets?

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Permalink Reply by Station10Capt106 on June 22, 2010 at 4:00pm

It comes down to PR & marketing. How professional is your department? Do they act respectful to others or are they seen more as drunken rednecks? It all starts with the image that we portray to the public. You don't have to have all the million dollar toys, but if you don't take the job seriously and present it that way to the public you will not get the support needed.

Go out into the public for different events and functions. Attend the local Lion's club meeting and present a fire extinguisher class. At the Chamber of Commerce lunceon do a brief CPR/Chocking scenario and teach them how to respond. During fire prevention week go into the schools and teach fire safety. Utilize the local media when you do these events to help publicize it. Each time you are interviewed or quoted make sure you include a blug about how your department is always looking for civic minded individuals who would like to become part of the emergency services and serve their community.

Make sure that your meetings and trainings are organized and consistant. That doesn't mean that it has to be dry and boring. If there is structure in place then people feel more comfortable. Then everything is just done on the fly with no rhyme or reason than confidence and dedication start to waiver.

Ask each member to try to think of someone good who might want to join and talk to them. Remember thought that just adding manpower for manpowers sake isn't always good. You need to make sure that they are quaility members otherwise you will be doing more harm than good.

Best of luck to you.

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Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on June 22, 2010 at 4:19pm

Jeff, it really is about selling your Department to your community. How are you seen by the community? Do you make any oppertunities to selll yourselfs? Are you seen as professional? How often to you respond and what do you actually do? You see its about making people want to be part of your organization. We have always had a waiting list of people wanting to join our agency. We run about 42 and thats all the room we have. I would love to have more room for more firefighters but isnt room. You just have to open up yourselves to people seeing you as a proffesional and busy station. People will want to be part of something that is happening and professional.