Do Families of Firefighters Make Better Firefighters?

So I have been thinking about something...

 

Is it better TO BE related to other firefighters on your department (or neighboring mutual-aid departments) or is it better TO NOT BE related to others on your department?

 

Is there a transfer of human capital knowledge that is passed down through families of firefighters which makes you more valuable in the fire service?

  • if you grow up in a fire fighter family do you have more working knowledge of the fire service?
  • are they more skilled and attentive at trainings, since they grew up in the fire service culture?
  • do they have better critical thinking skills?
  • do you have more working knowledge of your specific fire department and workings of your district?
  • is there a higher level of trust within the fire service if so & so's sister is joining the department - and so & so already trusts the sister - does trust transfer? (if you trust them, I trust them?)
  • is there a higher level of relational cloaking / protection amongst those that are related to each other? is that good or bad? is their primal integration - (since John is an well-respected firefighter, then his son, John Jr. becomes more quickly a respected firefighter, compared to other rookies?)
  • are you an greater asset, such as being better at political workings?
  • are you more likely to stay in the fire service longer and manage stress better if you have family members in the fire service?
  • does the employee satisfaction go up?
  • are those with family members in the fire service more resilient emotionally?

 

or does it make you a liability?

  • does it bring a whole new batch of complications for discipline, leadership, promotion, and accountability?
  • do related fire fighters get lazy because they feel that they have a family pass?
  • is there boundary stretching that messes with the harmony of the department?
  • is nepotism a huge problem? do they get treated better?
  • is it better to have everyone in the department on the same playing field - not related to each other - everyone works their way individually up through the ranks alone?
  • do families bring their personal drama to the department?
  • if one fire fighter is in trouble, do all the family members on the department get into it?
  • are their problems with family members being senior officers to their underling family members?

etc.

etc.

 

I would be interested to hear thoughts and reasons pro / con or good / bad on this matter.

 

btw - statistically more doctors have children who become doctors; more lawyers have children who become lawyers; more fisherman have children who become fisherman; etc. etc. etc. This career development happens in other industries too.

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Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on October 18, 2010 at 9:45am
Thanks for your input.

hmmm... fired for drug use... that is so sad... and extremely unfortunate... addictions are of the devil...

Do you think it was easier or harder to dismiss him because of his family of firefighters?

Did it blacken the reputation of his family members?

Did it cause other problems at the fire house?

And do you think the star young guy got extra familial help which made him better than the average young guy?

What type of things do you think can be or were passed down?
Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on October 18, 2010 at 9:50am
WOW - your WHOLE department is families of firefighters - so it is definitely a sustained culture where you live and it sounds like your department values the families of firefighters.

What type of department do you run on?

Do some of them see it has their families second careers or even family hobby?

I wonder if that is more of a small town belief still and if the larger cities, or even paid career departments, have moved farther away from that culture?

I heard that some towns consider the fire department to be a government agency and therefore working alongside family is taboo and a sign of favoritism?
Permalink Reply by David Todd Lord on October 18, 2010 at 3:36pm
We are a small volunteer fire department that just celebrated our 50th anniversary. It was started as a private fire dept for the small town of blocher which is very small no stoplights just a couple roads a firehouse wasnt even purchased until ten years after the dept. was founded it was ran out of a garage. But now we are a township fire dept. that is township funded meaning our township trustee cuts us a check.
Permalink Reply by Gregory Borg on October 18, 2010 at 4:16pm
It was sad, but I do not think it was any harder to let her go because of the family history. She had made the bad decisions to ruin her family name and her career. As for the star, he is a star because he works his tail off, learns everything he can and takes responsibility for his decisions. Family did not help him with that other than raising him to make good decisions.
So as for being passed down, work ethic, integrity, thirst for knowledge, humility and loyalty to mention a few. I think these are the types of things we get from our families.
Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on October 19, 2010 at 12:00am
So if the firefighters make their own way, is it equal in the hiring, promotion, and dismissing process? Can it be more complicated when there are other family members on the hiring department or dismissing (or disciplining) department?

Here, it absolutely is. We are a straight seniority based system, so there is no questions regarding promotions. Dismissals are few and far between and with a union represented shop, it takes some serious issues to get dismissed.

Riding coattails - do you have examples? What types of things did they expect?

Just as I implied. You can get people who think because they have family on the job that they fall under the same reputation. For us, this is also few and far between, because the focus is on the individual.

If a family member gets out of line, and talking to them directly does not work - do you go talk to their family members? or do you talk to their superiors? and what if the superiors are also their family members? Do you have to change your approach?

Why talk to the other family member? the issue lies with the individual, not the family member. Going to another family member thus goes along with riding the coattails thing.....just reversed. Meaning instead of the family member riding on the reputation of the other member, other members going to an uninvolved family member is expecting that member to take care of the "dirty work" of the person in question. So screw that, it is the individual in question that needs to be held accountable, not another family member.

So yes, if there is an issue, the right way to go about is first discuss the issue directly with the individual, if need be go to the company officer. If unresolved one on one, take it to the company officer, and so on up the chain.....that is what a chain is for. If a superior happens to be family, so what, you still go up the chain, it is quite difficult to have family in every link of the chain on up.

Or is it a problem to talk to a youngerling family member due to concern that they will go tell their superior family member - such as if their father is Chief, do you spend more time holding your opinion to yourself?

Not an issue here. Although if encountered, what does it matter? As long as you maintain a professional demeanor, there isn't an issue to worry about then. The way it is, even without family involvements, there are still many issues that go up to the AC or Chief, but as long as professionalism is maintained, the issues are worked out. I would think such issues would be more prominent in a volly type of dept, not a career dept with a union.

Since you came into the fire service as the first in your family, what or who inspired you to join the fire department?

Don't know the turning point....watching Johhny Gage and Roy Desoto I suppose. I always liked the fire trucks and stations and seeing firefighters working etc. I recall a "career placer" test taken in Middle school where you answered questions aout yourself, in the end there were job choices given for your personality. Out of the many, firefighter appeared. It was from that test I received an invite to the Explorer program that I wound up joining. Getting involved I learned to know what the job entailed, expectations, etc and knew this is what I wanted to do. I always preferred the service type of job as opposed to the private sector, money driven career. It was a job choice I took a great interest in and something I chose to pursue and have found it rewarding ever since.
Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on October 26, 2010 at 1:47pm
Hey Kara-Lee thanks for your input.

Are you a volunteer or career department?

It sounds like avoiding the partnering has helped level some of the relationships in your hall. Have you noticed any of the other members experiencing concerns that the family members have more power in the department or are given more privileges, because they come as a group instead of as an individual?

Also, you mentioned that some other halls experienced problems with family members. What type of issues have you heard of and do you know any ways that the issues were solved?

Since the stuff was spilling over, how did the other members of the department and administration and/or officers deal with the over-lapping problems?

I am fascinated by this topic and am trying to learn how this all works. I appreciate your thoughts.
Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on October 26, 2010 at 8:19pm
I hear ya. It can be such a hot topic. I think the non-family members have lots to say, but it is dangerous waters when their are groups of family members on their departments... or neighboring departments.

Can family ties be distant, yet still part of the culture one grows up in?

That whole political dance... that I suck at... So anyone can email me privately if they want to share more personally, less publically.

I am wondering about if people come from fire service families, are they more likely to stick around longer in the fire service?

Any thoughts on that?
Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on January 2, 2011 at 6:28pm
So did you guys run into any problems on the department from working alongside family members?
Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on July 13, 2011 at 12:19am
Yes it does seem that

Work Ethic
Integrity
Thirst for Knowledge
Humilty
and
Loyalty

are indeed the cornerstones of a good Firefighter...

and must be learned and embraced
it can not just be biology - the old nurture over nature theory

I also think a commitment to serve others and serve ones community is a strong component, over the standard Corporate America - service of self.
Permalink Reply by ashfire on July 14, 2011 at 10:34am
When I joined the local vol station I was 18 and my brother joined and was 16 back in the 70s. We had friends who had joined and one of them that joined at the same time had family that been members of another station in the county. Most members in our station had family in the dept.
Sometime there would be family fights or just verbal arguments and members would leave the area or try to close doors.
There were some stations where if the chief would be replaced by another family memeber like a dynasty. I know most stations were run by families in the county.
I have heard of a station in a neighboring state where the chief and his family moved into the station because they lost their home. The county and other members moved in and forced them out over many problems that surfaced from them living in the station.
Right now I have to look around to see which stations have families in their stations.
I know we still have one or two from one of the families when I joined our station but most of their family have moved on to other places or other stations.
Now we could have a member whoes family may join and start taking classes or we start a new auxillary. We are also looking at starting either a CERT or Fire Corps or both, so who knows we may end up with families joining those.
Permalink Reply by Marc Hansen on July 16, 2011 at 3:25pm
I've been on both sides of this one 1) my father was a firefighter and I got a leg up on most guys joining since I had access to the department and the members for about 6 years before I could actually join. I helped with the fund raisers, maintenance and clean up since I was there with dad. So when I got voted in part of it I'm sure had to do with dad, but I had a track record of being there when alot of other members wern't. 2) My daughters have grown up helping me at the station when I had stuff to do. My oldest has just joined as a junior and the hardest thing to do has been to stand back and kinda let her earn her own way.

While most of us I'm sure have gotten into the fire service due to family connections, like any other job it's who you know that get's you in the door, It's what you know that keeps you inside. Most stations I've been around dont give an automatic pass just because your releated, most also wont hold the sins of the father against the son, and will make distinctions based on the individual when a family member makes a mistake.
Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on July 16, 2011 at 7:20pm
Getting hired on a paid department means that a person tested well.

Getting voted into a volunteer department means a person showed up.

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