HARRY R. CARTER, Ph.D., MIFireE

A great deal of time has been spent by my webmaster, Bruce Lukaszewicz, and I discussing the current state of affairs within the Volunteer Fire Service of the United States. While there are no pat answers to the problem of declining membership, we felt that there had to be something at work that we were missing during our research and writing on this critical topic.

Time and again, we have spoken and written about the declining level of citizen participation in this ancient American tradition. Heck, there have been volunteer fire departments in our country since the 1600’s. What has changed in the world since I was a young lad waiting his turn to join the local fire department?

It is just about at this time that I usually begin my dissertation on the societal changes that have occurred since the end of World War II. I could speak of the influx of newcomers into the world protected by the suburban and rural volunteer fire service. My thoughts might also turn toward the increasing costs of living in many areas, or the outward migration of working class people from the areas that have turned their back on heavy industry.

However, my task today is going to be quite different. Rather than doing a broad generalization about the societal impacts upon our fire service, I am going to point the finger of accusation right back at the fire service. Many times we are like the man who lived in a glass house, you know, the one who prided himself on his indoor rock throwing target range without a backstop. He spent a great deal of time wondering why the glass kept breaking, but never stopped to look at the real reasons for his glazing problems.

Far too many fire departments are suffering from a lack of staffing resources because of the manner in which they operate. That’s right. As the late great cartoonist, Walt Kelly, once noted in his comic strip Pogo, "… we have met the enemy and he is us."

I have seen it time and again. Fire departments that once maintained a waiting list for the privilege of joining up are now responding with far fewer people than ever before. But how many of them look at the root causes of the problem? They come up with the usual excuses about two-income families and a lack of viable candidates. But do they ever stop to think of the fine people they have run off over the years? Do they ever stop to think that the year 2000 is perhaps not the best time in the history of the world to crank up the requirements to maintain membership in a fire department?

True, we are all caught between the rock of diminished staffing and the hard place of increase governmental training mandates. But would any of us like to see a return to the days of voting people into the department, tossing them a set of gear, and plunking them on the back of the next departing pumper? I don’t think so. That means that we have to devote a great deal of our time to training.

That means that people have to take time out of their lives for basic firefighter training. They then must participate in periodic departmental training to maintain their skill levels.

OK, we have the person on our team. They have been trained and are now members of our team. Or so one would think.

It is here that many departments start their organizational break down. In far too many cases, you need to have the proper last name to be accepted in the first place. I have nothing against children following their parents and grandparents into the fire service. My little Katie is a member of the Adelphia Fire Company. What I am against is the double standard of rules for people, based upon their family pedigree. The rules should be the same for everyone, not skewed in favor of the ruling class.

In many fire departments, new member and old alike are forced to listen to seven thousand choruses of the fire service theme song, "… we’ve always done it our way." Not quite a Sinatra standard, but you get the point. Then there is the sequel to the old Glenn Campbell song, "By the Time I Get to Phoenix." My old boss used to sing this one. It is entitled, "… That Stuff Might Work in Phoenix, But Not Here."

Let’s face it. Far too many departments are run like an "old boys club" from the 1880’s. If you don’t belong to the right group, you don’t get in. And then if you do get in and you run afoul of the local group-think, people do all that they can to run you off. I have seen some really talented people run for the exit door as a result of the negative peer pressure, and reactionary group norms that exist in far too many places.

In other places, the veterans are venerated for their years of service, and their wisdom is sought out. In others, these dedicated folks are run out of town by the "new crowd." And if you don’t think like the new folks, you might as well leave before they kick you out on trumped up charges.

Another corollary to this involves increasing the demands of membership to the point where people become burnt out and wander away. Some people lose touch with the reality of life in general and begin to see the local fire department as the center of the universe. This is particularly true with younger members. They want to spend every moment at the fire station, make every fire call, and attend every possible training program. Now that is not all bad. As a young lad I did the exact same things.

However, serious problems occur when these folks come to positions of leadership and expect every one to want to spend every waking moment in the fire station, like they do. They double, triple and quadruple drill requirements, and they call work details at the drop of a hat. Then they notch the percentage of fire responses necessary to maintain membership up to unrealistic levels. Worst of all, they go out of their way to make fun of people who do not share their slavish devotion to the cause. Talk about a turnoff.

Another thing that I have observed over the years is the double-edged sword of pride. People are proud of what they do. There is really nothing wrong with this. Heck, I am extremely proud of the 29 years of dedicated service that I have given to the Adelphia Fire Company. But when the concepts of pride and tradition begin to grow into a concrete statue, the problems begin.

We have known for eons that the issue of pride is a problem. In the Book of Psalms, we find these words, "…pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." In our business, many people are too proud to admit that they need help. They just keep muddling along like they have always done, running the new people off into the sunset. And then one day, they wake up to the fact that they are responding practically all by themselves.

The same sort of false pride gets people into trouble on the fireground. In a county near mine, a certain fire company continually chooses not to call their neighboring company. They would much rather call someone further away that they like more. I have no idea on how they intend to justify this if they are ever called into account by a court of law.

We train firefighters not to free-lance on the fireground. But who teaches our fire chiefs, and fire company presidents not to free-lance in the world of management and leadership.

I am afraid that a slavish devotion to the world of what was will make the volunteer fire service the Dodo Bird of the 21st Century. We have to begin thinking logically, and operating according to the Biblical imperative of the Golden Rule. Unless people begin to treat their peers as they themselves would like to be treated, the volunteer fire service will slowly self destruct from the inside out.

Wake up gang, the pretty building with all of the cute toys belongs to the citizens. You are just the current custodians. And many of you are doing a very poor job.

The commentary in this column does not necessarily reflect those of Firehouse.Com, Firehouse Magazine, their employees or parent company Cygnus Business Media. Harry R. Carter, Ph.D., MIFireE, is an internationally known municipal fire protection consultant and contributing editor to Firehouse Magazine. He recently retired as a Battalion Commander with the Newark, New Jersey Fire Department. His commentary appears regularly on Firehouse.Com. For more commentary and information, visit Carter's web site at www.harrycarter.com Harry has published several books available for online ordering, including Firefighting Strategy and Tactics and Management in the Fire Service