HARRY R. CARTER, Ph.D., MIFireE

I have seen a real problem developing within the fire service and it seems to have worsened over the course of the past few years. We seem to be suffering from a terrible case of "inward-focusitis". This is an insidious sort of disease that strikes the brain, rendering it incapable of looking outward for any kind of assistance. A second part of the disease renders the sufferer incapable of caring for anyone outside of his or her immediate organizational family.

Time and again I have noted that we in the fire service fail to recognize that we need to forge a contract with the public we serve. Whether it is written or not, we have a contract to protect and defend our fellow citizens. We also have a deep and abiding need to consider them and their feelings as a part of our thought processes. We do not exist for our own selfish edification and enjoyment. We exist to provide a critical service within our local community infrastructure. I have written a great deal over the past several years about how the fire service needs to reach out beyond itself to win the support of the public.

I can think of any number of fire departments that have grown inward. They have turned into local social clubs that occasionally have to perform fire-related tasks for their community. This mindset can affect both career and volunteer departments alike. But the focus is always on the "us" aspect of life, rather than the "we" attitude that should be established and nurtured.

When there is an important event to celebrate, do the people in these self-serving fire departments bring in their neighbors to share their joy and give something back? Do they think expansively? No, they are content with themselves to invite a few friends over, buy some chicken and beer, and then proceed to drink themselves into a drunken stupor while listening to a local rock band. I ask you, is that any way to do business? How can you build a bridge to your community, if you are only worried about yourself.

I get a great many e-mail messages telling me that I am preaching to the choir when I write and speak to the fire service about matters like this. Well if that is the case, my feedback tells me that the choir is singing badly out of tune, where it bothers to sing at all. I keep working to break the bonds and bounds of the fire service to reach the general public, but it is a very difficult task. And there is no way that I can do it all by my lonesome.

It’s up to you to do this in each and every borough, city, town, township, village, and fire district that you happen to serve. As a commissioner within my local fire district, I really have a mandate to interact with local government. But does that fact of government stop me from meeting with the Mayor to discuss fire-related issues? Not on your life. I work to fit our plans within the overall political environment in my community. If we build plans for our district that are out of synch with the communities plans and interest, we court future disasters.

I am in the midst of my election campaign for a full term on the Board of Fire Commissioners. I was appointed to an open seat, and now it is incumbent upon me to earn the privilege of serving my fellow citizens in my own right. I am sharing my hopes and dreams for the fire district with people in each of the developments. I am responding to questions honestly, and attempting to share my vision for the future.

Each of you should be doing this sort of networking in your own community. Whether you are running for elected office or not, you need to be building a support system among the citizens in your community. There will come a time when you’ll need their help and I am willing to bet that they will be far less willing to come to the aid of a stranger.

I offer this week’s message to you in the same way that state and local government entities offer traffic control signs and devices to every citizen. Traffic signs and signals are an important part of life in a civilized community. They tell you when to stop and when to go. They let you know that there are bumps ahead, and well as warn of the impending disaster of a sharp curve or a narrow bridge.

However traffic signs are absolutely worthless if you pay them no heed. Just like the motorist who runs a stop sign, knowing the consequences, the reader who chooses to ignore my message does so at their own peril.

Let me offer the following steps as an example of what you need to do in order to respond to my call for an outpouring of public relations efforts within the fire service throughout our country.

• You have to see the sign.

• You must then recognize that the sign or symbol applies to you.

• You have to act on that symbol.

People usually run stop signs because they fail to see them, or they see them too late to act. Many fire departments end up with massive budget cuts or shortfalls because they fail to look carefully at the world around them. They do not reach out to, and join any of the other various community groups. It is much easier to go to your local Elks club, Veterans of Foreign Wars post, community band, or church choir and ask your friends for help. Do not let the fire department be the sole thing that drives your life.

Once you have seen the stop sign, recognize that it applies to you. The same holds true for my public relations message. Far more people know about Smokey the Bear and forest fires than they do about how you and your friends protect their community. Information on your fire department and its services will not come to the public in a blinding flash of revelation. The last time that happened was when Saul found God on the road to Jerusalem. But things are not normally that instantaneous. You have to get the word out.

you have to act on the clues that you receive in life. If the sign says stop, than you had darn well better hit the brakes on your vehicle. And if I am saying to you that you need to get the word out if you are to grow support among your community, then you had best be going to work on it. Begin to live your life on the outside of your fire stations.

What are some things that you can do? How can I ask you to do something, if I fail to provide some alternatives.

• Join something other than the fire department.

• Become known as the local expert on fire protection issues in your church, lodge, or club.

• Be the go to guy or gal in your community.

• Write an occasional letter to your mayor, council, state or federal legislator.

• Write a letter to the editor in your local newspaper.

Write a weekly (monthly) column for your local newspaper on fire-related matters.

These are a few of the things that you can do to bring the image of your local fire department to a new and higher level. If people come to know you and trust you, they will support you when the tough times come. Or at least that is how I have seen it work where someone took the time to do the legwork.

As I said earlier, you have to see the sign, think that it applies to you, and then act upon it. If you are to strengthen your contract with the people you have sworn to protect, you can do not less. Get off your butt today and give it a try.

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