What training/educational requirements do you have for officers?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joe West on October 14, 2008 at 2:10pm

I've done the same thing here. I think one of the biggest problems I've had is the egos. I beleieve on the job is the best training there is, but for a small dept. that has maybe 2 working fires a year, we can't rely on that alone. So, I hear a lot of chest thumping and "I've been here this long." It really makes em mad when you ask if they've been productive or just been here. Maybe I'm strange, I see those things as opportunities and some see them as being below them.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Art Zern on October 19, 2008 at 11:37am

Tim,

Thanks for your reply, it is really in all of our best interest to fight for promotional standards and testing. The problem as I see it is, how do we design a test that quantifies what we are looking for in a leader?

Art

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Art Zern on October 19, 2008 at 11:51am

Joe and Berry,

It must be very difficult; however, we must continue to fight for qualifications in the leadership ranks. This will always be difficult because there is a percentage of the fire service that likes the "good old boy" system. This allows people to take the easy road to promotion. Many members do not see the road to success as one that takes sacrifice, dedication and a genuine desire to improve yourself and the greater fire service. Those folks see the sacrifice and dedication as punishment and are unwilling to put forth the necessary time and effort. These folks will also decry education as a useless surrogate for experience and time on the job. They don’t see that education is only a piece of an overall puzzle that makes one “qualified”. I hold that education can make you a better person, spouse, parent, co-worker, firefighter….etc.

As I questioned in an earlier reply, my original question comes from my seeking this answer….. how do we seek, identify and promote those members of our jobs that have the right mixture of experience, education, training, leadership qualities and all of the other intangibles so that we have excellent Officers in the future. The Company Officer (in my opinion) is the most critical operational position on the department. If we don’t have excellent officers, how can we move forward on any issue or initiative? If the Company Officers are not talented and “on-board”, we will have difficulty getting past he status quo.

Thanks again for your thoughtful replies,

Art

• ▶ Reply

▶ Reply to Discussion

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page