Elected/Appointed Fire Volunteer Officers

Over the course of many years in the volunteer fire service, I noticed election for volunteer fire officers take place in either November or December of every year. Depending on your organization it may be every two years to elect fire officers. Some departments have no election and the fire officers are appointed by the local municipality or the fire chief may be elected and he or she appoints his or her fire officers.

Election time is fun, the people you never see in the entire year, or in years come to the meeting to vote and/or run for an office. It is called silly season. Some departments round up life members in nursing homes and come and vote. Which this is two sides of the coin, yes they may have the right to vote (depending on your constitution and by-laws) and earned the right vote, but they may not be current on the local, state , federal regulations and laws, and standards that governs the fire service.

Something that is always present in voting for fire officers is favoritism, who buys the most sodas/ beer, who is friends with who.  These people may  lack discipline to maintain friendship as a fire officer. Many sports teams fail because of this philosophy, the coach is more of a friend than a coach. Very few times have I seen an election turn out to be the best candidates for the position. Basing your vote on favoritism, over the needs of the department is wrong.  

When voting, it should always be who is best qualified the position and who will fulfill his or her duties as an officer.  Many times I have seen officers get elected and never fulfill their duties as an officer and some keep getting elected to  positions in the department or hold multiple positions in the department.

On both sides appointed/elected I have seen fire chiefs only have first aid and CPR as their highest certifications.  This can prove to be disastrous  in today's world, this is not the 1950s anymore. The average layperson off the street can have these certifications.  In today's world we must provide different scopes of the trade, or request additional resources to mitigate the incident depending on your fire department mission.  Everything from fires, medical, HAZMAT/CBRNE, NIMS, vehicle extrications involving hybrids, technical rescue- rope, confined space, high angle/low angle, trench.  You might roll on one of those incidents or have to request additional resources to mitigate the incident.  Training must be in forefront and not the back burner of each fire department.

If the fire chief only has first aid and CPR, and everyone in the department looks up to him or her as holding the highest position in the department, it doesn't set a high value on training. Other firefighters in the department may believe that first aid and cpr is the highest they should go in the training department.

Appointed/Election for positions may require residency requirements such as to live in the first due response area. Sometimes this may not feasible due to no housing available to buy or rent, crime rates, schooling, high cost of living, etc.

Each fire department officer no matter if their elected or appointed should be held to a higher standard. People in life due make mistakes it is the art of being human. They should know the difference between right and wrong and always be looking out for safety of themselves and the rest of the department.  With all the cameras, social media, cell phones out in today's world fire department officers should do everything in their power to eliminate litigation, promote good public relations, and try to maintain a good positive image in the department.

Fire Officers should not forget they are the leaders and managers of the department.