So you listened to your team as a leader-servant and now have a long list of firefighter concerns, issues and problems. Some are years old. Others go beyond the boundaries of the fire department. What to do?

Listening to your firefighters to determine their needs is a big step forward in developing trust and building your team. The type of problems can be divided into three areas: technical, political and cultural.

Three types of concerns, issues or problems

Technical. Technical is the key features of what the department is delivering to the community (outside customers) and the firefighters (inside customers). As the community’s needs shift, so does the department’s response. An example of the shift is a fire company that now sees 70% of its runs responding to EMS incidents, lift-assists and hazardous condition investigations.

Political. Turf, power and politics defined the Caulfield fire service arenas. This is where the new fire officer needs to identify how departmental decisions are made, who can be an accurate source of information, and what coalitions can support you in getting things done beyond the fire station walls.

Cultural. Cultural shapes the department’s strategy, structure, systems and skills. From an organizational development perspective, culture is defined as a set of shared values. As we discussed in psychological contracts, every firefighter has unwritten expectations regarding the policies and practices of the department. Most of the issues will come from a gap or collision of the firefighter’s values as measured against the expression of the formal and informal values by the fire department.

The fire officer’s response

Caulfield said that the new fire officer needs to define the supervisor’s role in dealing with firefighter concerns, issues and problems by:

• Not having the supervisor take on the issue or problem as their own
• Establish boundaries for an acceptable resolution
• Sharing the problem resolution with the supervisor’s boss

The types of concerns, issues or problems can fall within four broad categories:

In-house issues: Situations or decisions occurring at the work location that are 
within the direct scope of supervisory responsibilities. An example might be a
 complaint about the condition of the rig when A shift relieves D shift. Most of these conflicts begin and end at the company officer level.

Internal departmental issues: Operational policies, decisions, or activities that go
beyond the scope of the local fire station. An example is a conflict over where 
a reserve pumper will be housed and which work group will be responsible
 for maintaining it. Another example is a dispute between companies over the
 tasks required by a rapid intervention team in a commercial building fire. The resolution usually 
requires action by command officers.

External issues: Issues from outside sources that impact the firefighter. This includes activities or policies from the municipality or interaction with other municipal or private agencies. An example is a pattern of fire alarm activations in the middle of the night where it appears the cleaning crew is creating an extended break time while the fire company investigates the office building alarm. This issue will require a coordinated response from multiple parties.

State of the world issues: Issues that cover a wide range of socio-economic issues that are beyond street-level fire department resolution. An example is the noticeable increase in the homeless population in the fire company district or a firefighter pay raise given by a neighboring fire department.

Fire officer’s response

Write down every issue with a promise that you provide a response to the firefighter once you have researched the issue.

Focus on those issues affecting fire company safety, response capability and emergency service delivery. If D shift is leaving the pumper with a 1/8th fuel level, with half-empty SCBAs and poorly re-racked attack lines covered with dirt and debris, the fire officer should make this a priority issue to address.

Work with your manager to address internal department issues. Relay the firefighter’s concern/complaint and share the chief’s response with the firefighter.

Use a different technique when handling internal issues that are more than a year old. Make an inquiry if it is a department practice or policy. Identify the party that can address the issue if it is a personal issues for the firefighter, such as leave, pay, or FMLA issues.

Investigate external issues before pushing the problem up the chain-of-command. Some of these issues may come from individuals who did not know the proper resolution procedure. Others may stop the objectionable behavior because they know they are being monitoring. In any case, consult with your supervisor. The chief may have additional ideas or background about the problem. Write-up a complete report for your supervisor and the other company officers. This memorialized a point in time when the issue was identified and discussed with all relevant stakeholders and decision makers.

Provide timely feedback. In the never-ending tsunami of important, urgent and routine activities, non critical items that come up after a listening session slip into the black hole of “I will get back to this when I can.” The relevance of the feedback and the increased firefighter trust erodes every day the feedback is delayed. Make an effort to provide a regular update with the firefighter about the problem. issue or concern that was presented.

Provide nonjudgemental and specific feedback. The fire department will not be able to directly resolve a state of the world issue. The fire officer may consider identifying activities the firefighter can pursue that address this issue. On internal department issues provide the firefighter with the results of your inquiry or research.

Communicate a clear response. No one wants to receive bad feedback. As the supervisor of the team, you have a responsibility to be clear and specific in response to the results of your research into the firefighter’s problem, issue or concern.

+++++++++++++++

Peter H. Daly, Watkins,  Michael Watkins and Cate Reavis. (2006) The First 90 Days in Government: Critical Success Strategies for New Public Managers at All Levels. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.  ISBN: 978-1-5913-9955-1

Caulfield, Hugh J. (1985). Winning the Fire Service Leadership Game. Saddlebrook, NJ: Fire Engineering. ISBN 0-912212-09-8