West Virginia Fire Service Leadership Academy

Welcome and Key Note Address – Recruiting for the Fire Service and all other Religions – Deputy Chief Tiger Schmittendorf

Recruiting for the volunteer fire service is not much different than recruiting for other ‘religions’ as most volunteers are faithful and devoted. We can certainly “witness” that volunteering can be a religious experience for some. What some call “finding religion,” we call “giving them the bug,” and once they’re hooked, we’ve got ’em!

This somewhat tongue-in-cheek presentation will connect volunteer fire, and EMS recruitment and retention strategies and tactics and similar methods other organizations use to bring people together towards a common mission of serving others.

It’s easy to tell the difference between those who have the fire service in their blood and those who do not. But it’s like anything else that can get in your blood, and it can hurt you, harm you, and even kill you if you let it burn too deep.

While there are several similarities, there are also distinct differences. Life in the fire service is a volunteering opportunity like absolutely no other. In what other setting do we ask for a minimum of a long-term, but preferably a life-long commitment right from the start? The way we recruit volunteers is the equivalent of asking someone to marry you on the first date.

And speaking of marriage, we’re not really recruiting firefighters and EMTs; we’re recruiting who we call sisters and brothers, contributing members of our fire service [second] family who we hope to teach the mechanics of fire and emergency services too.

Just like our faith, the fire service is our gift to carry but not to hold. Our goal should not be to waste it away or let it slip away but instead to give it away openly, freely, willingly, and with a sense of urgency.

Expectations and Accountability – Captain Matt Aalto

Customer Service in EMS – Captain Chris Brown

Today’s fire and EMS services are a service-based profession; we respond to a person in need no matter the emergency. Our responsibility is to provide the highest level of service, professional and customer-centered, to every citizen we serve. 

With the current political, social, and economic climate, our governments are looking to cut our budgets and personnel. As public safety leaders, we are responsible to our customers to provide timely, professional, economically sound, and friendly service. This will ensure our future and stability in our communities.

Customer service training will set the framework for good customer service and organizational expectations. This training and a sustained customer survey program will lead to continued, service-oriented Fire and Emergency services.

Enjoy one of the fine Mardi Gras Restaurants (not included in your package)  

The Volunteer Fire Service Retention Cliff | Deptuy Chief Tiger Schmittendorf

There’s no limit to theories of why the fire service finds itself racing around like a roadrunner to find solutions to recruiting and retaining volunteers.

My non-fiction “Retention Cliff” theory uses familiar characters and storylines to depict how so many fire and EMS agencies have gone from being flush with volunteers–to flushing their  volunteers–while the member pipeline has seemingly run dry. We’ll break down the four demographics of our fire service, and how and why we find our organizations on the brink of either sheer greatness, or utter collapse at any moment.

Most importantly, this conversation ends with a “That’s NOT All Folks!” message of hope and together we’ll scheme a cartoon-concocted construction plan for building a rope bridge to the  other side of volunteer recruitment and retention success.

Collaborative Leadership – Captain William Stacy

Commanding the RIT – Captain Peter Morotto

New Officer’s Owners Manual – Lieutenant Jeff Pinckney