An Formal And Formal Succession Plan For Quilcene Fire Rescue

Previously, the unexpected loss of an experienced leader without a timely replacement was extremely effecting the department. And just as Fibuch & Way (2012) suggested, the best solution to reduce those challenges is to cross-trained qualified employees within the organization for leadership roles. It is important also for organization to recognize and view their existing skill sets in terms of their future operations. Consequently, succession planning should be an essential element of organization's strategic

To better understand the background of the contrasting views, we must look at how the fire service has developed around

In the Fire service following instructions is of utmost importance. Not only is your life at risk if you fail to follow instructions, but you are also putting your fellow firefighters lives at risk.  However, not all instructions given are life threatening but,  are there to keep order and uniformity. The fire service is a paramilitary career meaning that it has a very strict standard on how things are done.  When you are given a specific instructions, it is important to truly understand what your task is. This includes everything from your job at a structure fire to knowing what your morning chore will be. This is in order to properly due your job and, to ensure that no repeats of that same task are done. Going back to the point of you fellow

Inherently the fire service operates in high-risk environments to facilitate the role of preserving life safety and property conservation. How these incidents are managed and safeguarded by our administration

To begin, the call for of additional resources, including personnel and equipment was beneficial. The text said, “The Cottage Street Fire Station, home to Engine 4 and Ladder 2, was located directly across from the mill.” Upon the initial dispatch, Lt. John Leite, a firefighter in that station, was able to immediately

In 2012, Insurance Services Office (ISO) conducted a review of the fire suppression capabilities of the Council Bluffs (IA) Fire Department (CBFD). The resulting Public Protection Classification (PPC) was a Class 2. This classification puts the CBFD into the top 1% of the approximately 49,000 fire departments ISO reviews. In an effort to maintain the highest level of service to the public, the current fire administration has established an organizational goal of achieving a Class 1 designation.

I would disagree with the statement that "A prudent fire chief steers clear of politics.” All fire departments run on some kind of funding. Without the proper funding then the department either cannot adequately staff apparatus or are forced to cut back in response abilities or additional programs and personnel. Money for funding often comes from the political area and government programs. This is just one of the crucial reasons that "A prudent fire chief" would actually in fact be well involved in politics, creating relationships with individuals that could grow to be influential in decision making. In addition, to overseeing all operational aspects of the department, a chief is a representative of the department

Applying the correct abstractions and generalizations to problems is essential to my position within my department. As a station captain in the Waco Fire Department, on the department's safety committee, and equipment committee; I assist in solving many problems that arise in the department. Serving on the equipment committee, we are expected to find solutions for the various needs of the department. As a member of the safety committee, we must look at ways to improve safe operations for department personnel and civilians.

One of the main goals of the incident command system (ICS) is to manage resources on the fire grounds. The Incident Command System has a built-in accountability system. Proper management of fire ground operations is necessary to achieve and maintain accountability. Accountability through incident command is possible only if it is established from the very beginning of the incident with the arrival of the first unit, officer, or member who establishes command and begins to assign and track incoming resources. Resources that self-deploy on the fire ground without the establishment and direction of an overall IC are not operating within incident command, a single incident action plan (IAP), or an accountability system. Any organization that waits for a later arriving officer to show up, establish command, and then attempt to locate and track multiple self-deployed resources from scratch is setting that officer and the organization up for failure and, ultimately, a tragic disaster. Accountability through

Due to the size and complexity of the Cedar fire, there is not one single agency’s emergency operation plan, but rather several plans from different agencies of all levels that influence the tactical decisions and resource utilization. FIRESCOPE, the Incident Command System, and the National Fire Plan resulted from lessons learned from previous fires and benefited the fire service and citizens of the Cedar fire.

Board of Directors – The governing Board of Directors of the Texas Fire Chiefs Association.

Formal succession planning should be a systematic approach in preparing lower level employees to handle the responsibilities of the senior management in the forthcoming years. It helps to identify the capable employees who have the potential to fulfil these critical roles in the hierarchy.

Rank and chain of command are important and imperative in dealing with emergency situations. More and more, however, agencies are relying on officers to make important decisions on behalf of the agency that have an impact on the communities in which they serve. In the paramilitary style of leadership, the decisions that are made for the agency, whether long term or day to day, are largely made by the leaders at the top of the agency. The command staff of the agency sets a goal, commonly with little or no direction, and expects that the goal will be accomplished because “I said so.” Often the goals are not shared goals, or at the very least, are not communicated well enough to provide the officers with an understanding of why the goals are important. All too often the response from the leaders is, “because this is how it has always been done.” As the age of our agencies continues to get younger, and Generation Y begins to take over, we are finding that those answers are no longer good enough. The challenge is to find out how we overcome the age old way of doing things, and to provide a clear vision and set of goals that we can get our officers to buy into. Gardner and Reece (2012) state that executives must create a department where employees are excited to come to work, zealous about getting mission-driven results, and empowered to take skilled initiative. Further they state

Succession planning is an area within the City where HR is acting as a strategic partner. Currently, HR is looking at the overall needs of the City and how it will change in the next 5 to 10 due to retirement. HR identifies positions and staff and has made suggestions for training and development. Other positions are being re-evaluated to determine need and future requirements. Decisions such as consolidating roles into one position or splitting one position into two are determined by the suitability of existing candidates. HR evaluates the existing talent and provides strategies to develop it, such as mentoring. HR also has to convince the City to support the expense of cultivating staff rather than hiring staff with those skills already in place. The high costs of recruiting versus the costs of educating and training proven staff with leadership qualities have helped to build and communicate a strong

The greatest threat facing the Modern Fire Service is the rate at which firefighters are dying in the line of duty. Excluding the terrible event of 9/11 that occurred in 2001 that forever changed the dynamics of the emergency response services1, firefighter deaths have averaged around 100 fatalities each year for the since 1990. This unacceptable rate of firefighter deaths has found its way to be a benchmark in the industry. The problem is that the benchmark should be zero firefighter deaths while on duty and every year that there is a fatality is a year that the fire service has failed its members. The number one cause of firefighter related deaths yearly is proven to be medical, stress, or overexertion related fatalities2. All of these causes of firefighter deaths can be avoided with implementation of training and awareness.