Improving The Recruitment And Retention Of Volunteer Firefighters Within The Martinsville Fire And Ems Department

The results of the literature review and survey, which also are the recommendations, suggest that the department should consider incorporating the following into its recruitment and retention program: improve volunteer applicant screening to determine their motivation for joining the department, evaluate the current leadership of both career and volunteer officers, evaluate current training programs, and implement a formal recruitment and retention program that includes various incentives for our volunteers.

The number of active volunteer firefighters has been steadily dropping in the state of Connecticut for several years. At the same time, the number of public service calls for fire departments has been on the rise. This problem impacts fire protection and municipalities that rely on volunteer fire departments. The purpose of this narrative study was to explore why volunteer firefighter numbers have been declining, the extent to which recruitment and retention programs are used in volunteer fire departments, and how these programs contribute to a fire department's ability to recruit members. Perry's public service motivation model provided the theoretical framework for the study. Research questions focused on improving recruitment and retention programs. Data were collected from interviews with 5 current chief officers and 5 former firefighters in Connecticut and from organizational documents in local fire departments. Open, axial, and selective coding were used to identify 5 themes: lack of awareness of state policy on recruitment and retention, lack of recruitment, public service motivation, retention, and time. A key theme emerging from this study were that participating fire departments have limited effective recruitment and retention programs. The positive social change implications stemming from this study include recommendations to fire department leadership to consider a unified recruitment and retention strategy. This determination provides a foundation for volunteer fire departments to make informed decisions on how to increase recruitment and retention in their respective communities.

In 2004, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) worked in partnership with the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) to revise the 1998 text, Retention and Recruitment in the Volunteer Fire Service: Problems and Solutions. The original text was based on a series of workshops bringing together volunteer fire service members from all the States. This edition has been enhanced with new research and current issues as the emergency services enter the 21st century. Many of the original reasons for the recruitment problems remain: lack of time, apathy, and excessive requirements. However, they appear to have become even greater issues with the passing of time. Although the recruitment and retention challenges continue to grow, some volunteer organizations maintain good membership while others continue to function with reduced numbers. Those organizations that seek solutions and adapt to our changing personnel environment are successful. Individuals are still willing to give their time to volunteer emergency services organizations provided the following: The experience is rewarding and worth their time; The training requirements are not excessive; The time demands are adaptable and manageable; They are rewarded with a personal sense of value; There is good leadership minimizing conflict; There is ample support for the organization. The emergency services are the most demanding of volunteer activities today. The physical and time demands associated with training; responding to incidents; maintaining facilities, apparatus, and equipment; fundraising; and administering a nonprofit corporation are grueling if not managed properly. In today's hectic world, strong leadership is required to make the emergency services the organizations that will attract volunteers. This text will cover many of the problems of recruitment and retention and provide some examples of solutions that have worked in volunteer organizations across the Nation.

Volunteer fire departments across the country have been feeling the effects of declining membership. Less and less people are joining volunteer fire departments and many experienced members are leaving. This trend is also being experienced by a number of volunteer fire departments located in Erie County, New York, based on a recent survey conducted by the Erie County Volunteer Firemen's Association. The purpose of this paper was to determine what could be done to recruit new volunteers and what could be done to retain current volunteers. An action research method was selected in order to gather sufficient information regarding the volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention programs from across the country. These programs were analyzed to decide which, if any, would be applicable in Erie County. In researching numerous articles and reports, it became apparent that the problem of diminishing volunteers was widespread. A number of fire departments have realized that in order to remain in existence, they must aggressively recruit new members and become more aware of members' needs to retain those members. A number of creative recruitment and retention programs in use across the country were evaluated. From those programs, a number were selected to be implemented in the Erie County Fire Service, some with only minor modifications. Essentially, Erie County's recruitment and retention programs must become very aggressive in order to provide quality fire protection and emergency medical services to the county residents, or face the consequences of having to drastically increase taxes to subsidize a career fire department.

The sharp decline in recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters by fire departments in southeastern Pennsylvania has resulted in the shortage of volunteers to respond adequately to emergencies. This deterioration has culminated into the delivery of inadequate services to most municipalities. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological research was to explore and identify factors that influence recruitment and retention from the perspective of volunteer firefighters in southeastern Pennsylvania who agreed to participate. Additionally, a comprehensive review of scholarly journals as well as volunteer management literature was examined during the conduct of this study. Furthermore, data collection activities was carried out through a one-on-one, face-to-face interview methodology with 25 active volunteer firefighters in the region to answer the interview questions which helped the researcher adequately answer the primary and secondary research questions using Hertzberg's two-factor theory. A major findings from the study indicated that the scarcity of volunteer firefighters to respond to community emergencies was due in large part to the lack of motivational incentives to boost recruitment and retention. It was, therefore, the recommendation that chiefs and policy makers of volunteer fire departments in southeastern Pennsylvania make every effort to provide the motivational needs of potential as well as experienced volunteer firefighters to entice them to enlist and remain with fire departments.

"The purpose of this research project was to determine the gaps, if any, between existing recruitment and retention practices of volunteer fire departments in the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George and best practices as assessed through a review of the relevant research literature. I was particularly interested in determining the motivations of people to join and stay in volunteer fire fighting, and in whether there were age differences in these motivations. I first conducted a review of the relevant research literature to locate previous studies conducted on this topic. The results of these studies helped to inform the interview methodology used in this research. I then interviewed fire chiefs from volunteer departments in the Fraser-Fort George Regional District, British Columbia, to determine what practices they are presently using to recruit and retain their firefighters, and whether they are using different procedures to recruit from younger and older age groups. Based on the background review of research literature and interviews conducted in this project, I make recommendations for the improvement of recruitment and retention strategies for volunteer fire departments in the RDFFG."--Leaf iii.

This dissertation examines satisfaction levels among volunteer firefighters. In 1985, there were 838,000 volunteer firefighters in the United States. This number dropped to below 756,000 in 2011. Because only eight percent of fire departments in the United States do not utilize volunteer firefighters, reversing the decline in the number of volunteer firefighters is essential to the safety of the public and other firefighters. This study utilized a mixed methods approach to determine what motives exist for those to join the volunteer fire service, how these motives alter and map to expectations for continued service, and how well volunteer departments are meeting these different expectations. A snowball sample completed interviews and concept maps, which enabled the study to identify the widest breadth of factors involved. Then a random, representative sample of volunteer firefighters in the State of South Carolina completed a survey to evaluate the importance of motives and expectations as well as satisfaction levels and projected end of service. Regression analysis determined what factors have an influence on a volunteer firefighter's service length. Results determined that there is no long-term connection of service length associated with initial motives to join. Overall, volunteer firefighters join with naive motives that become informed expectations to continue service. These expectations are mainly values and enhancement factors such as helping others, civic responsibility, serving as a role model, being a member of valued public service and a feeling of accomplishment, but also include a few understanding and social factors such as obtaining training and fellowship. This research also concluded that fire departments are doing well at meeting volunteers' expectations and providing them satisfaction. Despite this conclusion, improvements are necessary. Satisfaction from values factors, years of service, gender, population type served, and equipment (such as light, siren, radio) in a volunteer's personal vehicle have a statistically significant influence on eventual service length, while satisfaction from enhancement factors, intermittent service, race, and career motives to join have a marginally significant influence. From a practical standpoint, this study offers recommendations that fire service leaders can use to improve volunteer recruitment and retention.

Recruiting, Training, And Maintaining Volunteer Fire Fighters, Third Edition Looks At The Many Challenges Facing Today’S Volunteer Fire Fighter. Providing The History And Background Of Volunteer Fire Fighting, An Overview Of Why Individuals Volunteer, And Planning For The Future, This Is A Must-Have Resource. The Third Edition Also Provides An Extensive Review Of The Importance Of Customer Service And Detailed Coverage Of Fire Department Evaluations And Model Programs.