FIRE DEPARTMENT EVERYONE’S A TEACHER Part II

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Our previous article in this series discussed everyone’s opportunity to be a teacher through setting the example and mentoring, and how one person’s example can be such an effective method of imparting valuable principles.  Then there are those individuals that are given the opportunity and responsibility to become the formal trainer of departmental personnel.  During my 32 years in the Fire Service, I have had the privilege of being the Training Officers.  Yes, did say privilege!  Of all those cumulative years spent at the Training Facility, some of my most rewarding memories are those of the new recruit classes I taught.  I had the opportunity to be the person that sets a new firefighter on the right course, both in learned skills and in departmental values.  More importantly, this also became an opportunity to “pay it forward”, to return to others what was given to us by our Training Officers when we started out.

 

As I am well aware, today it takes a lot of effort just to get on a hiring list for the Fire Department, so anyone who actually makes it to the Drill Tower as a new recruit has already displayed a lot of the qualities that are essential in this career.  For some recruits, talking about departmental values is nothing more than a review of what their parents taught and instilled in them as they were growing up.  For others, there might be one or two values that are new to them.  Regardless, our responsibility from that first day at the drill tower was to explain our organizational culture and values to them and to demonstrate those values to them in everything we did while they were in my charge.

 

FORMAL VALUES

Some components of our formal value system are;

  • Integrity is at the core of our careers.
  • Professionalism is the manner in which we carry out our work.
  • Sensitivity is the quality we bring to our interactions with others.
  • Cooperation is using our combined talents and resources to provide excellent service to our citizens and each other.
  • Vitality is the spirit behind all our efforts.

 

We asked our recruits to learn and “buy into” our organizational values, and most importantly, to come to an understanding of how these values made our Fire Department well respected in the community and throughout the state.

 

INFORMAL VALUES

In every organization, there are definite informal values.  These are usually not written down in a “Mission Statement”, but consist of how people treat one another on a day-to-day basis and how they feel about their organization.  It was also our responsibility to expose new personnel to these informal values, as being aware of these concepts would not only help them fit in, but would also help to set their foundation over the next 30+ years.  Informal values might include statements like:

  • There is more to this job than just showing up.
  • Never forget why you are here.
  • Bring your “A” game to work every day.
  • Teamwork is how we succeed.
  • This is the best job in the world.

 

These statements indicate that they should come to work every day striving to be the very best at what they do.  By sharing this important information with the recruits, we let them know that these values are as much a foundation of our operational effectiveness as the formal values we discussed.

 

One of the other things we made new recruits aware of is that their reputation starts from day one, that they are developing that reputation even as they go through the Drill Tower.    And as often as not, that description will stay with you your entire career, even when you promote.

More to come