Regional Recruitment to Improve an Effective Response

Imagine your community faces its greatest emergency, and the pumper rolls out the door with one person on board. This scenario isn’t hypothetical; it happens in departments nationwide, creating what I believe to be the most significant safety issue that we face in the fire service: the inability to quickly staff and deploy resources.

According to the National Volunteer Fire Council, volunteer firefighters have decreased by 15 percent while call volume has tripled. Without appropriate staffing, firefighters are at greater risk, and the community is being sold a false sense of hope.

Ask yourself, “Do I spend at least one hour a week on recruitment and retention?” Most can’t answer yes, revealing a major imbalance in priorities. Departments invest years in equipment planning but often neglect their most valuable asset: people.

Regional collaboration offers a solution to critical staffing shortages. By sharing resources, expertise and messaging, departments can create unified recruitment strategies that include consistent outreach and comprehensive training. This strengthens staffing, enhances operational readiness and, ultimately, improves community safety.

Fire service models & recruitment

Department models vary widely, from single-station models that only respond to fire incidents, to metropolitan monsters that are faced with an expanded response, including wildland fires and lift-assists. In between, many suburbs are transitioning from volunteer-only staffing to a combination roster while their communities grow.

The fire chief’s duties within each model vary. Rural chiefs not only manage the fire department but also pull lines, manage scenes, inspect properties, and determine origin and cause and might even act as the community’s emergency manager. Career chiefs might do all of this, too, as well as attend council meetings and local events. Where do chiefs find time to recruit new firefighters? Often, it’s after they learn that they’re short-staffed. In other words, for most, the process of hiring new firefighters is reactive, rather than proactive.

Challenges departments face

Increased operational demands. The fire chief role has become more complex, particularly in attracting and hiring candidates. Traditionally, chiefs relied on past practices or borrowed ideas. Nowadays, recruiting requires managing social media, understanding SEO and creating digital content. Effective messages now appear on screens, not flyers. If chiefs spend less than an hour weekly on recruitment and lack marketing skills, is the issue with recruitment or marketing?

Recruitment barriers. Over the years, I attended classes to find solutions for improving my staffing model. I found that my issues were unique, influenced by local economy, demographics and workforce. Certain community segments were unlikely to volunteer as firefighters despite good pay and pension benefits, while other areas were too far away to meet response-time objectives. My recruitment process needed to be tailored to my specific response area.

One common barrier to recruiting new hires today is time. It’s important to create opportunities for participation within the organization that are meaningful and balanced in terms of time commitment. In most cases, the fire chief manages the allocation of a firefighter’s time. Excessive demands can lead to burnout or disengagement. Leadership must adopt a balanced approach to response, training and extracurricular activities. Unlike the members of previous generations who sought extensive experience, newer recruits prefer not to spend excessive hours at work.

Community services should be assessed to reduce the burden on firefighters. Hiring staff for driving, public events, recruitment and equipment maintenance can permit better utilization of those who respond to emergency incidents. These points should be discussed in regional system planning.

Training constraints. As services have grown because of various changes in response, design and technology, firefighters are required to understand a vast amount of mitigation and response procedures to manage these changes. This necessitates continual training. It no longer is sufficient to learn a single method for extinguishing fires and pass it on to new firefighters, as scenarios are likely to evolve, which alters the nature of the fire. Today, we encounter technology advancements, complex medical issues and a greater number of
natural disasters, each of which requires different approaches and equipment.

The regional approach

A regional recruitment strategy lets departments share resources and ideas for a clear message. Simplifying the process helps potential candidates, who often face the struggle to find clear information on outdated websites and processes.

In 2008, as the newly appointed fire chief of a three-city fire district in Anoka County, MN, I encountered a shortage of 14 firefighters out of 75 (19 percent). This posed a safety concern, as apparatus frequently operated with only two crew members, including the operator. To attract more recruits, I leveraged social media platforms, such as Facebook; designed recruitment signs for city halls; and wrapped strategically placed trailers with “We Are Hiring” messages. The response was remarkable, resulting in an information session where potential candidates could meet our staff and learn about their commitment to the role.

We successfully recruited enough individuals, but identifying a vendor that was willing to train fewer than 10 firefighters proved difficult, causing delays in onboarding. To overcome this barrier, I reached out to local fire chiefs to inquire whether they had candidates who were ready for new hire training (NFPA 1001: Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications). Surprisingly, many also had candidates on standby.

I decided to initiate our own training program. Collaborating with my deputy chief of training, we worked diligently to prepare the group, and all new hires passed their certifications on the first attempt. This success suggested that we discovered a new approach to recruitment and training.

Given the effectiveness of the initial class, we announced a second NFPA class date and requested departments to align their hiring processes accordingly, typically initiating recruitment three months prior. For instance, if the class began in May, recruitment would commence in March. This strategy provided assurance to each department that their candidates could join the class promptly upon completing their hiring process. By
eliminating the intermediary, we significantly improved our onboarding and reduced training costs.

We formalized the training program by establishing policies and procedures for both instructors and students and began to share our hiring processes, training methodologies and countywide response plans. Ultimately, we engaged all 15 departments within the county.
Following the success of two training classes, I submitted the concept to the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program and secured $1.2 million to establish a countywide recruitment and training initiative. The funding covered a recruitment coordinator, PPE, bonuses for new hires, health screenings and training for the 263 new hires who were onboarded over a four-year period. The Anoka County Fire Training Academy became a model for shared recruitment and training, boasting the highest graduation rate among similar programs in the state.

Establishing a plan

Establishing a regional plan might come with barriers, such as lack of support, engagement, funding and participation. I faced them all. It was only after we showed the efficiencies and strategy that we got full participation of all of the departments within the county.
To establish a comprehensive recruitment plan, you can start by organizing a meeting with all stakeholders who are interested in collaborating toward a common recruitment goal. This initial meeting is crucial for aligning everyone’s objectives and ensuring that all voices are heard. You can discuss the vision, goals and expectations for the recruitment process.
Next comes establishing the recruitment plan. The plan is based on your needs. If your group only wants to focus on a common recruitment plan, that’s fine. If you want to go all the way into developing training programs and hiring a recruitment coordinator, great.

Here are the key components:

• Budget. Determine the financial resources that are required for the recruitment process. This includes costs for advertising, recruitment software and interview expenses, among others.
• Marketing approach. Develop a strategy for attracting potential candidates. This could involve online job postings, social media campaigns, partnerships with educational institutions and
  attending job fairs.
• Timeline. Create a detailed timeline that outlines each step of the recruitment process, from advertising the job openings to the final selection of candidates. Make sure to include deadlines for each stage to keep the process on track.
• Interview questions and scoring. A set of standardized interview questions should align with the job requirements. Develop a scoring system to objectively evaluate candidates based on their responses.
• Selection. Define the criteria for selecting candidates. This could include qualifications, experience, cultural fit and other relevant factors. Ensure that the selection process is fair and unbiased.
• Training implementation. Formulate a procedure that covers the training and onboarding of new hires. A smart approach to this  process includes creating a training schedule, assigning mentors and providing the necessary resources to help new employees to succeed in their role.
• SAFER grant. Assuming that the funding still is available, you might want to submit a regional grant request to assist you in developing your program.

Following these steps, you can create a structured and efficient regional recruitment plan that will align with your organization’s goals and will ensure a smooth hiring process.

A powerful strategy

I believe that recruitment and retention is the largest safety concern in the fire service. Without people, concerns about health, equipment and station placement are meaningless. I’d rather have five firefighters on an old pumper than two on a new one.

Recruitment requires at least 30 percent of your focus to see real improvements in response capabilities. Regional collaboration is a powerful strategy. A shared message and streamlined process help to attract candidates and strengthen departments across the region.