I wrote many times before about company officers and the duties and responsibilities that these people have. Their effect on every aspect of the American fire service is immense.
Within the company officer ranks there is the rank of captain. Because the command structure of fire departments varies relative to specific titles and to the duties that are associated with them, this column covers the duties and responsibilities of a fire department captain who is a company officer. Additionally, the captain who is discussed here works with junior officers/lieutenants who perform many of the same daily functions as a captain but few of the larger, more administrative functions.
What are the things that the captain handles and who are the people that a captain interacts with? What are captains’ contributions to the department, their company and the firefighters?
Interactions and contributions
You can have a career captain on one of the shifts and lieutenants commanding the other shifts. You might have a senior captain on one shift and more junior (time in rank) captains working the other shift; in a volunteer company, a captain and one or two lieutenants. Regardless of the exact structure, there can and should be one “company commander.” The great thing about a single officer in command is that it sets the stage for the proper and most effective organizational process for the company and the department.
What exactly does the captain do that the other company officers don’t?
Captains not only oversee firefighters on the shift that they work, but they also have overall administrative responsibility for firefighters who work the other shifts with the other officers. Yes, lieutenants or junior captains on another shift should handle the daily and routine situations and issues that arise during their shift or that involve “their” firefighters, but if the situation gets out of hand or becomes unwieldy, the junior officer can bring it to the captain. This step should not be taken for every issue, but this option always is available when necessary.
In many departments, the captain or company commander is the only company officer who supervises other company officers. This often is handled in a casual manner via shift-change discussions, emails and texts. Nevertheless, it still is performed for the purpose of unit continuity and standardization. Say the captain and the other shift officers discussed and decided that the “irons” firefighter will ride in the seat behind the officer, and the firefighter’s tools will be stored in the compartment just to the rear of the door to the crew compartment: This decision is a done matter, and the other officers won’t even think about adjusting that during their shift. Most policy and tactical arrangements are “set” and aren’t adjusted or changed without the approval of the company commander.
Dramatically influential
Many more hours are spent in the firehouse than at fires or other responses, and the captain once again rules the roost. Firehouse policy that concerns training times, apparatus work, tool and equipment maintenance, probationary firefighter routines, and other daily job-related issues and activities often is established by the captain. In departments where four or five people ride the apparatus, how each is assigned a position can vary from company to company. Often, the captain decides or delegates that to each officer for that individual’s shift.
So, even though the captain’s station in the chain of command is below that of the battalion chief, whose command function at fires and emergencies is effectively absolute, the captain is in a dramatically influential position within the department. Yes, the chief can stop by and instruct the captain or issue orders that will be followed, but the captain’s influence is broader. The captain oversees the entire company, establishes and enforces company policy, inspires and energizes firefighters and company officers, and has a dramatic effect on the reputation and performance of the company.
