In his February 17th Morning Lineup features (and updated on February 20th), FireGeezer.com's Bill Schumm discusses and demonstrates the effectiveness, or ineffectiveness, of using video as a recruitment tool. While his perspective on why we face the recruitment and retention challenges we do are certainly part of puzzle, the value of his commentary lies in the subliminal call to action that we need to be more creative in creating the solutions.

Certainly, a recruitment video with appropriate visuals and a good, solid message can be effective, but FireGeezer proposes that we need to do something about our culture, our society, to inspire and perpetuate volunteerism. I couldn't agree more.

As I've said before:

“Simply put, it’s my belief that the survival and success of the volunteer fire service relies on our ability to create more opportunities – for more people – to volunteer less time.

Our success depends on our ability to effectively plan for, lead and manage people; whether you don’t have enough – or you have more than you can handle.

The possibilities for their involvement are only limited by our imaginations.”
- Tiger Schmittendorf – From: "A New Pyramid Scheme for your Volunteer Fire Department"

 

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The view of my flag --- from my hammock.

Whenever I get the chance, I take full advantage of the opportunity to lie in my hammock on the front porch of our house. The porch is covered and it’s on the east side of the house, protected from the sometimes gusty winds that come off Lake Erie not far from us.

The hammock is made out of soft woven strings stretched to a metal ring on each end. The rings have heavy chains connected to them that are attached to hooks that secure the entire hammock to its metal pedestal. The rope strings are covered by a comfortable bedding pad that even has a built-in pillow tied to it.

I don’t know about where you live, but here in Western New York, this was a great summer to own a hammock. On more occasions than in any other summer I can remember, I took time out of our busy lives just to enjoy my hammock. As our house sits perpendicular to our quiet village street, my front porch hammock gives me a good vantage point from which to observe neighborhood activities, read a book, or just to focus on the inside of my eyelids, whichever I’m in the mood for. I bet you that I’ve slept outside in the hammock no less than 15 nights this summer. It’s a great spot.

Not long after we moved into our house almost 15 years ago I made one of the most important purchases a first-time homeowner can make. I bought and mounted an American flag to the front post of our porch. Although the installation is not a difficult one, I remember it being a proud and rewarding moment to drill the holes for the mount, push the flag pole into the base and tighten the set screw to keep the flag in place. The flag is installed at about an 80 degree angle so it doesn’t stick straight out which could cause injury to anyone who might walk into it as they approached our house from the sidewalk.

Many times I just lie in my hammock and stare at that flag. It helps me think. It helps me relax.

Sometimes the flag hangs straight down, motionless. Other times, the wind blows across the roof and flips the flag from side to side and even upside down. I climbed in my hammock the other day and looked up to see that my flag was wrapped around itself so tightly that only a small triangular section was hanging down. It looked like an umbrella that had been closed but not yet buttoned up.

I watch as the wind blows my flag, slowly tearing its bottom edges as it twists and turns itself up onto the roof, above the gutter, and then flops itself back down again, waving back and forth. The gold eagle at the top of the flag pole glistens in the morning sun.

The next time I look at that flag, it could be a tangled mess – or it could be flowing freely in the breeze. It’s different every time I look at it. That’s the beauty of my flag.

As I lay here in my hammock on Saturday-September 11, 2010 — I think about that flag and what it means to me. More than just dyed cotton and a metal pole, that flag represents America. Not just because it’s our stars and stripes, but even in the way it acts and responds.

Sometimes these United States, like my flag, just rest at ease: quiet, still, but ever ready. And for sure, neither our nation or my flag are without imperfections. It’s tattered and worn but beautiful and inspiring nonetheless. The most amazing part about my flag is that no matter how tangled and torn it gets, its resilience to right itself always prevails. My flag is dependable. Even in the worst weather, it flows freely and beautifully. My country is just like that too.

I just returned from our community’s September 11th Remembrance Ceremony at the gazebo located in the center of our village. Complete with personal reflections from civic leaders, prayers and the playing of our National Anthem and “America the Beautiful;” the only thing missing from the service was an appropriate attendance from our citizens. Unfortunately, there were more firefighters, veterans, law enforcement and politicians – than there were members of the general public.

How easily we forget. How easy it is to go about our daily lives without even pausing for an hour to be a part of a community remembrance. It’s been nine years. How sad. How shameful.

However disappointing and disturbing, I don’t regret attending.

Despite all that, it made me feel good that we were surrounded by American Flags of all sizes: on poles, on uniforms, in hand, and even a huge flag that flew over the gazebo from a fully extended ladder truck. As we stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellow first responders, it reminded me of my definition of brotherhood that I penned five years ago:

“It doesn’t matter that we wear different patches on our left sleeve. What’s important is that we wear the same patch on our right sleeve – the red, white and blue one – the one with the stars and stripes on it. That’s what brings us together and keeps us together. No one can ever take that away from us. The fire service is what’s right about America.”
— Tiger Schmittendorf – February 25, 2005

This huge American Flag flew over the William G. Houston Gazebo during the September 11th ceremony in the Village of Angola.

I stood there listening and looking at the people around me when it dawned on me that, while I originally wrote this definition in relation to the fire service – it’s much larger than that.

Our brotherhood, our connections, extend well beyond the fire service. Those police officers, councilmen, supervisors, veterans, mayors, legislators and civic-minded civlians are more like us than we sometimes realize or care to admit.

They care about our community. They care about our values and they care about people.

Anyone who volunteers to lead a community group, who looks out for others, anyone who takes on a project to make our community a better place – they’re part of that brotherhood. They’re part of that bond that makes a group of people a community – and a country.

Some 3,000 Americans were killed on September 11, 2001 and many more since, for trying to do just that.

When you wear that flag, wear it in their honor – for it’s that flag that connects us all. Maybe I shouldn’t even call it my flag. It’s our flag.

I love my family, my friends, my fire service; I love my community and my country.

I love my hammock.

I love my freedom.

I love my flag.

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Editor’s Note: I am infatuated with the American Flag and photograph them every chance I get. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that…

• Download my definition of Brotherhood
• View my collection of flag photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tigerschmittendorf/sets/72157623885213092/.
• View photos of our September 11th Memorial Service

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My Three-Part Risk Management Plan: Alex, Laurie and Kathleen

Despite the fact that I wrote this piece for Fire-Rescue Magazine last year, I’m pretty sure its content is still relevant as we ponder recent and not so recent events during Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/usfa-reminds-you-that….

As I stated in comments to another blog by John Mitchell (www.firedaily.com) titled: “The Charleston 43″ (http://www.firefighternation.com/profiles/blogs/the-charleston-43) — if we don’t make these incidents personal to us, incidents like these have the unique ability to quickly become personal for us.

Thus, I present for your review, a re-post of “Make It Personal” http://tigerschmittendorf.com/2009/09/07/make-it-personal/

Let me know what you think of the piece and what you’re doing to make Safety Week 2010 personal for you.

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That's me with Past Chief John Latimore, one of my best friends in the fire service and the neighborhood I grew up in.

It’s been more than a month since my presentation at FDIC and my live Internet radio talk show on FirefighterNetcast from the show floor, but a lot of exciting things have happened since then. 

Feedback from my show about the importance of storytelling in the fire service with special guest Chief Tom Merrill was tremendous and it’s amazing to see the influence that the Run-to-the-Curb (RttC) concept has had on people. Several firefighters have since shared their own personal stories of growing up in and around the fire service. In fact, so many have responded that it’s tough to keep up with and more of their stories are pending publication here. 

Read more at: http://runtothecurb.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/run-to-the-curb-is-top-story/

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From www.FireRECRUITER.com:

In honor of EMS Week-2010, I thought I’d promote the (dare I say) sexiest video I’ve ever seen come to volunteer recruitment and retention.

“Roll With It!” is a part music video, part movie trailer — full-on high energy – high impact web site for the recruitment of fire and EMS personnel.

Celebrate EMS Week in style: “Roll With It!”

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THIS IS A DRILL! This is not an actual event. Evans Center Firefighters "responded" to a Pre-Prom Season Stop-DWI Drill that demonstrated the devastating effects of drinking and driving to juniors and seniors at the Lake Shore High School. Photo by Tiger Schmittendorf

Despite the fact that as I’m writing this it feels far more like winter than spring in Buffalo, it’s not those seasons I’m talking about in this story.

Evans Center, my volunteer fire company, planned and supported a Pre-Prom Season Stop-DWI drill for our Juniors and Seniors at the Lake Shore Central Senior High School Friday morning. Coordinated by our Asst. Chief Tom Szczepaniak, Principal Chris Walsh and the Town of Evans Police Department’s Chief Ernie Masullo, Capt. Chuck Danzi and Patrolman Ralph Maslach — the assembly and demonstration stressed the devastating effects of making poor decisions relating to drinking and driving.

Not much unlike what is done at schools across the country at this time of the year, the Lake Shore team put together a comprehensive program that really hit home with these at-risk young adults. And, when I say “at-risk” I mean that, statisticly, they are at great risk of being involved in an alcohol-related accident before they graduate from high school or make it to their freshman semester in college.

The upperclassmen first participated in an assembly presentation that included a drinking party skit performed by fellow students. After being broken up by the local police, the party continued, followed by a mock fatal DWI accident on school property with students acting as the injured, arrested and dead parties. Evans Police, Evans Center Firefighters and a Mercy Flight of Western New York helicopter responded to the incident.

One student was D.O.A. and the other seriously injured, requiring extrication and transport to the trauma center by helicopter; while the teenage driver was put through a full set of field sobriety tests, arrested and hand-cuffed in front of his peers. The student “killed” in the crash layed motionless under a sheet for almost a half-hour, in plain sight of the other students, before being bagged and loaded into the coroner’s van.

The presentation concluded with a very realistic funeral ceremony performed by John Latimore of Latimore-Schiavone Funeral Home and attended by fellow students. The entire presentation recieved wide-spread news coverage on the local ABC-TV affilliate and Time-Warner Cable’s YNN News Network.

My son Alex will graduate from Lake Shore in June and will attend the St. Bonaventure University School of Journalism in the fall. I asked him what he thought of the drill.

His immediate response was limited to two words: “It worked.”

“If anything, it was too realistic. Some kids actually got sick to their stomachs. You got the message across, loud and clear,” he added.

Those words are music to a father’s ears as today we celebrate Mother’s Day in the hopes that every mother’s child will survive this prom and graduation season by exercising good judgement every time they get behind the wheel or in the passenger seat. I encourage you to do whatever it takes to prevent such a tragedy from visiting your community.

Happy Mother’s Day to my Laurie and all other Moms so deserving of the title.

• Click here to view the hundreds of photos I took of the drill.
• See other Evans Center photos here.
• Related stories:
  • Cario Fire Chief: A Sober Message to Seniors

IMPORTANT NOTE:

THIS IS A DRILL! This is not an actual event.

Participants are student actors and real first responders. These photos were taken at the Pre-Prom DWI Drill conducted by the Evans Center Volunteer Fire Company and Town of Evans Police Department in cooperation with the Lake Shore Central School District on Friday-May 7, 2010.

All Photos ©2010www.tigerschmittendorf.com

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My helmet is off to the folks in the Syosset NY Fire Department for recognizing 40+ aged recruits as a viable part of the solutions to our recruitment and retention challenges.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: I’m posting this blog literally minutes after completing my first NetCast on the topic of volunteer recruitment and retention, compliments of FireCritic and FireDaily at www.firefighternetcast.com. What a tremendous opportunity that was to connect with so many people via the live chat and simultaneous telephone call-ins.

My helmet is off to those two gentlemen for harnessing that technology to accomplish something that they may not even realize they’re doing: Telling Stories.

Storytelling is important to the survival and success of the fire service. Very important. As I wrote in my article: “Saving Stories,” in this month’s edition of Fire-Rescue Magazine, storytelling “passes on our traditions, conveys our values and protects the rich heritage of the fire service.” Thanks to Rhett and John for doing just that through the tales shared on FirefighterNetcast.com.

At the end of the Netcast, I let the cat out of the bag about a new partnership I created between our volunteer fire service and the National Guard. Look for more info on that coming soon. In the meantime, the following is a story that is a little bit about my love for my father, my passion for the fire service and my appreciation for the military men and women who protect our freedom every day.

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My father enlisted in a National Guard unit of the Army and served in the Pacific during WWII. When the Korean War broke out, he re-enlisted, despite starting a family at home. He earned two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star.

I don’t know if it’s the fact that my father served in the US Army in two wars, my self-inflicted guilt for not serving in the military, or simply my love for country; but over the past several years I’ve experienced a growing appreciation for – OK, almost an infatuation with – our US Military and the men and women who serve in it.

My logical side admires these ordinary people who perform extraordinary missions in defense of our freedom.

My creative side is in love with the marketing machine that is the US Military.

Communicating their core values of honor, duty and service is greatly enhanced with compelling images of our military men and women actively engaged in serving – surrounded by sights and sounds of heavy weaponry, technological superiority; flying, driving and floating armored apparatus and the blood, sweat and tears of real soldiers.

I subscribe to the National Guard’s monthly magazine “GX: The Guard Experience.” For me, it’s like getting a new text book on recruiting and marketing every 30 days. Filled with gritty images of both valor and compassion, GX brings the story of Guardsmen right to your mailbox or desktop.

Reading GX while on a flight from Buffalo to Houston TX last week, I took great interest in an article titled:
“Re-enlisting Abroad” which tells the story of Guardsmen who have honorably completed their required
tour-of-duty only to re-commit themselves to continuing their service while still actively serving overseas.

The term “re-enlist” struck a chord as I tallied all of the parallels between the fire service and the military. It got me thinking about the future of the volunteer fire service and the challenges we’re facing in getting people to join and stay within our ranks.

The values we share between these two great American institutions are a mirror image of each other, as are the attitudes and attributes of the people we’re both hoping to enlist.

The values we share between these two great American institutions are a mirror image of each other, as are the attitudes and attributes of the people we’re both hoping to enlist.

Enlist, recruit and attract are all familiar synonyms, but re-enlist – now that’s a concept I hadn’t thought of before in relation to the fire service.

Sure, there are people who transfer from volunteer fire department to department and some folks who leave our ranks for whatever reason, only to return at a later time in their life. I guess you could call that re-enlisting.

But what if we didn’t volunteer in the fire service and instead “enlisted.” Everyone theoretically makes the same commitment when they raise their right hand and pledge to do what we do. But do we all do it with the same level of commitment and is our degree of dedication consistent throughout our years of service?

I’m sure we’ve all seen people come and go during our time in the volunteer fire service, and plenty more who signed up, only to become long-standing but non-contributing members of our organizations who, by the time the system catches up to them, they’re submitting their request for life membership.

On the other hand, we could make it a very positive experience where we turn it into a celebration of one’s already demonstrated dedication to serving the fire service. We could make a ceremony out of it and, like I always strongly encourage, take advantage of the opportunity to acknowledge and bring recognition to the people making the real sacrifices – our spouses and our families.

If you had to formally re-enlist in the fire service, would you re-up?

Would you do it willingly or half-heartedly? Are you in need of an attitude adjustment towards your service commitment?

Reinvigorated by the training I traveled to Texas for, I’m hereby officially re-enlisting myself in my profession: the fire service.

I had a great experience in an intensive week-long Advanced Unified Incident Command Course at TEEX, an extension of Texas A&M University, with 42 other emergency management professionals from Alaska to Florida, Boston to Los Angeles, and many points in between.

But they didn’t just give me that great experience; I had to go there and earn it, just like everyone else in the class. Sure, I willingly enlisted in the course, but I got out of it what I put into it, and more.

The fire service has so much to offer – but it’s not just for us to take freely without giving back. We have to work for it the way our predecessors did. And, we have to work to preserve it just as they did for us.

I was struck by another GX story that detailed the military history of Major General Gus Hargett, Adjutant General of the Tennessee National Guard, who retired in December-2009 after five decades of service.

When asked how he felt whenever he heard our National Anthem, the General answered:

“If you don’t get that little tingle down your spine, you ought to check your hole card. Because there is something un-American about a guy who doesn’t get that.”

We are surrounded by strong symbols and icons that represent the values of the fire service. And there are images and sounds – like the sight of a fire engine’s flashing lights or the wail of a siren – which should trigger an involuntary reaction within our “inner firefighter” whenever we see or hear them.

Perhaps we should be forced to occasionally re-evaluate our level of commitment, check our “hole-card” as the good General suggests, ensuring that our head and our heart are in the right place for serving our community and earning the public’s trust every day.

I’ve written before that the fire service is either in your blood or it’s not, and you can easily tell the difference between those who share the addiction and those who don’t.

If the fire service has drained out of your blood, maybe it’s time for you to get out of the fire service.

Otherwise, I think it’s time to re-enlist.

Download, print and share: Re-Enlist.

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For a comprehensive offering of R&R resources, visit my blog at www.tigerschmittendorf.com.
Click or call if you’re looking for ideas or want to volunteer your own. I’d love to hear your stories.

Let me know how I can help.

Until next time… “Stay safe. Train often.”

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Tiger Schmittendorf is chairman of FASNY’s Recruitment and Retention Committee and serves the County of Erie Department of Emergency Services (Buffalo NY) as Deputy Fire Coordinator. He created a recruitment effort that doubled his own fire department’s membership and helped net 525+ new volunteers countywide. A frequent presenter on the subjects of leadership, incident management, safety, recruitment and retention, he is a Nationally Certified Fire Instructor and has been a firefighter since 1980. Visit his blog at www.tigerschmittendorf.com.

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Getzville Firefighter Ryan Russell with two very appreciative fans

You’ve read my previous references to “Run to the Curb” type kids in “Fortune Tellers” and in my other writings. Now I’ve created a whole new web site just for telling my stories and to give you a place to share your stories too.

Run to the Curb.com is a work-in-progress blog I just created and a possible online book project too. There I’ll share my experiences, my stories and my thoughts on our need to be better story tellers. 

And, I want to hear your stories too. You can share your childhood experiences and your connections to the fire service and in doing so, share the brotherhood, history and traditions of the fire service with fellow firefighters — and those who wish they were.

Check back often as more stories are added and we build this legacy document together.

Run to the curb. Tell your story. Tell your fortune. We can’t wait to hear it.

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Patience is some times not one of my better virtues. I’ve been kicking around the idea of creating an online clearinghouse of recruitment and retention resources for quite some time.

Needless to say, it’s an area of the fire service that I’m quite absorbed in but I’ve always waited for someone else to create such a thing. Sure, there’s the National Volunteer Fire Council and VolunteerFD.org, which does a more than formidable job of compiling resources for the volunteer fire service, but I still felt there was something lacking. I needed more. We need more.

I identified a gap, an opportunity to create a single source for everything related to how we market to, recruit, indoctrinate, treat and retain the single most important resource in the fire service: our people.

Finally, I couldn’t wait any longer. I registered and published: FireRECRUITER.com – a single site dedicated to ensuring the survival and success of the volunteer fire service across our nation.

Building the framework was the easy part. Creating, compiling and organizing the content to achieve this lofty goal is not something I can do alone. I need your help.

I’ve been conducting a (very) soft roll out of FireRECRUITER.com over the past few days, adding content as I go, but there’s obviously room for plenty more. That’s where you come in.

With your input and feedback we can build a comprehensive clearinghouse for all the topics that influence and affect the human side of the business of delivering emergency services. With your help, we can share information that ensures we have the appropriate quantity and quality of people to continue our common goal of serving our communities.

Visit FireRECRUITER.com and let me know what you need this resource to be to better serve you.

PS – Don’t worry, TigerSchmittendorf.com isn’t going anywhere. While it’s primary focus is more indepth blogs and professional services, FireRECRUITER.com will offer a broader platform to include my blogs and those from other appropriate sources, along with toolkits, related news, documents and other resources. Stay tuned as this develops.

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