An article recently posted to FirefighterNation.com outlines the challenges faced by volunteer fire departments in Pennsylvania in recruiting and retaining their members. Although these types of articles are becoming all too frequent, this one in particular is better than most in that it focuses on the positives of being a volunteer firefighter — not all the negatives. I’ve cited many examples of what not to say if you’re actually looking to solve your R&R challenges in a previous post titled “Is this our best approach?” Too often, it seems that we hand a prospective candidate all of the reasons and excuses why they wouldn’t join on a silver platter.

I have to tip my helmet to the volunteer fire service in Pennsylvania who is no stranger to these challenges — or to innovative solutions to those challenges. I’ve previously mentioned them in “PA VFDs Dip Into Fountain of Youth” for potential solutions as well as I’ve applauded their efforts in the successful recruitment campaign: “Roll with It!” — the sexiest thing to come to volunteer recruitment I’ve ever seen. It rivals the GoArmy.com and NationalGuard.com campaigns.

Share on Facebook

Although I never had the opportunity to meet or speak with the man, I was "in his presence" on a few short occasions and was always impressed by his talented writing abilities.

Today we mourn the loss of fire service and news world leader: Hal Bruno.

Share on Facebook

Today marks the 235th birthday of the United States Marine Corps and tomorrow is Veterans Day. What a great time to celebrate the contributions and sacrifices made by our military service men and women who protect our lives and our freedom around the world every day.

To that end, I thought it appropriate to tie a few events together in an effort to pay appropriate recognition and thanks to our Veterans.

The Story of a True Serviceman:

I’m pleased to announce that tomorrow evening will feature a special Veterans Day Tribute on my Firefighter Storytellers Radio Show on Firefighter Netcast with my good friend Dan Frontera.

Dan Frontera grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo, NY in a family where community service was simply a way of life. His Dad was a Veteran along with most of his uncles. Both his Dad and one of his uncles were volunteer firemen too. It’s no surprise that Dan then grew up to be both a soldier and a firefighter.

Tune in to Firefighter Storytellers at 9pm EST on Thursday-November 11, 2010 to hear Dan’s story as he and I celebrate the contributions of all service men and women in a special Veterans Day tribute. We’ll discuss the similarities and strong bond between the military and the fire service; and we’ll give Dan a chance to share some of his efforts in serving other Veterans. You don’t want to miss this show.

Listen in, call in, download and follow Dan on his journey from Run-to-the-Curb kid to “Citizen. Soldier. Firefighter.”

Are you a Veteran and a Firefighter?

We’d love to have you call in to the show so you can give a quick shout-out to your fire department and military unit (past or present) and it will give us the opportunity to say THANKS!    The BlogTalk Radio Live Show Call-in Number is: 347-327-9920.

Help us promote Firefighter Storytellers and the FirefighterNetcast family of shows by downloading and sharing the show flyer or posting a show link to your Twitter or Facebook page.

A Veteran of Many Things

A day doesn’t pass that I don’t think about my Dad and all the sacrifices he made for our family and his country. He’s been gone for almost six years now so I think it’s important to re-visit something I wrote about him a few years back as my way of sharing him with you and me never letting his memory die. He truly was ”A Veteran of Many Things.”

Related:

• My Flag
• Raising a flag about lowering THE FLAG!

Fitting Tribute

This Veterans Day will be an especially tough one here in Buffalo and Western New York as one of our own was killed in action in Afghanistan last week. Army Specialist Blake D. Whipple, age 21, was killed by an IED. His family and our community will lay him to rest this week.

A fire department from neighboring Monroe County has a great idea for remembering the sacrifices of all soldiers and we should all follow their lead. Here’s the details of their program as shared with me by Randy Jensen, Public Information Officer for the Ridge Road Fire District:

 “Firefighters Pays Tribute to Fallen Soldier”   

The Ridge Road Fire District (Rochester, NY) pays tribute to Army Specialist Blake D. Whipple, 21, of Williamsville, N.Y., (Erie County) who died November 5^th in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.  He was assigned to the 7th Engineering Battalion, 10th Sustainment Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.   

The Fire District pays tribute to all New York State Firefighters, Police Officers, EMS Personnel, and Members of the Military who die in the line of duty. We recognize them on our sign in front of the Fire Station and lower our flags to half staff at our Emergency Service Memorial for three days for them giving the ultimate sacrifice so others may live. 

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Specialist Whipple’s family, friends and the members of the Military who are supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Randy Jensen, Public Information Officer
Ridge Road Fire District
1299 Long Pond Road – Rochester, NY 14626-3031
Office (585) 227-2123 – Fax: (585) 227-4040
rjensen@rrfd.org - www.rrfd.org

And that Folks — is living proof that the brotherhood we enjoy and share extends far beyond the fire service and far beyond our borders. We will dedicate tomorrow night’s Firefighter Storytellers radio show in Specialist Whipple’s memory and honor.

Related:

• Buffalo-area soldier killed by IED in Afghanistan – Buffalo
• Flags to Fly at Half Staff - Buffalo News

We Will Never Forget

We’re ten months away from the tenth anniversary of the horrendous attacks that occurred on American soil September 11, 2001 but there is never a bad time to remember the thousands of firefighters, police officers, military personnel and citizens going about their daily lives who were lost that day.

Although there are many others just like them, this recent news article highlights the efforts of one fire deparment in making sure that “Never Forget” means that “We Will Never Forget.”

My helmet is off to the Mt. Kisco NY Fire Department for doing the right thing when others would just as soon forget.

Check out their efforts here: http://www.lohud.com/article/20101110/NEWS02/11100321/Mount-Kisco-breaks-ground-on-9-11-memorial

To donate, send a check payable to the Mount Kisco Volunteer Fire Department; P.O. Box 91, Mount Kisco, NY 10549. You can also call Felice at 914-241-4593 or Alexander at 914-218-8334.

Mt. Kisco FD:

• Indpeendent Fire Co.
• Union Hook & Ladder Co. 1

Don’t Forget

Hopefully that’s enough ammo (pun intended) to remind you to thank a Veteran tomorrow and every day for their service to our country and our communities. Take every opportunity to salute their efforts and appreciate the sacrifices made by our military men and women — and our military families as well.

Hopefully my military buddies will nod in agreement when I bid you to:

Stay safe. Train often.

Share on Facebook

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.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

Share on Facebook

Alex, Laurie and Kathleen

My goal is to chronicle, as best I can, some of the many great experiences I had last week at FDIC-2010 in Indianapolis, Indiana. There’s so many of them flowing through my brain, some of them are short snippets while others I remember as full-length features, and I plan to present them accordingly.

My FDIC-2010 experience ranks up there with some of the greatest memories of my career and life. Full of laughs (my stomach still hurts), meeting good people (and John and Rhett too!), going on “adventures” together and most importantly, sharing the brotherhood that few other professions enjoy.

So, with the intent of eventually sharing all of these experiences, I thought I would start with the end of the trip instead of the beginning; for in the end, in a very unexpected way, the value of my trip to FDIC and the importance of my returning home became very apparent to me.

You’ll see why in just a little bit.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Following an adventurous ride to the airport on Saturday, April 24 — compliments of John Mitchell of www.firefighternetcast.com (one of my new BFFs!) — I boarded the plane from Indy to Baltimore. Arriving in Baltimore a few minutes early, I now faced a four-hour layover before returning home to Buffalo.

I deplaned and immediately set up shop in the Phillips Seafood Restaurant at BWI Airport. I chose a seat at the closest end of the continuous bench seat that ran around the perimeter of the restaurant, located right next to a power outlet for my laptop. Perfect.

For the next four long hours I felt like I was in a scene from “The Terminal” — the movie about an eastern immigrant stuck living in the airport with nowhere to go and unable to leave because he had no country to return to, and therefore no official citzenship anywhere.

There was a group of three women sitting at the table next to me when I sat down. After ordering a pop and a cup of crab soup I fired up my laptop and started to upload some of the photos and videos I took this week.

The women eventually finished their meal and left, assumably to catch their plane. A short while passed before another group of three sat down at the table next to me. It appeared to me from their conversations and interaction that the older couple was flying through Baltimore and was sitting with either a son or a close family friend who had met them at the airport to help pass the time away while they waited for their connecting flight.

All three of them ordered a drink and the woman, obviously in her sixties or older, was quite flattered when the waitress actually required each of them to show their IDs for proof of age. Everyone laughed. I chimed in that the waitress “just does that to get more tips.” Those folks were nice enough to watch my things so that I could take a bathroom break without having to pack up all my gear I had spread out all over the table.

I continued my photo downloading and uploading, Tweeting and Facebooking – much of it with the folks I had left behind in Indianapolis. It eventually came time for the couple at the table-next-door to board their plane and all three said goodbye to me and left the restaurant together.

Pacing my four-hour feeding foray, I ordered crab cakes simply to pass the time and satisfy my frequent craving for seafood. Growing up in a family of eight kids, our house rule was that the first one done eating had to start doing the dishes. I joke that I never did a dish in my life. Thus, I am an extremely slow eater, much to the dismay of those who dine with me — especially those I shared meals with in Indy.

Savoring every bite, I slowly ate the mini-crab cakes and washed them down with a cup of coffee in an effort to stay awake for fear of missing my plane.

A family of four sat down at the table next to me a short while later. The youngest boy walked between the tables and saddled up next to me on the cushioned bench seat. His butt was still sliding across the vinyl when he asked me: “What’s your name?”

I told him my name and he looked at me a bit strangely, a typical reaction from young children (and some adults). I asked him his name: “Ryan,” he answered loudly and clearly. His interrogation intensified from there.

We bantered back and forth and he told me that they too were returning home, although he had trouble pronouncing the name of the state he was from. Ryan, probably only five or six years old, blurted out “I’ve seen you on TV.” I answered that while that is entirely possible as I’m on TV fairly often, I said that I didn’t think that was really the case here.

His father, dressed in a plain white t-shirt, was sitting kitty-corner to me and asked where I was coming from. I told him that I was coming from FDIC in Indianapolis – a gathering of 30,000 firefighters from around the world. He responded with “Are you on the job?”

Ding-Ding-Ding!

That question, posed that way, is a tell-tale sign that you are now talking to another firefighter. We proceeded to exchange the usual “firefighter first-date” questions of what deparment are you with, how long have you been a firefighter, how big is the department, etc., etc.

It wasn’t long before his older son, perhaps nine or ten, quipped that his dad always meets other firefighters “Wherever we go” and “is always chit-chatting with them.” I felt right at home, having heard something very similar and very often from my family.

We shared that instantaneous bond, that immediate acceptance that only comes from talking with a brother firefighter, and the conversation flowed freely, albeit frequently interrupted by his young son.

He said he was a career firefighter but had no immediate intentions of becoming an officer because he would start at the bottom of the ladder in that rank, and won’t have the same scheduling flexibility he has now. “But I’m debating whether or not to take a position that would give me a regular 40-hour work week to spend more time at home,” he said.

I don’t know why, I don’t know what I sensed, but at that very moment, I asked him where they were flying from.

He told me that they had just spent a week in Disney World.

Pause…

“We are returning home from my son’s Make-a-Wish trip,” he added.

Pause…

Pause…….

Pause…………..

I tried my best not to look shocked or surprised but we had obviously just crossed another threshold of that bond that only comes with the real brotherhood of the fire service. Apparently, in that very short time together, we had established enough of a rapport that he felt comfortable in sharing something so very personal.

I know that he didn’t tell me that to make me feel sorry for them or to bring attention to themselves. He told me simply because he knew I would understand.

Without me prying, without me asking what his son’s ailment was or what his prognosis was, he knew that I would understand why a hard-working man, a firefighter, would give up the opportunity to become an officer because it would give him more time to take care of his ailing son.

He knew that I had two great, healthy kids at home because he heard me answer one of Ryan’s earlier inquiries. He knew I would understand.

I looked at Ryan and tried to re-engage him in a conversation as he was growing restless that their food wasn’t there yet.

And then, in a move that took me by complete surprise, his father turned and gave some medications to Ryan’s older brother.

I tried my best not to look shocked or startled.

I gave him my card and told him about my Run-to-the-Curb project where I’m collecting stories from firefighters just like him. I knew he would understand.

I hope he connects with me because I’d like to help in some way. Perhaps him telling his story would bring some form of comfort and healing to a father hurting for his son.

It was now time for me to go to the gate so I could catch my plane. I gathered my things and wished them the best and walked away from that young family of four.

It was in that instant that I realized the gifts I had received by being surrounded by my brothers for the past week, the gift of being a firefighter and for the opportunity to return home to three happy, healthy gifts I’ve been blessed with: Laurie, Kathleen and Alex.

That firefighter and his family had given me another gift: A reminder to surround yourself with people you love, that life is short, and to make the best of every moment we have together.

And that’s the greatest gift of all.

Share on Facebook

I hope to see all of my loyal followers (both of them) at FDIC in a few short weeks. I’ll be presenting “From the X-Box to the Box Alarm” on Thursday-April 22, 2010 at 10:30am in Room 127-128. There’s room for 308 of my closest, most personal friends so there’s really no excuse for not joining me! LOL

Here’s the description from the FDIC web site and participant guide:

From the X-Box to the Box Alarm: Leadership in Today’s Firehouse
Deputy Fire Coordinator Tiger Schmittendorf, Erie County (NY) Department of Emergency Services

How do you motivate today’s recruits away from the X-Box long enough to answer the box alarm? This question builds consensus that the majority of the challenges you face are in the firehouse, not on the fireground. This class addresses the challenges of today’s fire service leaders in attracting and retaining the appropriate quantity and quality of firefighters they need to support the delivery of emergency services in their communities. Learn to combat these challenges with solutions that are right in front of you. BASIC

Furthermore, you can probably catch me hanging out at the Fire-Rescue Magazine / FirefighterNation.com / Fire-EMS Blogs.com booth #3755 from time to time throughout the week. I’ll be arriving on Tuesday afternoon and won’t be leaving until I finish my live Internet BlogTalkRadio show with the FireCritic and FireDaily on FirefighterNetcast from 9:30-10:30am+ on Saturday morning from the same booth.

We’ll be discussing my FDIC presentation, my www.runtothecurb.com project and the importance of storytelling in the fire service.

If you can’t catch me in between, you can certainly find me at the MeetUp at Indy:

• When: Friday April 23rd – 8pm
• Where: Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery just blocks away from the Convention Center at 10 West Washington.
• What: Blogger/FireEMSBlogs.com/Firefighter Nation/Fire Rescue Magazine meetup.

The event is being sponsored by the great folks at: Fire-Rescue Magazine / FirefighterNation.com / Fire-EMS Blogs.com booth #3755. Hit me up at the show for some free drink tickets. However, I can’t be responsible for your resulting actions!

I’m really excited about the opportunities that the show, conference and networking gigs will offer. I can’t wait to see you there.

Check back for more info soon on other presentation dates, times and locations.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

UPDATED FROM ORIGINAL POST: SEPTEMBER 25, 2009

I just received notice that I’ve been asked to teach “Leadership in the Firehouse: Recruitment & Retention – Rescue and Recovery” at FDIC 2010 in Indianapolis, IN.

Needless to say, I’m pretty excited and honored to be presenting at one of the largest conferences of firefighters in the world – where some 30,000 of our brothers and sisters gather.

I’ll be teaching a two-hour class on April 21, 22 or 23 – time and date to be announced soon. Stay tuned for details as they develop.

Share on Facebook

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.

Share on Facebook

This article is one in a series of toolkits focusing on recruitment, retention, fire service marketing and leadership.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Are you SAFER than you were last year?

That is, did you submit a grant application under the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) “Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response” program for recruitment and retention?

If you didn’t, you missed out on a great opportunity to better your fire department, or in our case, the entire volunteer fire service in our region.

Here’s the good news. You get another chance. DHS just announced that the application period for the 2009 SAFER grants opens November 16, 2009.

The deadline for filing completed applications will be December 18, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. EST.  As in previous years, the automated applications will be accessible from the Web site for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program at www.firegrantsupport.com/safer.

BIG MONEY – NO WHAMMIES!

The FY2009 SAFER program has approximately $210 million available for grants and the program guidance will hopefully be posted in the near future on the program’s Web site.

Last year I helped secure almost $1 million dollars in SAFER grants for local fire departments including a whopping $498,800 to fund recruitment efforts for our county chiefs association over the next two years.

The goal of our grant was to create the tools and resources necessary to make our fire departments successful in the fight for the volunteer fire service to survive and succeed.

It’s our estimation that there are two kinds of fire departments in our county: those who are experiencing an R&R problem – and those who are about to.

Thus, it only makes sense that a SAFER grant application be submitted that has a regional impact rather than multiple individual grants that create the environment for duplication and redundancy and inconsistent messaging. A county-based recruitment program promotes a unified front to the public, government, and the business community.

TRAVEL GUIDE:

If this year’s guidance is anything like last year’s, as you navigate the SAFER guidance document it clearly identified volunteer memberships with high turnover rates and high call volumes and populations served as grant priorities.

Having a recruitment plan that includes a coordinator and a solid marketing program; and projects that offer continuity and sustainability have a better chance of being successful. Projects that have a regional impact in lieu of a one dog–one bone like application improve your odds of winning.

The greatest thing about the SAFER grant is the flexibility in the allowable expenditures, which have included: Reimbursement for attending required basic training; marketing costs for recruiting; physical examinations; explorer and/or mentoring programs; staffing needs assessment; disability insurance; tuition assistance; length of service awards and other retirement benefits; and costs for administering the grant program respectively.

The guidance also spells out what’s not allowable. Historically cash awards for participation in activities other than those directly linked to operational services (responding to incidents, attending training, providing operational stand-by services) are not allowed.

It’s my belief that retention benefits = recruitment benefits. Inasmuch as different people join for different reasons, they stay committed for different reasons too.

Just as all emergencies start and end locally; so do the specific recruitment and retention challenges and applicable solutions of any given volunteer fire department. They need to be addressed accordingly.

SUSTAINABILITY:

One big challenge lies in the fact that the performance period for this grant is just four years.

Ultimately, SAFER Grants should be used as “seed funding” to reach the level of success that will serve as the justification for local funding in the years following the end of the grant performance period.

SHAKING THE DICE – MAYBE NEXT YEAR KID:

If you don’t apply this year, don’t worry. Providing the federal government sticks to its promise to fund the program – there’s always next year.

Personally, I’m not a betting man but given our current economic climate, I wouldn’t wait. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of this “free money” program to perpetuate the volunteer fire service in America.

I’ll ask again: Are you SAFER? If you file an application this year or have done so in the past, I’d love to hear about it. Maybe we can feature your fire department in a future success story. If not, will you be SAFER next year? Start planning now for tomorrow’s success.

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 experiences.

Let me know how I can help.

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

 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Note: Recruitment slogans, programs or themes described herein may be the copyrighted intellectual property of the author or other parties. Please contact the author before reprinting or using such content.

Share on Facebook

I recently had the opportunity to tape a radio show titled: “Sound Magazine” with Carl Russo of 97Rock.

The segment focused on the recruitment of volunteer firefighters and will air on several Citadel Broadcasting affiliates in the Buffalo area.

Carl is a long-standing afternoon jock on 97Rock and is also a volunteer firefighter with the East Seneca Volunteer Fire Company in West Seneca NY. Carl isn’t just a firefighter, he’s also president of the fire company and a commissioner in the fire district.

It offered me the opportunity to talk about being a kid who “ran to the curb” whenever I heard a fire siren and all of the great things that come with being a volunteer firefighter.

This was the second installment of “Sound Magazine” that focused on volunteer recruitment and more are planned for the future.

Click here to listen to “Sound Magazine” VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER RECRUITMENTSept 09

Let me know what you think.

Share on Facebook

Fortune Tellers:

Almost every firefighter I meet speaks of how they always knew, from the time they were a very young boy or girl – that they wanted to be a firefighter.

I was one of those kids. I call them the “run to the curb” kind of kids.

The Evans Center Fire Hall (as we called it) was just down Bennett Road and around the corner on Route 5, maybe a few hundred yards away from my house, as the crow flies. Closer than that was the rear entrance to the sixteen acres of fire company property, directly across the street from our driveway.

Growing up so close to the firehall, it was an obvious choice as a place to hang out with my friends. We played baseball on the ball fields the fire company leased to the Little League for a dollar a year. We helped out at and patronized the carnivals and other fund-raising events. When the fire company added on a large banquet hall in 1971, we helped the contractors move supplies and materials. My initials are carved in the concrete sidewalk they poured. I was eight.

And of course, we ran to the curb whenever the fire siren went off. It was loud and it seemed to cycle forever. With the windows open on a warm summer night you could hear a siren from a fire station ten miles away. It would wake me up out of a dead sleep, trying to figure out the direction and thus the firehouse it was coming from.

Me with Past Chiefs Denny Allen, Pat Davis and John Latimore

Whenever we heard that siren wail, we would run out and look to see if the fire trucks were coming down our road or headed in another direction. As we got older and were allowed to venture further, we ran to the corner to watch them racing out of the station, lights flashing and sirens whining. The firefighters, in their rubber coats and boots and metal helmets. were strapped to the tailboard of the fire engine by a coarse rope belt that had a sharp hook on the end that would gut you like a fish if it ever caught you. I still have one of those.

Oh, how we wanted to be those guys.

When we weren’t at the fire hall, we were pretending to be at the firehall. We rigged our bikes with over-sized reflectors to act as “flashing” lights, and made walkie-talkies out of pieces of wood with a sixteen-penny nail in the top to serve as the antenna. That same nail was also used to carve the hatch-work of where the speaker would be on the radio. Our mothers’ flower gardens never got so much watering as when we stretched the big “green line” to douse the fictional flames on the side of the house.

I was blessed to grow up in a neighborhood with a lot of kids, twenty-one to be exact, across just three households.

We had eight. My best friend John’s family had nine children – they were Irish Catholic. And my other best friend Doug’s family had four kids. They were just Catholic. We were an anomaly in the neighborhood as we were neither Irish nor Catholic, but we held our own in the fill-all-the-seats-at-the-kitchen-table department. (If you’re interested, you can read more about my neighborhood in my blog titled “The Lost Act of Popping In.”)

THE CHIEF: Bruce Green Jr.

The rides with the chief became more frequent as we got older. We observed and learned a lot. We were accepted by the firemen as firehouse brats, despite the fact that no one else in our families was associated with the fire company.

One summer night, I remember waking up to the siren sounding, getting dressed and running down the street, John and Doug jumping in line on the way. What made this time different was that when we reached the corner, we weren’t met by the fire chief but by the local police, as the fire was in the historic old schoolhouse on the corner. Fortunately, the chief arrived shortly and quickly vouched for the ad hoc ride-along program we’d been practicing for a while now.

Our un-official arrangement continued for quite a while until the fire company caught on to the fact that we were helping out way too much at fire scenes. After what was I’m sure a heated debate, the fire company decided to take advantage of our youthful exuberance and formed a junior fire company to protect us, them and our activities. On September 1, 1980 I was inducted as Evans Center’s first ever Junior Firefighter at age 17. Today, I celebrate my twenty-ninth year with the fire department.

Of course, growing up across the street from the firehouse certainly gave me a distinct advantage in figuring out my passion for what I wanted to do with my life. However, at the time, it just wasn’t clear as to the route I would take to get there. Then I discovered later that some of us are fortunate enough to get a “heads up” on what that path might look like.

Me and my good friend Clarence Center Chief Dave Case

Amongst many other treasures, in that box were two cards and a hand-made book that may have forecasted where I would be today. The first card was to my parents congratulating them when I was born. The card was from the Evans Center Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary. The second was a first birthday card from my grandmother that folded out to reveal a fire engine. In her handwriting at the bottom of the card is: “Someday maybe you’ll get the real thing.”

The book report was titled “The Fire that Ruined Chicago.” I wrote and illustrated it when I was nine years old.

Call it fate. Call it fortune. Call it what you want.

Since first running to the curb, I rose to the rank of Chief of Training and have held a dozen other offices in our fire department. With eighteen years experience under my belt, I was blessed to be able to make my career in the fire service ten years ago, now serving 97 fire departments and more than 5,000 firefighters. Trust me, there have been plenty of other stories along the way, some of which I might share with you in future articles. I kept a log of every single call I went on in my rookie year. That’s a story in itself.

John went on to be chief of the department and our town fire marshal. Doug has been a paramedic for more than 20 years. I don’t think we turned out half bad. The best part is that my collection of friends has multiplied many times over the years.

The bottom line is this: What’s your story? Were you a kid who ran to the curb when you heard a siren?

More importantly, what’s your fortune? Where will you be in the fire service ten years from now? Will you even be in the fire service ten years from now?

Will you be ready, willing and able when an opportunity comes knocking?

So where’s the lesson in all of these childhood memories and challenging questions?

Our challenge in recruiting and retaining people in the fire service is this:

Chief John Latimore and Davey Kohler with me and our Explorers. Davey has been a fixture around our firehouse since 1968.

I often say that you can tell the difference between those who have the fire service in their blood, and those who don’t. It’s an addiction. Stand in a room full of real firefighters and you’ll see a hundred noses pressed against the window waiting for the apparatus to catch up to the Doppler effect of the siren.

And like anything else that can get in your blood, it can hurt you if you let it. This reality reminds us to prioritize our first family first, and to balance our love for the fire service with our love for those who love us; and the other important things in our life.

For those who were run-to-the-curb type kids, we need to remind them what it was that attracted them to the fire service in the first place. We need to re-instill that imagination, FUN, curiosity; that excitement that takes them back to their childhood and then brings them to the apparatus floor.

If they weren’t one of those kids, you’ve got your work cut out for you, but like everything else in the fire service, we can adapt and overcome. Sometimes we need to start by reminding ourselves what brought us here and use that as a jumping-off point to instill that passion, motivating others to join our ranks or re-light their fire for the fire service.

Fortunate enough to be a part of this special bond we all contribute to, our ability to share information and experiences through effective story telling will be a critical skill set in sustaining the future of the fire service. It’s a form of mentoring, teaching and of leading.

Our contagiousness, our ability to spread our fever for the fire service, our “love for the job” as Chief Rick Lasky calls it; is critical to the survival of the fire service as we know it, now.

Invigorate that kid-like level of enthusiasm in others and you’ve got a new firefighter fulfilling their lifelong dream – or an experienced firefighter fanning new flames of eagerness for what we do.

Either way you’ve made yourself a fortune by investing your passion with a purpose in those we serve, and serve with.

Run to the curb. Tell your story. Tell your fortune.

Download Fortune Tellers

[If you like "Fortune Tellers" - you might also like "Dig In," "From X-Box to the Box Alarm" and Mike Ward's "Just Enough Leadership,"]

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.

Download a printable copy of this blog article. ©2009tigerschmittendorf.com

Share on Facebook