Last week, I wrote about the sad state of affairs when a city needs to hire a new chief but does not promote from within the department ... even when there’s someone within the department who is very qualified and ready to take the position. Being that I’m a volunteer myself, I thought I should address this issue with all the volunteers out there who will need to vote for a new fire chief.

How will you vote this year? Will you vote for your buddy simply because he’s your buddy? Maybe he said, “Vote for me and I will support you for training officer.” Let’s call people who vote like this Group 1.

Will you vote for the guy who doesn’t have the eggs to make waves with the membership? There are plenty of folks like that out there. He leaves you alone and, as such, you get to run rough-shod and do whatever you want. Let’s call these voters Group 2.

Finally, maybe you’ll vote for someone simply because no one else wants the job. People who vote along these lines are part of Group 3. Often, members of Group 3 are more than fully qualified for the job but refuse to ask for it, because when they do, they’re shut down by members of groups 1, 2 and even some of 3.

Who will you vote for? Who will lead your department next year? A fire chief or a figure head?

My suggestion: Vote for the person who cares about what’s important to you as a firefighter. Among other things, you should ask yourself the following questions about your chief candidates:

1. Does this person care about my safety?
2. Does this person have the firefighter’s best interest in mind or his own self-interest?
3. Does this person have the knowledge and skills to be a firefighter?
4. Can I follow this person?
5. Can I support this person?

If you can’t answer “yes” to these questions, you haven’t found the right person for the job.