By Andrew Edwards
The San Bernardino County Sun
Expert AnalysisDeveloping the next generation of responders
By Adam K. Thiel A number of fire departments around the United States have recognized the need to start developing the next generation of all-hazards fire and emergency services providers much earlier than we've generally done in the past.
Think about the importance, and success, of the military's Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) programs in high schools, along with fire/police Explorer posts and others, such as the San Bernardino charter school mentioned in this article, "Fire chief wants job 'pipeline' for Calif. department."
Even if these students ultimately decide not to make their career in the fire and emergency services, there's probably a great benefit in terms of their civic engagement and understanding of what we do. Continue reading Developing the next generation of responders |
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Fire Chief Michael Conrad wants to devise a "pipeline" for the city's aspiring firefighters to find jobs within the Fire Department.
The idea surfaced during recent budget talks. The development of a proposal for firefighter reserve program and "recruitment and hiring programs to help accomplish work force diversity and increase local job opportunities" are listed among other "major issues" in San Bernardino's budget for the next 12 months.
The Fire Department may be something like an apprenticeship program in which prospective firefighters are able to get training while earning minimum wage. Conrad has advised the City Council that prospective firefighters may spend two or three years in this kind of system while they learn the necessary skills.
Doing this would require the city to pay for at least some of the training that San Bernardino's firefighter candidates are required to pay for themselves.
"If we really want to as a city, start to diversify, we've got to commit ourselves and put some money into it," Conrad told the council during a June 16 budget hearing.
The head of the union representing San Bernardino firefighters said their main concern regarding the chief's idea is that current firefighters want to make sure that hiring standards are not compromised.
"Train them all you want, as long as the standards don't change," said Scott Moss, president of San Bernardino Professional Firefighters Association.
Young people looking forward to a career with San Bernardino City Fire can learn more about the fire service through such programs as Explorers or Public Safety Academy. The latter is a charter school within the San Bernardino City Unified School District that was created to educate future police officers and firefighters.
Conrad and 6th Ward City Councilman Rikke Van Johnson, who backs the fire chief's idea, said those programs are valuable, but the kind of reserve and apprenticeship programs being contemplated are needed to help Explorers and Public Safety Academy graduates earn a chance with the department.
"It makes it easy to transition them into your force," Johnson said Thursday.
Johnson also said there is still much work to be done to fully develop these ideas.
"We're still in the initial phase of the conversation," he said.
At present, the Fire Department requires applicants to complete a substantial amount of training before they can be considered for a job.
This tends to have the effect of limiting job opportunities inside the San Bernardino Fire Department to people whose families have the financial abilities to support their career aspiration," Conrad said.
"Our applicant pool now is fairly limited because of what we require them to come to us with. We require them to be paramedics or EMTs, and we require them to already have fire academy," Conrad told the council.
"That takes people who have a lot of home support," he continued.
Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa is one place near San Bernardino where students can get the kind of training Conrad described. The college's paramedic program costs about $3,200 to complete. Enrollment fees for fire academy courses, not including prerequisites, are more than $340.
"You're looking at three years, four years just to even start doing stuff," said Robert Gastel, a 24-year-old seeking his first firefighting job who helps Capt. Mike Smith advise Explorer Post 403.
Explorer Post members meet with San Bernardino fire crews on Wednesday nights for physical training exercises and to learn about the job. The Explorer program is not enough training to qualify for employment, but Gastel said participation looks good on a resume.
"It's experience at the age of 16 and 17. It really shows the panel that at 16, this kid wasn't playing video games," Gastel said.
The post's members include Kacy Allen, a 19-year-old Pacific High School graduate who said he is drawn to firefighting because of the job's camaraderie.
"It's not the regular 9-to-5," he said.
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