A new national initiative supplements frontline providers, provides key non-operational services, and helps forge stronger community ties
When the Bernalillo County Fire & Rescue Department (Albuquerque, NM) responds to a major emergency, chances are very good that members of the Department’s Fire Corps contingent will be on hand, manning the ESU trailer and providing firefighter rehab services. It’s just one of a variety of duties performed by a team of 12 Fire Corps “citizen advocates” in support of this 200-member combination career/volunteer fire department.
Bernalillo County is not unique. Launched in late 2004, Fire Corps is a national program partner of Citizens Corps, an effort to involve the citizenry in making communities safer and better-prepared for emergencies of all kinds. Fire Corps itself is a partnership between the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Volunteer and Combination Officers Section, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the National Volunteer Fire Council, and the U.S. Fire Administration. Its mission is to help career, volunteer and combination fire departments supplement existing frontline providers by recruiting “citizen advocates” to help.
“The partnership between the four groups is important, as each represents an important and diverse part of the fire service,” Shawn Stokes, Fire Corps’ Director, explains. “All have important roles to play in program coordination, development of technical resources, or working to promote the program to their members.”
Supporting New and Existing Volunteer Programs
In the case of Bernalillo County, Fire Corps can help fire departments expand programs that may already exist. But it can also assist in creating completely new programs to attract interested citizens who wish to give their time and talents to the fire service in non-operational roles. Fire departments can use the Fire Corps web site (www.firecorps.org) to register and be listed as having Fire Corps programs. Citizens use the site to learn about the program and to search for opportunities to serve at their local fire departments.
For departments who already have volunteer programs in place, Carol Morgan, volunteer coordinator for the Bernalillo County Fire & Rescue Department, believes that bringing these activities in under the umbrella of Fire Corps is a very good idea. “I strongly encourage anyone with volunteer groups such as canteen services or ladies auxiliaries to come in under Fire Corps. Anyplace where you’re using volunteers who are not operational firefighters, it makes sense to become branded with Fire Corps. It will give your people a sense of being part of the bigger picture, on a national scale.”
Just who are these citizen advocates? They’re anyone who assists the fire service organization in non-operational duties. In the case of Bernalillo County’s department, most of the Fire Corps members work with the ESU trailer and in firefighter rehab on major emergencies. But others work the incident command system back at the stations, putting their ICS training to good use.
Several of Bernalillo County’s Fire Corps members are people who have been involved in the fire service in the past, and while they may no longer be able to perform the physical work required of firefighters, they continue to enjoy working in the firefighting environment. “Some of these folks have some real interesting stories to share about their many years in the service,” Morgan notes.
Other examples of duties performed by Fire Corps citizens around the country include life safety education, fundraising activities, public relations, grant writing, and various administrative functions. “Really, there are very few limits to how Fire Corps members can be utilized by departments in support roles,” Stokes observes.
Promoting Community Goodwill
At Bernalillo County, Carol Morgan reports that a new “community ambassador” initiative is proving to be popular. “We ask our Fire Corps folks to contribute at least 12 hours of service each month. At times, we may not have that level of need for all of our people - it all depends on how many big fires we have that month,” she notes. “So, we’ve looked at other volunteering opportunities within the County and have found opportunities for them to assist in a volunteer capacity at other agencies to fill out their time commitment. Our people wear off-duty shirts which identify themselves as Bernalillo County Fire & Rescue Department members. It’s a great way to remind others of the great work our department is doing, along with assisting other worthy causes in the community.”
In addition to attracting the interest of citizens via its national web site, Fire Corps also offers marketing materials plus a technical resource guide to assist departments in exchanging ideas and information about building and maintaining a strong program. Carol Morgan reports that most people come to the Fire Corps at Bernalillo County through word-of-mouth, personal interaction with current fire department employees or volunteers, as well as the local department’s own marketing activities such as community outreach and a local web presence.
“When we polled our last group of 35 volunteer recruits for both Fire Corps and our volunteer firefighter force, 45% of them were referred by other fire department members, about 30% were referred by one of our paramedics who teaches an EMT class at our local community college, while the remaining 25% came as a result of seeing coverage in the media or visiting our web site,” notes Morgan. “Not only are we pleased that we’re getting interest from so many sources, we’re finding our recruits to be dedicated and sincere in their commitment to the fire service.”
Getting Started Right
One reason Bernalillo County’s Fire program works so well is that all Fire Corps citizen advocates go through the Department’s first level fire academy (the second level of training is reserved for those who are becoming volunteer firefighters). The Fire Corps Academy includes some 130 hours of training over a two-month period, covering everything from the IFSAC’s Introduction to Fire course, hazardous materials awareness and CPR training, to training on the incident command system.
“We teach everyone ICS because people working inside the stations will need to understand the system from the very beginning,” Morgan notes. “Everyone is made aware of the expectations before they sign up. Plus, we also ask them to perform eight hours of documented volunteer service elsewhere in the community before they even begin with us. In this way, we find that our volunteer firefighters and Fire Corps citizen advocates are people who are truly interested and committed.”
One concern that has been raised by some observers is that Fire Corps citizen advocates may replace paid positions. According to the Fire Corps’ Shawn Stokes, that is certainly not the intent - and the experience to date shows that it is not an outcome, either. Instead, the Fire Corps program is bringing citizens into the fire departments in non-operational roles that enable firefighters to perform the tasks they are primarily trained to do: fight fires and save lives.
Bernalillo County’s Carol Morgan echoes this view. “While we may have had a bit of concern back in the early years of our program, people no longer see it as a threat. Quite frankly, our Fire Corps members do things that most of our firefighters don’t wish to do. After all, no firefighter wants to show up at the fire scene, and then watch while everyone else gets to tackle the blaze!”
To learn more about Fire Corps and its program to supplement frontline suppliers in the fire service while fostering stronger ties to the community, visit www.firecorps.org or call 202-887-4809.