Regardless of the depth of your commitment to the fire service and your career, you are likely to have a few ideas on how the profession could improve.
We asked FireRescue1 readers to name the one issue they would fix overnight if it was possible In more than 500 responses, readers touched on everything from staffing levels and pension to station politics and members’ egos, and much more.
Have something to add? Share your thoughts in the comment field below.
Culture and member camaraderie
Many readers believe the fire service’s biggest challenges start with its culture. Responses emphasized eliminating toxic attitudes, reducing egos and fostering greater respect, accountability and teamwork throughout the firehouse.
- “Egos. No place for an ego in the fire service. Learn the job, do the job, love the job, treat the public and everyone in the house with respect and dignity.”
- “Attitudes. Return to tradition. Respecting those who have lived the job.”
- “Focus on CULTURE!!! Every issue people complain about — burnout, toxic environments, lack of accountability, poor morale — almost always traces back to leadership tolerance. What gets ignored becomes the standard.”
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Mental health
Support for firefighter mental health remains a priority, but many readers say departments need to move beyond awareness alone. They called for stronger support systems, reduced stigma around seeking help and more resources to help firefighters cope with the realities of the job.
- “Remove the stigma around asking for help! Some departments have been able to do this but a lot haven’t yet.”
- “Mental health support, especially for the newer guys. Ways to cope with what you see and live through.”
- “My greatest wish is to have a comfort dog at every fire station.”
Recruitment, retention and staffing
From volunteer recruitment to career staffing shortages, readers said attracting and keeping qualified firefighters remains one of the profession’s biggest challenges. Many also stressed the importance of maintaining high hiring standards while ensuring departments have enough trained personnel to meet community needs.
- “Manpower. Equipment doesn’t put fires out.”
- “Standards. Hire the most physically and mentally fit candidates. Stop hiring based on race and gender. Fire doesn’t discriminate.”
- “Sufficient and properly trained personnel to adequately fill all positions from suppression to dispatch.”
- “Volunteer recruitment, retention and participation. It’s not glamorous and rarely gets the headlines like the big city departments, but volunteer departments are critical to the nationwide fire service in the U.S.”
Fire department management
Leadership and organizational policies generated some of the strongest opinions in the discussion. Readers weighed in on everything from promotion practices and department governance to funding models and reducing unnecessary demands on fire department resources.
- “Have all fire departments fall under the state’s National Guard, with all of the pay, benefits, fitness requirements and medical care afforded to the National Guard.”
- “Make it to where [the fire service] is not a ‘business.’”
- “The ‘good ‘ol boys’ attitude, especially in volunteer departments.”
- “Billing nursing homes, ALFs and medical facilities for using 911 in non-emergencies (such as lift assists while five nursing staff members are standing around observing).”
- “Sending bills to non-emergency calls whether it be to nursing homes, facilities or even homeowners just looking for a non-emergency ride. It’s not an uber service.”
Operations
Many responses focused on improving the way firefighters do their job every day. Readers highlighted concerns about equipment availability, national certification standards, firefighter safety and operational consistency across departments.
- “Cost and wait time for new fire trucks to be delivered.”
- “I think the fire standards need to be the same country wide. And all certs should transfer from state to state. Do away with IFSAC and Pro Board and just have an American standard.”
- “Making words clear and understandable while transmitting radio messages in mask/SCBA.”
- “Use carcinogenic-free training gear… it’s a thing now. Stop exposing yourself during training.”
Medical care and retirement planning
Firefighters face cumulative physical and health risks over the course of a career, and many readers want those realities better reflected in department policies. Their suggestions centered on cancer prevention, preventive healthcare and creating career pathways that help firefighters remain productive until retirement.
- “As a firefighter ages and the body wears, create a career pathway position switch option to ensure they make it to retirement age.”
- “I would take what we know about cancer in the fire service, decontamination and safe work practices and go back in time to when plastics started appearing in furnishings and interior wall/floor coverings and educate everyone then with what we know now.”
- “Mandatory annual physicals.”
- “Cover cancer without a big hissy fit.”
Fire-based EMS
The relationship between fire and EMS continues to divide opinion within the profession. Readers debated whether the two should remain integrated, receive equal funding and compensation or operate as separate disciplines with distinct career paths.
- “Make EMS its own fully independent thing with higher funding; both departments would benefit.”
- “Pay parity between fire and EMS personnel in the same fire department.”
- “Separate the fire service from EMS.”
- “Paramedics are paramedics and firefighters are firefighters.”
