The twenty-first century is now underway, but when you step into some fire departments, you wonder if they noticed the change…
Volunteer Fire Departments have a long history of being a social environment, and in many areas, the department started due to neighbors sitting down for a round of beers. Unfortunately, as the dangers and liabilities of drinking have become more apparent, many departments hold onto their ‘social’ traditions.
It may be as simple as an ‘unmarked’ slot in the soda machine, or as obvious as a keg always on tap, but alcohol plays a very detrimental part in many departments. A recent poll on VolunteerFD.org (http://www.volunteerfd.org) showed that 11% of departments polled allows alcohol at all times in their department. Another 12 percent of departments polled stated that alcohol was only allowed at parties. I was impressed that 68% of departments stated that alcohol is never allowed at their department.
More departments would be ‘dry’ departments if it wasn’t such a controversial topic. We’ve all heard the debate that we are ‘volunteers’ and therefore can do as we please. The problem is that in an area where people’s lives are at stake, we can not have the ‘volunteer’ attitude.
Volunteer firefighters fight to gain the public’s respect and confidence, only to be shot down by our fellow firefighters when they make the news for a DUI apparatus accident, or as was found recently in CT, pictures of drunken firefighters on department’s websites. It is hard to change the public’s opinion of volunteers when they still have the picture of us all in beards, drinking beers in their minds.
That is not to mention the potential liabilities a department opens itself up to by allowing its members to drink, or worse, providing alcohol. The law firms of Dewey, Cheatem, and Howe, are more then happy to sue a volunteer organization. Remember, it is the patient’s perception that is important, not whether or not the member was ‘legally’ drunk.
I do not mean to preach that alcohol is bad, or that our members should never touch alcohol, we just need to put some guidelines together. A message board thread at VolunteerFD.org tried to do just that… (http://www.volunteerfd.org/phorum/read.php?f=5&i=25&t=25)
The thread provides some interesting counterpoints as to what is acceptable, and what is not. One of the departments stated that their lawyer said an ’18 hour’ dry period was acceptable. The counterpoints were numerous, ranging from 6 hours to 12 hours, with very little agreement. Then again, some departments made a different designation for driving, or ems calls, or rescue calls.
My question is, if the member is too drunk to drive, why would you think they would be sober enough to work on a fire scene? And if you are worried about patients smelling alcohol on a member’s breath, then how can you tell if the member had one drink or ten?
Another message board thread looked at the general issue, and some of the social aspects. (http://www.volunteerfd.org/phorum/read.php?f=7&i=557&t=557)
I was amazed to read that some departments still provide alcohol at all times, and allow their members to respond. The amount of liability, and chances of problems the department is bringing upon them is astronomical.
Some of the positive notes:
· Do not allow members to respond if they have had anything to drink.
· Designate a crew for company events where members will be drinking.
· Appreciate that members want to drink, but also explain to them that it is not acceptable in a response situation.
While the alcohol issue may be controversial, just think about whether or not you would want one of your members responding under the influence to your home. Remember, judgment is the first thing to go when you are drinking, so saying a member can decide when he/she is ‘drunk’ isn’t acceptable. If that is not enough to shake you up, remember that as an officer you are liable for your firefighters actions, and it may be your home the lawyers go after.