Wow! Somehow it has been four months since I last wrote a column for VolunteerFD.org. Many of you have written me to ask where the columns were, when the website would be updated and with many other questions. Well this is the start of the rebirth of VolunteerFD.org! I say rebirth because I am trying to revamp the site and focus on professionalism in volunteer services. I have gotten sick and tired of phone calls and emails from the public and press that talk about volunteer versus ‘professional’ firefighters. I truly believe that getting paid for firefighting does not automatically make someone a ‘professional’ Volunteers can be just as professional as paid firefighters, but we need to think of ourselves and our departments in a different light.
When you think of a professional, you think of someone who provides a high quality service and who you can always count on. A professional department would be one that exceeds expectations to both the public and their members. You also think of a professional as one with a certain level of knowledge or education. Education does not always have to be formal such as through certification or degrees, but it doesn’t hurt to have help.
Over the past 4 years I have been ‘collecting’ certifications. Everything from Paramedic to Fire Officer II and instructor certifications in both EMS and Fire. I have attended just about every course I could, and collected rockers that would go up one arm and down the other. Throughout all of these courses, my problem was always in how to adopt the courses to a professional volunteer department. Skills transferred easily, but as one progresses into the fire officer or instructor courses, the connection becomes less and less. So with certifications in on my sleeve, I decided to take the credits I earned from those classes and work towards my bachelor’s degree. My hope was not only to gain the degree, but find more information for volunteer departments to use.
Fortunately I found a joint program between Charter Oak State College (http://www.charteroak.edu ) and the Public Safety Education Institute (http://www.publicsafetyeducation.com/ ) for a Bachelor’s of Science with a concentration in Public Safety Administration. The courses for the concentration in Public Safety Administration included; Human Resources, Research Methodologies, Group Dynamics, Human Community Service Delivery, Strategic Planning and more... These courses, offered in a 5 week accelerated format were a great chance to take a look at the professional side of running a public service organization.
With this knowledge on hand, along with research I have been doing on volunteer departments, I have decided to refocus my efforts to helping each of our 18,800+ departments to move into the 21st century and be as professional as they can be. Professional departments still have to deal with the six core areas VolunteerFD.org was founded upon, but with more research to back it up. This means more links to our over 3000 program submissions to our users, and links to texts for further reading.
My goal is not to make the articles boring or tedious, it is to give you more ammunition when you go to your department to make long term changes. VolunteerFD.org was created for volunteers by volunteers. The website’s power is in everyone sharing their perspectives. We have so far done a great job of collecting best practices from around the country and it is time to put them to work. As we move forward as a site, I need your feedback. Feel free to email me at jason@volunteerfd.org with any comments. I will also be putting out a survey in a few weeks to get a formal polling of the group.
As always, I can use your help to move us all forward. First of all, I would appreciate it if you could update your profile at http://www.volunteerfd.org/profile.php and submit any new data you may have. (Please make sure you are logged into the website first.) Second, I can always use more advertisers and sponsors. (Advertising: http://www.volunteerfd.org/adinfo.php Sponsors: http://www.volunteerfd.org/sponsor.php ) I also have to take a moment to say thank you to all of our sponsor members and advertisers. Without your support, the site wouldn’t happen.
I am looking forward to the new VolunteerFD.org and hearing about all the positive changes to departments throughout the country. Pass the word and tell everyone you know to join us at http://www.volunteerfd.org/join.php If you have a topic or question you would like me to address, feel free to email me. Lastly, I am always looking for guest columnists and would love to hear from you.
Three years ago when I started the site, I used the slogan “100 years of tradition, unimpeded by progress.” Let’s all work together so that no department can ever use that slogan, and the only thing they can say is: Volunteering to be a Professional.