With the fire service facing a staffing crisis, there is perhaps no more appropriate time to ask the simple question, “What do firefighters want?”
Of course, this question can be interpreted in countless ways, but for this – FireRescue1’s inaugural state-of-the-industry survey – we chose to focus on fireground leadership.
The good news: The state of fireground leadership is strong, with most of the nearly 2,500 respondents reporting generally positive views of their fireground experiences. And while there is clearly room for improvement in some supervision- and command-related areas, we do have the tools to improve. This special series is one such tool to help glean critical information about what firefighters want from this career.
Thank you to the IAFC for its promotional support and the International Public Safety Data Institute for its data analysis support.
Header image courtesy Jason Coleman-Cobb.
Download your copy to unpack the survey results related to incident command training, mayday management, and successes and failures in focus
Departments that regularly conduct AARs are well-positioned to streamline their performance and increase their margin of safety
A functioning command post needs a paper or electronic tool to be successful
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Several themes emerged among the thousands of comments from the What Firefighters Want survey respondents
Professional development for the incident commander starts at the firefighter rank and continues up the training ladder
Is your IC truly prepared, ready and able to execute on the fireground?
Despite strong scores, there is much work to be done to build effective fireground command skills
ICs enjoy the confidence of firefighters during a mayday, but what is the basis for that faith?
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During wildfire season and throughout the year, FirstNet ensures communications and connection to critical systems are reliable when they matter most
Feedback, active listening and personal connections are critical to crew cohesion
Survey respondents resoundingly recommend a career in the fire service – a vital stat amid growing recruitment challenges
Given all the research into decision-making under duress, it’s vital that ICs have a command tool at the ready
Now is the time for us to start thinking of command as a multi-person staffed function, just like we staff our other units
Training, communication and safety mindsets show mixed results, but simple steps can set crews on the path to greatness
Unpacking the command-focused survey results and how ICs can level up their skills through training and operations
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