Recruitment and Retention
Recruitment and retention is one of the most critical topics in the fire service, particularly the volunteer fire service, which has long been seeking to attract and maintain members. The recruitment and retention resource page provides critical content to help fire departments manage their personnel, from articles that inform prospective members are life as a volunteer to podcasts about recruitment best practices to new techniques being used to encourage new members, and so much more.
HOW TO BECOME A FIREFIGHTER
Make a good impression and launch your firefighter career on the right foot with these tips for probationary firefighters
The firefighter’s written exam covers everything from a math skills review to a personality assessment
Firefighter salaries and benefits vary by location and rank.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
Line officers stepping into administrative roles face a culture shock — and a steep learning curve — that rarely gets addressed
Part of building crew unity is taking the opportunity to have some fun, but there must be room for training – plus all those EMS calls
The engineer serves several roles, from equipment checks to throwing ladders, medic assists and more
The week starts with motivation, weaves through myriad activities, and concludes with a restorative weekend – and possibly some duty officer work
24 hours filled with constant alerts, plus meetings, training and little sleep
It’s one of the most challenging and rewarding jobs in the fire service
A Monday to Sunday breakdown of what’s it’s like to serve as a fire chief for a mid-size fire department
COMPLETE COVERAGE
FEMA funding will cover two-thirds of salaries and benefits for three years, after which Muskegon officials will keep the positions to bolster long-term public safety
An internal probe found the Waterbury recruits used phones and computers during the proctored test
Videos allegedly shot at Engine 38/Ladder 51 show rookies doing cake-face pushups and hugging naked men
Morgan County Commission approves paid position, salary, while incident command stays with volunteer departments
Among 344 graduates, Ian Montesi, whose father died in the North Tower collapse, and Francis Donohue, whose father died of a 9/11-related illness, are following their fathers’ path
Training all East Meadow firefighters with VR headsets simulates up to 60 scenarios, offering on-demand practice, muscle-memory building and a recruitment draw for gamers
The Columbia Township Fire Department now has full-time coverage on every shift and is planning for future expansion with two new parcels of land
Greenville City Council approves a 24/72 schedule to boost recruitment and work-life balance
It’s important to underscore the danger of the situation while not instilling an unproductive level of fear
Lafayette, Witmer and Upper Leacock plan to share crews to ease the volunteer crunch, but the compact is paused for township review
MOST POPULAR
- 3 dead, others wounded in shooting at Wis. school
- Mayday: Houston firefighter killed in collapse at commercial structure fire
- Pa. firefighter dies responding to structure fire
- Va. county bans FD from responding to calls, citing ‘operational deficiencies’
- What Trump’s executive orders tell us about his public safety agenda