Massachusetts Fire Chief 2009

THE FIRE CHIEF FOR 2009 AND BY CHIEF KEVIN ROBINSON THE CHALLENGE TO BE EFFECTIVE Today’s Fire Chief should be looked to by community leaders as the unity expert in the areas that the community relies on the ﬁre department to provide. In addition to ﬁre suppression, ﬁ re prevention and public education, the ﬁre chief may also be responsible for emergency medical services, hazardous material control and technical rescue. The ﬁre chief is the political leader of the ﬁre department dealing with local, county and state leaders. Labor relations and personnel management may also be part of the ﬁre chief’s daily responsibilities. The ﬁ re chief may also have the responsibility to create, present, administer and defend the budget for the ﬁ re department operations. Knowledge of the budget preparation process and the art of presenting the needs of the ﬁre department during the current global economic recession will create new challenges for the ﬁre chief. members and other ﬁre service leaders. This has allowed the chiefs ﬁre to attend or delegate another member to obtain the information preinform sented for the beneﬁt of their departments. STRUCTURED TRAINING The Fire Chiefs’ Association has a goal to add to the knowledge base of our members. This has been supported by the Department of Fire Services conducted under the direction of the Massachusetts Fireﬁghting Academy. The New Chief Orientation tentatively scheduled for April 8 and 9, 2009 is designed to expose the chief, or soon to be chief, to the variety of resources available to assist the chief in running a ﬁ re department. The Chief Fire Ofﬁcer Program, which is a joint venture of the ﬁre academy and the UMass Donohue Institute, will begin on Thursday, September 10, 2009. This program will be held on every Thursday until December 10, 2009 excluding Thanksgiving Day. The program was designed with the understanding that it would be difﬁcult to be out of the ofﬁce for ten days in a row while trying to meet the requirements of the program and being effective in your department. The concept of the Senior Fire Ofﬁcer forums is to provide current information with nationally recognized speakers and our local expertise on a monthly basis in a four hour presentation. These forums are scheduled through May 2009 and are posted on the DFS Web site. Currently, planning for the fall 2009 schedule is underway. THE NEED TO NETWORK The Fire Chiefs’ Association of Massachusetts provides an opportunity to create and maintain an effective network system with chiefs who are facing similar challenges and issues. The regular monthly meeting on the third Wednesday of the month, the three day professional development seminar every February and the spring and fall one day seminars all provide excellent networking potential. The last day of the February seminar and the spring and fall seminars are open to command ofﬁcers and other ﬁre service leaders so that the networking opportunity will encompass a broader group, which may include subject matter expertise. WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP? In addition to providing opportunities and working with our partners at the Department of Fire Services, the Fire Chiefs’ Association believes in the need for credentialing of ﬁre chiefs. This is an effort to protect the position of ﬁre chief and add to our professional credibility. Fire chiefs will be seen as the leaders on ﬁre service issues across the Commonwealth. In the last year, a great deal of discussion has been held on this matter and work is underway to establish a two-level voluntary process. This would allow current chiefs of department and chief ofﬁcers to become credentialed. Equally important and part of succession planning is that those who aspire to these positions will have a learning track and be given the opportunity to be credentialed prior to assuming their new positions. As a career long student of the ﬁre service, I would encourage all members to take advantage of these professional development opportunities and to embrace the concept of credentialing of ﬁre chiefs. ❚ STAYING CURRENT With the challenges of being the ﬁre chief today, the need to remain current on the events and issues that will impact the ﬁ re department operations cannot be over emphasized. The Fire Chiefs’ Association provides for this need with multiple venues. At monthly meetings, members are given updates and information to assist them with the management’s responsibility of day-to-day operation of their ﬁre departments. The three day professional development seminar in February brings together chiefs from across the Commonwealth to hear from state and national speakers addressing subjects of personnel administration, recruiting and retaining quality employees. Our spring and fall seminars have provided current information to our THE FIRE CHIEF IS THE POLITICAL LEADER OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT DEALING WITH LOCAL, COUNTY AND STATE LEADERS. M A SSA C HUSE TTS FIRE CHIEF 2009 | 19

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Massachusetts Fire Chief 2009

Massachusetts Fire Chief 2009 Contents A Message from the FCAM President Code of Ethics/Vision Statement Bonds of Service Legislative Report The Fire Chief for 2009 and Beyond Leading a Combination Fire Department Remember When Fighting for Code Change Leadership Matters Fire Risk Management - Fire Chiefs - Codes The Current Economy and its Effect on Fire Departments Statewide Fire Mobilization Plan Beware of the Truss Index of Advertisers

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