NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 14

Dispatches
two-thirds said they think their department has struggled with volunteer
retention.
For years, department leaders have
been saying the same thing. And when
asked why they think that's the case,
they often cite the time commitment
that comes with being a volunteer firefighter-hundreds of hours of training
on top of middle-of-the-night calls and
department functions. "That's just a
huge time commitment for people to
be away from their families, their jobs,"
Robert Griffin, chief of a volunteer fire
department in North Carolina, told
Government Technology magazine in
2018.
But the NVFC report suggests
something else is most often driving
members away from departments-the
top four reasons former members gave
for leaving had to do with department
culture and leadership. "The specific
reasons for leaving [that were] most
selected by former volunteers in the
survey were: department atmosphere
full of cliques and groups that exclude
others; department leadership that
doesn't focus on or support the needs
of members; department atmosphere
where members of different generations don't get along; [and] lack of
camaraderie or sense of community
among everyone in the department,"
the report says.
Various threads on online message
boards reveal similar sentiments
among those who claim to be or have
been volunteer firefighters. "Ever since
I started in the department I am in I
have been treated like absolute [garbage]," one Reddit user posted on the
popular discussion website in 2016.
"Now I am firefighter 1 and 2, have
my driving certification, and tons of
training and they refuse to let me be
interior. They are doing it to spite me."
Another user replied, sharing a similar
experience: "I felt the same way at my
volunteer dept. Was always treated like
a child. I basically stopped showing up."
Also included in the NVFC report
are the guesses of current volunteer
firefighters and department leaders
on why members leave, and their

responses don't align with what
former volunteers said. For the most
part, they think juggling the responsibility of being a volunteer firefighter

"We work to get every

member involved in
every task. If we go to a
call, it's not just going
to be the ones who
know how to run
a piece of equipment
that are doing things
while others just stand
around and watch."

with careers and personal lives is the
most common factor driving volunteers away.
The split in opinions didn't come
as all that surprising to Hirsch. "I
wouldn't say that before this report we
knew for sure
NFPA.ORG/
there was a disDISPATCHES
connect between
Read the full
why leaders
"Volunteer
think volunteers
Retention Research
Report" from the
leave and why
National Volunteer
people who were
Fire Council.
there and left
Read the July/
actually left," he
August 2017 NFPA
said. "But when
Journal cover
story, "Shrinking
I became chairResources, Growing
Concern," about the man of the NVFC
challenges facing
a year and a half
America's rural fire
ago, my task to
service.
staff was to get
Listen to a podcast
closer to and
on the emergency
learn more about
medical services
shortage gripping
leadership in the
rural America.
volunteer fire
service. I had a feeling there were critical issues with leadership not always
understanding what their volunteers
need or want. This survey seems to buttress that feeling."
Bob Duval, a regional director at
NFPA who heads a volunteer department in a small town in Connecticut,

counts himself lucky that his department doesn't reflect the kind of
cliquishness and lack of inclusivity that
can drive members away. "And I'm not
just saying that," Duval told NFPA Journal in September.
At the time, his department was
gearing up for a barbecue, where all
25 volunteers and their families were
invited for burgers, hot dogs, brisket,
and socially distant cheer. It's events
like this, Duval said, that keep his
members close-knit and content. "They
need to feel appreciated, and they need
to be involved," he said.
When it comes to the job, Duval tries
to instill the same principles. "We work
to get every member involved in every
task," he said. "If we go to a call, it's
not just going to be the ones who know
how to run a piece of equipment that
are doing things while others just stand
around and watch." He's seen scenarios
like that play out regularly at other
departments, and they can become
toxic. "Those are the departments that
get torn apart from the inside."
Duval cautioned that, despite the
findings of the NVFC report, the impact
of the time commitment should not
be ignored for either recruitment or
retention. He's seen it happen at his
department. "In today's society, people
simply don't have a lot of disposable
time," Duval said. "So it's become hard
to get and keep people when you're
honest with them, when you say if you
want to fight fires, you're going to have
to do this training and it may take six
months or a year."
Hirsch said he hopes the new NVFC
report can help volunteer fire chiefs
shape priorities and initiatives aimed at
retaining volunteers.
"I've seen these issues myself in
volunteer departments," he said. "In
many cases where departments experience huge issues with recruitment
and retention, leadership is not being
positive about the people, not including
them in decision-making. You've got to
have positive, forward-thinking leadership in a department, because just like
those negative attitudes, positive attitudes can be contagious, too."

14 | NFPA JOURNAL * N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 0

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10/30/20 4:44 PM


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NFPA Journal - November/December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - November/December 2020

Contents
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - Cover1
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - Cover2
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 1
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 2
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 3
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - Contents
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 5
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 6
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 7
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 8
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 9
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 10
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 11
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 12
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 13
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 14
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 15
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 16
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 17
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 18
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 19
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 20
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 21
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 22
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 23
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 24
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 25
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 26
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 27
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 28
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 29
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 30
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 31
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 32
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 33
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 34
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 35
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 36
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 37
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 38
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 39
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 40
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 41
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 42
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 43
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 44
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 45
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 46
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 47
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 48
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 49
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 50
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NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 53
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 54
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 55
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 56
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 57
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 58
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 59
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 60
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 61
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 62
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 63
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NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 65
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NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 76
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 77
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 78
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 79
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - 80
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - Cover3
NFPA Journal - November/December 2020 - Cover4
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