Firefighting & Rescue Social / Professional Network
Younger chiefs/officers
Had something happen in our county that raised a few eyebrows and figured I would throw it out and see what the emotions are. Recently, a company in the area elected a 21-year-old chief. I had heard (nothing factual, just strictly hear-say) that some of the members had issues with this. Many of them, of course, being the older and more experienced members. I am not sure if they are upset about being outranked by a younger, less experienced individual or reasonably feel that he is incapable. Just curious to see what everyones opinion is on the situation.
I am a young officer myself. I was 21 when I was appointed to the fire sergeant position. I am confident in my abilities, both on scene and in station, as are the members under me. Our system is designed so the fire chief is elected in December and takes office in January (one year term). The chief then chooses his officers and presents them for approval of the company at the January meeting. The chief of course has his own opinions and courses that he feels an individual should have before being placed in the position. Of course, no chief would place anyone in an officer position if he/she were not comfortable being represented by this individual or having this individual making decisions be it on the fireground or in the station. I would hope that the general membership electing a chief, no matter how that particular stations system is designed, would abide by the same guidelines. I feel that as long as the individual has the knowledge (station workings, incident stabilization, personnel issues, etc.)and maturity and has demonstrated such, then age should not be an issue.
I am a young officer myself. I was 21 when I was appointed to the fire sergeant position. I am confident in my abilities, both on scene and in station, as are the members under me. Our system is designed so the fire chief is elected in December and takes office in January (one year term). The chief then chooses his officers and presents them for approval of the company at the January meeting. The chief of course has his own opinions and courses that he feels an individual should have before being placed in the position. Of course, no chief would place anyone in an officer position if he/she were not comfortable being represented by this individual or having this individual making decisions be it on the fireground or in the station. I would hope that the general membership electing a chief, no matter how that particular stations system is designed, would abide by the same guidelines. I feel that as long as the individual has the knowledge (station workings, incident stabilization, personnel issues, etc.)and maturity and has demonstrated such, then age should not be an issue.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Jason Stadler on
-
I agree that agre should not be an issue. I am 26 years old and in my 4th year as a line officer, 1.5 as a lieutenant and 2.5 as a captain. maturity is deffinitly a factor however there are some 19 year olds with more maturity than some 40 year olds. bottom line is that age does'nt automaticly bring along with it maturity, Just like years in the fire service does'nt bring experiance. Somone who has 30 years in a rural slow department that maybe catches a fire or two a year does'nt have more experiance that someone with 7 years in the fire service with a department catching 100 fires a year. To be a officer, expecially a chief officer it takes time to prove your maturity and experiance no matter how many years in the fire service or how old you are. I do however disagree with the post about the man elected chief with 17 months of experiance. As a fire chief you are legaly resposible for everything your department does on a call whether you are on scene or not. A lawyer would have a field day with you if you told him on the stand that you have less that two years in the fire service. Also I don't think you can stand there and effectivly command a fire scene if you have not fully experianced the type of conditions that you are sending your men into, and 17 months is no where near long enough to gain that experiance even if you are in a busy company.
-
Permalink Reply by Brandon Rowell on
-
Wow and wow. Did I mention "wow" to this whole conversation. I didn't really read the whole entire post, but i'm surprised this didn't turn into another "paid" vs "volly" argument. But I did read the part where someone was comparing our soilders to firefighters. That is completely wrong on so many levels, I'm a career civilian firefighter who works with the military every day and they deserve so much more RESPECT than to ever be compared to a firefighter. With that being said, I don't know of any "legit" paid department appointing any 21 yo fire chiefs. However, It does happen in the volly depts alot where I live and it is usually a popularity contest. I'm up for Lt promotion this time around and i'm only 26. I have gained the respect from all of the guys in my dept young and old, not from certifications I might add, but from my work ethic, my ability to do the job, my proven performance on the fire ground, and my overall experience. Fact is that I would NEVER, let me repeat myself, I would NEVER have been the firefighter I am now without the experience and knowledge of all the "ol' salty dogs" still in the dept that truly love the fire service and have dedicated the rest of thier career in molding the younger generation into what it should be. Its sad that the fire service has moved in a political direction led by the spending of money on all this new and pretty equipment ordered by the good ol boy club whose leader is a 21 year old. Enjoy your career, oh yeah, don't forget to tag that hydrant, the house really is on fire and your not going to get the job done with 1000. Just read that out of my rookie manual.......lol what's up Allen
-
Permalink Reply by Randy Macey on -
Let me understand this a bit, does most of the Fire Dept. elect there Chief and Officers each year.
That would seem a little strange to me, as a position is for those who are competent. There are 3 parts to me on this matter, of course on is your training as well as the courses you have taken to
get to this level. Other part is experience in both the pratical training as well as real life. Last is part in which both affects you as for the interview and crews that they have trust in your judgement.
I have been on for more than 10 years, have been a training officer for 5 years. Our SOG's state that you can not be in the position as a training officer unless you have been on the dept. for at least 5 years. I'm a Cert. Firefigher, and have put more effort into firefighting. Then I ever did in school or any other job. My wife and friends who know me laugh on the amount of schooling and training I have done. I was well known for skipping 4 out of 5 days at high school.
But my question is who would want to take on a job and responsibility for a position of only 1 year.
That's a lot of work, and you get things set up and then someone else or a new crew is changed each year for votes?
-
Permalink Reply by Brian "Moose" Jones on -
I agree with you brother, In my old dept on Long Island you had elections for 2nd Lt., and 2nd Assistant Chief. Once you made it in you were there for 2 years, than moved up. When you were captain you were running against another captain ( Engine and Ladder Companies) for the position of 2nd asst. chief. Than the Chief of Dept had office for 2 years than that was it, you were an ex-chief which pulled as much weight as chief did, and you were still respected. In my dept now, they vote for all 4 chiefs spots, 3 captains and 3 Lt.'s every year, the same people could be in office for years and years without change.
Yet in my old dept, you worked with the officers both behind, and ahead of you for a long time and the new officer took the reins from the outgoing and continued his/her fight. Todays fire service makes little or no sense to me, its lost a lot of respect and brotherhood. Its a shame.
-
Permalink Reply by matt poppe on -
Im a explorer and we have ranks just like a fire house. But i have a problem just like this I was out ranked by a younger less experienced person who has no idea how to be a leader, They also know very little compared to me and some other explorers, I think he was just favored by the post advisor and thats how he recieved his rank. If anyone has any suggestions on what i should do i would i appreciate it thanks.
-
Permalink Reply by Joe Campbell aka Cutty on
-
No way shape or form should a 21 year be elected as a chief, on needs to have time under is belt and to direct accordingly... seasoning and knowhow should be looked at... the station or fireline should not be for the "good ole boy" come into place
-
Permalink Reply by jay1tb23 on
-
I would see wher alot of ppl would have a problem with this but lets be honest here that fire company must have alot of problems if they elected someone that young to be an officer but if the 21 year old has enuff experence to do it then i see no problem with that at all if he does hes job and does it good then why should it matter if he is young old male female black white orange brotherhood means brother hood come on
-
Permalink Reply by GVFD 123 on -
I was elected as a captain at our fire dept at 21 and had been on the dept since i was 15. I have been through fire school and am also an emt-b. All of the other members on the dept both young and old look to me for guidence and it isnt always fun you have to be very mature and also having to remember that it is not only your life your responsible for but also the rest of your members and any other depts that are at your scene. Like i said it is not all fun and games the members of the fire dept must be able to look up to the person and trust his life with him.
-
Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on
-
And you strike me as one of those individuals that possess ALL of the qualities; both tangible and intangible that your men and women embrace as leadership.
Clearly you GET it.
Most of the hub bub came about because someone felt that certifications and training seminars automatically anointed you as the second coming of Edward F. Stoker.
And thank you for your thoughtful reply. Someone else likes to call us "rum dums"; check that. He likes to call us "f***ing rum dums". I mean; did you see all of the awareness classes in his profile?
Doesn't he realize that with awareness level training that it means " I am aware that there is a call; I went, I saw, I called someone qualified to deal with the incident"?
And have you ever noticed how many "certificates" say that you attended the class?
In between the donut breaks, inane chatter, pagers and phones going off...yeah; those awareness classes are really building our leaders of tomorrow.
And don't even get me started on text messaging while taking a class.
Art
-
Permalink Reply by Troy on
-
Nothing replaces experience. I know nothing about being "voted in". Where I come from you test against others for the position and provided you meet the minumum score the best person for the job is appointed. Being voted sounds pretty flimsy to me. Nobody really knows what others think of their performance. In a large department you know because engineers and firefighters will not bid into your house unless you know what is going on and prove it. Both of you seem to think your stuff doesn't stink.
Troy
-
Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Bristol on -
If he was eleceted then that means that he has all the quailfications for that position at least i would think
-
Permalink Reply by Donald Fringer on -
Im 40 years old and have been in now for 25 years
I have noticed some of "older"guys really dont feel they need to keep up on training. Most do but as with anything you have the few who think they are the best
My house now has a 30 something Captain running for Deputy and a 50 something asst chief running for the same
the older guys really dont like the idea of the capt running but I for one am voting for him
he is a paid firefighter and has alot of training and the "new" way and ideas
I have no problem if you have to skills and the right attitude to vote for a younger line officer
Im new to this house been here a year
I was a lt at my old house and a capt before this so I have the time to have personally watched alot
and again have to say age doesnt matter as long as you can mentally handle the task at hand be it a call or in house duty
FF1 D Fringer
© 2009 Created by Firefighter Nation WebChief, an Elsevier Public Safety & Go Forward Media, LLC Product - Partners: JEMS Connect - FireRescue - JEMS
• Contact Us: Report an Issue, Inquire About Advertising & Partnerships
This site is intended for use by current and former fire, rescue & EMS professionals. Non emergency service personnel may be subject to review and removal. Using this site inappropriately to spam/advertise or solicit members in any way will result in account termination. Commercial companies may have profiles, but blogs, forums, videos and photos may not be used for self-promotion.
Badges | Contact Firefighter Nation | Privacy | Terms of Service
