Volunteer Fire Chief Recruiting and Retention

Recruiting and Retention in the Volunteer Fire Service

Numerous studies from various organizations record the substantial decrease in volunteerism. The volunteer fire service is no exception to this downward trend. Through this study, we will try to determine why people volunteer in the fire service, methods that work in recruiting, and also methods for retaining membership. Through this study, we are trying to determine what are the most effective methods for recruiting and retaining volunteer firefighters.

Although the survey can be completed anonymously, as an incentive for completing the survey, three randomly selected firefighters will receive a $250 gift certificate to The FireStore (http://www.thefirestore.com/), and the department with the highest percentage of members responding, will receive a $500 gift certificate to The Firestore. The survey will be open until August 31, 2016. Results of this study will be formulated into a paper for publication.

There are 54 questions that will take you 10-20 minutes to answer. The survey must be completed in its entirety to be eligible for prizes.

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* 1. Is your fire department?

All volunteer

All Paid

A combination volunteer and career

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* 2. Is your fire department?

Strictly a fire agency

A fire and Emergency Medical Service Agency

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* 3. What year was your department first formed?

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* 4. Has your fire department ever been part of a merger or consolidation?

Yes, if yes answer Question 5 and 6

No, skip to question 7

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* 5. How many fire department were part of the merger or consolidation?

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* 6. What year did the merger or consolidation take place?

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* 7. In what State is your fire department located?

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* 8. In what County is your fire department located?

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* 9. What is the total population served by your fire department?

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* 10. Approximately what percentage of your fire department coverage area is rural?

0-20%

21-40%

41-60%

61-80%

81-100%

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* 11. Approximately what percentage of your fire department coverage area is urban?

0-20%

21-40%

41-60%

61-80%

81-100%

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* 12. Approximately what percentage of your fire department coverage area is suburban?

0-20%

21-40%

41-60%

61-80%

81-100%

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* 13. What percentage of your fire department calls are emergencies?

0-20%

21-40%

41-60%

61-80%

81-100%

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* 14. What percentage of your fire department calls are non-emergencies?

0-20%

21-40%

41-60%

61-80%

81-100%

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* 15. What percentage of your fire department calls are emergency medical service?

0-20%

21-40%

41-60%

61-80%

81-100%

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* 16. How many stations are part of your fire department?

More than 5

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* 17. What is your age?

Under 18

18-21

22-26

27-35

36+

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* 18. What is your gender

Male

Female

Choose not to answer

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* 19. How old were you when you joined the fire service?

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* 20. What is the highest level of education you achieved?

Some high school

High school diploma or GED

Some college

Technical school graduate

Associate degree

Bachelor's degree

Graduate level degree

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* 21. What is the status of your employment? You may select all that apply

Full-time

Part-time

Self-employed

Disabled

Unemployed

Retired

Student

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* 22. What category best describes your primary employment?

Managerial and Professional

Technical, Sales and Administrative support

Service, Farming, Forestry, Fishing, Precision Production, Craft, and Repair

Operators, Fabricators, and Laborers

Other

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* 23. How many years have you been in the fire service?

0-5

6-10

11-15

16-20

21+

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* 24. Please rate how frequently your fire department responds to the following types of calls per month.

	0-1	2-5	6-9	10+
House Fires	House Fires 0-1	House Fires 2-5	House Fires 6-9	House Fires 10+
Other structural fires	Other structural fires 0-1	Other structural fires 2-5	Other structural fires 6-9	Other structural fires 10+
Grass/wildland fires	Grass/wildland fires 0-1	Grass/wildland fires 2-5	Grass/wildland fires 6-9	Grass/wildland fires 10+
Auto accidents	Auto accidents 0-1	Auto accidents 2-5	Auto accidents 6-9	Auto accidents 10+
Medical emergencies	Medical emergencies 0-1	Medical emergencies 2-5	Medical emergencies 6-9	Medical emergencies 10+
Automatic fire alarms	Automatic fire alarms 0-1	Automatic fire alarms 2-5	Automatic fire alarms 6-9	Automatic fire alarms 10+
Carbon Monoxide alarms	Carbon Monoxide alarms 0-1	Carbon Monoxide alarms 2-5	Carbon Monoxide alarms 6-9	Carbon Monoxide alarms 10+
Vehicle fires	Vehicle fires 0-1	Vehicle fires 2-5	Vehicle fires 6-9	Vehicle fires 10+
electrical or utility problems	electrical or utility problems 0-1	electrical or utility problems 2-5	electrical or utility problems 6-9	electrical or utility problems 10+
Mutual aid	Mutual aid 0-1	Mutual aid 2-5	Mutual aid 6-9	Mutual aid 10+
Other types of emergencies	Other types of emergencies 0-1	Other types of emergencies 2-5	Other types of emergencies 6-9	Other types of emergencies 10+

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* 25. What is the approximately number of calls your fire department responds to each year?

0-100

101-249

250-499

500-749

750-999

1000+

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* 26. What is the approximate number of active members in your department?

0-20

21-50

51-80

81-100

101+

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* 27. How do you define active member status?

Attends more than a certain percentage of emergency calls

Attends more than a certain number of hours of training

Attends a certain number of meetings

Other, please describe below

Other (please specify)

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* 28. Have there ever been times when your department did not have enough members to respond to a call?

Yes

No skip to Question 29

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* 29. If you answered yes to Question 28, how many times per month would you say this happens?

1-5

6-9

10+

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* 30. If you do not believe you have enough volunteer to provide service 365 days a year, and 24 hours a day, approximately how many more do you believe you need?

1-10

11-20

21+

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* 31. Do you consider yourself to be an active member?

Yes

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* 32. Of your department's calls, what percentage of emergency calls do you respond to annually?

0-20%

21-40%

41-60%

61-80%

81-100%

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* 33. Of your department's calls, what percentage of non-emergency calls do you respond to annually?

0-20%

21-40%

41-60%

61-80%

81-100%

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* 34. Of the members of your department, what percentage do you consider to be active volunteers?

0-20%

21-40%

41-60%

61-80%

81-100%

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* 35. Have you ever considered no longer serving as a volunteer firefighter?

Yes, please answer Question 36

No, please skip to question 37

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* 36. If you answered Yes to Question 35, please briefly explain why you have considered no longer being a volunteer firefighter

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* 37. How many certifications and certificates do you have, such as EMT, FF I, vehicle rescue, water rescue, etc.?

0-5

6-9

10-15

16+

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* 38. How many hours do you spend each month doing fundraising?

0-5

6-9

10-15

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* 39. How many hours of in-house training do you personally complete each year?

0-10

11-20

21-40

41-60

61+

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* 40. How many hours of outside training do you personally complete each year?

0-10

11-20

21-40

41-60

61+

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* 41. Do you see a lot of turnover in your department?

Yes, answer question 42

No, skip to question 43

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* 42. If you answered yes to question 41, how many volunteers leave annually?

1-4

5-9

10+

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* 43. Since you have been a member of your department have you:

Seen an increase in the turnover rate of members

Seen a decrease in the turnover rate of members?

Have seen neither an increase or decrease in turnover by members

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* 44. In the past five years, approximately how many volunteers each year have joined your department and left within the first year?

1-4

5-9

10+

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* 45. To what extent is it likely that your department may go "Out of business" in the near future? (next five years)

Very likely

Likely

Not likely

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* 46. Has your fire department ever considered consolidating or merging with other departments?

Yes

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* 47. To what degree do the following issues contribute to turnover in your department?

	Very often	Often	Not often	Not applicable
Federal mandates	Federal mandates Very often	Federal mandates Often	Federal mandates Not often	Federal mandates Not applicable
State mandates	State mandates Very often	State mandates Often	State mandates Not often	State mandates Not applicable
Boredom	Boredom Very often	Boredom Often	Boredom Not often	Boredom Not applicable
Time commitment	Time commitment Very often	Time commitment Often	Time commitment Not often	Time commitment Not applicable
Threat of injury or death	Threat of injury or death Very often	Threat of injury or death Often	Threat of injury or death Not often	Threat of injury or death Not applicable
Danger	Danger Very often	Danger Often	Danger Not often	Danger Not applicable
Issues related to training (hours, costs, etc.)	Issues related to training (hours, costs, etc.) Very often	Issues related to training (hours, costs, etc.) Often	Issues related to training (hours, costs, etc.) Not often	Issues related to training (hours, costs, etc.) Not applicable
Personality conflicts	Personality conflicts Very often	Personality conflicts Often	Personality conflicts Not often	Personality conflicts Not applicable
Age or health concerns	Age or health concerns Very often	Age or health concerns Often	Age or health concerns Not often	Age or health concerns Not applicable
Other (Worker's comp concerns, family/social activities, etc.)	Other (Worker's comp concerns, family/social activities, etc.) Very often	Other (Worker's comp concerns, family/social activities, etc.) Often	Other (Worker's comp concerns, family/social activities, etc.) Not often	Other (Worker's comp concerns, family/social activities, etc.) Not applicable

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* 48. To what degree do you believe the following would decrease turnover in your department?

	A lot	Some	None
Pension	Pension A lot	Pension Some	Pension None
Annual tax credit	Annual tax credit A lot	Annual tax credit Some	Annual tax credit None
Recognition	Recognition A lot	Recognition Some	Recognition None
Less Training	Less Training A lot	Less Training Some	Less Training None
More training	More training A lot	More training Some	More training None
Online Training opportunties	Online Training opportunties A lot	Online Training opportunties Some	Online Training opportunties None
Health club membership	Health club membership A lot	Health club membership Some	Health club membership None
No fundraising	No fundraising A lot	No fundraising Some	No fundraising None

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* 49. Please indicate the degree to which you believe the following things are needed for your department?

	Yes	No	Not applicable or already doing
Increased funding	Increased funding Yes	Increased funding No	Increased funding Not applicable or already doing
Total government funding	Total government funding Yes	Total government funding No	Total government funding Not applicable or already doing
More calls	More calls Yes	More calls No	More calls Not applicable or already doing
Less calls	Less calls Yes	Less calls No	Less calls Not applicable or already doing
Paid administrative assistance	Paid administrative assistance Yes	Paid administrative assistance No	Paid administrative assistance Not applicable or already doing
More government involvement	More government involvement Yes	More government involvement No	More government involvement Not applicable or already doing
Less government involvement	Less government involvement Yes	Less government involvement No	Less government involvement Not applicable or already doing
Discipline specific training	Discipline specific training Yes	Discipline specific training No	Discipline specific training Not applicable or already doing
Online training	Online training Yes	Online training No	Online training Not applicable or already doing
Other training	Other training Yes	Other training No	Other training Not applicable or already doing
New ways of organizing	New ways of organizing Yes	New ways of organizing No	New ways of organizing Not applicable or already doing
More volunteers	More volunteers Yes	More volunteers No	More volunteers Not applicable or already doing
Other	Other Yes	Other No	Other Not applicable or already doing

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* 50. How did you first gain your interest in the volunteer fire service?

College and University training or opportunities

High school service hours or opportunity

Scouts

Summer Camp

Family

Friends

Community Event

Fire Department recruiting event

Other clubs

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* 51. How often do you use the following methods of recruitment?

	Very often	Often	Rarely	Never
Newspaper	Newspaper Very often	Newspaper Often	Newspaper Rarely	Newspaper Never
Churches	Churches Very often	Churches Often	Churches Rarely	Churches Never
Word of Mouth	Word of Mouth Very often	Word of Mouth Often	Word of Mouth Rarely	Word of Mouth Never
Fraternal Organizations	Fraternal Organizations Very often	Fraternal Organizations Often	Fraternal Organizations Rarely	Fraternal Organizations Never
Family	Family Very often	Family Often	Family Rarely	Family Never
Friends	Friends Very often	Friends Often	Friends Rarely	Friends Never
Community Events	Community Events Very often	Community Events Often	Community Events Rarely	Community Events Never
Fire Department recruiting events	Fire Department recruiting events Very often	Fire Department recruiting events Often	Fire Department recruiting events Rarely	Fire Department recruiting events Never
Other clubs/organizations	Other clubs/organizations Very often	Other clubs/organizations Often	Other clubs/organizations Rarely	Other clubs/organizations Never
During fire calls	During fire calls Very often	During fire calls Often	During fire calls Rarely	During fire calls Never

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* 52. If you want to be considered for a personal prize enter your email address in the below box

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* 53. If you want your fire department to be eligible for the fire department prize, please enter the following information in the box below: Fire Department name, Contact info for Fire Department (address and phone number or email address), number of active members in the department.