If you're an officer of a volunteer fire department, you've most likely read articles and sat in lectures about gaining membership. It's a topic that a lot of volunteer firehouses deal with. Let's fast forward to the part where they already joined; how do you keep them not only active but interested.

I'm an officer of a volunteer department about an hour north of New York City. We're lucky enough to have a good number of members who are dedicated to the fire service and enjoy doing it. None of this came without hard work. A department that's constantly running fires, pin jobs, and rescue calls may have a good chance at keeping members interested. However, that's not the case with us. We are one of the county's busier departments; our district covers everything from rural areas, apartment complexes, strip malls, a state highway, and even a large industrial complex. Sounds like a recipe for a lot of work. For the most part, the potential is all there, but it's usually filled with fire alarms, minor motor vehicle accidents, and food on the stove. Now you never want to see someone or their property in danger; this makes it tough to keep members interested.

Training is an excellent way to keep members involved. The volunteer service has members with zero experience to members with forty plus years; you have to accommodate both. Doing drills that strictly focus on basic skills is great for new members but becomes repetitive for those with more experience. A "new members academy" is a great way to retain younger members. In my department, we just started an "academy" consisting of 8 nights with a basic topic set for each. Although the course is technically opened to anyone in the department, it is designed for newer members who want to learn the basics among similar skill levels. Newer members tend to do better in their own environment where they don't feel embarrassed by asking questions in front of senior firefighters.

Cant do something for the newer firefighters and not for the more experienced, right? There are plenty of companies or instructors willing to come in and teach more advanced skill level classes. I understand some departments may not be able to budget training like that. Use your resources around you to reach out and see what they can offer. Many times, businesses are willing to allow you to walk through the building or even have an employee touch on special circumstances that firefighters must follow. Nothing like that? Utilize your officers, have an extrication drill but add some spice to it. Instead of a basic extrication, maybe set up an imaginary scenario where the vehicle is down an embankment with entrapment. Instead of basic ground ladders, maybe work on victim removal from a ground ladder. You can perform countless more advanced scenarios at your own firehouse; you must utilize resources and think of what can happen in your district.

Do you want to keep members of all age levels involved? Build em' up! Firefighting is a team sport, and encouragement goes a long way. No one in the firehouse should be tearing anyone down. Encourage your members to train, encourage them on the fire scene, and make sure you let them know when they do a good job. No one wants to go to a place where they're not feeling appreciated, especially if they're not getting a paycheck. Do projects around the firehouse; it's everyone's home, and they should be able to feel apart of it. My firehouse lacked a ready room; members of all ages got together and updated an old gear room into a ready room. There was a sense of pride among the membership, and gave us all a reason to work together and boost morale.

Now I'm sure most volunteer departments use these ideas already. I'm not an expert on morale, and this wasn't written to boost my own department; it's just information I'd thought I'd share with officers who may be looking to keep morale up or try to boost it. The fire service is all about sharing information, and I'm always looking to discuss new ways to improve the service; you can find me on Twitter @MarchianoTom feel free to drop me a message!