Town-Sponsored Analysis of Fire Dept. Outlines Challenges Confronting New Chief [with video]

Garry McCarraher, Fire Chief in Franklin, MA was recruited by Town Manager Mark Haddad to prepare a document titled Fire Chief Recruitment Profile, the purpose of the document being to set forth the complex management challenges facing the new fire chief in the coming months and years and to define clearly the duties of the job. The report was intended to help the Fire Chief Search Committee in selecting candidates matching the needs of the town and the department.

Chief McCarreher conducted a series of in-depth interviews with Town Officials, full-time and on-call members of the department and current Chief Joseph Bosselait.

According to the summary section of the report, "The department has exhausted its present strategic planning cycle." Consequently, the report says, "the new fire chief will be required, with the input of stakeholders, to develop a vision for the future consistent with the goals of the community."

Discussing the department's policies and procedures, the report explains, "The department's operational policies and procedures have been outpaced by the growth of the department." It says there is a need "for policies and procedures to provide consistent guidance and predictable response patterns for emergencies..."

Among the management problems needing attention are "standards and work performance for career personnel" and more specifically "expectations for career members to meet professional standards such as Recruit Fire Training and Professional Board Certification."

Specifically, there is a "need to evaluate the present and on-going emergency and non emergency operations (both career and paid-on-call personnel) and develop a system of evaluation and measurement to insure operations are provided in an effective and efficient manner."

In the area of training and professional development, the report says "the predictability and consistency of training has suffered over the past several years with consolidation of various functions (Fire, EMS and Rescue)."

According to the report, "a training and professional development program must be developed for the department's career members..." This program must be integrated within the entire department to insure operational continuity among the career and paid-on-call members, the report says.

One of the greatest internal challenges facing the department, the report says, is communications involving 'all internal stakeholders'.

The report suggests the poor nature of communication within the department saying, "as with any organization which grows rapidly, relationships among stakeholder groups can become strained - the Groton Fire Department is not immune to this challenge."

To resolve these problems, the new chief will be required "to develop a communications system" providing "timely communications pertaining to department operations."

Finally, the section of the Recruitment Profile titled 'Paid-on-call Member Engagement' says it will be important "to engage paid on-call members in the overall operations of the department" This engagement with on-call members is crucial because, "like other fire-rescue agencies that rely heavily upon paid-on-call members, the department is challenged to maintain consistent response levels for all types of emergencies."

The Issues and Challenges Section of the Fire Chief Recruitment Profile referenced above can be read in its entirely on the Groton Herald website at www.grotonherald.com.