When I joined the fire service in 1998, I was introduced to a work culture that embraced togetherness on a level to which I was not accustomed.
The fire service culture was busting out its seams with a balance of work, shiny new red trucks, the need for people – and, importantly, connection among those people. The introduction to a new career path as a firefighter-EMT helped show me a different vision of an organization and its community responsibilities. I could only describe this togetherness as a pulse.
As my job description grew over the years, I started to see an analogy forming – an internal fire service pulse or beat that resembled the electrical impulse displayed on an EKG reading. An EKG measures electrical signals in the heart, with each beat represented in a series of points along a line (see Figure 1). There is a particular sequence needed to complete each beat, creating a rhythmic heartbeat.
The Firefighter Tenure Cycle
I believe a similar rhythm applies to firefighters as they move through their fire service career.
Firefighters’ years of service are valuable to the fire service and its daily activities. As the years go by, a firefighter’s experience fluctuates, similar to what we see on a standard EKG. Fortunately, the fire service has an internal electricity that is present, as it helps energize the men and women (the heart) of the fire service. Without getting too technical, I see an analogy between the points along the EKG and the tenure of a firefighter with a standard longevity of 30 years of service (Figure 2).
As we look at Figure 2, the electrical impulse on the EKG fluctuates through dips and peaks, represented in the letters P, QRS, T and U – the members at different points in their careers.
Each of these letters works in interdependent of each other, similar to the fire service culture. The community receives the outputs of this system as the men and women move through their tenure as members. The best fire service culture is achieved when the right number of members are present through each of the career points and the members are performing at their peak.
Rhythm interruption
Is there a good pulse or beat for fire service culture? It seems the drive for better pay has taken away some of the later-career position points in our years of service EKG.
As our members move through the career stages that align with the P and QRS years of service (3-12 years), they have established an outlook on their new environment of fire station life, and have a clearer understanding of their value to the fire service culture. Some of these members will start to separate themselves and implant in other fire departments for better paying opportunities or where they feel more valued.
Our customers see these separations and wonder if the department is doing all that it can to keep our members here. This rhythmic interruption creates a void and, in turn, places a strain on the remaining tenure position.
Has this retention issue created a rhythm interruption in your fire service culture and its pace for the future? Each day the fire trucks, rescue squads, medic units, etc., roll out to calls to provide the best customer service for all, yet their pulse may go undetected as irregular.
Further, as the P-S members begin to input themselves in a new fire service environment, joining an already established environment of members with the same levels of service, a cluttered system may emerge, again disrupting the rhythm.
Valued membership
Fire service leaders need to foster diverse organizations that clearly value each member of the department and how they fit into the overall rhythm. The rhythmic points of the fire service culture connect along a single line. If those points are removed, slowed or neglected of their value, that beat will lose its drive that serves the needs of the department and community.
Further, for the electrical impulse of an EKG to form a perfect beat, the points must work together as one. The fire service culture is also a beat for every community across the globe. And as it continues to interconnect, evolve and solve issues, fire service leaders must continue to assure their members that they are valuable, not only to the community they serve but also fire service culture.
Where do you fall within the linear heartbeat? Are you keeping the rhythm going strong by doing your part?
Now let’s go do our job!
