12 Backdraft Magazine | A Volunteer Fire Service Publication | Volume 5 | Issue 1 | www.thebackdraftmagazine.com
When we don't deal with burnout, it comes out
on its own. This is the moment when the member
starts fighting about everything. We have all had
members quit over silly fights, and the truth is that
it wasn't the fight, but that the member was burnt
out long before.
RELIEF VALVES
Fortunately there are a lot of tools available to
help prevent burnout. The first is sharing the load.
This may be as simple as relieving someone from
flipping pancakes so that person can eat breakfast
with his or her family. It may be as difficult as finding
others to step up to officer positions so that others
can take a break.
The goal is to help bring down the stress level for a
period of time, which may even require a vacation
from the firehouse.
We also need to build in stress relievers into the
department every year. It can be the good old wet-
downs, BBQs, family picnics or anything you can
think of.
Here is a twist, how about asking for a day for a
mutual-aid company to cover your department so
that you can all relax? You can even trade days.
This way everyone can take part in the fun and not
worry about the bell going off.
A day off, a day relaxing, a day partying and a day
with family can go a long way toward preventing
firefighter burnout.
Jason Zigmont, PhD, NREMT-P, currently serves as the Manager/Educator for the SYN:APSE Simulation center at Yale New
Haven Health System. He was the founder of VolunteerFD.org, and has written extensively about Bylaws, Fundraising,
Grants, Recruitment and Retention, SOGs and Training. He has been a member of the East Berlin Fire Department for more
than 10 years, most recently acting as Training Officer. He holds a BS in Public Safety Administration and earned his PhD
in Adult Learning at the University of Connecticut. He can be contacted at : jason@volunteerfd.org.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR...
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