22 Backdraft Magazine | A Volunteer Fire Service Publication | Volume 5 | Issue 1 | www.thebackdraftmagazine.com
By Thomas A. Merrill
Drills & Training in the Volunteer Firehouse
Well planned and executed training drills are one of the
most important components of an organized and efficient
volunteer fire department. Being volunteer does not afford
the excuse that training will get done occasionally, or as
time permits. In addition, being volunteer does not mean
drills cannot be well prepared and organized. The citizens
in our hometowns expect us to be skilled and proficient and
prepared to handle their emergency. That requires regular,
pertinent and structured training drills.
Many paid fire departments drill every day. This is
impossible in the volunteer ranks because there are so
many things competing for the busy volunteer's time.
Their personal schedule can quickly fill up with work and
family commitments among so many other things. For
most volunteers once a week is deemed acceptable and
tolerable. The key is to try and have a schedule that is
clearly communicated to the membership well ahead of
time so members can plan appropriately.
Post the schedule on the department bulletin board. Have
the chief or training officer review the schedule at the
department meeting. Put the schedule in your membership
mailer, newsletter and on the department web site. Use
Facebook and other social media outlets to get the word
out. Social media training postings actually have an added
benefit they can generate positive publicity for the
department because residents are notified that their local
fire department is hard at work training on their behalf.
It is not uncommon for volunteers to rush home after work,
spend some time with their family and maybe eat a quick
dinner and help a child with homework, and then they rush
off for drill at the firehouse. Or, they wake up on a Saturday or
Sunday morning and miss a family event so they can attend
the firehouse drill. For this reason, when our members walk
through the firehouse door on drill night (or drill day) they
are owed well prepared and organized drills. The last thing
they want to see is a bunch of officers running around trying
to plan a drill. It sends the wrong message.
While it's important clearly communicate the schedule with
our members, it's equally important to stick to the schedule.
It is extremely disappointing and is can be demoralizing
for members when they make plans to attend drill and
show up only to find out it was canceled or rescheduled
to another day. The member could have re-arranged their
work schedule, rescheduled a family appointment or even
arranged for child care so they could attend the training
event .
If our members are taking the time to attend, our leaders
need to take the time to prepare. There are many ways
to ensure drills are planned, organized and carried out
successfully.
In many departments, officers are expected to arrange and
run the drills. I like this idea, and in my opinion planning
and executing a drill serves as a great credibility builder for
these officers. I used to tell my officers it is far easier for
an officer to gain credibility by teaching and attending drill
on a regular basis than by being at the couple fires your
department may get during the course of a year. Fires that
due to work and other obligations the officer may not be
around for anyway.
Personal obligations are there for the volunteer fire officer
as much as they are there for the firefighter and can easily