Joe Maruca, Brittany Hollerbach, Ken Willette
WE HEAR IT at all volunteer fire and EMS service gatherings: “We can’t recruit new volunteers because there is too much training.” We have plenty of anecdotal evidence suggesting that extensive training hinders volunteer recruitment and retention. But is too much training really the problem? A new study reveals that no, it’s not. The problem isn’t the amount of training. The problem is the topics we are training on and the delivery method.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Research Foundation, the North American Fire Training Directors (NAFTD), and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) recently completed a comprehensive study called Understanding the Role of Training in Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment and Retention. The project was funded by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), Fire Prevention & Safety (FP&S).
The Findings
Here’s what the study revealed:
- State training academies are underutilized by small departments. (partly because it’s in the middle nowhere)
- Training is fundamental and critical to the volunteers’ roles and the resources of the fire department.
- Training must be flexible to fit into volunteer life/work schedules.
- Training must be modular to allow departments to focus on the topics most relevant to them. (which it is not)
- Training must be hands-on and immersive.
- When possible, training must be delivered locally. Skilled instructors are essential.
If the volunteer fire service follows these principles, then training won’t be the significant barrier to recruitment and retention that many think it is.
The study is the most in-depth and comprehensive look at training needs in the volunteer fire service to date. While it has data on a wide range of community sizes, it focuses on fire departments serving communities with populations under 2,500. Fire departments serving towns under 2,500 people represent about 45% of all fire departments in the United States. Until now, little data has been collected on these departments and the volunteer firefighters who support them.
The study used a variety of methods to gather data. The researchers conducted a literature review of peer-reviewed articles, reports, trade journals, and NFPA training standards. They also held regional focus groups and conducted interviews with volunteer firefighters and leaders from around the United States. However, the most compelling element of the study was the data collected through a national survey of volunteers.
The national survey gathered 2,053 responses from across the United States. Of the responses, 32% came from departments serving communities of 2,500 or fewer residents.
KEY FINDINGS
Perceptions of training as a barrier to recruitment and retention varied by role.
Chiefs and officers were more likely to identify training as a barrier, whereas firefighters were more likely to report that training was not a barrier or that they were unsure. This suggests that leaders are more attuned to the operational or administrative challenges associated with training requirements.
Training must be relevant and modular.
Time management is critical for today’s volunteer firefighters. If people think their time is being wasted, they won’t volunteer. This means that the fire service needs to break training into focused modules so that each department can select the modules relevant to its resources and the risks it faces. For instance, a community without an aerial ladder truck would not train new recruits on aerial ladder trucks, just as an urban department that has 100% hydrant coverage can skip tanker/tender operations training.
This approach allows departments to focus on essential topics, reducing the time and resources needed to safely deploy new volunteer firefighters. As training becomes longer and incorporates more nonessential topics, it may create barriers to recruitment and retention.
Immersive and hands-on training is key.
We need to move out of the classroom as much as possible. A consistent message from the data is that firefighters value hands-on and scenario-based training. It’s engaging and should be designed to reflect the situations they deal with. Immersive training—the use of two or more senses at once—doesn’t necessarily mean you need high-tech, augmented reality goggles. It can mean you have firefighters discussing video-based fireground scenarios in a group setting.
A consistent message from the data is that firefighters’ value hands-on and scenario-based training. It’s engaging and should be designed to reflect the situations they deal with.
Local delivery is important.
A long trip to get to training can be a strong disincentive for volunteers. In many areas, volunteers must drive hours to attend training sessions. Bringing training to local or nearby fire stations presents an opportunity that state training institutions should prioritize.
Skilled instructors should lead local training.
A skilled instructor is someone local who is knowledgeable in the subject matter and able to create an engaging learning environment. This does not necessarily mean a formally certified instructor, if participants did not identify certification as a priority.
This study doesn’t answer every question about fire training and how it impacts recruitment and retention for volunteer firefighters. But it does, for the first time, give us comprehensive data and clear direction. The challenge for us in the volunteer fire service is to become advocates for what the study and the data have taught us.