Resources
Links
Book
Leading Career and Volunteer Firefighters: Searching for Buried Treasure
By John Benoit and Kenneth Perkins
Running a composite fire department is a tough job; unfortunately, little research has been done to try to make the job easier or more effective. This is the first book on the subject that goes beyond one case. Previous research has been limited to one case or short magazine articles.
Leading Career and Volunteer Firefighters examines four types of composite fire departments. The book presents several lines of social science research that can be applied to analyze the management problems a chief officer faces when managing career and volunteer firefighters. The book also considers the relationship chiefs have with their municipal governments. Finally it recommends strategies on how to manage composite fire departments more effectively.
Who should read it?
Fire Chiefs in composite departments, and chief officers in career or volunteer departments that might encounter the “other kind of firefighter” because their municipalities amalgamate, Chief Administrative Officers in municipalities that have composite fire services. Students of fire service administration and students of public administration.
Leading Career and Volunteer Firefighters is jointly written by Dr John Benoit and Dr Kenneth B Perkins. Both of these sociologists have researched, taught and consulted with the fire service for nearly their entire careers. They have studied fire departments in Canada and the United States for many years.
An order form can be downloaded here as a Microsoft Word or PDF file.
External Links
What follows are several links that will enrich your learning. These links are by no means exhaustive; moreover, even if the links described all forms of fire management, the world wide web expands too fast. As you find other useful sites not found below, post a message about the site in question for your instructor and fellow students.
These links open in new browser window independent of this one.
http://www.wfrfire.com
This is the site of Wholesale Fire and Rescue ltd of Calgary. Clicking on articles will send you to a fascinating source. Once there, clicking on firemag will send you to an index of several fire magazines with useful articles on such topics as: SCBA, clothing, foam, HAZMAT, fire extinguishers, rescue, water supply, firefighting, sprinklers, safety, inspections, training, legal issues, and public relations. Further you can also read about the Phnom Penh Fire Department to understand how fire protection works(?) elsewhere. The article is written by Derrick Harvey, a former student of this program. Returning to its homepage, click on Links and you will be sent to about 20 interesting sites.
http://www.nfpa.org
This site is the National Fire Protection Association. It will be useful for Fire Prevention Management, Personnel II, Strategic Planning and Program Evaluation and Statistics.
http://www.iaff.org/iaff/index.html
This site is the International Association of Firefighters. It is useful to get the "head office" perspective that is often different from the union local and often the same. Good for Personnel II.
http://www.cstone.net/~oprandyj/history.htm
This is a private source that provides some history on the IAFF. Good for Personnel II and The Environment of the Fire Station.
http://www.iao.ca
This is the site of the Insurers Advisory Organization that advises insurance companies on the probability and severity of fire. The IAO rates communities in terms of fire risk so as to advise the insurance companies on the premiums they might set for their customers.
http://www.iso.com
This is the American counterpart of the IAO.
http://www.ruralmetro.com
This is a long established private fire service. From time to time it submits bids to municipalities, offering to provide a fire service in place of the already existing public service. Most of its business is the provision of EMS.
http://www.ichiefs.org
This is an excellent site run by the International Association of Fire Chiefs. It is well worth becoming a member of this organization. The network of relations with other chief officers provides good intelligence on a number of issues. The network is invaluable for any planning activity.
http://www.nvfc.org
This is the site of the National Volunteer Fire Council. Useful for Personnel I and Station Officer: Dealing with People.
http://ceinfo.unh.edu/rural.htm
This is an interesting site run by the extension division of the University of New Hampshire. It addresses concerns of rural fire departments, including water supply and transport, fundraising and so on. Useful for Fire Suppression Management, Personnel I and all three courses of CFSL.
