By John “Skip” Coleman
This month’s question deals with the health of your department. Not the physical health, but more the mental aspect. I believe that the moral of the fire service is at an all-time low. Several occurrences are responsible for this.
Politics has stuck its ugly head into our firefighters’ daily lives. I realize some of you are from states that are “right-to-work” states. But some of you have legislators vying to take negotiated rights away from unions. As the 6:00 o’clock news demonstrates, this hasn’t set well with a majority of union firefighters. In the spring of this year, several states have presented legislation that reduce the rights of unions. This November, several states will vote on the repeal of some of the legislation that has been enforced.
Tied into this is the never-ending budget crunch. Union or not, we are continually being asked to do more with less: reductions in staffing, apparatus, tool replacement, and station supplies.
Lastly, there has been a lot written on the Web and in magazines concerning firefighter suicide. Its occurrence has increased recently across the country.
I’m sure I am missing other issues that plague departments recently but I am ready to ask the question:What, if anything, is your department doing to boost morale?Registerandlog into the188金宝搏是正规吗Web site and leave your comments below.
John “Skip” Colemanretired as assistant chief from the Toledo (OH) Department of Fire and Rescue. He is a technical editor of Fire Engineering; a member of the FDIC Educational Advisory Board; and author ofIncident Management for the Street-Smart Fire Officer(Fire Engineering, 1997),Managing Major Fires(Fire Engineering, 2000), andIncident Management for the Street-Smart Fire Officer, Second Edition(Fire Engineering, 2008).
