Video: Worst Fire Department in the United States?

SO many issues.
First, I want to know why this department is in the shape it’s in.
Is it a lack of leadership? Is there little training available- or do the members not take advantage of what’s there? Why does this department exist? Why does anyone contract with them? Why do they have the quality of equipment that they have- no funds, or misuse of funds? What is going on behind and underneath what we see in the video?
Unfortunately, the general public seems unaware of much of anything about the fire service. They don’t know what is high quality coverage, and what is not. There are people who would watch that video and say “the fire dept did the best they could, the heroes, they’re only volunteers…etc” and make every possible excuse.
The quality of a fire department goes well beyond the age of the equipment. Without good leadership, not much else will be any good, either. If the “leadership” does not value training, neither will the members.
To attempt to answer your questions:
1. If I was the newly-appointed chief, I wouldn’t need to see the video to know we’re in trouble. It would be obvious in everything that the department does. We need help, from somewhere. If we can’t afford to bring in good instructors, I’d talk to nearby departments to see if we can train with them. I know the video says that the departments don’t work together, and I can well understand why someone who knows how things should be would be reluctant to work with this group, but I’ll get to that in a minute. For now, I’d be out there building as many bridges as I could. I’d go to as much training as I could, and encourage my crew to come with me. I’d talk to them about how they view the department, and show them examples of well trained departments. If they WANT to be better, we can get there. If they don’t, if they are satisfied with the status quo, they need to find someplace else to be, and something else to do. I’d rather have a few people who want to do whatever is necessary to do the job, than a bunch of people who don’t care enough to learn what they need to learn, and do what they need to do. It’s better to have a few good people, than a lot of people you can’t count on. I would make this clear to any neighboring chief I was hoping to work with.
Is this group salvageable? I can’t tell from the video. A lot depends on why they are the way they are, whose lead they are following, and whether or not they can recognize the situation they are in and want to change it. It can be tremendously frustrating to be a willing worker in an organization that values cronyism more than hard work, and if that is the situation some of the department members are in, they may be more than happy to work towards change. I’m not holding my breath, though. If I had to guess, it would be that the addition of a good leader would cause most of the department to quit, and I’d be recruiting and building it up from only a handful of people.
2. If I was the neighboring chief, first, I’d be thrilled that the department just got that newly appointed chief, because clearly, the previous one wasn’t doing the job. Since most rural departments these days need mutual aid agreements to get the job done, I know what we need is for this dept to get up to speed, and I’d want to help and encourage them to do that. At the very least, I wouldn’t want them endangering my people if we were on a scene together! The first thing I’d do is invite them to training- and then see who shows up. I can work with people who want to work, even if their skill level is low to start out. Once I know who, specifically, in that department wants to BE a firefighter, rather than pretend, I’d have a better idea of how to work with them- and who I’d be willing to work with. I would not want anything to do with anyone I had never seen train.
3. If I was a homeowner… I’d probably have no idea how to evaluate what I saw. I wouldn’t even know what I needed to know, or what I needed to ask- or even that the different fire departments aren’t connected to each other. I’d probably contract with whichever one the previous homeowner contracted with.
If I found out that there IS a considerable difference- and I’d probably find that out the hard way- I’d be pissed off.
If I were myself, with the knowledge I have, and looking to buy a home in that area, I’d be willing to pay a lot more for better fire protection. It’s like insurance. Having had a home fire myself, I know that the cost of a fire is tremendous, and much more than any insurance payments or taxes I’ve ever seen. I would not buy a home in a place that had a poorly trained, poorly led fire department.

Given the opportunity these folks would take training anyway they could get it.  I say if there are any larger fire departments in the vicinity; maybe they should come together and give a hand in training them.  You’d be surprised with what you get!!

Ok, the review of the film showed many problems, but also
showed that certain question must be asked.

1 – to solve the problem, one must ask what is the Grant’s
Pass Rural Fire Department budget, and its balance sheet.

2- The department is a corporation, it has a board of
directors, these basic questions then becomes – does it have the money to fix
the problems. If not then its time to close up shop, turn over the contract to
the two other departments.

3- If there is money, then the first item becomes a training
issue, in doing so you will setup a command structure, and an incident command
system. The company will need to hire a person who will be willing to be the
fire chief, the training officer, and the record officer. The corporate will
have to be able to fill in for all of the budget related items. The person
hired will not have the time. To fill in at that spot

You will have to use existing employees first, in the
training, each employee will be reevaluated. Those that do not meet basic NFPA
standard will be replaced.

4- The corporate board will also have to purchase new
equipment, this does not mean brand new, but decent used equipment, everything
from new fire trucks, to personal protection. In the film, I did not see one
SCBA in use.

5- Most important, a safety policy must be implemented, this
will be started with the necessary training needed.

This is just some of the basics, everything here comes down
to a money issue, if the corporation has no money to invest in this fire
department, again then close it down, give everything over to the volunteer
fire department. They will have to meet the NFPA standards to VFD’s. From what
I can see in the film, the paid department is not meeting any type of NFPA
standard.

 I am amazed. Not so much at the video, but by the title of the video and of the “hater” comments the people are posting. This is an example of how LEADERSHIP has failed the fire department. I don’t just mean the leadership of the fire department, but leadership from the community as well. Taxpayers MUST realize that without funding then emergency services will suffer. When there is not support from the community then the emergency agencies cannot provide an adequate service. Say what you want…I for one applaud the individuals on these departments ( on the operations side) for trying to get the job done. Even though it is not being done right, they are still making the attempt. EVERY FIRE DEPARTMENT IN THE WORLD faces opposition when it comes time to pay the bills. For equipment, training and staffing. Now more than ever. Most of you reading this are my friends and brother firefighters.For all of those of you reading my post, ask yourself this question. Would your department function any better than this one if leadership had failed you this badly? Almost all of us have had YEARS of ADVANCED TRAINING. So much so, that most of us would choose not to be part of this kind of “madness”. In most departments that I have been part of, it has always been the operations level folks that get the job done, while leadership is floundering, and sinking into the proverbial quicksand. The bottom line is this: There is a need. When people call out for help, the fire department responds. Of course, we always try to do it right. It doesn’t always go according to plan. I have NEVER seen an emergency scene where everything has gone right, or been done “by the book”. The problem with this department is, there is no book. Bear in mind that 100 years ago, volunteer fire departments in the US were in no better shape. Many fire brigades were funded solely by it’s members, were understaffed, and had shoddy equipment. Perhaps this area of the country needs to re-evaluate how to fix this problem at its source. Additionally, these folks could use some help from other departments in the form of equipment ( PPE and apparatus) donations of unused or retired gear. There are so many departments that are more fortunate than this one. Why let this stuff go to waste when it can be useful again. To close this; I don’t know the correct answer. I seldom do. But, instead of bashing these folks, step up and help to support them.