Developing a tradition … overnight!

Every now and then I read about a Mayor that suggests changing from a paid fire department to a volunteer fire department.

The latest comes from LaCrosse, WI.

A memo Fire Chief Gregg Cleveland sent Mayor Harter on Nov. 10 indicates the mayor asked the chief to report on converting half the department to a volunteer force withing 1.5 years and the full department within three years.

“He asked me to do something and he’s the boss,” Cleveland said. “These types of decisions aren’t mayoral decisions or council decisions or chief’s decisions. They’re community decisions. It all comes down to what level of risk are they willing to assume.”

The fire chief said he couldn’t speculate how many volunteers would be required to staff La Crosse’s four fire stations. The department this year already has fielded 4,228 calls for service.

This is the problem. Successful volunteer fire departments (and yes there are very successful volunteer fire departments) depend on tradition. Sons, and now daughters, following in the footsteps of their fathers. It is not just the tradition but the immense amount of pride that goes with it.

The tradition and pride needed to staff a volunteer fire department cannot be developed overnight, or in 1.5 years or even three years.

Can anyone think of one instance where a full time staffed fire department reverted back to a volunteer department successfully?  If so let me know.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 4:15 am and is filed under Local Politics 101. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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