Randy O'Donnell, Fire Chief
West End Fire & Rescue Company
Throughout the past two decades the fire service has witnessed a decline in the number of volunteer firefighters. Many studies and commissions have been formed to discuss this problem, but resolutions have not been given. The members of the West End Fire & Rescue Company of Shippensburg, Pa. would like to share a program that changed the way they dealt with recruitment of young people into the fire service. Our department's strength at one time was the recruitment of young members, but as society changed they saw a dramatic decline in recruitment. So an idea was born, and a new way of recruitment paved the way for excitement for the fire service.
In 1997 an idea was formed from watching a news program where paid firefighters brought local children to their fire academy and showed them the tools of the trade. The program was designed to show a positive image of their department and to the community. West End Fire & Rescue Company decided we could take a similar concept and adapt it to recruitment. This idea was floated at a company meeting in 1997 and a committee formed to explore the idea. Out of this committee came a program that would change how we recruit new members, retain long time members and bring back the enthusiasm that we had a decade ago.
"Starting the cultural change with those who want to become firefighters." - G. Crawford Wiestling.
Poster Designed by Claudia Garner
The program that was developed would be called "Child's Dream Weekend" This program would bring 25 excited youths between the ages of 11 to 13 into the fire station for a weekend and educate them on the fundamentals of firefighting, personnel safety and the importance of community service. Traditionally this event is held the first weekend after school lets out for the summer. The attendees are selected through an application process, and the parents attend an orientation several weeks before the event. This orientation gives the family members an overview of the weekend and allows time for the family to ask questions and to sign permission slips.
As the young men and women enter the fire station with their supplies for the weekend, they are divided into five separate battalions and they elect their own captain for the weekend. Senior firefighters are assigned to each battalion to insure their safety and to provide guidance throughout the weekend. Participants start the day with a warm greeting from the company president. Safety equipment, accountability tags, and uniforms are handed out. To set the stage for the weekend, Chief Emeritus Crawford Wiestling presents the Courage to Be SafeSM Program and explains the 16 Life Safety Initiatives. Chief Wiestling's ideas is to preach safety now and this will reduce injury and firefighters deaths in the future generations. It has been a very powerful program to watch.
After the initial classroom presentation, the battalions participate in different training exercises. They are given hands-on training in four areas: Basic EMS training, CPR, patient packaging techniques, and use of personnel protective clothing including SCBA. A hose maze is set up for participants to follow and learn search and rescue techniques. Each of the youths has the opportunity to use fire extinguishers and take part in an obstacle course. This obstacle course ends the morning of the first day by putting together all of the skills that they leaned for that day.
In the afternoon, the fun really begins for the participants. In the afternoon they will learn basic rescue techniques. The extrication exercises drawl a lot of interest from the participants and parents alike. The hose line competition and bucket brigade are the highlights of the weekend. Battalions compete for the best time and at the end of the afternoon everyone, including staff, becomes a part of a huge water battle. After everyone is already wet participants will walk to the fire chief's nearby swimming pool to learn water safety and have free time to swim. Pizza is provided and a time to wind down before everyone returns to the station for cleanup and showers. All participants are assigned an area to sleep for the night. We are fortunate that our fire station accommodates both males and female sleeping facilities.
The evening is time to show the recreational time of the fire service and brotherhood of the fire department. Normally, we will start the night with a ball game at the station before walking to a local bowling alley for a night of bowling. After retuning to the station ice cream and a movie is provided for all. This is the time when everyone is tired and ready for a good night of rest.
The following morning the participants are wakened by the company's alerting system, while company members prepare a delicious breakfast. Firefighters and their families help provide many of the meals and snacks for the weekend. This makes for a great time and fellowship of company members.
The morning is started with one of the favorite events for the weekend. A visit of Life Lion, an air medavac unit. The flight crew and paramedics always put on a great show and spend a lot of time with the participants. This is another favorite of the parents and community members as well. After the departure of Life Lion, we get back to work performing hands-on training. It will be anything from obstacle courses to rescue drills or engine company drills. This is where they put everything that they have learned for the weekend to good use.
After the Sunday morning drills, participants clean up and prepare for a picnic with family members. At the end of the picnic a formal graduation ceremony is conducted to acknowledge the work of these young men and women. All participants receive awards and gifts for their participation in the Child's Dream Weekend. The parents have the opportunity to hear from the battalion captains and view a video of the weekend. At this point company members are exhausted but fulfilled for their accomplishments. They hope to see these young people back in the near future.
Child's Dream Weekend is an opportunity to excite young people. Our message is simple: If you do not want to volunteer as a firefighter, please volunteer in some other manner. The results of this program are rewarding. We have watched participants move on to career departments and now serve as officers in our department. At one time, a large number of our bunkroom was filled with earlier participants from Child's Dream Weekends. We hope that this information is helpful to other fire departments; we freely offer this program outside of the Shippensburg area. Other fire departments in Pennsylvania have adapted the program and started their own Child's Dream Weekend. A department in Minnesota has just completed their first program with overwhelming success.
This program cost the department approximately $3000 a year, that includes an extra insurance policy. We have been fortunate to receive funding from many outside sources including: the Lt. Keith Hess Foundation, Drew Micheal Tayler Foundation, Yvorra Fire Service Leadership Foundation and Chief Crawford Wiestling. The contributions from these organizations and individuals have help make our dreams and the dreams of the participants a reality.
The West End Fire & Rescue Company is willing to provide this program and more details to any other department that is interested in the recruitment tool and firefighter safety programs. We need to look towards the future and prepare our young people for the challenges ahead. By adopting this program, we have found a great tool to educate new recruits and our firefighters to the 16 Life Safety Initiatives. There is nothing more positive than a firefighter teaching young people the Courage to Be SafeSM.