By: Matthew Leonard
FDLiveIn.com

It’s a month before the semester starts and you’ve got a batch of new live-ins moving in from all over the country. already know that their backgrounds are very different, some of them coming from the Northeast others from the West coast. Not only do you have to worry about their prior experience and knowledge, and how that is going to work into your operation, but you also have to think about the drastic lifestyle change that they are about to experience.  You must remember that most of your new firefighters are coming out of high school, some may be transfers from two year programs but either way it is a whole new world. If your company is in any sort of metropolitan area you can expect a degree of shell shock. As much as you want to treat your rookies as such, you have to be welcoming or they are likely to leave that night.

So it’s day one for your newest members, and their parents are helping them move into the station. All the new guys are wide-eyed with excitement and probably incredibly nervous. It ‘s a fair bet to guess that they are congregating in any corner of the fire station that senior members are not. They are likely talking about their classes and undoubtedly their war stories from back home, the things they won’t want to talk about in front of everyone else. At some point you will have to break the ice, give them the rundown of their next few weeks of intense training and acclimation, all the while making sure they are prepared for school.

As discussed in “Part 1: Identifying Your Members”, now is the time to start. Senior members of the bunkroom should be getting to know the new guys. As the administrator you need to see if any of their personalities correlate. One idea shared by a few programs is to house the newest members together separate from the rest of the live-ins. By doing this initially for a short period of time, you will achieve a few very important objectives. One critical objective that should be achieved quickly is collusion amongst the rookies. Similar to basic training, the newest members will be joined together by their shared situation. While hopefully not feeling hatred toward the drill instructor, they will share the common feelings of homesickness, fatigue from training, and overall awe of the pace. The second thing you will achieve over the course of a few weeks time is better identification of who and what you are dealing with. These two things will make or break your new members and their experience.

If you get it right you’ll have a worthwhile investment, but get it wrong and a year’s worth of recruiting effort might be wasted. As you begin to figure out where the rookies are going to fit in, you should hold regular meetings with both your senior crew and your rookies separately. These meetings will have very different agendas. With your senior live-ins you are holding a staff meeting. Make sure everyone is on the same page and moving along with the objectives. With the new members, individual counseling sessions on top of group meetings may be very productive. As much as you want to be a part of your group, the veterans, you have to lead everyone. As the bunkroom administrator planning for the future is your number one priority. The regular training and experience you have will keep you on your game for firefighting operations but making sure there is a bunkroom when you become alumni is most important.

Hopefully after a few meetings it will be clear as day as to where each member of your program will fit in. Certain personalities will clash, however that is what will keep a healthy dynamic in any organization. A corporation will never prosper if everyone always agrees. By now you should be able to discern members’ priorities. It is your responsibility to figure out who will match up with whom and assign bunkmates or roommates accordingly. Again these assignments should be pretty regimented and set in stone. As the administrator you make the decisions. By taking the time to make educated and careful decisions, your effort and attention will come to fruition.  The most important thing a good mentor can offer is a chance to let the mentored speak. This will help the group as a whole because every rookie should know its better to be seen than heard. During the meetings with senior staff the concerns of individual recruits can be addressed without their presence.

Managing a bunkroom is not an easy task, as it requires a lot of time, a lot of patience, and the ability to handle both the needs of individuals while preserving the mission of the department. Maintaining positive communication at all times will be the most effective way to handle everything. Hold regular meetings with your live-ins and have reports and briefings prepared for your superiors at regular intervals. If you can keep those subordinate to you happy, and keep those you report to content, you are well on your way to managing a successful staff both in the firehouse and on the fire ground.

Matthew Leonard is a FF/EMT with the District of Columbia Fire Department in Washington, DC. He is a former live-in at the Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department in Prince Georges County, Maryland where he currently serves as Assistant Chief.

You can follow Matt on Twitter @takenthestairs and on Facebook: facebook.com/m.j.leonard.fire