preparing future chief officers in the ames fire department
TRANSCRIPT
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Preparing Future Chief Officers in
The Ames Fire Department
Richard Higgins
Ames Fire Department, Ames, Iowa
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CERTIFICATION STATEMENT
I hereby certify that this paper constitutes my own product, that where the language of others is
set forth, quotation marks so indicate, and that appropriate credit is given where I have used the
language, ideas, expressions, or writings of another.
Signed:______________________________
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Abstract
Handing down the bugles from one chief officer to the next can be an exciting event. The
problem for the Ames Fire Department is that within the next five years they will experience a
50 percent turnover in their chief officer ranks with no plan in place to ensure internal candidates
are qualified to promote. The purpose of this project was to identify a plan to ensure internal
candidates are qualified for chief officer positions. The descriptive research method was used to
answer four research questions: What are the acceptable qualifications for a chief officer
position? What factors influence a candidate to seek qualification for a chief officer position?
What are the key elements for developing a formal plan to have internal candidates qualified for
chief officer positions? What are the benefits of having internal candidates qualified for chief
officer positions? The results from the research, obtained through surveys and literature review,
recognized acceptable qualifications in the areas of education, certification, and experience for
chief fire officers. The results identified that a desire to make a difference and to succeed were
influential factors for candidates seeking officer qualifications. Education, certification, and
mentoring were key elements in developing a formal plan to ensure qualified candidates.
Benefits of internal candidates were an increase in department morale and having someone with
a better understanding of the organization. Recommendations include the creation of an
additional pay step tied to chief officer qualifications for lieutenants, a job description task force,
and a mentoring program.
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Table of Contents
Page
Certification ..................................................................................................................................2
Abstract .........................................................................................................................................3
Table of Contents ..........................................................................................................................4
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................5
Background and Significance .......................................................................................................6
Literature Review..........................................................................................................................8
Procedures ...................................................................................................................................20
Results .........................................................................................................................................24
Discussion ...................................................................................................................................32
Recommendations .......................................................................................................................39
Reference List .............................................................................................................................42
Appendices
Appendix A: City of Ames Fire Department Call Volume…………………………………....46
Appendix B: Survey distributed to IAPFC…………………………………………………….47
Appendix C: Survey sent to AFD Firefighters & Lieutenants………………………………...50
Appendix D: Survey responses from survey sent to IAPFC for Research Question 3..............52
Appendix E: Survey responses from survey sent to IAPFC for Research Question 4………...54
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Preparing Future Chief Offices in
The Ames Fire Department
Introduction
The fire service has done an excellent job planning and preparing for the unpredictable.
They have done this by creating standard operating guidelines, participating in scenarios, and
creating mutual agreements with surrounding communities all in the hopes of being better
prepared to deal with the unpredictable. Nevertheless, time must also be spent on planning for
the predictable, for the future, for the one known guarantee in every fire department - leadership
will change.
Changes in leadership for any organization are unavoidable but they can also be
predictable, which means change can be planned for by having internal candidates trained and
qualified to fill changes in leadership. The fire service needs to embrace this opportunity to plan
for the future just as much as they have embraced preparing for the unpredictable, and they need
to do so with a sense of urgency. Chief officers are the leaders in the fire service, and part of
their responsibility is planning for the future, which includes planning for their replacement by
preparing future chief officers through a formal planning process.
The problem for the Ames Fire Department (AFD) is that within the next five years it
will experience a 50 percent turnover in their chief officer ranks with no formal established plan
in place to ensure that internal candidates are qualified to test for these positions. The purpose of
this project was to identify a formal plan that the AFD could use to ensure that internal
candidates are qualified to test for chief officer positions. Using the descriptive method, this
applied research focused on four research questions to help solve the problem. The four research
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questions are: (Q1) What are the acceptable qualifications for a chief officer position? (Q2)
What factors influence a candidate to seek qualification for a chief officer position? (Q3) What
are the key elements for developing a formal plan to have internal candidates qualified for chief
officer positions? (Q4) What are the benefits of having internal candidates qualified for chief
officer positions?
Background and Significance
The AFD was established in 1895 in Ames, Iowa. Ames is home to Iowa State
University, 3M, and the largest federal animal disease center in the United States - the National
Animal Disease Center. AFD covers a 24.7 square mile response area and serves an estimated
2012 population of 60,634 residents, an increase of 2.8% from 2010, according to the United
States Census Bureau (2013). They do so with an all-career department consisting of 55
members who operate out of three fire stations. AFD crews work a 24 hours on-duty/ 48 hours
off-duty schedule and they responded to a total of 3,996 incidents in 2013, according to
Firehouse database its records management system (ACS, 2010). They provide multiple
emergency services including: fire suppression, non-transport emergency medical services
(EMS), hazardous materials, vehicle extrication, confined space rescue, trench rescue, low angle
rope rescue, water rescue, and ice rescue.
The AFD maintains an officer core of nine company officers at the lieutenant rank, one
fire inspector, three shift commanders who function as battalion chiefs, two deputy fire chiefs,
and one fire chief. In total, six chief officers make up the AFD command staff. The problem is
that within the next five years, the AFD will experience a 50 percent turnover due to retirements
in their chief officer ranks, and they have no formal established plan in place to ensure that
internal candidates are qualified to test for these positions. This is a significant problem for the
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AFD and the community it serves because calls for service continues to rise (Appendix A) and
the city continues to grow. Without a formal established plan in place to ensure that internal
candidates are qualified to test for these positions, the AFD will be limited in the number of
options it has available to fill these anticipated vacancies.
Some of those options include hiring from outside the organization, reducing the current
job qualifications and requirements for those positions, or even holding the positions open until
internal candidates are qualified to test. Any one of these options or a combination of them
would have a significant negative impact on the department and on the community. A
significant negative impact of hiring from outside the organization would be a decrease in
department morale and motivation. It would also mean delays in customer service while new
leadership learns the organization. Increased hiring costs, associated with hiring from outside
the organization, would also have a significant impact on the department’s overall budget.
Reducing job qualifications would significantly affect the department by decreasing the level of
professionalism and could include a reduction in service levels. Holding a position open until
internal candidates were qualified would decrease response readiness and mean longer delays for
both internal and external customers.
This is a significant problem for the AFD and is in direct conflict with the National Fire
Academy’s strategic goal of improving the fire and emergency services’ professional status
(USFA, 2009). The fire service as a whole can be judged by the lack of professionalism in one
department, which can have a negative impact on customer service and funding levels.
Improving the professional status of the fire service is not a one-time goal, but a continuous
process.
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The significance of having unprepared and unqualified chief officer candidates ready to
lead in the future is also in direct conflict with the learning objectives of the National Fire
Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program Executive Development course. This two-week
course teaches fire department leaders how to identify and overcome adaptive leadership
challenges and how to grow their respective fire departments and personnel for a more
professional organization. This course challenges leaders to identify and to solve organizational
deficiencies through applied research in order to improve individual departments and
communities (USFA, 2013).
Literature Review
A comprehensive literature review was completed to gain a better understanding of the
following: (Q1) the acceptable qualifications for a chief officer position, (Q2) the factors that
influence a candidate to seek qualification for a chief officer position, (Q3) the key elements for
developing a formal plan to have internal candidates qualified for chief officer positions, and
(Q4) the benefits of having internal candidates qualified for chief officer positions. A majority
of the literature that was reviewed came from fire service-related literature, given the specific
nature of the research that focused solely on chief officer positions within the fire service. Every
attempt was made to utilize non-fire service-related literature as much as possible, in order to
gain a better understanding of the world outside of the fire service.
The fire service is a profession unlike any other. Its tradition makes it challenging for
those who wish to redefine professionalism in the fire service. The fire service profession is
unique compared to other emergency service providers, such as doctors, nurses, and paramedics,
in that once you obtain your professional certification, you cannot lose it, nor are you required to
maintain it through continuing education (Sendelbach, 2011). Furthermore, the fire service has
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placed itself at a disadvantage by not identifying a nationally-recognized set of standards for
education, experience, and certification for chief officer positions. Once doctors have gone
through medical school and receive their license to practice medicine, they can practice
anywhere they wish because the medical organization has identified a specific set of educational,
experience, and certification requirements that are nationally recognized. All doctors must obtain
them before they become licensed to practice as a doctor (Sendelbach, 2011). The fire service
has taken great strides towards creating nationally-recognized standards with the creation of
NFPA 1021, Standards for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications (National Fire Protection
Association [NFPA], 2009). This standard however, does not address educational requirements.
Educational requirements, according to Smeby (2014), are just one of three categories along with
experience and training that make up the professional qualifications for chief fire officers.
When it comes to qualifications for chief officer positions, the literature is fairly
consistent in identifying three common categories, education, training/certification, and
experience (Barr & Eversole, 2003; Fleming, 2010; Smeby, 2014; Eder, 2011; Loyd &
Richardson, 2010). Smeby (2014) argues that minimum qualifications should be consistent
throughout the county, like the medical and legal professions. Unfortunately, they are not and
this is where the real confusion begins when you start to breakdown each category and try to find
some consistency between authors. For example, 30 fire service professionals from around the
United States were asked to weigh in on education versus experience (Coleman, 2006). Their
responses ranged from, “it is a mistake to place too much emphasis on academic criteria” to
“college education is sorely needed in today’s fire service” (Coleman, 2006, pp. 40-44).
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Education
Education is one of the three categories classified as an acceptable minimum qualification
for chief officer positions. But how much education does an aspiring chief fire officer need?
According to Smeby (2014), a chief fire officer in a small department should have at a minimum
an associate’s degree, while a bachelor’s degree is the minimum for a chief fire officer in a large
fire department. The United States Fire Administration (USFA) in conjunction with the National
Fire Academy (NFA) for higher education and the Fire and Emergency Services Higher
Education (FESHE) committee, developed the National Professional Development Model
illustrated below (USFA, 2014).
Figure 1: National Professional Development Model - USFA 2014
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This model takes Smeby’s (2014) recommendation a little further and explains how much
education one should have if they are an aspiring chief fire officer. A chief fire officer aspiring
to be the fire chief should have or be working towards a master’s degree, while a bachelor’s
degree is desirable for a chief fire officer who performs administrator duties, and an associate’s
degree is desirable for an entry-level chief officer (USFA, 2014). Having a master’s degree in
any field of study, however, does not mean a candidate has the educational qualifications to be a
chief fire officer. That is why FESHE has developed and identified curriculum for the associate
through graduate-level academia specifically for the fire service (Loyd & Richardson, 2010).
Education remains controversial, with little agreement on how much education one
should have or pursue in order to be a chief fire officer. Eder (2011) explains that, “education is
the key to advancement…you will find more and more of your colleagues pursuing master’s and
doctorate degrees” (p.4). Smeby (2014) takes it a step further in explaining that in the
competitive world of city and county government budgeting, everyone is fighting for the same
dollars. The fire chief, will be up against engineers and other highly educated department
directors and his/her credibility as a professional may be called into question simply because of a
lack of an advanced educational degree. Loyd and Richardson (2010) go on to add that higher
education is essential with the ever-increasing administrative duties, political involvement, and
advancing technology that demands a chief fire officer’s attention. Others argue that education
limits potential great chief fire officers from ever testing for the position. John Salka (as cited in
Coleman, 2006) writes, “requiring the college degree to be fire related for promotion does not
solve the problem; it only further limits the number of people eligible for promotion” (p. 42).
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Training/Certification
The second category under the minimum professional qualifications for a chief fire
officer is training/certification. Fortunately, authors are not as divided on this qualification.
When it comes to training it should be “certified by an outside accrediting agency, such as a Pro
Board or IFSAC or a state training certification” according to Eder (2011, p.2). Fleming (2010)
adds that certification, as a chief fire officer, is different from training to be a chief fire officer.
Fleming (2010) goes on further to explain that professional certification is independently
validated, where training may not be, as to the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities of the
position. Smeby (2014), however, describes training as completing certification courses, and on-
the-job training, and also attending conferences. The sixth edition of the Fire Chief’s Handbook
(Barr & Eversole, 2003), recommends that training be certification-based to ensure that
professional qualification standards are met and followed. Regardless of how individual authors
might explain it certification-based training standardizes both training and education programs.
Several authors point out that one of the best ways to standardize certification-based chief
officer training is through NFPA 1021, Standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications
(Barr & Eversole, 2003; Fleming, 2010; Smoke, 2001; Eder, 2011). NFPA 1021 explains in
detail the different types of training and certification an aspiring chief fire officer should seek
and/or have already achieved. NFPA 1021 breaks down the different training criteria by
certification level Fire Officer I through IV, with Fire Officer III & IV as the chief officer
certification levels, and it goes into great detail about the requisite knowledge, skills, and
abilities for each level (NFPA, 2009). The USFA, NFA, and FESHE-developed National
Professional Development Model also recommend that entry-level chief officers in management
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roles have Fire Officer II training and certification, and Fire Officer IV training and certification
for executive-level chief officers (USFA, 2014).
Experience
The third category authors have identified as minimum acceptable qualifications for chief
officer positions is experience. Experience for aspiring chief officers is more than years of
service; it is about experiences in management and leadership (Fleming, 2010). Likewise, NFPA
1021 (2009) does not point to a number of years in a position but rather perquisites of
experiences in areas such as human resources, administration, and community and government
relationships. There is not agreement on a set number of years of experience one should have
before meeting the minimum qualification for a chief fire officer position. Smeby (2014) lays
out a set minimum number of years that chief officers should have, with a minimum of three
years of experience in each prerequisite step leading up to a chief officer position. Other
programs, such as the Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP) through the National Fire
Academy, is a four-year program geared towards developing current and aspiring chief fire
officers, in helping prepare them to be successful leaders in their communities (Fleming, 2010).
As earlier expressed, there is a push towards standardization for certification-based chief
officer training, education, and experience. The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC)
wrote about this need and identified a Professional Designation Task Force to identify the core
competencies for chief fire officers (IAFC Staff, 1999). This later became known as the Chief
Fire Officer Designation (CFOD) program through the Center for Public Safety Excellence
(CPSE) (Barr & Eversole, 2003). This program was designed and is still in use today, “to assist
in the professional development of fire and emergency service personnel by providing guidance
for career planning through participation in the Professional Designation Program and to ensure
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continuous quality and improvement” according to Barr & Eversole (2003, p.293). The
Professional Designation Program is voluntary and uses a third-party verification system,
including a group of one’s peers, to evaluate candidates on seven different components including
education, experience, and training. Chief officer candidates are awarded a predetermined score
for different education levels, for years and types of experiences, and for types of training
including certifications (CPSE, 2014). This approach to understanding and quantifying chief
officer qualifications is a newer approach, but is perhaps an approach that will work in
conjunction with NFPA 1021, FESHE, and the EFOP to create acceptable qualifications for chief
fire officers.
Motivations
When it comes to identifying the motivational factors that influence a candidate to seek
qualification for a chief officer position, the literature is limited but does offer some general
ideas. AFD Chief Shawn Bayouth explains that sometimes candidates are motivated because
they feel they can do it better than the current officer can or perhaps they are not satisfied with
current leadership (S. Bayouth, personal communication, January 30, 2014). AFD Deputy Chief
Paul Sandoval adds that sometimes candidates are motivated by the autonomy of the position,
while others do not want to be qualified due to the stigma of the position and being non-union (P.
Sandoval, personal communication, January 28, 2014). According to the second edition of the
“Chief Officer” book by the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA, 2004),
candidates can be motivated by a desire: to make a difference, serve others, succeed, achieve
personal growth, meet new challenges, have a sense of stewardship, or even to feel a
commitment to the fire service. What the literature did not address when it comes to
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motivational factors, were the observable differences between chief officers and non-chief
officers such as pay, hours of work, and rank.
The literature suggests that perhaps it’s not so much about the position, but rather the
person. Knight (2012) discovered through his research on self-directed learning, that, “a primary
indicator for membership and retention at the executive level” came from individuals who scored
high in the self-directed learning readiness test (p. 94). Knight (2012) discovered through his
research that executive-level fire officers scored the highest on the self-directed learning test,
higher than the firefighter and control groups, thus suggesting that executive-level fire officers
are self motivated when it comes to learning.
Ditch (2012) focused solely on chief officers and their desires to seek higher education.
Ditch discovered that the number one motivational factor influencing chief officers to seek out
higher education was personal gratification. Similarly, Perry, Hondeghem, and Wise (2010)
found that public service employee motivations are much different from private sector
employees. Perry et al. (2010) suggest that private sector employees tend to be motivated by
extrinsic or material rewards, while public sector employees are motivated by more intrinsic
rewards. Self-directed learning, in relationship to the motivational factors that influence a chief
officers to seek higher education and the intrinsic motivational influences of public sector
employees, demonstrate that there is strong evidence to suggest that chief officers are self-
motivated (Knight, 2012; Ditch, 2012; Perry et al., 2010). One could conclude that one of the
strongest factors that influence a candidate to seek qualifications to be a chief officer comes from
within, from self, or from what people commonly refer to as drive.
The theme of self-drive or internal focus, when it comes to the factors that influence a
candidate to seek qualification for a chief officer position, was also illustrated in Fleming’s
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(2010) book “Effective Fire and Emergency Services Administration”. Fleming (2010) explains
that if someone wants to rise to the ranks of a chief officer they must obviously be interested, but
they must also know the qualifications. Fleming (2010) goes on further to explain that
candidates must be prepared, and have their own professional development plan.
External Influences
Up until this point the literature review has focused on internal influences and the focus
of self. There are, however, external influences that departments have some control over when it
comes to influencing candidates to become chief-officer qualified. Smeby (2014) found that
education requirements can sometimes act as a deterrent when it comes to individuals seeking
chief officer qualifications, and suggests two different techniques to help overcome this
roadblock: a tuition reimbursement program and allowing candidates to pursue and obtain
education after their promotion within a certain timeframe.
Officer training, or lack thereof, is another external roadblock that can keep candidates
from seeking chief officer qualifications, according to retired Fire Chief Morton Shurtleff
(Smoke, 2001). Shurtleff would ask new and potential fire officers what they feared most about
becoming a fire officer and the majority of the class were worried that they would not be
provided officer training (Smoke, 2001). This is worrisome because Perry et al. (2010) points
towards self-directed learners as an excellent fire officer candidate pool and Lowe and Barnes’s
(2002) research found that the greatest organizational commitment is garnered when
organizational leaders enable their employees to act.
Planning
The literature presents some interesting and somewhat consistent information in regards
to developing a formal plan to have internal candidates qualified for chief officer positions. The
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literature is clear that planning to have future leaders prepared is essential. “Planning will be a
daily event and strategic planning is imperative. This will focus on preparing the individuals at
one level for the next step,” explains Barr and Eversole (2003, p. 282). Preparing candidates to
be qualified for chief officer positions is up to the candidate, says Paul J. Urbano (Coleman,
2006). While Fleming (2010) argues that it is a two-part process that involves both the employee
and the department.
One of the key elements that authors agree on for formal planning is education.
Fitzwilliam (1994) states that, “education must be a priority,” and it should be “continuous and
varied” (p. 16). Loyd and Richardson (2010) also agree that education in the fire service must be
a lifelong process. McCabe (2012) adds that any formal officer development plan must have an
educational standard. According to Urbano (Coleman, 2006), “proactive planning is key to a
successful educational program” (p. 46). Educational requirements also need to be identifiable
and attainable, explains Urbano (Coleman, 2006). If education is truly going to be a key element
in developing a formal plan to have internal candidates qualified for chief officer positions, it has
to start at the top of the organization with the fire chief. Clark (1993) explains, “chiefs must lead
the way by recognizing higher education’s importance for their profession and for themselves”
(p. 50).
Over the last 20 years, Eder (2011) has seen in increase in the number of departments
requiring an associate’s degree for fire office positions. A recent survey conducted by Loyd and
Richardson (2010), recently surveyed metropolitan fire departments and learned that 75% of the
members had a two-year degree and less than 25% of the members had a four-year degree. This
is somewhat of an encouraging figure considering Booth’s (1999) research found only 43% of
the larger United States fire departments had any educational requirement for their fire officers.
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Of those departments, over 33% of them required a two-year degree for an entry-level chief
officer position and a four-year degree for assistant chief (Booth, 1999).
Training, mentoring, and professional certification were also identified as key elements in
developing a formal plan to have internal candidates qualified for chief officer positions. When
it came to training, Eder (2011) recommended attending fire school and academy training that
was accredited from an outside agency. Fleming (2010) added that professional certification
must also be part of the training component and recommended following NFPA 1021. Klose
(2013), in his Executive Fire Officer (EFO) research paper, explained that an official mentoring
program is a key element to preparing future fire officers from within the department. In
McCabe’s (2012) EFO research paper, he also identified mentoring as a key recommendation in
officer development.
Only a few of the authors were detailed in identifying key elements of a formal plan to
prepare internal candidates for chief officer positions. McCabe (2012) identified EFO, NFPA
1021, formal mentoring, CFOD, job shadowing, local community leadership, and educational
requirements as key elements to developing future chief officers. Fleming (2010) was less
comprehensive and focused more on nationally recognized standards by recommending NFPA
1021 for training and certification, FESHE for educational requirements, and EFOP. But
perhaps the most comprehensive approach to identifying the key elements for officer
development came from the CPSE website. The CPSE recommends and evaluates chief officer
candidates on a number of different factors, including professional development, education,
certifications, training, developmental goals, professional contributions and recognitions,
professional memberships and affiliations, community involvement, and 20 different technical
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competencies focusing on specific proficiency depending on education level, experience, and
rank (CPSE, 2014).
The literature is not as explicit in explaining the benefits of having prepared internal
candidates qualified for chief officer positions as it is in debating educational requirements, but it
did state that there are worthwhile benefits of promoting from within. Alyn (2012) reminded fire
chiefs how important their role is in preparing future leaders. Alyn (2012) writes, “the number
one responsibility of a fire chief is to ensure great leaders are being developed within the
management team” (p. 36). What Alyn is describing is known as succession planning.
Succession planning is a systematic approach to ensure that future leaders from within an
organization are prepared to fill leadership positions. According to Garrett (2013), succession
planning can improve safety, response, and fire ground operations by identifying and providing
guidance for potential future leaders. Garrett (2013) goes on to add that members need to be
ready to step into those positions.
Edwards (2010) explains that the fire service typically promotes from within. Dr. Onieal
(Sendelbach, 2011) adds, “the fire service in America typically grows its own” (p. 2). This
means the fire service needs to find a way to prepare its own, so they are ready to step into key
leadership positions. This responsibility, this “organizational stewardship” as Fleming (2010, p.
36) describes it, rests with the fire chief.
There are benefits to having internal candidates qualified for chief officer positions.
Edwards (2010) explains that it is often times less costly, it prevents having to hire externally,
and internal candidates are familiar with daily department operations. McCabe (2012) adds that
the organization’s values and beliefs are maintained by hiring within - which also makes the
candidate more predictable. Edwards (2010) adds that it can also help motivate future officers
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on the department and well as stabilize department morale. Edwards (2010) is also quick to
caution that a department can become stagnant by hiring from within if they are not careful, and
that hiring externally can make it easier and faster to implement larger organizational changes.
In summary, the literature review provided strong supporting evidence that there are
benefits of having internally-qualified chief officer candidates. The benefits, however, are only
realized when acceptable qualifications in the areas of education, certification, and experience
for chief officers are standardized and clearly articulated for future officers. The literature
review recognized that chief officer candidates have an internal drive to be successful; they just
need a clear road map showing how to get there. The literature review explained this road map
by identifying education, training, professional certification, and mentoring as key elements for
developing a formal plan to have internal candidates qualified to test for chief officer positions.
Procedures
The descriptive research method was utilized during this applied research project. The
procedure began by identifying the problem statement and the corresponding research questions
that would chart a course for addressing and correcting the problem. The descriptive method
was used to explore and identify the answers to the following research questions: (Q1) What are
the acceptable qualifications for a chief officer position? (Q2) What factors influence a
candidate to seek qualification for a chief officer position? (Q3) What are the key elements for
developing a formal plan to have internal candidates qualified for chief officer positions? (Q4)
What are the benefits of having internal candidates qualified for chief officer positions?
The next step in the process involved going to the NFA Learning Resource Center
(LRC), where an extensive literature review was conducted by reviewing journals, books, and
other published research material. The internet was also explored during this process, focusing
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on private sector journals, books, and research. Google Scholar and Journal Storage (JSTOR),
which is an online searchable database of academic journals and articles, were the two search
engines that were utilized. One subject matter expert was also contacted personally via email,
for a copy of their dissertation, which was known about after hearing them speak at Fire Rescue
International 2013 during one of the Executive Chief Officer Leadership, Level I sessions. The
main objective of the literature review was discovery, to learn from the experts in both the
private and public sectors what they have already learned. The literature review created a
foundation that allowed for the discovery of existing theories and research in the field of officer
development.
With a better understanding of the existing theories and research at the national level, in
regards to acceptable qualifications for chief officer positions, the focus narrowed to a statewide
perspective. This was accomplished by utilizing a survey through Survey Monkey, an online
web-based survey tool, to learn what other departments around the state of Iowa recognized as
acceptable qualifications for their chief officer positions. The survey was initially sent to Bureau
Chief Randy Novak of the Iowa Fire Service Training Bureau who was asked to distribute the
survey to all the professional fire chiefs in Iowa. Chief Novak forwarded the survey to Fire
Chief Jerry Holt, who is the President of the Iowa Association of Professional Fire Chiefs
(IAPFC). Chief Holt forwarded the survey to the 48 professional fire chiefs in the state of Iowa
that are members of the association, utilizing the association’s email database. Participants were
informed about the intent of the survey, asked to answer honestly, and were informed that the
survey was anonymous. The survey was distributed and available to take starting February 10,
2014 in the afternoon and closed 18 days later on February 28, 2014 at 8:00 P.M. Central
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Standard Time. The IAPFC was selected as a sample group as they are the subject matter experts
in their respective fire departments in the state of Iowa.
The survey consisted of nine questions (Appendix B). Six of the questions focused
specifically on chief officer qualifications, referencing research question Q1. The survey
questions were multiple choice with an “other” category in case a participant’s answer(s) was not
represented in the multiple choice listing. The survey questions asked participants to identify the
minimum qualifications for their most entry-level chief officer position of battalion chief or
higher and for their most senior-level chief officer position of fire chief. The survey questions
focused on the three qualification categories identified most in the literature review: education
level, training/certification levels, and experience.
Two of the survey questions focused on formal planning for officer development,
referencing research question Q3. The first question, which was a yes/no answer, asked if
participants had a formalized plan in place to help prepare internal candidates for chief officer
positions within the department. The second question, which was open-ended, asked
participants to identify what they felt were key elements for developing a formal plan within
their department to have internal candidates qualified for higher ranking positions. The final
question in the survey was also open-ended and asked what the benefits were of having internal
candidates qualified for chief officer positions, referencing research question Q4.
A second survey (Appendix C) was distributed and collected using Survey Monkey and
was used to address research question Q2. The sample for this survey was very specific and
focused solely on the AFD. The survey was sent to all AFD members with the rank of
Lieutenant or Firefighter, which at the time of the survey was 47. The survey was distributed to
all of the participants via email. Participants were informed about the intent of the survey, asked
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to answer honestly, and were informed that the survey was anonymous. The survey was
distributed and available to take starting February 10, 2014 in the afternoon and closed 18 days
later on February 28, 2014 at 8:00 P.M. Central Standard Time. Participants were randomly
reminded about the survey and thanked for their time by the author during station visits.
The survey focused on research question Q2, and asked participants to identify what
factor(s) would influence them to seek qualification for a chief officer position. The survey
consisted of two multiple choice questions. The multiple choice options were derived from the
literature review, personal communications with Bayouth (2014) and Sandoval (2014), both of
AFD, along with the general observable difference between chief officer positions and non-chief
officer positions. In the first question, participants were asked what factors would most
influence them to seek qualification for a chief officer position. Participants were not provided
with an “other” option and were not provided with the opportunity to provide comments.
Respondents were asked to rate 14 different responses using a Likert scale (Likert, 1932).
Survey question two asked participants to identify what factor(s) prevent them or would
prevent them from seeking qualification for a chief officer position. Respondents were offered
12 different options to choose from and could select as many of the options that they felt were
preventing them or would prevent them from seeking qualification for a chief officer position.
Respondents were provided the opportunity to provide “other” factors.
There were limitations in the procedures of the research. The sample sizes of both
surveys combined totaled less than 100 individual participants, a limiting factor considering that
there are over 730 nationally registered fire departments in Iowa (USFA, 2012). The target
audience also limited the procedures. The first survey was sent only to IAPFC members, which
limited the results to only professional fire chiefs who are members of the IAPFC. This bias
24
could affect the results in a way that favors professional standards, given the survey target
audience’s affiliation with a professional association. A final limitation was observed in the
second survey sent to only AFD members ranking firefighter or lieutenant. The multiple choice
options, which were derived from the literature review and personal communications, limited the
available responses from participants by only providing 14 possible choices. This limitation
could have prevented the discovery of other unknown underlining factors influencing candidates
to seek chief officer qualifications.
Results
The purpose of this research project was to identify factors needed to ensure that internal
candidates are qualified to test for chief officer positions. The procedure used to identify those
factors produced results that answered each one of the four research questions. There were two
surveys used to gather data. The first survey was sent only to the IAPFC association members,
and focused on answering research questions Q1, Q3, and Q4. There were a total of 21
individuals that participated in that survey for a responder return rate of 44%. The second survey
was sent only to AFD members ranked either as a Firefighter or Lieutenant. This survey focused
on answering research question Q2. The survey had 35 respondents that completed the survey
for a 74% return rate.
Research question Q1 (what are the acceptable qualifications for a chief officer position),
produced three different qualification categories: education, training/certification, and
experience. Each category was broken down into defining what is considered or should be
considered acceptable qualification criteria. Looking at the survey results (see Figure 1), a slim
majority (43%), of the Iowa fire chiefs surveyed responded that an associate’s degree is the
minimum educational requirement for an entry-level chief officer position. This is a slim
25
majority considering that 38% of the departments, or a one-person delineation in the survey, only
required a high school diploma. It is also evident from the survey results that some departments
require more education than the literature suggested, with 19% requiring a bachelor’s degree.
Figure 2: Survey Results for Q1, IAPFC Survey
The survey results made a clear distinction between the minimum educational
requirements when it came to the most senor level chief officer position in the department, that
of the fire chief (see Figure 2). A majority of the departments (71%) require a bachelor’s degree
for the fire chief position. Some departments require less education. Roughly 10% of the
departments only require a high school diploma. Approximately 10% of the departments require
a master’s degree.
26
Figure 3: Survey Results for Q1, IAPFC Survey
The second qualification category was training/certification. The survey results
illustrated that 79% of entry-level chief officers were required to have their Fire Officer I
certification, and 74% were required to be certified Fire Instructors level I (see Figure 3). Other
departments, 31% of them, required Fire Officer II certification, and 21% of the departments
required Fire Instructor II. Departments also had the opportunity to include additional
certification in the “other” section of the survey. Two departments reported having no minimum
certification requirement for entry-level chief officer positions. One department required Fire
Inspector I certification, in addition to Fire Instructor II and Fire Officer I. Another department
required Drive/Operator certification in addition to Fire Officer I and Fire Instructor I. One
department did not require an officer certification but did require Fire Instructor I and a Fire
Science certificate from an accredited school. Two participants skipped the question.
27
Figure 4: Survey Results for Q1, IAPFC Survey
For senior chief fire officer minimum training/certification requirements, the survey
illustrated that 67% required Fire Officer I and 53% of the department required Fire Officer II
(see Figure 4). For instructor certification, 60% of the departments surveyed required Fire
Instructor I and 20% required Fire Instructor II. In the “other” section of the survey, participants
provided eight responses. Three of the departments participating in the survey responded that
they do not require a minimum certification level for senior chief officers. Three departments
preferred senior chief officer candidates to have their EFO certification, with two of those also
preferring CFOD designation. One department was not sure what certifications would be
required by outside chief officer candidates. Another department responded that it would be left
up to the city administrator and human resources department to determine the minimum
requirements for senior chief officer certifications. Six participants skipped the question.
28
Figure 5: Survey Results for Q1, IAPFC Survey
In further analysis of education correlated with training/certification, the survey found
that 29% of the departments surveyed required a minimum of a high school education combined
with Fire Officer I and Fire Instructor I certifications for their most entry-level chief officer
positions. An associate’s degree combined with Fire Officer I and Fire Instructor I certifications
was required by 14% of the departments. It is also interesting to note that 19% of the
departments required a bachelor’s degree combined with varying fire officer and fire instructor
certifications for their most entry-level chief officer positions.
For senior-level chief officer positions, the survey results identified that 19% of the
departments required a bachelor’s degree combined with Fire Officer I and Fire Instructor I
certifications. A minor majority of fire departments (43%), required that candidates have at least
a bachelor’s degree combined with varying levels of certification in fire officer and fire
instructor for their most senior-level chief officer positions.
29
The third qualification category was experience (see Figure 5). The survey produced
excellent data and quantified that most departments required at least five years of supervisory
experience for both entry-level and senior-level chief officers positions. Of the departments
surveyed, 14% required more than five years of supervisory experience , 62% of them required
at least five years of supervisory experience for an entry-level chief officer position and 19%
required less than five years. Only 5% had no supervisory experience requirement.
Figure 6: Survey Results for Q1, IAPFC Survey
Of the departments surveyed, 24% required more than five years of supervisory
experience with 14% of those requiring 10 or more years. Another 57% of them required at least
five years of supervisory experience for the senior-level chief officer position (see Figure 6).
Still, 14% required less than five years of supervisory experience, and 5% had no supervisory
experience requirement.
30
Figure 7: Survey Results for Q1, IAPFC Survey
Research question Q2 focused on identifying the factors that influence a candidate’s
desire to seek qualification for a chief officer position. In the second survey (Appendix C), AFD
Firefighters and Lieutenants were asked to identify those factors that were “very much” an
influence. The desire to make a difference, with 57% of the votes, was the most influential factor
that would cause respondents to seek qualification for a chief officer position. Commitment to
the fire service received 51%, followed by a desire to succeed at 46%, and the desire to serve
others at 40%. The least influential factor was hours of work with only 9% of those surveyed
describing it as “very much” an influence, followed by level of autonomy at 11%, and rank at
14%.
In survey question two, AFD Firefighter and Lieutenants were asked to identify the
factor(s) that would prevent them from seeking qualification for a chief officer position.
Education requirements were identified as the number one preventing factor at 53%. The second
31
most identified preventing factor was type of work at 44%, followed by years of experience at
38% and lack of knowledge about the position also at 38%. The factor that was least preventing
was salary and benefits at only 6%. Three respondents provide responses in the “other”
category, however, only one was usable and that was identifying politics as a preventing factor.
Research question Q3 asked IAPFC members to identify the key elements for developing
a formal plan to have internal candidates qualified for chief officer positions. Respondents were
first asked if they had a formalized plan in place to help prepare internal candidates for chief
officer positions within their departments. All 21 respondents answered the question with 76%
of them replying that they do not have a formal plan. Respondents were then presented with a
follow-up question and a comment box, to provide responses to what they felt were the key
elements of developing a formal plan within their departments to have internal candidates
qualified for higher-ranking positions. Only 18 of the 21 participants responded. The 18
different comments can be broken down into seven categories: union involvement, mentoring,
money, education, training/certification, experience, and support from administration (see
Appendix D for all responses). Four respondents identified education, experience, and
training/certification as key elements to developing a formal plan. Union involvement, money,
mentoring, and support from administration were also mentioned more than once.
Research question Q4 asked the IAPFC members what they felt were the benefits, if any,
of having internal candidates qualified for chief officer positions. Only 17 of the 21 participants
responded to the open-ended question. Of those responses, only two of them contained a
negative reference to having internal candidates qualified, but only after making a positive
response first towards the benefits. Both negative responses reference stagnation by not hiring
from outside of an organization.
32
Positive responses were grouped into three categories: morale, succession planning, and
current knowledge of the organization (see Appendix E for all responses). Morale was recorded
twice in the responses. Respondents recorded that hiring from within keeps the morale of the
department high and you provide opportunities from within for advancement. Current
knowledge of the organization was identified in nine different responses as a key benefit of
having internal candidates qualified for chief officer positions. Respondents noted several times
that knowing the organization, the community, and the people were key benefits. Succession
planning was also mentioned twice in the responses and identified by respondents as being
important and necessary for the continuity and stability of the department.
Discussion
The purpose of this research project was to identify factors needed to ensure that internal
candidates are qualified to test for chief officer positions at the AFD. In the end, this project
produced answers to all four-research questions and identified the factors needed to ensure that
internal candidates at the AFD are qualified to test for chief officer positions.
The results from research question Q1 identified three consistent and acceptable
qualification categories for chief officer positions from both the literature review and survey
results: education, training/certification, and supervisory experience (Barr & Eversole, 2003;
Fleming, 2010; Smeby, 2014; Eder, 2011; Loyd & Richardson, 2010). The literature review
produced an ample amount of information concerning the educational qualification category.
The results from the literature review suggested an associate’s degree as a minimum for an entry-
level officer position with a growing trend of more departments making it a requirement (Eder,
2011; Loyd & Richardson, 2010; Booth, 1999). The National Professional Development Model
developed by the USFA, NFA, and FESHE also identified an associate’s degree as a requirement
33
for entry-level chief officers in management positions (USFA, 2014). The survey results
confirmed this finding, demonstrating that a minor majority of the Iowa fire departments
surveyed, 43% of them, already required an associate’s degree as the minimum educational
requirement for an entry-level chief officer position.
For senior-level chief officer requirements, the literature produced mixed results and
focused more on the benefits of education and arguments for and against higher education (Eder,
2011; Smeby, 2014; Coleman, 2006). Fortunately, the National Professional Development
Model made a clear recommendation that a master’s degree should be required for an executive
chief officer position and a bachelor’s degree for an administrative chief officer (USFA, 2014).
The survey results demonstrated that only 20% of Iowa fire departments surveyed could meet the
National Professional Development Model’s recommended master’s degree requirement for
senior chief officers. The survey results did show however, that 71% of those surveyed had a
bachelor’s degree requirement. Results from the survey do coincide with the literature’s
argument for higher education, with 80% of the Iowa fire departments surveyed requiring an
associate’s degree or higher for senior chief officers (Eder, 2011; Smeby, 2014).
The second category, under research question Q1, focused on training/certification and
found mixed results from the survey and the literature review. The insight provided by the
literature review suggested two things, a third party should certify the training, and it should be
certification-based (Eder, 2011; Fleming, 2010). The literature also recommended following
NFPA 1021, Standard for Fire Officer Professional Development (Barr & Eversole, 2003;
Fleming, 2010; Smoke, 2001; Eder, 2011). Evaluating both NFPA 1021 standards, in correlation
with the National Professional Development Model, the following was ascertained: Entry-level
chief officers should have either their Fire Officer I certification, or Fire Officer II if they are in a
34
management role ((USFA, 2014). They would also need to have Fire Instructor I as a pre-
requisite (NFPA 1021, 2009). An executive chief officer should have their Fire Officer IV
certification, which includes certification as a Fire Instructor level II (NFPA 1021, 2009; USFA,
2014).
The survey results painted a clear picture that a majority of Iowa fire departments
surveyed required at least Fire Officer I and Fire Instructor I as the minimum entry-level chief
officer certification requirements as the literature suggested, with 71% of them requiring Fire
Officer I. Unfortunately, the State of Iowa currently does not recognize or offer Fire Officer IV
certification as the literature suggests, so it was therefore not part of the survey question. The
survey did illustrate however, that 38% of the Iowa fire departments surveyed do require Fire
Officer II certification for senior chief officers, which is currently the higher-recognized fire
officer standard in the State of Iowa.
The third and final category identified from research question Q1 was experience. The
literature review provided valuable information as to the type of experience; however, the
literature did not quantify the qualification for years of experience other than to suggest three
years of experience at each level before moving to the next (Smeby, 2014). The survey results
illustrated that 67% of those surveyed required at least five years of supervisory experience for
both entry and senior-level chief officers.
In further analysis of education correlated with training/certification, the survey found
that 29% of the departments surveyed required a minimum of a high school education combined
with Fire Officer I and Fire Instructor I certifications for their most entry-level chief officer
positions. While 14% of the departments used an associate’s degree combined with Fire Officer I
and Fire Instructor I certifications. It is also interesting to note that 19% of the departments
35
required a bachelor’s degree combined with varying fire officer and instructor certifications for
their most entry-level chief officer positions.
For senior-level chief officer positions, the survey results identified that 19% of the
departments required a bachelor’s degree combined with Fire Officer I and Fire Instructor I
certifications. A minor majority of fire departments, 43%, required that candidates have at least
a bachelor’s degree combined with varying levels of certification in fire officer and fire
instructor for their most senior-level chief officer positions.
When adding supervisory experience into the analysis (see table 1), 67% of the
departments surveyed required at least five years of supervisory experience for both entry-level
and senior-level chief officer positions. Taking into effect all three categories of education,
certification, and experience, the survey illustrated that 48% of the Iowa fire departments
surveyed required an associate’s degree or higher, Fire Officer I certification or higher, and at
least five years or more of supervisory experience for an entry-level chief officer. For senior-
level chief officers, the survey concluded that 38% of those surveyed required at least a
bachelor’s degree for education, Fire Officer II for certification, and at least five years of
experience.
By correlating experience with education and certification, the following results were
interpreted as the acceptable minimum qualifications for chief fire officers: Entry-level chief
officers candidates should have an associate’s degree, coupled with Fire Officer I certification,
and five years of supervisory experience. Senior-level chief officer candidates should have a
bachelor’s degree, coupled with Fire Officer II certification, and five years of supervisory
experience.
36
The organizational implications for the AFD include a few minor changes to the job
descriptions. For comparison, according to the City of Ames (2014), the AFD job description
required an associate’s degree, which is in line with the literature review and survey results.
However, AFD only required an Fire Instructor I certification, and seven years of experience as a
firefighter or higher rank, which is not in line with current standards as identified by the
literature review and survey results (City of Ames, 2014). For the senior-level chief officer
position, candidates are required to have a bachelor’s degree, be an EFO graduate, and have five
years of supervisory experience (City of Ames, 2014). Although this does not exactly match up
with the literature review and survey results, it does raise the question of whether or not the EFO
program should be accepted as an alternative to Fire Officer I & II in Iowa or Fire Officer IV for
those organizations that recognize the advanced level. It also presents an interesting opportunity
for evaluation of the EFO program in regards to recognizing fire officer certifications as perhaps
a prerequisite for acceptance into the program.
Research question Q2 explored what factors influence candidates to seek qualifications
for chief officer positions. Survey results confirmed the literature’s findings that it is not so
much about the position but rather the person, with rank, level of autonomy, and hours worked
ranking the least influential. The literature suggested that one of the most influential factors of
motivation came from within (Ditch, 2012; Perry et at., 2010; Knight, 2012). This suggestion
was once again supported by the survey results, with desire to make a difference, desire to
succeed, desire to serve others, and commitment to the fire service ranking in the top four of the
most influential factors that would cause an AFD member to seek qualification for a chief officer
position. The survey results, in conjunction with the literature, concluded that AFD members are
37
motivated to seek qualification for chief officer positions because they are internally-motivated
and not externally-driven by rank or hours of work.
When AFD members were asked what factor(s) would prevent them from seeking
qualification for a chief officer position, an interesting quandary counter to Ditch’s (2012)
research on chief officer motivation for seeking higher education resulted. Educational
requirements were identified in the survey as the number one factor that would prevent AFD
members from seeking chief officer qualification. Ditch (2012) found that personal gratification
was the number one reason why chief officers sought out higher education.
The data create an interesting quandary, in that AFD members are internally motivated to
seek out chief officer qualification, however, they are discouraged by the educational
requirement. The AFD educational requirements of an associate’s degree for an entry-level chief
officer position and a bachelor’s degree for the senor-level chief officer position were in line
with the survey and literature review results (City of Ames, 2014). The AFD does utilize an
educational incentive program and a tuition reimbursement program, which is typically used by
newer firefighter as they seek out optional college level courses required for the final salary pay
increase step. AFD members also identified the type of work and lack of knowledge about the
work as factors that influenced them not to seek out chief officer qualifications. Which raises the
question, are AFD members negatively influenced by the type of work or is it because they have
a lack of knowledge about the work of a chief officer that is preventing them from seeking
qualification?
The organizational implications are that the AFD could lose potential chief officer
candidates because of the educational requirements and due to the lack of knowledge about the
type of work chief officers perform. AFD will need to find a way to share knowledge about the
38
type of work chief officers perform if they wish to find future chief officer candidates. AFD may
also need to expand the educational incentive and tuition reimbursement programs to encourage
candidates to seek out higher education. This could mean more chief officer candidates, but it
could also mean increases to the budget.
Research question Q3 worked to identify the key elements for developing a formal plan
to have internal candidates qualified for chief officer positions. The literature review identified
the importance of having internal candidates qualified and encouraged continuous education,
training, professional certification like CFOD, and mentoring as key elements (Barr and
Eversole, 2003; Loyd and Richardson, 2010; Fitzwilliam, 1994; Fleming, 2010; Eder, 2011;
Coleman, 2006; Klose, 2013: McCabe, 2012). The survey results supported the literature’s
findings by identifying all four of the key elements highlighted in the literature, with education,
training, and experience receiving the most comments as being key elements to developing a
formal plan.
Professional certification programs like CFOD are a great example and model to follow
when developing a formal plan to prepare future chief officers. Elements such as education,
training, and experience are all listed in the CFOD qualifications and have the added benefit of
being third-party peer-reviewed. The path towards CFOD will require mentoring, and
continuous education and training to achieve such a designation.
A key element to any type of formal plan to have candidates prepared for chief officer
positions at the AFD should involve mentoring. The AFD currently does not have a mentoring
program, which could negatively impact the availability of future chief officer candidates.
Research question Q4 identified the benefits of having internal candidates qualified for
chief officer positions. The literature review identified that yes, there are benefits and they
39
include increase in fire department morale, maintain the organization’s values and beliefs, and is
part of succession planning (Edwards, 2010; McCabe, 2012; Alyn, 2012; Garrett, 2013). The
survey resulted in identifying the same benefits as the literature review. In the survey, nine
different respondents identified current knowledge of the organization as a benefit to having
internal candidates qualified for chief officer positions. The survey results also had two
respondents that identified potential negative consequences of hiring within, citing stagnation in
both responses, as mentioned by Edwards (2010) in the literature review as a potential drawback
(2010).
It is a benefit for the organization and the employees to have internally-qualified chief
officer candidates. The organization has the opportunity to invest in their employees through
education and training. The employees in turn, will invest back into the organization by
becoming chief officer-qualified. Based on the results of this study, the AFD will be positively
impacted if it can ensure that internal candidates are qualified to test for chief officer positions.
The organizational implications of not being able to hire from within, if internal chief officer
candidates are not qualified, are not desirable and demonstrate a strong need for the AFD to be
prepared to hire from within by implementing a formal program.
Recommendations
The purpose of this research project was to identify factors needed to ensure that internal
candidates are qualified to test for chief officer positions at the AFD. The results identified
multiple opportunities for the AFD to improve the likelihood of having internal candidates
qualified for future chief officer positions. Recommendations are broken down into short-,
medium-, and long-range goals.
40
The first short-range goal for the AFD, is expected to be completed in three to six
months, would be to update the current job descriptions to include Fire Officer I certification for
Shift Commander and Fire Officer II for Deputy Fire Chief and Fire Chief. The literature
review and the survey results suggest that the AFD job qualifications for entry- and senior-level
chief officer positions were not equivalent with current standards under the training/certification
category.
The second short-range goal would be the creation of a job description task force to help
review all fire department job descriptions. The job description task force should have union as
well as administrative representations, with a representative from each rank with the exception of
fire chief and fire inspector. The job description task force would be charged with evaluating
fire department job descriptions on an annual or on an as-needed basis to make sure they
accurately reflect the needs of the department and the qualifications for each position and include
education, training/certification, and experience. The hope would be that utilizing employee
involvement at all levels of the organization would help improve knowledge about chief officer
positions as well as help ease the educational requirement fears by having input through the
process.
The medium-range goal for the AFD, is expected be completed in six to twelve months,
would be the creation of a mentoring program as identified in the research. The research
suggested that mentoring should be a part of officer development and is a key element to having
internal candidates qualified for chief officer positions. The mentoring program would team up
current chief officers with aspiring chief officers from the lieutenant ranks. The program would
be geared towards developing future chief officers by increasing their knowledge about current
chief officer positions and assisting them with career path development planning.
41
The long-range goal for the AFD, is expected to be completed in 12 to 24 months, would
be the creation of an educational incentive program tied to a new pay step level for lieutenants.
Rank for a lieutenant aspiring to be a chief officer would not change but would include a pay
increase after meeting new qualifications, which would be the same qualifications for an entry-
level chief officer position at the AFD. Creating a new pay step for lieutenants, with new
requirements, would take the involvement and approval of the union, human resources
department, the city managers officer, and fire department administration. The overall goal of the
program would be to ensure that internal candidates are qualified to test for chief officer
positions. As noted in the discussion section, newer AFD members typically take advantage of
the AFD tuition reimbursement program as they seek to meet the educational requirements
needed for the final salary pay step increase. Perhaps this same approach would yield similar
results by offing a pay incentive to those who seek out additional qualifications in the areas of
educational, training/certification, and experience. The creation of an additional pay step for
lieutenants could generate more qualified internal candidates for chief officer.
Additional research in the area of educational incentive programs and their effectiveness
in preparing future leaders is needed. Education was a major discussion point throughout this
research, identified as both a roadblock and a necessity. Future research in this area could help
provide a clearer picture on the benefits of education from a data-driven quantitative research
stance versus subjective qualitative findings. Creating a tie between education and leadership
could be the key that will open the door for those on the outside who continue to question the
need for higher education in the fire service.
42
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46
Appendix A
City of Ames Fire Department Call Volume
47
Appendix B
Survey distributed to IAPFC
Preparing future fire department leaders in Iowa 1. Thinking about chief officer qualifications (battalion chief level or higher), what is the minimum educational requirement for your most entry-level chief officer position within your department?
High School Diploma
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Other (please specify) 2. What is the minimum educational requirement for your most senior-level chief officer position (fire chief) within your department?
High School Diploma
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Other (please specify) 3. Thinking about chief officer qualifications (battalion chief level or higher), what is the minimum years of supervisory experience required for your most entry-level chief officer position within your department?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
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10 or more
Supervisory experience is not required 4. What is the minimum years of supervisory experience required for your most senior-level chief officer position (fire chief) within your department?
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 or more
Supervisory experience is not required 5. Thinking about chief officer qualifications (battalion chief level or higher), what fire related certification(s) are required for your most entry-level chief officer position within your department? Please select all that apply.
Instructor I
Instructor II
Fire Officer I
Fire Officer II
Other (please specify) 6. What fire related certification(s) are required for your most senior-level chief officer position (fire chief) within your department? Please select all that apply.
Instructor I
Instructor II
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Fire Officer I
Fire Officer II
Other (please specify) 7. Does your fire department have a formalized plan in place to help prepare internal candidates for chief officer positions within the department?
Yes
No 8. What do you feel are the key elements, for developing a formal plan within your department to have internal candidates qualified for higher ranking positions?
9. What do you feel are the benefits, if any, of having internal candidates qualified for chief officer positions within your department?
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Appendix C
Survey Sent to AFD Firefighters & Lieutenants
Preparing future Ames Fire Department Leaders 1. Thinking about the chief officer position(s) within the Ames Fire Department (shift commander level or higher), what factors would most influence you to seek qualification for a chief officer position?
Very much
so Somewhat Neutral Not really No way
Desire to make a difference
Desire to serve others
Desire to succeed
Commitment to the fire service & community
Desire for a new challenge
Desire for personal growth
Salary & benefits
Hours of work Level of responsibility
Rank Sense of stewardship
Leadership opportunity
Level of autonomy
Feel you can do a better job than current leader(s)
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2. Thinking about the chief officer position(s) within the Ames Fire Department (shift commander level or higher), what factor(s) prevent you or would prevent you from seeking qualification for a chief officer position? Please check all that apply.
Educational requirements
Hours of work
Level of responsibility
Salary & benefits
Years of supervisory experience
Certification requirements
Type of work
Non-Union
Preparedness
Lack of knowledge about the position(s)
Fear of failure
Stigma of position
Other (please specify)
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Appendix D
Survey responses from survey sent to IAPFC for Research Question 3
Preparing future fire department leaders in Iowa 1 / 1
Q8 What do you feel are the key elements, for developing a formal plan within your department to have internal candidates qualified for higher ranking positions?
Answered: 18 Skipped: 3
# Response Date/Time
1 Establishing a plan of assention and having people in place should there be an unscheduled vacancy
Feb 13, 2014 4:28 PM
2 Time Feb 11, 2014 7:28 PM
3 Clear guidelines and expectations, providing the opportunity for certification and training
Feb 11, 2014 7:24 PM
4 Inclusive participation of all levels, recognized program (Fire Officer Designation), financial support.
Feb 11, 2014 5:07 PM
5 Personal development benchmarks, formal mentoring program
Feb 11, 2014 2:12 PM
6 Getting started and getting those that are interested engaged. Many don't want to move up due to the work schedule.
Feb 11, 2014 2:04 PM
7 Making sure the "plan" does not imply automatic promotions. Mentoring also needs to take place.
Feb 11, 2014 1:54 PM
8 Support from the department administration and city administration
Feb 11, 2014 4:29 AM
9 Giving them the tools to be ready when the positions needs filled. Feb 10, 2014 8:35 PM
10 Emphasis on three areas - education, experience, certification
Feb 10, 2014 8:28 PM
11 Outside training, higher education relevant to personnel MGT.
Feb 10, 2014 8:13 PM
12 Participation from Union and Officers Feb 10, 2014 8:01 PM
13 Make sure the educational and service requirements are know by all well in advance.
Feb 10, 2014 7:59 PM
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14 Offer educational classes and pay for outside national certification classes.
Feb 10, 2014 7:56 PM
15
Requirements tied to work performed, communication with union to prepare ranks below chief level, organizational/city focus for chief level requirements.
Feb 10, 2014 7:54 PM
16 Career path planning, Feb 10, 2014 7:47 PM
17 Structured plan, possible adm. job to work along side the Chief, Feb 10, 2014 7:46 PM
18 Dollars associated with time dedication Feb 10, 2014 7:43 PM
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Appendix E
Survey responses from survey sent to IAPFC for Research Question 4
Preparing future fire department leaders in Iowa 1 / 1
Q9 What do you feel are the benefits, if any, of having internal candidates qualified
for chief officer positions within your department?
Answered: 17 Skipped: 4
# Response Date/Time 1 familiar with how the deparment Feb 13, 2014 4:28 PM
2 Having the opportunity to obsevre their performance first hand prior ro promotion Feb 11, 2014 7:24 PM
3 Succession planning, continuity and stability of the organization. Feb 11, 2014 5:07 PM
4 the benefit is in developing the talent leading your department whether they are promoted or not. Feb 11, 2014 2:12 PM
5 Better morale with opportunity to advance within. Feb 11, 2014 2:04 PM
6 They have institutional knowledge but if direction needs to change, an outside candidate may be better suited. Feb 11, 2014 1:54 PM
7
Gives younger officers a target to shoot for.......also internal knowledge is huge, understanding the culture and people right off the bat is good Feb 11, 2014 4:29 AM
8 Morale. Hope. Going outside a department isn't always better. Feb 10, 2014 8:35 PM
9 Institutional knowledge, Feb 10, 2014 8:28 PM 10 succession planning is important Feb 10, 2014 8:13 PM
11 Already know the organizations strengths and weaknesses. Keeps people moving forward inthe organization. Feb 10, 2014 8:01 PM
12 It leverages knowledge of the organization and the city. It also gives people a career path that they can strive for. Feb 10, 2014 7:59 PM
13 Know the Department, Know the Community People, Know the Streets, Understand the local politics. Feb 10, 2014 7:56 PM
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14
Qualified internal candidates reflect a healthy organization, but the best candidate should be selected regardless of internal/external status.
Feb 10, 2014 7:54 PM
15 Opportunity for advancement. Negative: Can lead to lack of outside exposure, stagnation Feb 10, 2014 7:47 PM
16 better undersanding of the city and operationa, first hand knowledge of the employee's Feb 10, 2014 7:46 PM
17 They know the department, community, equipment, etc. Feb 10, 2014 7:43 PM