Advancement in the fire service is extremely competitive, because there are never as many open or vacant positions as there are qualified candidates to fill them. We all seem to understand and accept this, but what exactly are we doing to make ourselves more noticeable and attractive to leadership in this highly competitive market? What are we doing in our careers to move to the next level, be it company officer or chief officer? We must continually grow and develop in our profession if we want to succeed, but we shouldn’t leave our success to chance. A former chief of mine would often say about his career advancement: “Eventually, someone will make a mistake and hire me.” While I understood that his comment was satirical, it made me think about what I was doing to prepare myself and my department members for the responsibility of becoming a supervisor.
Courses for success
As we cultivate our future replacements and teach our younger officers or potential officers what they need to know and do to advance their careers, we are commonly directed to standard courses and programs, as well as written expectations for each position. The expectations should be laid out and clearly written if they’re going to be useful for our department members as they continue to advance their careers. Included in these expectations should be a wide variety of courses and training programs that are designed to develop a well-rounded employee. At minimum, these programs should be related to skill sets such as incident command, fireground operations, EMS, communications, safety, training, and basic managerial responsibilities as a supervisor.
Depending on your jurisdiction, the courses and opportunities might be available via local, state or federal programs. These types of programs are excellent resources for personnel looking to achieve personal development, and, along with experience, should fulfill the needs of those pursuing a well-rounded career.
Competition = motivation
Although training courses and experience truly help make the officer, ultimately, it comes down to your personal commitment; in other words, we must find ways to achieve our own success.
Several years ago I was at a point in my career where I was searching for direction and committed to my personal success. I had followed the department expectations at each level and had achieved quite a bit in my short career: I was both a paramedic and a hazmat technician; I had received department recognition; and I had even been recognized for my accomplishments and community involvement by groups such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) as their Firefighter of the Year. So overall, my career up to that point had been successful. I had gained a reputation as someone who could get things done, but I wasn’t the only one; in fact, most of my peers were receiving the same accolades. With career growth aspirations, and the desire to continue my upward movement, I began to realize the competiveness of my next position. I had to ask myself, “What can I do to make myself a better officer now and into the future?” Further, “How do I ensure that what I am doing is actually benefiting my professional growth and development?” With the goal of professional growth and development in mind, I looked to a mentor of mine and was directed to the Commission on Professional Credentialing (CPC) and the fire officer (FO) designation.
An introspective application
Taking my mentor’s advice as I had in the past, I researched the designation and the process of becoming a fire officer. A review of the application afforded me a comprehensive look at myself as an officer, something I had never done before. I had all the certifications and had met all the established expectations, but I had never identified my weaknesses. The strengths I knew (we all know our strengths), but weaknesses were things that I didn’t want to admit I had, let alone confront and work toward changing. The process allowed me to identify the areas that I needed to improve, but I confronted them as challenges. As a result, I found that there were goals I still wanted to achieve and challenges I wanted to overcome.
A motivational road map
Using this information, I developed a set of objectives. This provided me with a “road map” that I would use in both the short and long term to continue to develop and grow, both personally and professionally. One major challenge I identified through the process was a lack of a formal education. This was a critical obstacle because it prevented me from achieving many of my greatest goals, including my acceptance into the Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP) at the National Fire Academy (NFA). I knew that if I was going to have any chance of advancing in my career, I would have to achieve these goals at minimum. But remember: It was the FO application that helped direct me toward these goals. The application process and the road map it created became motivators.
In short, I found new direction and career enthusiasm by achieving this designation. And it seems I wasn’t the only one motivated to change their professional lives for the better... Several others in my department followed my lead and enrolled in school to achieve their education goals. (Note: I’m not sure to this day if it was because they too had an educational goal or if they just didn’t want to be left behind.)
Looking back now at the FO application and the road map that came from it, I’m confident that both helped me further my professional growth. For 18 years of my career, up to my introduction to the FO Designation, I had continued working toward and achieving what I thought was beneficial to my career. But finding the FO designation and the process of obtaining it made me realize that I had always had a road map; I had just never asked for directions.
Ongoing achievement
Today, I’ve met my goals at the FO level, as well as several other goals, including designations as a chief training officer (CTO) and a chief fire officer (CFO). I’ve also I’ve completed my first year of the EFOP, and I’m currently working toward a master’s degree. I achieved all of these accomplishments in large part because of the personal understanding I gained through the process of obtaining each designation. I truly believe that these processes have revitalized my career and my aspirations for greater personal and professional success.
Pass the baton
Although reaching my goals was a huge personal achievement, it’s important to keep in mind that anyone else can do the same thing. So I’m motivated to share my understanding and encourage others to achieve their goals and aspirations. In other words, I’m dedicated to “passing the baton.”
Not only do I completely support the process of applying for the designation, but I have committed myself to continuing this support by establishing a mentorship program to assist and offer direction to those who, like me, want to work toward professional growth and development, but don’t know exactly where to begin. Still today, I direct those interested to the FO designation and the CPC (cpse.org).
My philosophy: Prepare the person below you, because at some point you may need them to step into your role, and they must be ready to fill your shoes seamlessly. What better way to do this than by mentoring them through the fire officer designation program from the CPC?
MIKE WALTON, FO, CTO, CFO, holds designations as a Fire Officer, Chief Training Officer, and Chief Fire Officer from the Commission on Professional Credentialing. He is Battalion Chief of Professional Services for the Yuma, AZ, Fire Department. His current duties include training, accreditation, safety, recruitment, and succession planning. Walton holds a bachelor degree in Fire Administration from Waldorf College and is working toward a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Columbia Southern University. Walton is active within his State to promote Fire department accreditation and professional credentialing.
