When firefighters leave or resign from a fire department or company, many of them simply make their exit and no longer are involved in the fire service, and that’s fine. However, there is one issue that often is discussed or sometimes never discussed. The exit interview is conducted in many industries, and the fire service should consider this as an opportunity to improve retention of firefighters, discover problems in the company or department, and capture information and the personal perspective of the departing member.
Retention and problems
When firefighters, say, inform their officer that they were transferred in their career employment, will resign from the fire company and move out of state, this should trigger the setting up of an exit interview.
Many departments are suffering from dwindling ranks, and the comments and perspective that are collected can be used to increase the department’s retention efforts.
Furthermore, the exit interview can uncover problems in the firehouse or among the firefighters that might not be known by the officers or chiefs and that then can be addressed. Sometimes, there are small problems that existed for months and even years.
Technical issues and training
Technical issues that must be looked at by the chiefs or the administration also can be raised. This is particularly true when 10–20-year veterans or company officers who have a clear understanding of the department or company procedures depart. They can suggest changes or modifications.
Training can be improved using some of the information that’s collected. For example, there are departments that ask departing firefighters to complete questionnaires. Some of the questions relate to tactical operations and other situations that firefighters are involved with, such as “In what building in town would you never want to fight a fire and why?” “What is the most dangerous condition in a firehouse that you worked in?” “What was the most reliable and dependable apparatus that you ever worked on?”
Answers to questions such as these can be very helpful in making future decisions about the topics in the questions.
Safety
The exit interview can contribute to safety, which can be tied into other topics. The chief can utilize information from the exit interview to adjust personnel issues and operational procedures. For example, if eight of the past 10 firefighters who retired named the same “dangerous” building that they wouldn’t want to fight a fire in, the department could have that building looked at more closely by the building and fire inspectors and establish a schedule for on-duty companies to conduct visits for familiarity and safety. This also could be used to order “board up” and “no entry” rules for firefighters.
From reluctant to willing
The information that’s realized through exit interviews is quite valuable to the department, to the remaining firefighters and, of course, to the community. Members who no longer will be employed by the jurisdiction often talk more freely. They might disclose information that they wouldn’t be comfortable discussing while they work for the department. This allows the department to collect what only can be described as valuable, helpful, and accurate information and ideas that can be used to improve the future of the department.
