Cross-training firefighters as code inspectors

Last night I was working on the discussion board for my Principles of Emergency Services class and I decided to try something new: I enlisted the "voices of experience" by posting the question on Facebook and asking my friends to respond. I want to thank Jerry Michael Allen (Deputy Chief, Brunswick Fire Department), David J. Bullard (Lieutenant,  Columbia County Fire/Rescue Department), Robert J. Duncan (Firefighter, Bradley County Fire/Rescue Department), David Harris (Chief, Mountain Park Fire Department (Ret.)), and Jeff Williamson (Captain, Johns Creek Fire Department for their invaluable input. Here is my discussion board:

Since I know in the past cross-training has been something of a “hot button” topic, I decided to post this question on Facebook to get the thoughts of both current and retired firefighters on my friend’s list. As I suspected I got mixed reviews with some coming out in favor and some opposed. Honestly, I think I have to agree with the mindset of being opposed because, from my experience, department’s that utilize cross-trained personnel tend to have problems with both areas of duty not receiving equal attention. Consider the responsibilities that are already placed on the plate of Firefighter/Medic’s and then add the following duties if they are also responsible for inspection/code enforcement: 1) the design of fire safe assemblies and systems; 2) Review of plans; 3) Inspection of fire safety equipment; and 4) Public education in fire prevention just to name a few responsibilities (Klinoff, 2012). Surprisingly, the strongest opposition did not come from line personnel, but from chief officers – one active and one retired. Explained Deputy Chief Michael Allen of the Brunswick, Georgia Fire Department: “a firefighter doing code enforcement is a bad idea. If a firefighter does all the things expected along with EMS First Responder and all the special ops they shouldn't have time to do other peoples jobs,” (Allen, 2013).

In the interest of fairness, I did some on-line research and found a blog entitled “The Pros and Cons of Cross-Training” written by Mr. Hoyt Mann. In the blog he presented both the pros and cons associated with cross-training (Mann, 2009):

 

Pro	Con
Possible to transfer ideas from one area of responsibility to another	Jack of all Trades is master of none. A limit of two (2) areas to support is probably best.
Keeps you fresh	Burn-out can occur if you are asked to switch back and forth too often or too quickly.
May keep you from being laid off	No time to catch up on reports or other paperwork.
If management is in your future, knowing more than one could be useful	Tends to be more stressful

 

In conclusion, I will leave you with the opinion of retired Mountain Park (GA) Fire Chief David Harris: “If you are at a station which has hardly any calls it would be OK. They had us doing that for a while at FCFD #2's and we were never able to complete the task in our first alarm territory. We were also out of position and or late responding many times because of it,”  

Reference

Allen, M. (2013, September 22). Would you support the idea of cross-training your local firefighters to perform inspection/code enforcement roles? What are the “pros” and “cons” to this idea? [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/wtlittle Retrieved: September 22, 2013

Harris, D. (2013, September 22). Would you support the idea of cross-training your local firefighters to perform inspection/code enforcement roles? What are the “pros” and “cons” to this idea? [Online forum comment]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/wtlittle  Retrieved: September 22, 2013

Klinoff, R. (2012). Introduction to fire protection. (4th ed., p. 322). Clifton Park, NY: Cengage Learning. DOI: www.cengage.com/ Retrieved: September 22, 2013

Mann, H. (2009, January 12). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.phaseware.com/PhaseWare-Files-blog/bid/12379/The-Pros-and-Cons-of-Cross-Training-in-the-support-center-not-the-gym  Retrieved: September 22, 2013