I set up my Google search to send me an email every day with all the links to messages that contain the term “fire chief” in the past 24 hours. The email usually contains between 25-35 links. I scan the headline and decide what to click on.
Many stories focus on someone being named a fire chief, a fire incident citing the fire chief, or some other interesting community event that the chief is involved in.
But almost every day at least one of the stories is about a fire chief in need or a fire department in turmoil. Today the email includes a headline about a fire department responding to allegations of sexism, racism and favoritism in the department.
Fire chiefs can easily get into hot water if they don’t follow simple guidelines related to human resources, finance, and other management issues. (Photo / Getty Images)
By seeing these headlines in my inbox every day for many years, I’ve learned about the most common reasons fire chiefs get into trouble. So let’s review them here so that you can consider your own behavior – and how to avoid anger.
Substance abuse
A fire chief who consumes alcohol excessively, abuses prescription drugs, or uses illegal drugs will eventually be caught. Usually, substance abuse starts to interfere with work. Some fire chiefs are even caught in their company vehicle while drunk. Others are arrested in their personal vehicle that has driven under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
If you are a firefighter abusing alcohol or drugs, please get help before it is too late.
[Read more: Firefighters and alcohol: What the data says]
Sex-related situations
Sex is a common topic that shows up on news broadcasts and can include a variety of problematic topics: making unsolicited sexual comments on someone else, telling sex-related jokes for members of your department, or soliciting sex from employees or illegally from a prostitute.
From the stories I’ve seen, many fire chiefs have gotten into hot water because of inappropriate behavior on the construction site. Some have been caught having an affair with someone from the department – a situation that can also lead to divorce, with the spouse being awarded half the pension.
And in still other gender-related cases, a fire chief may find himself on the receiving end of a complaint from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) about the perceived unfair treatment of a member of the opposite sex.
Personnel problems
Fire chiefs can get into trouble if they don’t handle personnel issues properly. Such questions are mainly based on claims to discrimination, including age, race, and gender. It can also mean that firefighters are not supervised or directed during cross-departmental conflicts, or that their department’s policies on discrimination, harassment, harassment or bullying are not followed.
Fire chiefs can get into trouble if they don’t comply with federal or state laws. It is important that you respect and obey the law, including the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for leisure , the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) for veterans, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for wages, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and other laws applicable to human resources.
Many of these personnel issues depend on leadership, ethics, and character. In some cases, the fire chief avoids conflict and does not address the problem. In these cases, the other person often has no choice but to file the lawsuit or complaint.
[Watch next: On-demand webinar: Unaware, unwilling or unable? Identify and manage 3 types of underperforming employees]
Hiring and promotion problems
Another trap waiting to catch a fire chief is improper hiring practices. There have been many complaints about illegal hiring practices or discrimination in the fire service. Every step of the process – application, written exam, physical proficiency test (CPAT), oral committees, vacancy, and medical and psychological tests – must be handled properly or the fire chief may get into hot water.
One story I found interesting a few years ago was a fire chief who based his job on whether you like baseball. It appears the fire chief was an avid baseball fan and even ran a local team. If you liked baseball, you were hired without an exam. This situation could easily lead to myriad lawsuits from potential members who were not hired or who were hired but had to go through the testing process.
Improper handling of transportation can also cause trouble for fire chiefs. From job posting, identification of learning materials, written tests, assessment centers, oral interviews, scoring and list developments, there are landmines that can explode at any time. For example, I’ve seen fire chiefs get into hot water when they get involved in the process or even show up at the test site.
As the head of the fire department, I completely remove myself from the audit process and allow a third-party company whose audit is validated to manage the audit process. In this way I avoid any allegations of favoritism or interference. Once the list is made, I’ll promote the list straight down, except when someone is banned or investigated for a serious and outrageous violation.
Money problems
I am always amazed when I see headlines about a fire chief who misused a credit card, embezzled money, or in some way stole from the department. I’ve seen stories of fire chiefs filling their swimming pool with a fire hose from a public hydrant, using their credit card to purchase cigars, and breaking shopping guidelines while on a conference trip.
When it comes to finances, there is usually some type of record that can be easily verified. Think about it: using a credit card for illegal purchases is almost insane as the records can be easily verified.
Remember, the money is not yours. Improper use of department funds means you are stealing the community you have sworn to protect.
Domestic violence
Unfortunately, I’ve seen several stories of fire chiefs arrested for domestic violence or assaulted their spouses. It doesn’t matter if it happened off site, in the privacy of your home. If your spouse calls the police and you get arrested, the newspaper will do it. As a fire chief, the public will hold you to a higher standard – and the media will single out public safety misconduct.
Codes and guidelines
It is not without reason that the NFPA committees invest a lot of time and energy in the development of standards – because they are important! Many of the NFPA standards focus on education and safety. Compliance with the standards not only reduces the chance of your firefighters suffering injury (or worse), it also keeps you away from legal hot water.
Similar to the NFPA standards is one area that overlaps with several of the areas already discussed: violations of ethics or the code of conduct.
In the summer of 2020, amid the riots and peaceful protests that followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, I identified 16 fire chiefs posting derogatory things on Facebook or Twitter about the protesters or those engaging in civil disobedience. Many of these fire chiefs have been fired for their actions for violating ethics, the code of conduct or the values of the organization of their department.
Make good decisions
Many of the incidents where a fire chief gets into trouble could have been avoided if he had simply consulted his lawyer or human resources department before making a decision. In other cases, the fire chief knew the difference between right and wrong and decided to make the wrong choice.
Watch next: Chief Billy Goldfeder shares how fire chiefs can regain community trust following a financial channel.
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