Recruitment and Retention for Volunteer Firefighters in Western Massachusetts.

Lanesborough Volunteer Fire Department is again playing a role in Recruitment and Retention for Volunteer Firefighters in Western Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Call/Volunteer Firefighters Association (MCVFA) has been awarded a federal grant in the amount of $291,600 for a statewide call/volunteer firefighter recruitment program. The grant is from the federal government's Staffing For Adequate Fire And Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program.

As you may recall the Eagle provided excellant in depth coverage of the recuitment video filmed partially at the Lanesborough Fire Station on Saturday, October 25, 2008.

Currently, there are about 120 fire departments in Massachusetts that rely entirely upon volunteer firefighters and another 150 that use a combination of volunteer firefighters and career firefighters. About 45% of all firefighters in Massachusetts are volunteer firefighters, compared to 75% of all firefighters nationally being volunteer firefighters.

In parts of Western Massachusetts, the recruitment campaign will focus on using broadcast television advertisements in the Springfield media market. In most of Eastern Massachusetts, the recruitment campaign will rely heavily upon cable television in selected communities. The difference in approaches between the eastern and western parts of Massachusetts is because of differences in the distribution of call/volunteer fire departments. In Western Massachusetts, the vast majority of the fire departments are volunteer or combination departments. There are only about a dozen career fire departments in the four western counties. In the Boston Metro area (inside Route 128), there are only about a dozen volunteer or combination fire departments, and in the area from Route 128 to Worcester, there is wide mix of departments.

The next step of the MCVFA grant is Recruitment & Retention workshops that are geared towards fire chiefs, but welcome all members of the call/volunteer and combination fire service. All departments are invited and encouraged to attend and bring staff or send representatives. The programs will focus on how you can recruit call/volunteer firefighters and EMTs. It will be presented by Dr. Bill Jenaway (bio) and his staff, a nationally recognized expert from Volunteer Firemen’s Insurance Services, Inc. (VFIS) and Emergency Services Education & Consulting Group (ESECG).

The Workshops are scheduled to run from 7:00pm to 9:00pm and will be held throughout the state after a kickoff meeting in Lanesborough on February 2, 2009. All dates and locations are listed below

SCHEDULE
DATE LOCATION ADDRESS
Monday, February 2, 2009 Lanesborough Fire Department 180 S. Main Street, Lanesborough, MA 01237
Tuesday, February 3, 2009 Great Barrington Fire Department 20 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 Shelburne Center Fire Department 18 Little Mohawk Rd., Shelburne, MA 01370
Thursday, February 5, 2009 Williamsburg Fire Department
at Meekins Library 2 Main Street, Williamsburg, MA 01096
Monday, February 9, 2009 Spencer Fire Department 11 Dewey Street, Spencer, MA 01562
Tuesday, February 10, 2009 Medway Fire Department 44 Milford Street, Medway, MA 02053
Wednesday, February 11, 2009 Sterling Fire Department 5 Main Street, Sterling, MA 01564
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 Onset Fire Department 5 East Central Avenue, Onset, MA 02558
Thursday, February 19, 2009 Groveland Fire Department 183 Main Street, Groveland, MA 01834

to REGISTER Contact the MCVFA workshop coordinator Susan Dyer at 508-309-5980 or email recruit@mcvfa.org

BIO
William Jenaway, Ph.D., CFO, CFPS

Dr. William F. Jenaway, is the CEO of Emergency Services Education & Consulting Group (ESECG) responsible for training, education and consulting services provided to clients of Volunteer Firemen’s Insurance Services, Inc. (VFIS) and ESECG. His organization provides training to over 20,000 fire/EMS personnel annually and provides technical guidance and consultation to over 200 agencies annually.


He served as Chief and Fire Marshal of the East Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania Volunteer Fire Department; and as Chief and President of the King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; Volunteer Fire Company, as well as being Chairman of the municipality’s Fire and Rescue Services Board. Under Chief Jenaway’s leadership, the department became the first all volunteer Accredited Fire Service Agency in the US. Fire Chief Magazine named him the “Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year” in 2001.


Bill’s background includes 30-plus years of volunteer fire and EMS experience. In 2004 he was named to Chair the Pennsylvania Senate Resolution 60 Commission to evaluate and provide recommendations to the Pennsylvania legislature and fire service on strategic approaches to the state’s fire and EMS delivery system. Over the years, Bill has authored over 200 articles, seven texts and provided over 100 speeches on fire and life safety issues. He holds Certified Fire Protection Specialist and Certified Fire Officer designations as well.


In 1999 he was named to the Presidential/Congressional Commission known as the “Advisory Panel to Assess preparedness for Terroristic Acts Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction” (a.k.a. Gilmore Commission). Dr. Jenaway also serves as President of the Congressional Fire Services Institute and is Past President of the Pennsylvania Fire Services Institute. He serves on the National Fire Protection Association Committees of Emergency Services Risk management; Providing Emergency Services to the Public; Fire Department Apparatus, and Fire Service Training. Dr. Jenaway is in his second, three-year term as a Commissioner on the Commission on Fire Department Accreditation.

Charles "Butch" Garrity, Deputy Chief Lanesborough Fire Department
180 South Main Street
Lanesborough, MA 01237
station 413-443-2321 cell 413-684-4405