This report describes the city of Waterbury fire department; organizational structure, operations, policies and ethical issues. Like any other fire department, the Waterbury Fire Department has one main objective of ensuring that the public is protected from fire. Various dynamics have taken place in the organizational structure with an aim of increasing the efficiency of service production, Chen (2008). The summery of the current organizational structure of Waterbury Fire department is as discussed below.
Fire Chief: The fire chief works closely with the City management to ensure that the community is safe from fire related hazards, Schenker (2006). His role involves the overall supervision and the direction of the entire department. The chief also ensures the public relation services. The roles involved communicating to the public on the duties of the department. In case of any changes in the department, it is the duty of the chief to inform the public of the same. Under the office of the fire chief, there are other administrative assistants who help in the day-to-day operation of the department. In the office of the chief there is also the public relation department that which helps in spreading of information from the department. The education requirement for the fire chief should be a Bachelor of Arts/Science Degree from an accredited university with at least 5 years’ experience in the position of division chief.
Division Chiefs: The main role of the division chief is to handle shift commands. This involves coordination of sift and responding to large scale events. For instance, when a large scale fire outbreak occurs, it’s the duty of the division chief to reorganize the shift to ensure that enough personnel are deployed to the areas, Brumbelow (2007). However, this duty can be undertaken by the Assistant chief of operations or the Shift Battalion Chiefs. Existence of this level of management is aimed at reducing the workload and levels of responsibility and accountability. However, with increased efficiency in the department and investment in technology, the fire department should consider eliminating this position. The education requirement for the division chief should be a Bachelor of Arts/Science Degree from an accredited university with at least 5 years’ experience in the position of battalion chief.
Assistant chief of operations: The duties of assistant chief of operation include examining, developing, and executing an all-inclusive, effective emergency operations program that will provide the highest level of service and protection against fire to the community of Waterbury. Assistant chief of operation implements the strategic directions and policies aimed at ensuring that there are minimal fire breakouts and damages in Waterbury. The assistant chief of operations also can undertake the duties of shift management in the absence of the division chief or in cases of large fire outbreaks. The education requirement for the assistant chief of operations should be a Bachelor of Arts/Science Degree from an accredited university with at least 5 years’ experience in the position of the battalion chief.
The Battalion Chief: The main duty of the battalion chief is dispatch and support services. Other duties include assisting the assistant chief in the implementation of goals and objectives of the department. The battalion chief reports directly to the assistant chief of operations. In case of catastrophic fire outbreak, the battalion chief may assist the division chief in coordination of shifts and deployment of fire-fighters. The battalion chief also undertakes the duties of supervision and deployment of the fire-fighters. They should also coordinate with other battalions to ensure efficient service delivery to the city of Waterbury. The education requirement for the battalion chief should be an Associate of Arts degree from an accredited college or a University. The officer should also possess 4 years’ experience in fire-fighting position or the position of fire marshal.
Fire-fighter/Fire Marshal: A fire fighter responds to fire alarms and calls and rush to the location within the shortest time possible. Their main duty is to extinguish fire outbreaks so as to minimize the destruction of property and lives. In accordance the building codes of the city of Waterbury, all buildings constructed should be well equipped will fire fighting equipment. It is the duty of the fire marshal to expect the equipment to ensure that they are in a proper working condition. In cases of medical emergencies, it is the duty of a fire marshal to perform first aid to the victim before the paramedics arrive at the scene. The education requirement for the battalion chief should be at least a high school diploma or equivalent. The fire-fighter should also undergo relevant physical and tactical training before they could start operating as fire marshals, McCaffrey (2006).
Communication is an important aspect in any fire department. Effective communication system has been established to accelerate dissemination of information within the department and also with the external stakeholders. The main reasons for effective communication system in any fire department are: to achieve the overall organization goals through informing the public of the department’s services and policies; engaging effectively with employees for maximum efficiency in service delivery; and engaging effectively with the eternal stakeholders to ensure that various department coordinate well with the fire department. Strategies used by the Waterbury fire department to communicate with internal and external stakeholders are discussed below.
The main purpose of internal communication is to designate an individual employee of a group of workers to carry out a specific duty. This can be done by the use of memos, duty rosters, e-mail commination, intranet, phone calls and sort messages. An internal communication survey should also be done to identify the employee opinions on the processes and policies of the department, Richards (2009). By so doing, the employees are encouraged to identify key departmental gaps and weaknesses that they believe should be changed for a better service delivery and a more conducive working environment. Such communication can be done through internal memos and emails inviting employees for departmental assessment survey. Meetings and periodical updates are also undertaken to ensure that there is high efficiency in the service delivery.
The City of Waterbury fire department also conducts public fire safety education. The main aim of the public awareness campaign is to reduce instances of fire and fire related destructions, injuries and deaths. The department of fire is carrying out education on the school going children to educate them on measure to undertake during fire outbreaks and fire related injuries. The children are taught on how to conduct first aid in cases of fire related injuries. Public safety education on fire management and preparedness is conducted in public forums as well as civic organizations, Repenning (2007). The Waterbury fire department has also provided the 65 years old and above with smoke detectors, this will enable easier emergency responses in cases of fire outbreaks.
The fire department is also engaging closely and working collaboratively with external stakeholders such as the federal government, the state government, the local government and other related departments, Burke (2006). Communication is aimed at supporting the delivery of key safety messages and information. The city of Waterbury fire department has also created social media platform where the public can be engaged in a two way communication process.
Emergency Medical Services continues to become the primary response for the City of Waterbury Fire Department. The City is sub-sectioned into nine locations. For every location, a company is subcontracted to take care of emergency medical services. Each company must have adequate and highly qualified paramedical personnel as well as ambulances in cases of emergency. The emergency Medical Services response time has reduced to less than 4 minutes of the 75% of times. The national average response time of Emergency Medical Services in the United States is 8%, this demonstrates how the Waterbury fire department in the Emergency Medical Services. In spite of the good Emergency Medical Services, the department can still improve the service by offering adequate paramedical training to the fire-fighters.
Ethical Issues in Fire Department
The ethical issues in the Waterbury fire department include but not limited to the following.
Fire department personnel should always conduct themselves, on and off duty, in an exceedingly respectful manner that reflects completely on themselves and the entire fire department.
Every fire fighting personnel will carry full responsibility for their actions and for the implications of their actions and omissions.
Every fire fighting personnel should conduct their personal affairs in an exceedingly manner that doesn't improperly influence the performance of their duties, or bring discredit to the department of fire.
A fire fighting personnel should never discriminate on the idea of race, religion, colour, creed, age, legal status, national origin, ancestry, gender, sexual preference, medical condition or handicap.
Any fire fighting personnel should have the acknowledge that they serve in an exceedingly position of trust that needs spot within the honest and economical use of in public owned resources, together with uniforms, facilities, vehicles and instrumentation which these are protected against misuse and stealing. A fire fighting office therefore should not involve in fraudulent activities such as dishonesty and corruption, Milen (2009).
Reference
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Schenker, J. D., Goldstein, S., Braun, J., Werner, A., Buccellato, F., Asaeda, G., & Prezant, D. J. (2006). Triage accuracy at a multiple casualty incident disaster drill: the Emergency Medical Service, Fire Department of New York City experience. Journal of burn care & research, 27(5), 570-575.
Brumbelow, K., Torres, J., Guikema, S., Bristow, E., & Kanta, L. (2007, May). Virtual cities for water distribution and infrastructure system research. In World Environmental and Water Resources Congress (pp. 15-19).
McCaffrey, S. M. (2006). Fighting fire with education: what is the best way to reach out to homeowners?. Journal of forestry, 102(5), 12-19.
Richards, S. A., Possingham, H. P., & Tizard, J. (2009). Optimal fire management for maintaining community diversity. Ecological Applications, 9(3), 880-892.
Repenning, N. P. (2007). Understanding fire fighting in new product development⋆. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 18(5), 285-300.
Milen, D. (2009). The ability of firefighting personnel to cope with stress. Journal of Social Change, 3(1), 2.
Burke, K. J., & Paton, D. (2006). Well-being in protective services personnel: Organisational influences. The Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies, 2006(2), 1-13.
