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Contact your Board of Comissioners with your complaint . Have all members sign off on it. 

Is there a particular reason he is chief ie: someone at the top family member? They chief has a duty to the dept and one of those is to lead by example. There are chiefs out there that don't respond to calls or minimal calls, depending on the area. I guess a sit down pow wow with the officers and/or senior members depending on your dept operates on what is expected of everyone on the dept including the chief. If that doesn't work then you need to above his head to who ever is in charge of the dept. Mayor , commissioner's etc

I agree 25 years old is young, but I don't think nobody else wants it. I have been on the department for 8 years. There are about half that has been longer than me with 2 guys having 25 years+. But chase1 I see where you are coming from.

There are no family with the chief to the commissioner or the council that I know of.  We see what happens and I'll keep you all posted. Thanks and buckle up!!!

Yes, he is. He has been on for longer than I have. But he talks about removing firefighters who don't show up to meetings or go to fire calls when he is doing the same thing. It is getting old for me and couple of other firefighters on the department. I go to about 90% of the calls I guess. Which is good for somebody who work 1 full time job and 1 part time job. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bragging on myself, I just happen to be around when the calls come out. Some firefighters will be home alot then they go out of town just for a couple of hours and hell break loose but everybody know how that goes. Thanks again.

you must be different to us then----every year we have elections and ALL positions are voted on. we are lucky and have an awesome chief so he has,with the consent of the members,held the office for a while. the same is true of our auxillary so maybe its time for you to look at bye laws etc especially as you are like us a volenteer dept and your chief sounds like a waste of space and a glory hunter. hope you get the problem sorted for the sake of your dept

as a volunteer, your department should be set up as a non-profit corporation, and as such, the board of directors meetings are open to all members. You can voice your concerns there, but be very careful. Our chief always responds, but some depts. are set up differently, and maybe his job is the admin. stuff that nobody ever sees. If that's getting done, and it's all that he's supposed to do, he's OK.

Nothing will ruin a departments effectiveness as quickly as politics and dissension in the ranks, so think carefully before you become the spearhead to an uprising.

Don't take this personally, explore your motives, make sure your problem with the chief is not caused by a desire to be chief. 

All I'm saying is tread softly. It's a touchy thing, and no department can afford major conflicts or loss of personnel. Good luck, and keep us posted.

OldWornOutChief says ...

Check your constitution & by-laws. The Chief is a COMMANDER, not a pencil pusher. It is his job to lead your dept & be in command at all times. Yes, he also has administrative duties & they are time consuming pains in the arse. BUT as Chief his first duty is command, pager goes off, paperwork gets laid aside & he had better be the 1st bunkered out & ready to go.

As Capt50 sez, be sure of your motives here. Make damn sure you've got a valid complaint. If your chief is indeed derilect in his duties, your constitution & by-laws should have provisions for impeachment & removal from office. But be careful what you wish for; my last 6 mos on the FD was spent as Acting Chief, frankly, I've been in better positions.

Have you spoken with this guy 1 on 1? Maybe there are problems at his end that he has little or no control of & could use a little assistance from his firemen. You may be able to get him motivated to take his duties seriously, or he may be burned out & looking for a chance to bow out. But be damn careful about it, don't be confrontational, be respectful of his rank (he should have earned at a little by now).

Remember, you may be misinterpreting things & could cause some serious turmoil, which your dept doesn't need. But above all, FOLLOW PROPER PROCEDURE/PROTOCOLS. Act within your Constition & By-laws

 

I agree. Leaders should lead from the front, not the rear.

You guys have got me thinking again about taking chief. LOL. I like being in the action as well and also I like teaching somebody to do something then they do it at a fire scene and never thinks twice and do it right. Makes me feel good about what I have done. My point is on the chief is that I understand that he does just more than good to calls, but there is at least 5 meetings a month that he goes that I know of. OldWornOutChief said good about when the pager goes off the paper and pencil is put down. Very well put. Thanks for all you help to everone. Stay safe.

you as a body (fc members) put this person into office you as a body can remove this person. We have done this at our station. We had a chief that move out of town. at first he would show up at the station and due his expected job but could not run calls. then his presence started to dwindal and we as the body made a motion to remove him. this motion was passed. But before you take this route find out what all he does for the co. (i.e. meetings, smooging with council, setting up trainings, ect.). then read over your constition and by-laws and see the legal way of removing this person. 

Well in a District I started in, we had a chief like that. Fortunately we had by-laws stating that we (the firefighters) could call a special election to vote on it. Problem was some of the officers were hand picked by the chief and took is side. Things were pretty ugly for a few months after. Just giving you the heads up!

The board of directors have to follow the SOP of the depart. also ! If u feel this is going to keep on then file a grievance with the board ,THEY have to accept it , and there should be a formal meeting , if ur petition has more than 50% against him then he is to step down . then you have an acting chief  untill your regular election .But remember to READ the SOP first ! Most depart. have a by-law that states all members will go to 50% of the meetings and trainings as well calls ,If you dont , you are inviolation of depart. laws, you can and will be suspended.  Do not feel bad we have same problem here , with members cause they would rather be POLICE !  Good luck !! and be safe ....

DoDFire says ...

Watch'a all think about a "newly" voted Asst. Chief that has never had any formal Fire training. No Fire Academy, nothing but First responder.

 

Would you take Orders from that?

Thats why I tell everyone in todays fire service its no longer an "Election" of officers, it is now known as a "Popularity Contest".  Certifications, licences, credentials and EXPERIENCE are quickly ignored and replaced with number of rounds bought, level of sense of humor, and lack of desire to do ANYTHING important....Sucks I know, It happens all the time here and no one cares.  Im looking to move some where new to find a GOOD dept that still has its morales and values and priorities like training and experience and respect in place.  Anyone want me?

End of rant.  lol

In my volunteer department the Chief was voted in by the residents during normal elections. The Commisioners however can terminate a Chief and appoint a new one until the next election time. I think that you need to look at what else the Chief is doing, are they going to all the meetings, going to the state and county meetings, what about training. There is a lot more to being a chief than just going on runs. In most paid departments the Chief doesn't go out to a call unless it is a multi alarm or mutual aid event.

moosecfd368 says ...

DoDFire says ...

Watch'a all think about a "newly" voted Asst. Chief that has never had any formal Fire training. No Fire Academy, nothing but First responder.

 

Would you take Orders from that?

Thats why I tell everyone in todays fire service its no longer an "Election" of officers, it is now known as a "Popularity Contest".  Certifications, licences, credentials and EXPERIENCE are quickly ignored and replaced with number of rounds bought, level of sense of humor, and lack of desire to do ANYTHING important....Sucks I know, It happens all the time here and no one cares.  Im looking to move some where new to find a GOOD dept that still has its morales and values and priorities like training and experience and respect in place.  Anyone want me?

 

End of rant.  lol

Come on down, Moose. We still pick our officers the old fashioned way, the Chief is voted in by the firefighters, then he picks his officers, and gets board approval on them all. We don't always all agree on everything, but we all agree on firefighter safety, aggressive training and tactics, and providing the best possible equipment for our guys. When we disagree, we cuss it out until it's settled ( except on the fire ground ) then part company friends and brothers. I know it sounds too good to be true, but we really do have a great bunch of guys. A few of us officers are also board members, that helps stack the deck a little in our favor as far as training practices and officers go.

We had a meeting last night over this stuff and few of us went in the office and let all out on the table. I think he got the point and said he would change. We will see what happens. There is a flood here now and that is putting alot of stress on us because it has never flooded before and now were seeing major flooding. Thanks for all your input.