1.     Be your departments best ally not it’s worst enemy. To many people are quick to bash their fellow volunteers. The fact is we need to accept all and make sure all members have what they need, like training and confidence. Experienced members need to take the new people under their wing and help to make them better. It is so easy to point and bash a member. Take the hard road and lift your members. They came to the fire service for a reason, help them achieve their goals.

2.     You are responsible to get your apparatus on the street. As volunteers you need to be at the station when you say you will be there. If your department relies on home response to get the apparatus on the street, then you go to the station. This is especially true for chief officers in volunteer organization. The department may give you a vehicle to use, but you need to get your apparatus on the street first. Nobody needs a chief on the scene while your apparatus fails to respond because there was no driver. The is nothing worse than a chief responding past their fire house leaving volunteers and fire apparatus at the station with no driver. You keep that up and your members will no longer come to the station.

Do Better Suck Less