volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention strategy

5. Establish centralized resources that can support province-wide and local recruitmentand retention initiatives.Several complementary centralized recruitment resources could be developed and implementedto support province-wide and local recruitment and retention efforts.Provincial Recruitment HotlineThis would be a central phone number that could be cited in advertising, informationalmaterials, and the website. The hotline would be answered by a live individual who istrained to answer general questions about volunteer firefighting, and who can fill out anapplication on behalf of the caller and submit it to the caller‟s closest fire department. It hasbeen suggested that this call centre be located in and manned by the Fire Commissionersoffice.Provincial Volunteer Firefighter DatabaseThis would provide a centralized listing of firefighter names, demographic information,addresses, departments, and training accomplishments. The database should haveseparate tables for applicants and current firefighters. A user-friendly informationmanagement form (integrated into the centralized website as a “firefighters only” page)should be available to firefighters so they are able to update their information if they move. Ifthe firefighter changes their address, information about the closest fire department can besent to the new address.Online volunteer firefighter application formAn online application form, built as part of the centralized website, would be integrated withthe volunteer firefighting database. Information input in the form would automatically beentered in the database, and the application would be automatically forwarded to the firedepartment closest to the applicant.These centralized resources would work together to make it easier for interested individuals toapply to be a volunteer firefighter. A comprehensive database, recruitment hotline, and onlineapplication will make it easy to track statistics related to volunteer firefighting and will supportthe recruitment campaign by providing a central location for information.Another advantage of a centralized database is the ability to create an automated informationsystem so that whenever a firefighter changes his or her location, the system sends informationto the individual about the fire department in his or her new location. This would facilitate intra-Alberta firefighter retention at a fraction of what it would cost to do this manually. Additionally,the system could be set up to include a tool which helps facilitate sharing training (and otherVolunteer Firefighter Recruitment and Retention Strategy & ToolkitPrepared by Volunteer Alberta for the Alberta Fire Chiefs’Association32