volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention strategy

HOW TO USE THE STRATEGY AND TOOLKITThe strategy has provided a range of initiatives and activities which could be undertaken at bothlocal and centralized levels. The accompanying toolkit provides instructional guides, templates,and samples to help local fire departments in carrying out initiatives deemed appropriate fortheir community. Local fire departments should start by completing the tool: Local FireDepartment Self-Assessment Tool, which will aide in identifying the areas where theRecruitment and Retention Strategy and Toolkit can help them improve.Most the sample and template tools include words or phrases which are underlined and writtenin red. These are the spaces where local fire departments should customize these tools withinformation specific to their department. After this is done, these words or phrases should becoloured black and the underline should be removed - no other formatting elements should bechanged.Fire departments will notice that the templates and samples do not come with graphic elements.These tools are meant to be used in conjunction with a provincial volunteer firefighting brand,the creation of which could be part of the third phase of the Volunteer Alberta/AFCA contract.This phase could also include workshops and coaching support to help fire departments inimplementing the initiatives detailed in the strategy.Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment and Retention Strategy & ToolkitPrepared by Volunteer Alberta for the Alberta Fire Chiefs’Association35