Enriching recruit training in a volunteer fire department

The research question arises: How can the existing recruit training program be enriched in a typical1 volunteer fire department?; The goal of this research is to enrich the recruit training of the Langford Fire Department and create a model that can be applied to other volunteer fire departments. Recruit training comprises the first year an individual spends in the department. Traditionally, the first year focuses on developing task-oriented, technical firefighting skills such as using protective equipment, hoses, ladders, fire extinguishers and administering medical aid. In contrast, I propose that recruit training would benefit from developing ‘soft skills’ which I define as developing values, transformational leadership, and emotional intelligence. (Abstract shortened by UMI.); 1The Langford Fire Department can be considered typical in the sense that the surrounding volunteer departments are roughly the same size, ranging from 25–50 members. For Vancouver Island this is a normal composition for a fire department, and this is relatively consistent in B.C. (Vancouver Island Fire Fighters Association, 2002).