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Lino Lakes, Minnesota – Fire Department Analysis Page 34 <br /> <br />standards for members to live at the station. For example, the City of Eagan offers six dorm rooms at the <br />fire station where fire fighters live for free in exchange for their service. Forest Lake is exploring re- <br />organizations in city hall, developing dual role positions including firefighter/building inspector and <br />firefighter/custodian. Usually, volunteers must sign up for two to four duty nights per week to qualify. <br />Live-in programs are an excellent incentive as well as a recruitment and retention tool. They not only <br />promote participation, but they guarantee that volunteers will be at the station and ready to answer <br />emergency calls without having to respond from home to the station. The major drawback to the live-in <br />programs is that they are only an incentive for single volunteers since there is generally no housing <br />available for married volunteers. Also, the sleeping areas are not very suitable for permanent residency <br />(e.g., in most cases they are open bunkrooms instead of individual dorm rooms). <br /> <br />Recognition – Volunteers generally want to be appreciated and receive some form of recognition for their <br />service to the community. Some are willing to work quietly for years and obtain satisfaction just from <br />doing the job, helping people in need, and the camaraderie in the department. However, information <br />obtained from surveys taken by former volunteers (as well as self-perception of the volunteers) from <br />across the country indicates that a little recognition goes a long way. Although most volunteers never <br />mention the desire for recognition, it is almost always well received when given and usually problematic <br />when withheld. <br /> <br />Cable Television and Utility Bills – Volunteers could be given free cable television, and/or exempted <br />from some local utility bills. <br /> <br />Tuition Assistance – Volunteers could be offered tuition assistance after a certain period of service, <br />similar to tuition assistance offered to municipal employees in some jurisdictions. Some national EMS <br />organizations make scholarships available to enhance local efforts. <br /> <br />Pension Plans – Many jurisdictions around the country have set up retirement plans for volunteer <br />firefighters. Most of these plans are based on years of service and set up through the state legislature. <br />This is a standard program for rewarding volunteer firefighters who put in years of service to their <br />community. <br /> <br />Requirements of a Recruitment and Retention Program – No matter which program is selected, it is <br />imperative that this recruitment, retention and educational effort be a well thought out, on-going, <br />combined effort with the support and backing of all involved parties. This is not a localized or short-term <br />concern but a long-term local and national issue that can’t be solved in a vacuum or without great deal of <br />work. It will take the total commitment, effort and dedication of a wide range of professional, and city <br />leaders to make this program a reality. Outside of the box thinking and creative program development is <br />vital to maintaining a healthy volunteer fire/rescue program for the City. <br /> <br />The result of such a program failing is the need to provide this service through a paid crew (duty crew) or <br />a subscription delivery system. Because volunteers are hard to find, more and more cities are exploring <br />the hiring of duty crews. These alternatives are more costly for taxpayers than the time and efforts that <br />will be involved in helping maintain a quality well-staffed volunteer fire/rescue system that is currently in <br />place. <br /> <br />40