North Carolina Chief 101
Now That You Are the Fire Chief
Course Objectives
• This presentation is the first program of the Chief
101 class which will satisfy the 9s inspection
criteria as specified by the North Carolina
Administrative Code. The primary objective of
the course is to inform current and future chief
officers of the various aspects and complexities
surrounding the operations and organization of
North Carolina fire departments. These
programs also provide contact information and
web links to help officers find more information.
Program Objectives
 Provide an general overview of expectations
facing a chief officer
 Other programs cover more information on:
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Ratings and Inspections,
NFIRS reporting,
Firefighter Health and Safety
Grant and Relief Programs
Line-of-Duty Death Handling
Financial Considerations
Now that You are the Fire Chief
The Responsibilities Are Yours
Remember when you use to say,
“If I was the Chief, I would….”
Now That You Are the Fire Chief
 There is always one person held accountable
for the success or failure of any organization
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U. S. Government – The President
Church – The Pastor
Law Enforcement – The Police Chief
Local Governments – County/City Manager
Fire Department – That’s You “THE FIRE CHIEF”
Now that You are the Fire Chief
 What are Your Primary Responsibilities?
– “To Save Lives and Protect Property”
• Response Personnel
• Citizens
– Emergency Services Response
– The Safety of Your Personnel
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Training
Personal Protection
Personal Accountability
Enforcing Safety Standards
Now That You Are the Fire Chief
 Truly evaluate your department’s
response and readiness capabilities
– Is your membership protected?
– Can you deliver what you say you can?
– Are your responders trained properly and do
they follow the department’s training
standards?
– Do you have written, updated Standard
Operating Guidelines?
– Are your department records current?
Now That You Are the Fire Chief
REMEMBER – YOU ARE NOW
RESPONSIBLE
DELEGATING OR ASSUMING DOES NOT
RELIEVE YOU OF THE
RESPONSIBILITY FOR KNOWING
Is Your Membership Protected?
 Is your Roster Up-To-Date?
 Is there a process for updating your Roster as
members are added or deleted?
THE ROSTER IS A LIVING DOCUMENT AND
SHOULD BE UPDATED AS CHANGES
OCCUR, NOT TOMORROW!!
Is Your Membership Protected?
 Consequences of not having a current roster:
– Members are not available for NCSFA Benefits.
– In the event of a firefighter death, family members
are not eligible for NCSFA death benefits, possibly
resulting in the Fire Chief and Department facing
civil action.
– Individuals are not eligible for North Carolina State
Firemen’s Association Benefits
(http://www.ncsfa.com)
Can You Deliver?
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Fire Suppression
Emergency Medical Services
Vehicle Extrication
Water Rescue
Hazard Materials Response
Your local officials most likely assume that
you can provide all these services
Now That You Are the Fire Chief
• Identify what the hazards are in your community and
inform the local officials of the department's
capabilities to respond to hazards in your response
area.
– “The Routine Response”
• Contrary to popular belief, “We can not be all things in all
situations”
• There are risk that fire departments are not equipped to deal
with and we should let local officials know before we are
faced with the incident
• While this may not change frequently in many areas, it should
be part of an annual review during the budget process.
Now You Are the Chief
 Critical that you provide an assessment of
the department’s readiness – especially to
successors
– The reputation of the past chief can be a positive
with the community, but a negative within the
organization or vice versa
– “You can only rely on past success until the next
alarm”
Are Your Responders Ready?
 Standard Training Requirements
– Must offer 48 hours of drills and meetings as a
minimum for 9S.
– Pension Fund and Death Benefit Qualification – a
member must have 36 Hours
– Hazardous Materials – 8 Hours
– EMT Continuing Education – 24 Hours minimum
Are Your Responders Ready?
 NCRRS Requirements (below 9 rating)
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Recruit Training– 240 Hours
New Driver/Operator- 40 hours
Driver/Operator Recurring – 12 hours
Officer – 12 Hours
Multiple Company Training – 4 sessions of 3 hours
Night Evolutions- 2 sessions 3 hours
Haz Mat Training- 3 hours
Company Training 20 hours per person per month.
Standard Training Requirements vs.
Application of Techniques
 Meeting “Standard Hours” in reality has only
an administrative meaning. It does nothing
to show if a firefighter really knows how to
apply what he/she has been exposed to.
 Classroom exposure is essential to
development, but it does not replace the
need to conduct hands on drills
 Adopt the State of Missouri’s slogan, “Show
Me”
Standard Training Requirements vs.
Application of Techniques
 The Chief and the department need to identify
minimum requirements that the department
will accept for each position
 After identifying minimum requirements there
needs to be a manner to evaluate each
persons actual skills and abilities.
 Question – Should you accept “Yes” to your
question of, “Do you know how to….”
Topics for this course
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Resources available to you
Various Associations in the state
Firemen’s Relief Fund
Junior Members
LODD
NFIRS
Important dates
Associations/Agencies
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North Carolina Association of Fire Chiefs
North Carolina State Firemen’s Association
North Carolina Fire Marshals Association
North Carolina Association of Rescue and
EMS
 North Carolina Society of Fire and Rescue
Instructors
 Fire and Life Safety Educators
Associations/Agencies
 North Carolina Association of Hazardous
Materials Responders
 State Emergency Response Commission
 Office of the State Fire Marshal
 North Carolina Community Colleges
 Office of Emergency Medical Services
 North Carolina Emergency Management
Local Relief Fund Report(s)
 Report is requested by October 31 and no
later than January 1 of each year (link to
NCSFA website)
 Consequences for not reporting - Loss of
eligibility for future Relief Funds
 Conflict of Interest Statement to OSFM
Organizational Development
 What do you want your people to know
how to do?
 What are your expectations for each
level or rank within your department?
 Each answer will differ from department
to department.
The Cheat Sheet
(Important Dates)
 Visit the Pocket Tools site for a
downloadable “cheat sheet” that you can
use as a resource.