Excerpts from ChicagoTribune.com:
Elgin Fire Chief John Fahy is a big fan of the Yogi Berra quote, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else.†He believes in having a clear roadmap for the future, which is one of the reasons the Elgin Fire Department recently unveiled its first-ever strategic plan covering the years 2015 to 2020.
The plan was developed this spring with the help of The Center for Public Safety Excellence, who acted as consultants at a cost of around $15,000. It was officially released last week, making Elgin one of only 10% of fire departments across the country that have formalized strategic plans, according to Fahy.
Assistant Fire Chief Dave Schmidt was among 32 internal stakeholders involved in refining the ideas gathered from external participants who attended focus groups. This process marked a shift from previous efforts, which were informal and often excluded frontline firefighters and the public.
Additionally, with many senior leaders nearing retirement age, the new plan also helps establish clearer succession strategies within the department. “By 2020, most of our staff will likely be retiring after 30 years of service,†Schmidt noted.
The final strategic plan focused on seven key areas: internal communications, external communications and community outreach, disaster preparedness, fire prevention, workforce planning and development, health and wellness, and public education. Each area included specific goals, objectives, timelines, and funding estimates.
Fahy emphasized that in today’s data-driven environment, fire departments must not only ask for resources but also prove their necessity through evidence. To achieve this, the department and its consultants invited 130 community stakeholders to the focus groups, with about 90 attending. Fahy said the high turnout impressed the consultants, showing strong public support for the department and city operations.
To encourage honest feedback, Fahy largely stayed out of the process, allowing firefighters to speak freely without feeling pressured by leadership. Both Fahy and Schmidt agreed that many organizations create strategic plans only to let them gather dust. To avoid that, each goal in the Elgin plan has clear tasks, deadlines, and assigned personnel, with many objectives building on one another.
The workforce planning component focuses on aligning staffing levels with service demands, identifying future needs based on current trends. It also includes evaluating management programs and preparing firefighters for leadership roles.
Firefighters across the country, including in Elgin, have reported fewer structure fires due to better home construction. In Elgin, about 75% of calls are medical-related, while the remaining 25% involve fires, crashes, and hazardous materials. The plan aims to ensure that personnel and equipment are deployed efficiently to meet these changing demands.
“In the end, we hope to become a more efficient, well-trained, and better-communicating department,†Fahy said.
Thanks, Dan
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