FEMA U.S. Fire Administration Strategies for Marketing Your Fire Department: Today and Beyond

The future of the fire service is being, and will continue to be, driven by changes in society. These changes include new expectations of the citizens served by the fire service—such as greater accountability for the use of public resources and improving the overall efficiency of programs and services. Members of the fire service have new expectations. Also, the fire service will continue to become more diverse, in both members and services.

To keep pace with society, the fire service must review its current mission and determine if that mission will indeed meet the demands of the next century. The old mission of simply "saving lives and protecting property" may no longer have the depth or scope necessary to meet the expectations of the public. If, indeed, the mission must change, that change should come from within the fire service. This will require innovation, courage, and the commitment of fire service leaders at all levels, both career and volunteer. In fact, change may be the single greatest challenge facing the fire service in the next century.

The purpose of this manual is to assist fire service leaders in examining the future, the role of the fire service in that future, and ways to "get there from here." It is designed to provide a fire chief, a public information officer, and other leaders in the fire service with guidance and tips on marketing a department and its services to the local customers: the citizens and organizations served by the department.

CONTENTS * Chapter 1 * The Vision * New Mission * A View of Tomorrow * Proliferation of Information * Slow Decline of Metropolitan Core * Changing Demographics * Focus on Prevention * Greater Competition for Scarce Resources * Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) * Citizens Will Demand More Effective Government * Achieving the Mission * Chapter 2 * Adapting for Success in the Future * Paradigms * Focus on Meeting Customer Needs * Provide Services at the Neighborhood Level * Involve Customers and Employees in Decisionmaking * Focus on Prevention and Education * Create High Return on Investment * Focus on Development of Professional Leaders * Emerging Issues Will Alter Paradigms * Emerging Issues of National Importance * Ongoing Issues of National Importance * The Change Process * Steps in the Change Process * Competing in the Future * Chapter 3 * Understanding What You Really Do * What Do You (The Fire Department) Really Do? * What Are Your Services Worth? * What is the Fire Problem and Whose Responsibility is it? * Honesty and Owning Your Results * Chapter 4 * I Think I Know Who They Are, I'm Not Sure I Know What They Want * Demographics (Who Are They?) * What Does the Community Want? * Community/Customer Surveys * Community Partnership Programs * Focus Groups * Meeting in the Middle * What do They Need? * Resources—What's Out There? * Chapter 5 * Creating a Road Map to the Future * Identify Strengths and Weaknesses * Planning: Bury the Dinosaur * Competing Through Promotion, "Promoting to Compete" * Community-Based Promotion * Community Relationships * Summary * Web Site Directory * References * Footnotes * Appendix A * Wingspread IV * Appendix B * Phoenix Examples * Appendix C * "A Step Back Helps Us Move Forward"