The Extended Family of Firefighting

On July 19, 2005, Roger Hamilton and his family had scheduled a well-deserved and rare day off and out of town. In addition to the regular family schedule demands, Roger's time working for the Winneshiek County Hospital and volunteering for the Decorah Fire Department left precious little uninterrupted family time. Unfortunately, that day would be no exception.

As they prepared to leave, Roger heard the details of a 911 call come across his personal radio equipment that he simply could not ignore. The address and age details of an unresponsive man matched exactly with his firefighting brother, Gary Svenson. They'd shared many moments together over the years, including the moment pictured above at Gary's retirement celebration in 1998.

Roger worked directly on this call, as did another firefighting brother, Steve Vandebrink, was working the Winneshiek Medical Center Ambulance that day. They worked much longer than their training told them they needed to, just in case it could make a difference. The heart attack Gary suffered was fatal. If quality emergency response would have been the only predictor of fate that day, there's no doubt in my mind Gary Svenson would have lived to be 200 years old.

Roger, I could write for the rest of my life and not truly express what comfort it has brought me over the last four years to know how automatic your response was when you heard that call. It has also brought me great comfort to know two of Dad's firefighting brothers fought so valiantly to try to save him. I know you both wouldn't have it any other way. God bless you, Roger and Steve for being the selfless, giving, incredible human beings you are. You demonstrate the true heart of the extended family of firefighting.

The extended family of firefighting has thousands of stories just like Roger and Steve's. Please use the comment button to share yours. And make sure you send them the link. The pure heart of firefighting and the extended family it creates simply must be celebrated more.

Another Response Time to Measure: Formal Acknowledgements to Your Supporters

You already closely track your response times to fire and EMS calls. You use this valuable information for improving your services, reporting to local government, etc. You already intuitively know how the slightest incremental response time improvements can make monumental differences in patient health and minimization of property impact in a working fire.

When is the last time you evaluated your response time to your supporters?

Perhaps Jane Doe down the street just dropped off her annual $25 check. Maybe the local grocery store just provided you with supplies for your pancake breakfast. Or your Auxiliary just provided food for a long, tough fire fight. Support, of course, takes any form that positively impacts your bottom line and provides assistance to your team.

Any support for your department should be formally acknowledged within 48 hours of receipt. Without setting this internal deadline, it's too easy for the regular fire departments demands and expectations to get in the way of caring for your supporters. By acknowledging their support within 48 hours, you will demonstrate:
1. How important your supporters are to you
2. How highly you value their support
3. What a wise investment your supporters made in choosing you from among the endless line of requests they receive
4. That you know your Department will not keep moving forward without them

Formal acknowledgment may take the form of a personal note, typed letter or phone call from a volunteer member. The message should express your deep appreciation and comment on the direct impact their gift made. For example, let the grocery store know how much money you brought in from the pancake breakfast and remind them their direct role in making those results happen.

The time, effort and postage invested in making support response time your priority will pay off exponentially in terms of satisfied donors and stronger department operations.

To develop content for formal acknowledgement of your supporters, contact FlashPoint Fundraising President Dawn Svenson Holland today.