On Becoming an Officer in a Volunteer Department with Tom Merrill

If you want to be an officer, it may come as a surprise that not everyone does. That may be a good thing. You probably also know that not everyone’s cut out for the job. In a career department, it might be more attractive because of the pay raise and other assorted perks that come with being an officer. But in a volunteer department, the reasons you might want to be promoted are different. There’s definitely a need for good leaders, and if you think you could be one, then this episode is for you. Here to discuss that is Thomas Merrill. He has nearly 40 years in the fire service. He’s a former chief of the all-volunteer Snyder Fire Department in Amherst, New York. Tom is a fire commissioner for the Snyder Fire District and he’s presented at FDIC.He runs his own podcast, The Professional Volunteer Fire Department. He’s also a fire dispatcher for the Amherst Fire Alarm Office.