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Article: Managers and the volunteer fire service: sharing common ground.
- Article from:
- Public Management
- Article date:
- July 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 International City-County Management Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Of all the services that managers of small and medium-size communities oversee, few are as challenging as the ones that use volunteer fire and emergency service personnel. Most government administrators will agree that the volunteer fire service is a unique animal with its own peculiar problems and issues. These volunteers, because of their often-unusual organizational structure, ever-expanding mission, and varied personnel profiles, can be the source of sleepless nights for managers, who must incorporate and consolidate these individuals into the total service-delivery package.
The volunteer fire service, however, does not have to be as vexatious as many people ...