In the never-changing environment of tight restrictions on spending, a department might consider proposing a public relations campaign and launching it, with approval from the appropriate authorities, before going public with a formal proposal for major changes such as extensive renovations or a new station. The purpose is to communicate the reasons why more facilities and possibly additional staff are needed before submitting the request for the necessary budget.

 

The community relations effort should address all the factors that influence the reaction of the community to the request: (1) the professionalism exhibited by the fire department, (2) the ISO rating of the present fire station (see the end of this chapter for a discussion of ISO ratings), (3) the proposed location of a new station, (4) the procedure for presenting proposals, and (5) the amount of money involved.

 

It is critical to make your case to the public. They are the ones who will be footing the bill for whatever your department seeks to do. Far too many fire departments fail to reach out to the public for their support.  These departments frequently pay a penalty of some sort for their failure to trust the public. The key is to reach out to the community for support. The fire department must come out from behind the walls of their station to share their needs with the community.

 

Buckman (2006) suggests that there are a number of emerging trends which need to be considered when beginning to design and build a new fire station. The potential impact of each must be weighed in order to reach a proper conclusion regarding the construction of a new station in any community. They are:

 

1.                  An increased role in overall disaster response should be considered.

2.                  Training space and facilities should be considered for integration into the new station.

3.                  Automatic sprinkler protection must be considered as a means for protecting the community's investment in a new fire station.

4.                  The built-in environment for those people who will be stationed in the new facility. 

5.                  Security issues must be considered in light of the increased threats to public sector infrastructure elements.

6.                  Drive through bays should be considered for the improved safety that they bring to a fire department's operations.