cfca recruitment activity analysis report · connecticut fire chiefs association . recruitment...

Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association Recruitment Activity Analysis Report

Kevin M. Curtin, PhD Rebecca Lee Hill

Department of Geography and GeoInformation Science George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

CFCA Recruitment Activity Analysis Report

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................................................... 10

Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Background and Overview .............................................................................................................................................. 12

Funding .......................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Predecessor Survey in Virginia ................................................................................................................................... 12

An Intervention Study ................................................................................................................................................. 13

Description ............................................................................................................................................................... 13

Comparison to an Observational Approach ....................................................................................................... 13

Advantages and Disadvantages ............................................................................................................................. 15

Data ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 17

Study Areas .................................................................................................................................................................... 17

T-15 ............................................................................................................................................................................ 17

G-15 ESRI Tapestry Segmentation ...................................................................................................................... 17

Collection Methods / Forms ...................................................................................................................................... 21

Response Rates ............................................................................................................................................................. 21

Departmental Responses ........................................................................................................................................ 21

Activity Form Responses........................................................................................................................................ 23

Results ................................................................................................................................................................................. 25

Overall Activity ............................................................................................................................................................. 25

T-15 and G-15 Activities ........................................................................................................................................ 25

Departmental Recruit Tracking Forms, New Member and Potential Recruits......................................... 26

Departmental Events .......................................................................................................................................... 27

Distributed/Promotional/Display Materials .................................................................................................. 28

Face to Face Contacts ........................................................................................................................................ 29

Departmental Media Activities ......................................................................................................................... 30

Social Media ......................................................................................................................................................... 31

Overall Recruit Totals .................................................................................................................................................. 32

Monthy/Seasonal Potential Recruit Distributions ............................................................................................. 32

Recruit Responses on Tracking Forms ..................................................................................................................... 33

Geographic Location of Recruits .......................................................................................................................... 33

Reasons for Joining the Fire Service ..................................................................................................................... 34


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Primary Occupation ................................................................................................................................................ 34

Percentage of People that Recruits Know in the Fire Service .......................................................................... 35

Motivations and Primary Motivations .................................................................................................................. 35

Social Media – Facebook and Twitter .................................................................................................................. 37

Comparative Analyses ................................................................................................................................................. 38

T-15 and G-15 Comparison and Summary Study Results ..................................................................................... 40

Regression Analyses ..................................................................................................................................................... 42

Overview ................................................................................................................................................................... 42

Dependent and Independent Variables................................................................................................................ 42

T-15 Individual Departments ..................................................................................................................................... 44

Bozrah Region .............................................................................................................................................................. 45

Bozrah Region Activities ........................................................................................................................................ 45

Bozrah Region Recruits .......................................................................................................................................... 47

Bozrah Region Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 47

Clinton ............................................................................................................................................................................ 48

Clinton Activities/Recruits/Summary ................................................................................................................. 48

Coventry......................................................................................................................................................................... 49

Coventry Activities/Recruits/Summary .............................................................................................................. 49

Harwinton ...................................................................................................................................................................... 50

Harwinton Activities ............................................................................................................................................... 50

Harwinton Recruits ................................................................................................................................................. 51

Harwinton Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 51

Killingworth .................................................................................................................................................................. 52

Killingworth Activities ............................................................................................................................................ 52

Killingworth Recruits .............................................................................................................................................. 54

Killingworth Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 54

Monroe ........................................................................................................................................................................... 55

Monroe Activities .................................................................................................................................................... 55

Monroe Recruits ...................................................................................................................................................... 57

Monroe Summary .................................................................................................................................................... 57

New Hartford/Drakeville ........................................................................................................................................... 58

New Hartford/Drakeville Activities ..................................................................................................................... 58

New Hartford /Drakeville Recruits ...................................................................................................................... 59


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New Hartford /Drakeville Summary ................................................................................................................... 59

North Branford............................................................................................................................................................. 60

New Branford Activities ......................................................................................................................................... 60

North Branford Recruits ........................................................................................................................................ 61

North Branford Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 61

Shelton ........................................................................................................................................................................... 62

Shelton Activities ..................................................................................................................................................... 62

Shelton Recruits ....................................................................................................................................................... 64

Shelton Summary ..................................................................................................................................................... 64

Southington ................................................................................................................................................................... 65

Southington Activities/Recruits/Summary ......................................................................................................... 65

Terryville ........................................................................................................................................................................ 66

Terryville Activities/Recruits/Summary .............................................................................................................. 66

Waterford/Niantic ....................................................................................................................................................... 67

Waterford/Niantic Activities ................................................................................................................................. 67

Waterford/Niantic Recruits ................................................................................................................................... 68

Waterford/Niantic Summary ................................................................................................................................. 68

West Haven ................................................................................................................................................................... 69

West Haven Activities/Recruits/Summary ......................................................................................................... 69

Wethersfield .................................................................................................................................................................. 70

Wethersfield Activities ............................................................................................................................................ 70

Wethersfield Recruits .............................................................................................................................................. 71

Wethersfield Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 71

Winsted .......................................................................................................................................................................... 73

Winsted Activities .................................................................................................................................................... 73

Winsted Recruits ...................................................................................................................................................... 74

Winsted Summary .................................................................................................................................................... 75

G-15 Group Analysis ................................................................................................................................................... 76

Esri Tapestry Segmentation ................................................................................................................................... 76

Recruitment Activity Results.................................................................................................................................. 78

G-15 Individual Departments .................................................................................................................................... 79

Avon ............................................................................................................................................................................... 80

Avon Activities ......................................................................................................................................................... 80


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Avon Recruits ........................................................................................................................................................... 82

Avon Summary ........................................................................................................................................................ 82

Baltic ............................................................................................................................................................................... 83

Baltic Activities/Recruits/Summary ..................................................................................................................... 83

Chaplin/Windham ....................................................................................................................................................... 84

Chaplin/Windham Activities ................................................................................................................................. 84

Chaplin/Windham Recruits ................................................................................................................................... 86

Chaplin/Windham Summary ................................................................................................................................. 86

Cromwell........................................................................................................................................................................ 87

Cromwell Activity .................................................................................................................................................... 87

Cromwell Recruits ................................................................................................................................................... 89

Cromwell Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 89

Essex ............................................................................................................................................................................... 90

Essex Activities/Recruits/Summary .................................................................................................................... 90

Farmington .................................................................................................................................................................... 91

Farmington Activities .............................................................................................................................................. 91

Farmington Recruits ................................................................................................................................................ 93

Farmington Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 93

Manchester .................................................................................................................................................................... 94

Manchester Activities/Recruits/Summary .......................................................................................................... 94

Mystic Region................................................................................................................................................................ 95

Mystic Region Activities ......................................................................................................................................... 95

Mystic Region Recruits ........................................................................................................................................... 97

Mystic Region Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 97

Old Saybrook ................................................................................................................................................................ 98

Old Saybrook Activities .......................................................................................................................................... 98

Old Saybrook Recruits .......................................................................................................................................... 100

Old Saybrook Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 100

Simsbury ...................................................................................................................................................................... 101

Simsbury Activities ................................................................................................................................................ 101

Simsbury Recruits .................................................................................................................................................. 103

Simsbury Summary ................................................................................................................................................ 103

Stafford/Ellington ...................................................................................................................................................... 104


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Stafford/Ellington Activities ............................................................................................................................... 104

Stafford/Ellington Recruits ................................................................................................................................. 106

Stafford/Ellington Summary ............................................................................................................................... 106

Wallingford .................................................................................................................................................................. 107

Wallingford Activities ............................................................................................................................................ 107

Wallingford Recruits .............................................................................................................................................. 109

Wallingford Summary ........................................................................................................................................... 109

Washington/Woodbury ............................................................................................................................................ 110

Washington/Woodbury Activities ...................................................................................................................... 110

Washington/Woodbury Recruits ........................................................................................................................ 112

Washington/Woodbury Summary ...................................................................................................................... 112

Weston ......................................................................................................................................................................... 113

Weston Activities ................................................................................................................................................... 113

Weston Recruits ..................................................................................................................................................... 115

Weston Summary ................................................................................................................................................... 115

Windsor ........................................................................................................................................................................ 116

Windsor Activities ................................................................................................................................................. 116

Windsor Recruits ................................................................................................................................................... 118

Windsor Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 118

Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................................................... 119

References ........................................................................................................................................................................ 120

Appendix A Tracking Forms ........................................................................................................................................ 122


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Table of Figures

Figure 1: Estimated Service Area Populations of the T-15 and G-15 Groups by Rank ....................................... 14 Figure 2: Map of T-15 Stations and G-15 Study areas in Connecticut .................................................................... 16 Figure 3: Activity by Department, Month, and Group ............................................................................................... 22 Figure 4: Response Counts and Rates for Activities ................................................................................................... 23 Figure 5: T-15 and G-15 Recruit Tracking Forms, New Members, and Potential Members (n=359) ............... 26 Figure 6: T-15 and G-15 Departmental Events (n=1,016) ........................................................................................ 27 Figure 7: T-15 and G-15 Promotional Materials (n=10,667) .................................................................................... 28 Figure 8: T-15 and G-15 Departmental Face-to-Face Contacts (n=148) ................................................................ 29 Figure 9: T-15 and G-15 Departmental Media Activities (n=392) ........................................................................... 30 Figure 10: T-15 and G-15 Departmental Social Media (n=12,637) .......................................................................... 31 Figure 11: T-15 and G-15 Seasonal Potential Recruit Distribution (n=196 including Avon).............................. 32 Figure 12: T-15 and G-15 Recruits by ZIP Code Designation ................................................................................. 33 Figure 13: T-15 and G-15 Reasons for Recruits Learning about Recruitment Initiatives .................................... 34 Figure 14: T-15 and G-15 Recruit Responses for Primary Occupation .................................................................. 34 Figure 15: T-15 and G-15 Recruit Social Circles - Prior to Joining the Fire Service ............................................. 35 Figure 16: T-15 and G-15 Recruit Responses for Motivations (Primary in red) .................................................... 36 Figure 17: T-15 and G-15 Recruit Responses for Social Media ................................................................................ 37 Figure 19: Population Indicator for T-15 and G-15 Groups ..................................................................................... 44 Figure 20: Key to Circular Graphics - Market, LifeMode, and Urbanization Summary Groups ........................ 76 Figure 21: G-15 Esri Tapestry Segments in Miniature ............................................................................................... 77 Figure 23: T-15 and G-15 Rank Indicator .................................................................................................................... 79 Figure 22: Diagram interpreting Esri's Tapestry Segmentations ............................................................................... 79 Figure 24: Avon Esri Segments ...................................................................................................................................... 80 Figure 25: Baltic Esri Segments ...................................................................................................................................... 83 Figure 26: Chaplin/Windham Esri Segments .............................................................................................................. 84 Figure 27: Esri Cromwell Market Segments ................................................................................................................. 87 Figure 28: Essex Esri Segments ...................................................................................................................................... 90 Figure 29: Farmington Esri Segments ........................................................................................................................... 91 Figure 30: Manchester Esri Segments ........................................................................................................................... 94 Figure 31: Mystic Esri Segments .................................................................................................................................... 95 Figure 32: Old Saybrook Esri Segments ....................................................................................................................... 98 Figure 33: Simsbury Esri Segments .............................................................................................................................. 101 Figure 34: Stafford/Ellington Esri Segments ............................................................................................................. 104 Figure 35: Wallingford Esri Segments ......................................................................................................................... 107 Figure 36: Washington/Woodbury Esri Segments ................................................................................................... 110 Figure 37: Weston Esri Segments ................................................................................................................................ 113 Figure 38: Windsor Esri Segments ............................................................................................................................... 116


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Table of Tables

Table 1: ESRI Market Segment Designations, LifeMode/Urbanization Summary Groups for G-15s.............. 18 Table 2: Esri Department LifeMode Segments for G-15s (Development and Core Segments) ......................... 19 Table 3: Esri Department Urbanization Segments for G-15s (Development and Core Segments) ................... 20 Table 4: Activity Form Responses for T-15s (left) and G-15s (right) ...................................................................... 24 Table 5: T-15 and G-15 Demographics ........................................................................................................................ 39 Table 6: T-15 and G-15 Comparison Table and Summary Results .......................................................................... 41 Table 7: Bozrah Activity Tables ..................................................................................................................................... 45 Table 8: Harwinton Activity Tables ............................................................................................................................... 50 Table 9: Killingworth Activity Tables ............................................................................................................................ 52 Table 10: Monroe Activity Tables .................................................................................................................................. 55 Table 11: New Hartford/Drakeville Activity Tables .................................................................................................. 58 Table 12: North Branford Activity Tables .................................................................................................................... 60 Table 13: Shelton Activity Tables ................................................................................................................................... 62 Table 14: Waterford/Niantic Activity Tables .............................................................................................................. 67 Table 15: Wethersfield Activity Tables .......................................................................................................................... 70 Table 16: Winsted Activity Tables.................................................................................................................................. 73 Table 17: Avon Activities - Leader in Eleven Categories ........................................................................................... 80 Table 18: Avon Activity Tables ...................................................................................................................................... 81 Table 19: Chaplin/Windham Activity Tables............................................................................................................... 84 Table 20: Cromwell Activity Tables ............................................................................................................................... 88 Table 21: Farmington Activity Tables ........................................................................................................................... 92 Table 22: Mystic Activity Tables .................................................................................................................................... 95 Table 23: Old Saybrook Activity Tables ....................................................................................................................... 98 Table 24: Simsbury Activity Tables .............................................................................................................................. 102 Table 25: Stafford/Ellington Activity Tables ............................................................................................................. 105 Table 26: Wallingford Activity Tables ......................................................................................................................... 108 Table 27: Washington /Woodbury Activity Tables .................................................................................................. 111 Table 28: Weston Activity Tables................................................................................................................................. 113 Table 29: Windsor Activity Tables ............................................................................................................................... 117


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Table of Abbreviations

DHS - U.S. Department of Homeland Security .......................................................................................................... 12 FEMA - Federal Emergency Management Agency .................................................................................................... 10 G-15 - Geographic-information-systems-based strategies for recruitment and retention departments ............. 13 IAFC - International Association of Fire Chiefs ......................................................................................................... 12 NFPA - National Fire Protection Association ............................................................................................................. 12 OSHA - Occupational Health and Safety Administration ......................................................................................... 12 PSAs - Public Service Announcements ......................................................................................................................... 42 SAFER - Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response .............................................................................. 10 T-15 - Traditional recruitment and retention strategies department ........................................................................ 13 VFCA - Virginia Fire Chiefs Association...................................................................................................................... 12


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CFCA Recruitment Activity Analysis Report – Executive Summary

Kevin M. Curtin, PhD Rebecca Lee Hill Department of Geography and GeoInformation Science George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

Executive Summary o At the national level, research studies and government reports indicate that the number of volunteer

firefighters has decreased by 4% - 8% since the 1980s, and the projected employment rate is down 10%. With decreasing volunteer and employment rates, the search for solutions to changing levels of firefighter recruitment and retention in a difficult economy prompted this study.

o The Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association along with the International Association of Fire Chiefs completed this effort with a FEMA/DHS SAFER grant.

o This report results from an analysis of data collected from 30 fire departments, split into Traditional (T-15) and GIS (G-15) groups, over an 10-month intervention study period designed to assess the effectiveness of traditional and GIS-based recruitment tools on volunteer recruitment and retention in comparably populated service areas (August 2012 – May 2013).

o As of May 2013, the study has eight recruits (T-15 n=7 and G-15 n=1). Since this total is close to the minimum threshold for testing, this report does not include regression analysis to determine the relationship between the recorded activities and the documented recruits.

o During the study, the departments added 155 new members (T-15 n=72 and G-15 n=83). o Departments distributed 8,680 pieces of promotional materials (T-15 n=2,858 and G-15 n=5,822), and

listed 12,221 webpage contacts (T-15 n=399 and G-15 n=11,822) (Avon n=10,817). o Media Ride-alongs have the least amount of activity in each group (T-15 n=0 and G-15 n=9). o G-15s department performed five times as many activities as T-15s (adding each promotional material

and social media contact as a separate event) (T-15 n=4,390 and G-15 n=20,829). o For activity group leaders, Shelton has leading totals in seven activity categories and Monroe leads in six

for the T-15s. For the G-15s, Avon leads in eleven activity categories and Farmington leads in nine categories.

o Seasonally, Fall has the highest recruitment totals for potential recruits (36%) with the highest monthly total in September (n=33). Spring is second with 33% of the potential recruits. Winter has the lowest totals for the full season with 19%. February has the lowest monthly total (n=7) for the groups. Although Summer has only a partial listing (1 month) due to the 10-month study, the season has 12% of the potential recruits (note: seasonal statistics include potential recruits, not recruits).

o The primary recruit occupations include Food Service (n=3), Student (n=2), Retired Military (n=1), and Self-employed (n=1) (No Response n=1).

o Service to the Community (14%; n=7)) and Personnel Fulfillment (14%; n=7), and Fire Response (12%; n=6) are the top three motivators for recruits. The top five motivators account for 55% of the motivating factors for recruits.

o Overall, the majority of recruits volunteer with the fire service for “passive” reasons (75%) such as referrals (n=5), combination with a referral (n=1*), or previous member (n=1) compared to “active” reasons (12%) such as events, displays (banner n=1*), media, and face to face activities (no response 13% n=1) (*one combination response).


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CFCA Recruitment Activity Analysis Report Introduction Adequate staffing is elemental for civilian safety as it directly and indirectly affects human outcomes and economic losses for residents within a community (Lawrence, 2001). Because of this significance, the central element with the single highest cost across public services is staffing (Church et al, 2001). In order to maintain adequate staffing levels and a skilled workforce that protects residents’ safety, fire departments must recruit and retain qualified personnel – preferably with cost-effective and efficient methods that meet the community’s needs. While almost all local governments meet their residents’ needs by employing firefighters at the community level (91%) (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012; Education-Portal.com, 2012), the number of fire departments across the United States has surprisingly remained relatively unchanged (National Fire Protection Association, 2012). Although the total number of fire departments increased by only 30 departments between 1989 and 2009, fire departments have added 127,400 new firefighters (85,350 career and 42,050 volunteers) (National Fire Protection Association, 2012). The Bureau of Labor Statistics (2010) explains these figures with county-level consolidations to reduce staff/costs and standards for training/procedures. Even with this increase in departmental efficiency, the Bureau anticipates the sector growth to continue. A few years ago the Bureau projected a 19% employment increase for the decade between 2008 and 2018 (Education-Portal.com, 2012), (citing bls.gov), but this has been adjusted to a 9% increase between 2010 and 2020 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). The main reasons for this revision – which is still positive – are job growth where physically fit high school graduates can have entry-level positions, job offers for challenging, but fulfilling, public service professions, and departments that grant pensions after 25 years of service (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012; Education-Portal.com, 2012). As of 2010, the national totals (1,103,300) include 30% career (335,150) and 70% volunteer (768,150) firefighters (National Fire Protection Association, 2010). With sought-after job benefits, competition for limited paid positions, conversion from volunteer to paid positions, and lengthy training and time commitment to become qualified, volunteer companies are having difficulties recruiting and retaining volunteers (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). In 1989, volunteers made up 75% of the firefighter workforce. Statistics from two decades later indicate that this figure is down by 4% (National Fire Protection Association, 2011), while another source indicates an 8% drop since 1984 (The National Volunteer Fire Council, ~2009). Overall, across many sectors - other than firefighting - recruiting, training, retaining, and managing volunteer workers has become difficult in general (Brudney, 1990). Research studies indicate that many organizations have difficulties obtaining volunteers due to changing demographics from two-income households, mobile families, and multiple residences (Lawrence, 2001). To address the difficulties with finding, training, and retaining this number of qualified recruits and to boost the numbers of long-term volunteers, this analysis delves into the methods that officials within Connecticut have to recruit and retain their firefighting staff in a cost-effective and efficient manner. To study firefighter recruitment and retention, this report analyzes the effectiveness of different strategies on two population groups. The report begins with a background section about the funding program and the initial surveys and continues with an overview of the analyses. Because these analyses stem from a follow-up


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intervention study, a section briefly describes this type of study, explains how it differs from a more traditional approach, and discusses its advantages with producing implementable options to recruit and retain firefighters in Connecticut. The data/forms section gives an overview of the study areas, collection methods, and response rates, and the methods section lists descriptive statistics and comparative analyses. These methods lead into modeling the effectiveness of recruitment strategies by utilizing regression analyses (see discussion of topic). Since each of the departments within the study is unique, the results section individualizes the outcomes by department, compares the departments as a group, and contrasts the differences between the groups. The report concludes with a summary, discusses transferability of results, and comments on future research. Background and Overview

Funding To conduct recruitment and retention programs, fire departments need funding. The federal government is one option for funding. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provide grants to fire departments and volunteer firefighting organizations to train “front line” firefighters. Their combined program, Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER), provides funding to comply with staffing, response, and operational standards established by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) (NFPA 1710 and/or NFPA 1720, and OSHA 1910.134) (U.S. Department of Homeland Security: FEMA, 2012) . Under the SAFER program, fire departments may apply for funds to hire career firefighters or obtain qualified volunteers. The funds may cover the salaries and benefits of paid firefighters or a variety of options to recruit and retain needed volunteers. The list of approved options includes insurance, reimbursement, marketing, internet, computers, signs, uniforms, recruiters, physicals, mentoring programs, assessments, administration costs, tuition, awards, mileage, and approved activities. The departments may apply for both career and volunteer options, but the priority is to rehire laid-off firefighters (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2012). The Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association (CFCA) has a SAFER grant managed in partnership with the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) to complete this initiative that began with a preliminary survey of Connecticut firefighters in 2011.

Predecessor Survey in Virginia Previously in 2011, 1,805 Virginia firefighters opted to complete an extensive survey on recruitment and retention of members within their ranks. A follow-up analysis of these results also included cross-tabulations of the significant variables, visualizations of the categorical relationships, and Chi-squared tests of the correlation strengths. The results of the initial Virginia survey indicate four major responses (Curtin & Hill, 2011). First, personal interaction with a firefighter is the overwhelming impetus to enlist. Second, tenured firefighters are more likely to enjoy administrative duties and less likely to enjoy response duties and community outreach. Third, correlation analyzes of social media questions and perceptions of its benefits can inform recruitment strategies moving forward. Fourth, beliefs for others leaving the service indicate that a lack of leadership, poor fit with others, and politics within the departments are significant concerns. Overall, these results provide the basis for moving forward with an initial survey of firefighters in Connecticut.


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An Intervention Study Description This report discusses analyses based on an intervention study. In this type of study, an investigator defines the desired characteristics then chooses participants from a larger target population. After choosing the participants, the investigator splits them into two comparable groups, but only one of them receives the intervention. Comparability at the start is imperative because the intent of the intervention study is to improve the conditions of the group (Everitt & Howell, 2005). Comparison to an Observational Approach An intervention study differs from an observational study that is typical in scientific research. The main difference between the two types of studies is that within the intervention study, the investigator may determine specific parameters. The investigator assigns the study structure. In other words, the investigator decides what to study. In this case, the investigator is the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, and the study structure is a comparison between a group using traditional recruitment strategies (T-15 group) and a second group utilizing recruitment regimes informed by a GIS marketing strategy (G-15 group). The pre-determined structure of this data collection method differs from a typical observational study where there is a treatment group and a control (no treatment) group. Essentially, neither group in an intervention study is technically a control group – since both groups receive some input from the investigator. In addition, contrary to observational analyses where the researcher randomly selects the treatment and control groups to avoid bias from the selection process, the investigator assigns the participant departments into the two specific groups in the intervention-type study. The investigator intentionally assigns bias into the structural framework at this point. The reason for structuring a biased framework for this study type is to ensure that -- at a minimum - the results will produce a small to moderately beneficial outcome - which may be unrealized within a completely randomized study (Heffernan, 2011). Within the intervention study, the investigator must decide which departments to assign to the groups. To study recruitment and retention, staffing is the main consideration. A variety of factors can determine firefighter-staffing levels. Population density, housing stock, industrial districts (Lawrence, 2001), union restrictions, call distributions, and network accessibility (Church et al., 2001) influence these levels, but generally, community size dictates the allocation of paid and volunteer firefighters within a department. Larger communities (25,000 or greater) usually employ paid career firefighters (73%), while smaller communities, with a majority having a population under 2,500 residents, recruit volunteers (95%) to protect their residents (National Fire Protection Association, 2011). Community population, which an investigator can easily obtain from the Census Bureau, is one characteristic that influences the size and configuration of fire departments staffing levels and offers a starting point for the selection and assignment processes. To begin the selection process, the investigator first chooses departments with known characteristics that may influence the outcome of the study – in this case, population, and second, allocates them to each group in a stratification process. Stratification is a pairing process. For stratification of the groups, the study officials chose thirty departments – fifteen for the T-15 group (blue) and fifteen for the G-15 group (green) (Figure 1). The ten T-15 departments include Bozrah Region, Clinton, Coventry, Harwinton, Killingworth, Monroe, New Hartford/Drakeville, North Branford, Shelton, Southington, Terryville, Waterford/Niantic, West


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Haven, Wethersfield, and Winsted. The fifteen G-15 departments include Avon, Baltic, Cromwell, Essex, Farmington, Manchester, Mystic Region, Old Saybrook, Simsbury, Stafford/Ellington, Wallingford, Washington/Woodbury, Weston, Chaplin/Windham, and Windsor. For each of the fifteen departments within the groups, there is a similarly populated counterpart in the other group with the same ranking. Overall, the estimated total service area populations do not match exactly, but the totals for the groups are within about 16% of each other. This general stratification process ensures that the groups reflect the desired characteristics equally between them – for a comparative parallel study. This parallel study design has four major benefits. First, it allows the investigator to analyze the effects of the changes from a common starting point. Second, either strategy may produce viable results that expand the options for future recruitment successes. Third, by choosing characteristics from the overall population, the investigator ensures that the design is transferable to other departments that are not part of the study. Fourth, the investigator sets guidelines with stratification that bring randomization into the next step of the intervention study process (Heffernan, 2011). Overall, the benefits include a strategy that starts at a common point, ensures viable results, transfers to other departments, and limits the randomization process.

Figure 1: Estimated Service Area Populations of the T-15 and G-15 Groups by Rank

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T-15 and G-15 Estimated Service Area Populations by Rank

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12 13 14 157 8 9 10 111 2 3 4 5 6


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After assigning the departments to a group, the investigator determines the overall recruitment strategies for the groups. By providing each group with additional broad-based guidelines and not specifying particular tasks, this study differs from the usual observational analysis where the researcher makes the choices and determines the randomness. Here, each department gets to decide their strategies for recruitment within the guidelines of their group, and their choice of overall recruitment strategies becomes the randomization factor within this study type (Heffernan, 2011). Within the intervention study, the departments in the T-15 group (Figure 2) continue with a business-as-usual routine augmented by new marketing strategies for their individual recruitment procedures. The departments can choose additional marketing strategies and recruitment tools. These include template materials for posters, flyers, and videos. The videos encourage recruitment and retention and suggest content for websites and web development. The T-15 departments can use any of these methods. The G-15 group (Figure 2) follows another recruitment strategy centered on a GIS-based citizen-profile analysis. The analysis focuses on population segmentations from proprietary studies that locate candidate recruits and recommend recruitment strategies for each department (Baroncelli, 2011). The segmentation process for the study clusters neighborhoods based on similar consumer behavioral characteristics such as income, families, age, education, employment, and housing (Esri, 2011). Each department gets a customized report that depicts individualized core, development, and niche groups. These three groups signify the potential levels of firefighter interaction in their home communities. The majority of current firefighters in the departments live in core communities, some reside in development communities, and a few have homes in niche communities. The G-15 departments can target their recruiting efforts based on these individualized Esri Tapestry recommendations. Advantages and Disadvantages An intervention study that separates the departments into two study groups, T-15 and G-15, has advantages and disadvantages. As an advantage, an intervention study ensures an implementable outcome or a basis for future research. With funding from outside sources, having a positive outcome is beneficial. However, for the disadvantages, funding may influence the design process by dictating the sample size, and the size may be too small to determine the significance of the results. On the contrary, with a large sample size and significant results, significance is not necessarily a guarantee for adequate results for statistical significance or absolute success. In addition, while trying to achieve an appropriate sample size, the investigator assigns departments to the study, and the participants are no longer volunteers - which changes the dynamics of the study from the usual observational analysis. With assignment, non-compliance may become an issue as zero values can influence some statistical analyses. To avoid these difficulties, assignment may become a non-issue if the study continues for a long period and every department in the study gets an opportunity to participate at some point in the process. Overall, an intervention study, if designed correctly, has the possibility of producing a positive outcome that is externally valid – even beyond the study area (Heffernan, 2011).

16

Figure 2: Map of T-15 Stations and G-15 Study areas in Connecticut

17

Data Study Areas T-15 See individual departments in the Results Section. G-15 ESRI Tapestry Segmentation The G-15 group uses marketing initiatives determined by Esri’s Tapestry Segmentation system. This system processes socioeconomic and demographic Census data into a simplified structure that groups consumers into behavioral segments for geodemographic marketing (Esri, 2011). Within the system, Esri uses a combination of proprietary clustering and mining techniques to classify data into 65 distinct market segments at the neighborhood level. In addition, to simplify working with a potentially large number of segments, Esri also clusters the market segments into two inclusive summary groups - LifeModes and Urbanization. The two summary groups sort the segments by life types/life stages and populations/locations, respectively (Esri, 2011). Since each of the jurisdictions can recruit from their surrounding areas, multiple market segmentation types apply to each jurisdiction. G-15 departments may have a combination of core, development, or niche segments, but this analysis discusses only the core and development segments that apply to each jurisdiction. In this study, twenty-two segment types describe the development and core recruitment neighborhoods surrounding the study areas (Table 1). Thirteen of the segment types apply to more than one department, while nine are relevant for a single jurisdiction. Each of the departments has a unique combination of two to eight Esri marketing segments, which help to describe and differentiate them – for a “one-of-a-kind” marketing strategy. The commonalities with the market segments help to describe the G-15s as a group. The most common segments in the group are Exurbanites that apply to nine departments, Main Street, USA that applies to eight departments – followed by Cozy and Comfortable and Prosperous Empty Nesters that apply to seven departments. These four groups account for 44% of the study segments. Within these four segment types, one department, Mystic Region, is common to all four of them, and five departments, Chaplin/Windham, Manchester, Old Saybrook, and Stafford/Ellington, have three of these segments within their designated recruitment areas. With the addition of three more groups, In Style, Suburban Splendor, and Urban Chic, these groups account for 67% of the market segments in the study. Overall, these common segments help to connect the departments by their similar traits. In addition to grouping the departments, the neighborhood market segments can also differentiate them. The single-entry Tapestry segments with their descriptive titles represent the uniqueness of six departments. Manchester (Aspiring Young Families, Enterprising Professionals, and Old and Newcomers), Washington/ Woodbury (Rural Resort Dwellers), Old Saybrook (Silver and Gold), Chaplin/Windham (Simple Living and Metropolitans), Weston (Top Rung), and Farmington (Wealthy Seaboard Suburbs) have unique market segments. Overall, these individual segments help to separate the departments by their unique traits.


18

Table 1: ESRI Market Segment Designations, LifeMode/Urbanization Summary Groups for G-15s

In total, the G-15 group has 72 market segments, which condense into eight LifeMode Summary Groups. Table 2 lists the relevant G-15 LifeMode Groups. Within the LifeMode Summary Groups, two categories, High Society (32%) and Upscale Avenues (33%) account for 64% of the market segments. Ninety-two percent of the LifeModes fall within these two categories combined with Senior Styles (16%) and Traditional Living (12%). It is not surprising that Manchester with three unique market segments has the single entry for the Solo Acts LifeMode (1%). Washington/Woodbury also has a single LifeMode category – American Quilt (1%). Generally, the LifeModes increase in urbanization with American Quilt categorized as rural and High Society as urban. This analysis does not include any segments in the LifeMode Summary Groups of Metropolis, Scholars & Patriots, High Hopes, or Global Roots. Overall, LifeModes, help to summarize the marketing segment list into manageable groups with descriptive summary titles for lifestyles (Esri, 2011).

Market Segment/LifeMode/Urbanization %

1 Aspiring Young Families/High Hopes/Metro Cities II Manchester 1%

2 Connoisseurs/High Society/Metro Cities I Mystic SimsburyWashington Woodbury 4%

3 Cozy and Comfortable/Upscale Avenues/Suburban Periphery II BalticChaplin Windham Manchester Mystic

Old Saybrook

Stafford Ellington Windsor 10%

4 Enterprising Professionals/Upscale Avenues/Metro Cities I Manchester 1%

5 Exurbanites/High Society/Suburban Periphery I Avon Cromwell MysticOld Saybrook Simsbury

Stafford Ellington Wallingford

Washington Woodbury Windsor 13%

6 Great Expectations/High Hopes/Urban Outskirts IChaplin Windham Manchester 3%

7 Green Acres/Upscale Avenues/Rural I MysticStafford Ellington 3%

8 In Style/Upscale Avenues/Suburban Periphery I Cromwell Essex Farmington Manchester SimsburyStafford Ellington 8%

9 Main Street USA/Traditional Living/Urban Outskirts I BalticChaplin Windham Cromwell Farmington Manchester Mystic

Stafford Ellington Wallingford 11%

10 Metropolitans/Metropolis/Metro Cities IChaplin Windham 1%

11 Old and Newcomers/Solo Acts/Metro Cities II Manchester 1%

12 Pleasant-Ville/Upscale Avenues/Metro Cities I Simsbury Wallingford 3%

13 Prosperous Empty Nesters/Senior Styles/Suburban Periphery IChaplin Windham Cromwell Farmington Manchester Mystic

Old Saybrook Windsor 10%

14 Retirement Communities/Senior Styles/Metro Cities II Avon Cromwell 3%

15 Rural Resort Dwellers/American Quilt/Rural IWashington Woodbury 1%

16 Silver and Gold/Senior Styles/Suburban Periphery IOld Saybrook 1%

17 Simple Living/Senior Styles/Urban Outskirts IIChaplin Windham 1%

18 Sophisticated Squires/High Society/Suburban Periphery I Cromwell EssexStafford Ellington Wallingford 6%

19 Suburban Splendor/High Society/Suburban Periphery I Avon Simsbury WallingfordWashington Woodbury Weston Windsor 8%

20 Top Rung/High Society/Metro Cities I Weston 1%

21 Urban Chic/Upscale Avenues/Metro Cities I Avon Essex Farmington MysticWashington Woodbury 7%

22 Wealthy Seaboard Suburbs/High Society/Metro Cities I Farmington 1%

Designation/ C=Core (gray) D=Development (taupe)


19

Table 2: Esri Department LifeMode Segments for G-15s (Development and Core Segments)

For the seven Urbanization Summary Groups (Table 3), the majority of the segments categorize into Suburban Periphery I (44%), but Metro Cities I is also a significant grouping (21%) for a total of 65% of the segments. In general, the Urbanization Summary Groups range from rural to suburban to urban to cities. Chaplin/Windham is the only department with an Urban Outskirts II categorization. This analysis does not include any segments in the Urbanization Summary Groups of Rural II, Urban Outskirts I, or Principal Urban Centers (I & II). See the individual department results for discussions on how these groupings influence the marketing strategies.

American

Quilt Senior Styles

Traditional Living

High Hopes Solo Acts Metropolis

Upscale Avenues

High Society

1 Washington Woodbury

1 Avon 1 Baltic 1Chaplin Windham

1 Manchester 1Chaplin Windham

1 Avon 1

2 2Chaplin Windham

2 2 Baltic 2

3 3 Cromwell 3 3Chaplin Windham

3

4 4 Farmington 4 Cromwell 4

5 5 Manchester 5 5 Essex

6 Farmington 6 Mystic 6 6 Farmington

7 Manchester 7Stafford Ellington

7 7

8 Mystic 8 Wallingford 8 8

9 9 9Old Saybrook

10 10 10

11 Windsor 11 11

12 12

13 13

14 14

15Old Saybrook

15

16 16

17 17

18 18

19 19

20 20

21 Wallingford 21

22Washington Woodbury

22

23 Windsor 23

24

1% 16% 12% 4% 1% 1% 32% 33%

Windsor

Chaplin Windham

Cromwell

Manchester

Cromwell

Farmington

Department LifeMode Summary Groups (each row = one market segment) Urbanization

Avon

Mystic

Simsbury

Stafford Ellington

Wallingford

Washington Woodbury

Weston

Essex

Manchester

Mystic

Simsbury

Stafford Ellington

Old Saybrook


20

Table 3: Esri Department Urbanization Segments for G-15s (Development and Core Segments)

Rural I Suburban Periphery

II

Suburban Periphery I

Urban Outskirts

II

Urban Outskirts I

Metro Cities II

Metro Cities I

1 Mystic 1 Baltic 1 1Chaplin Windham

1 Baltic 1 Avon 1 Avon

2Stafford Ellington

2Chaplin Windham

2 2 2 Cromwell 2Chaplin Windham

3Washington Woodbury

3 Manchester 3Chaplin Windham

3 3 3 Essex

4 Mystic 4 4 Cromwell 4 4

5Old Saybrook

5 5 Farmington 5

6Stafford Ellington

6 6 6 Manchester

7 Windsor 7 7 7

8 8 Mystic 8

9 9Stafford Ellington

9

10 10 Wallingford 10

11 11 Wallingford

12 12

13 13

14 14 Weston

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30 Weston

31

32

33

4% 10% 44% 1% 14% 6% 21%

Windsor

Manchester

Cromwell

Essex

Stafford Ellington

Wallingford

Washington Woodbury

Chaplin Windham

Avon

Manchester

Mystic

Old Saybrook

Simsbury

Farmington

Mystic

Simsbury

Washington Woodbury

Farmington

Department Urbanization Summary Groups (each row = one market segment) Urbanization

Manchester


21

Collection Methods / Forms To document their marketing strategies and recruitment efforts that either follow traditional methods or GIS targeted-market strategies, the departments submit two type of forms for tally, the Recruitment Activity Monthly Tracking Form (Activity Form) and the Recruit Monthly Tracking Form (Recruit Form) (Appendix A). A departmental staff member submits the Activity Form and either the staff member or the volunteer fills out the Recruit Form. This study defines a recruit as any person taking the initiative to complete the Recruit Form or give additional information to a staff member within a department. Each form (Activity and Recruit) is approximately one page long. Both forms ask a series of questions that generally require a numerical response; however, a few responses need clarification by adding text. Both of these forms are available in an online version through SurveyMonkey. The questions include the basics for tracking recruitment activities and a tally for successful strategies. On the Activity Form, the activities section asks for responses to six types of events, three modes of advertisements, and two opportunities for face-to-face contact. The questions in the media section elicit responses for six activities, and the social media questions tally responses for a networking service and web pages. The final question, which directly relates to the corresponding survey, is a tally of departmental leadership activities. The Recruit Form requires background and demographic information from the recruit along with the answers to five main questions. The questions relate to recruitment awareness, primary occupation, social circles, volunteer motivations, and social media. The departments also have the opportunity to record this information in a spreadsheet and track the potential recruits throughout the application process. After the first few months of initial planning and learning the process, most of the departments submitted their paperwork on a monthly basis. However, with the many emergencies within the state at the time of the study, the collection process varies within the departments. The collection time ran from August 2012- May 2013.

Response Rates Departmental Responses With the completion of the study, the combined T-15 (67%) and G-15 (80%) groups have 73% of the departments with some type of summary activity (Figure 3). Twenty-two departments have recruitment activity, but only three have Recruit Form submissions (14%). Departments with Recruitment Form entries include the Bozrah Region (n=1) in the T-15s and Avon (n=6) and Simsbury (n=1) in the G-15s (Table 4). As of the final report, eight jurisdictions, Clinton, Coventry, Southington, Terryville, and West Haven in the T-15s and Baltic, Essex, and Manchester in the G-15s do not have any reported recruitment activities or recruits. Three of the four departments with the smallest service area populations, Harwinton, Killingworth (T-15s), and Chapin/Windham (G-15s) departments registered recruitment activity. Possibly, recruitment is an economy-of-scale related issue, an assignment problem, or an outcome of the emergencies within the state - which given more time may have eventually resolved itself to give a 100% participation rate.


22

Figure 3: Activity by Department, Month, and Group

Monthly Activity Forms Activity No Activity2012 2013

Code Department T-15 Totals Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr MayT-13 Bozrah Region 6

T-8 Clinton 0

T-7 Coventry 0

T-1 Harwinton 1

T-2 Killingworth 7

T-9 Monroe 7

T-3 New Hartford/ Drakeville 7

T-6 North Branford 1

T-14 Shelton 10

T-15 Southington 0

T-5 Terryville 0

T-10 Waterford/Niantic 2

T-12 West Haven 0

T-11 Wethersfield 1

T-4 Winsted 9

T-15 Totals 51 5 8 5 6 6 5 2 4 5 5

2012 2013Code Department G-15 Totals Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr MayG-8 Avon 1 G-1 Baltic 0

G-2 Chaplin/Windham 5

G-7 Cromwell 4

G-3 Essex 0

G-10 Farmington 9

G-14 Manchester 0

G-15 Mystic Region 7

G-5 Old Saybrook 5

G-9 Simsbury 5

G-11 Stafford/Ellington 5

G-13 Wallingford 1

G-6 Washington/Woodbury 7

G-4 Weston 4

G-12 Windsor 4

G-15 Totals 57 5 10 7 8 7 4 5 4 3 4All activity submitted in MayGrand Totals 108 10 18 12 14 13 9 7 8 8 9


23

Activity Form Responses Within the Activity Forms, the departments can record responses for 22 activities (non-write-in responses) (Figure 4). Given 30 departments over a 10-month study period, there are 300 total opportunities for these activities. Figure 4 shows the number and percentage of incidences for these activities by group. The least popular activity is Media Ride-alongs (n=5), and the three most popular activities (incidences – not total activities) are Banner Display (n=67) and Promotional Materials distribution (n=66), (22% response rate for each activity), and Community Posters (n=62; 21%).

Figure 4: Response Counts and Rates for Activities

1

27

28

30

12

14

11

16

11

38

42

30

18

15

25

18

12

0

8

0

21

13

/2

33

26

27

11

11

15

23

16

28

25

32

18

15

19

18

17

/5

25

/8

15

10

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Volunteer Tracking Forms

Potential recruits

New members

Outreach events

Recruitment night/event

Fire station recruitment activities

Fundraising events

Public safety events

School visits

Promotional materials

Banner display

Community posters

Speaking engagements

Business contacts

Media contacts

Media departmental contacts

Media interviews

Media ride-alongs

Media press releases

Media PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts

T-15 & G-15 Response Rates 300 Total Months

August 2011 - May 2012 (10 Months for 30 Departments)

T-15 G-15

Most Popular Activities: Banner Display and

Promotional Materials

Thirty departments during the 10-Month Study (Total 300 Months for Each Activity – 150 per Group Activity). For example, the T-15 departments (blue) and the G-15 departments (green) submitted Webpage contacts 13 times and 10 times, respectively, for approximately an 8% total response rate in the study.

24

Table 4: Activity Form Responses for T-15s (left) and G-15s (right)

Activity -Variable Bozr

ah R

egio

n

Clin

ton

Cove

ntry

Har

win

ton

Kill

ingw

orth

Mon

roe

New

Har

tford

/ D

rake

ville

Nor

th B

ranf

ord

Shelt

on

Sout

hing

ton

Terry

ville

Wat

erfo

rd/N

iantic

Wes

t Hav

en

Wet

hers

field

Win

sted

T-15 G-15 Avo

n

Balti

c

Crom

well

Ess

ex

Farm

ingt

on

Man

ches

ter

Mys

tic R

egio

n

Old

Say

broo

k

Sim

sbur

y

Staf

ford

/Elli

ngto

n

Wall

ingf

ord

Was

hing

ton/

Woo

dbur

y

Wes

ton

Win

dham

/Cha

plin

Win

dsor

Population rank T-13 T-8 T-7 T-1 T-2 T-9 T-3 T-6 T-14 T-15 T-5 T-10 T-12 T-11 T-4 Totals Totals G-8 G-1 G-7 G-3 G-10 G-14 G-15 G-5 G-9 G-11 G-13 G-6 G-4 G-2 G-121 Recruit Tracking Forms 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 Potential recruits 11 0 0 0 5 17 0 0 18 0 0 0 0 4 15 70 126 16 0 5 0 43 0 24 1 4 11 3 10 7 2 0 23 New members 8 0 0 0 4 13 0 3 36 0 0 4 0 0 4 72 78 7 0 7 0 29 0 18 0 4 4 0 2 0 1 6 34 Outreach events 14 0 0 1 4 8 6 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 11 51 404 343 0 13 0 21 0 2 0 3 10 0 6 0 5 1 45 Recruitment night/event 6 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 14 28 12 0 3 0 0 0 5 0 2 3 0 3 0 0 0 56 Station recruitment activities 4 0 0 1 1 4 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 18 27 10 0 1 0 10 0 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 67 Fundraising events 18 0 0 1 0 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 30 44 20 0 0 0 8 0 2 0 2 5 3 4 0 0 0 78 Public safety events 5 0 0 1 5 6 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 23 163 96 0 13 0 5 0 8 0 1 17 0 11 6 6 0 89 School visits 5 0 0 2 5 0 4 0 6 0 0 2 0 0 1 25 172 86 0 20 0 30 0 6 0 1 6 0 6 14 3 0 9

10 Promotional materials 144 0 0 20 1612 253 160 0 300 0 0 30 0 15 324 2858 5422 0 0 0 0 0 0 360 700 2307 1020 0 130 800 100 5 1011 Banner display 10 0 0 1 9 0 6 4 20 0 0 3 0 0 18 71 41 2 0 4 0 0 0 3 1 5 4 0 3 6 3 10 1112 Community posters 30 0 0 4 40 8 17 0 100 0 0 40 0 0 45 284 1523 8 0 10 0 0 0 21 1250 25 54 0 62 42 45 6 1213 Speaking engagements 1 0 0 1 3 9 0 0 29 0 0 0 0 2 0 45 35 4 0 4 0 10 0 4 0 2 0 0 6 0 4 1 1314 Community business contacts 6 0 0 2 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 12 31 37 5 0 7 0 13 0 3 0 1 0 0 5 0 1 2 1415 Media contacts 3 0 0 0 2 23 2 0 8 0 0 3 0 1 12 54 59 23 0 2 0 24 0 4 0 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 1516 Media departmental contacts 3 0 0 0 0 20 2 0 3 0 0 2 0 1 9 40 53 23 0 2 0 20 0 3 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 1617 Media interviews 0 0 0 0 1 15 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 23 41 4 0 16 0 16 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1718 Media ride-alongs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 7 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1819 Media press releases 1 0 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 17 52 23 0 3 0 9 0 2 0 0 3 0 10 0 2 0 1920 Media PSAs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 9 0 0 0 9 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 2021 Facebook contacts 72 0 0 1 0 27 0 10 49 0 0 0 0 0 105 264 152 46 0 0 0 65 0 35 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 0 2122 Webpage contacts 162 0 0 0 0 233 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 399 11822 10817 0 1 0 8 0 991 0 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 22

Population rank T-13 T-8 T-7 T-1 T-2 T-9 T-3 T-6 T-14 T-15 T-5 T-10 T-12 T-11 T-4T-15

TotalsG-15

Totals G-8 G-1 G-7 G-3 G-10 G-14 G-15 G-5 G-9 G-11 G-13 G-6 G-4 G-2 G-12


25

Table 4 includes the entire listing of activity for the study. Note the T-15 departments on the left and G-15 departments on the right. Each department ranking (based on population) is below the department name. For comparison, the red text in the middle of the table lists the totals for the T-15 and the G-15 groups – by activity. The departments with lighter font (lavender) do not have activity within the study (T-15s- Clinton, Coventry, Southington, Terryville, and West Haven; G-15s – Baltic, Essex, and Manchester). See the Comparative Statistics section for more details and the group comparison. Results

Overall Activity T-15 and G-15 Activities The five graphs that follow, breakdown the T-15 and G-15 recruitment activities into six categories, Recruits and New Members (Figure 5), Departmental Events (Figure 6), Distributed/Display Materials (Figure 7), Face to Face Contacts (Figure 8), Departmental Media Activities (Figure 9), and Departmental Social Media (Figure 10). Each graph lists the departments across the bottom in rank order – alternating T-15 and G-15 Departments – beginning with Harwinton (least-populated service area department within the T-15 group on the left). The recruitment efforts are directly above the department name, and each color-coded cone represents a different activity. The size of the cone represents the total number of activities for the department. To differentiate the groups, the text indicates the T-15 departments and G-15 departments. For more information, see the individual department sections.


26

Departmental Recruit Tracking Forms, New Member and Potential Recruits

Figure 5: T-15 and G-15 Recruit Tracking Forms, New Members, and Potential Members (n=359)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Har

win

ton

T-1

Balti

c G-1

Kill

ingw

orth

T-2

Cha

plin

/Win

dham

G-2

New

Har

tfor

d/ D

rake

ville

T-3

Ess

ex G

-3W

inst

ed T

-4W

esto

n G

-4Te

rryv

ille T

-5O

ld S

aybr

ook

G-5

Nor

th B

ranf

ord

T-6

Was

hing

ton/

Woo

dbur

y G-6

Cov

entr

y T-7

Cro

mw

ell G

-7C

linto

n T-

8A

von

G-8

Mon

roe T

-9Si

msb

ury G

-9W

ater

ford

/Nia

ntic

T-1

0Fa

rmin

gton

G-1

0W

ethe

rsfie

ld T

-11

Staf

ford

/Elli

ngto

n G

-11

Wes

t Hav

en T

-12

Win

dsor

G-1

2

Bozr

ah R

egio

n T-

13

Wal

lingf

ord

G-1

3

Shel

ton

T-14

Man

ches

ter G

-14

Sout

hing

ton

T -15

Mys

tic R

egio

n G

-15

Department - Rank

T-15 and G-15 Recruits & MembersAugust 2012 - May 2013

Recruit Tracking Forms New members Potential recruits


27

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Har

win

ton

T-1

Balti

c G-1

Kill

ingw

orth

T-2

Cha

plin

/Win

dham

G-2

New

Har

tfor

d/ D

rake

ville

T-3

Ess

ex G

-3W

inst

ed T

-4W

esto

n G

-4Te

rryv

ille T

-5O

ld S

aybr

ook

G-5

Nor

th B

ranf

ord

T-6

Was

hing

ton/

Woo

dbur

y G-6

Cov

entr

y T-7

Cro

mw

ell G

-7C

linto

n T-

8A

von

G-8

Mon

roe T

-9Si

msb

ury G

-9W

ater

ford

/Nia

ntic

T-1

0Fa

rmin

gton

G-1

0W

ethe

rsfie

ld T

-11

Staf

ford

/Elli

ngto

n G

-11

Wes

t Hav

en T

-12

Win

dsor

G-1

2Bo

zrah

Reg

ion

T-13

Wal

lingf

ord

G-1

3

Shel

ton

T-14

Man

ches

ter G

-14

Sout

hing

ton

T-15

Mys

tic R

egio

n G

-15

Department - Rank

T-15 and G-15 Departmental EventsAugust 2012 - May 2013

Recruitment night/event Fire station recruitment activities Fundraising events

Public safety events School visits Outreach events

Departmental Events

Figure 6: T-15 and G-15 Departmental Events (n=1,016)


28

Distributed/Promotional/Display Materials

Figure 7: T-15 and G-15 Promotional Materials (n=10,667)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Har

win

ton

T-1

Balti

c G-1

Kill

ingw

orth

T-2

Chap

lin/W

indh

am G

-2N

ew H

artfo

rd/

Dra

kevi

lle T

-3E

ssex

G-3

Win

sted

T-4

Wes

ton

G-4

Terry

ville

T-5

Old

Sayb

rook

G-5

Nor

th B

ranf

ord

T-6

Was

hing

ton/

Woo

dbur

y G-6

Cove

ntry

T-7

Crom

well

G-7

Clin

ton

T-8

Avo

n G

-8M

onro

e T-9

Sim

sbur

y G

-9W

ater

ford

/Nian

tic T

-10

Farm

ingt

on G

-10

Wet

hers

field

T-1

1St

affo

rd/E

lling

ton

G-1

1W

est H

aven

T-1

2W

inds

or G

-12

Bozr

ah R

egio

n T-

13W

allin

gfor

d G

-13

Shelt

on T

-14

Man

ches

ter G

-14

Sout

hing

ton

T-15

Mys

tic R

egio

n G

-15

Department - Rank

T-15 and G-15 Promotional MaterialsAugust 2012 - May 2013

Banner display Community posters Distributed promotional materials


29

Face to Face Contacts

Figure 8: T-15 and G-15 Departmental Face-to-Face Contacts (n=148)

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Departmental Media Activities

Figure 9: T-15 and G-15 Departmental Media Activities (n=392)

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Figure 10: T-15 and G-15 Departmental Social Media (n=12,637)

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Overall Recruit Totals Monthy/Seasonal Potential Recruit Distributions

Figure 11: T-15 and G-15 Seasonal Potential Recruit Distribution (n=196 including Avon)

This seasonal graphic (Figure 11) includes the potential recruit distribution for each group during the study; however, please note the qualifications to the information. Without a full year of data, the graphic only includes the potential recruits from August 2012 to May 2013; therefore, the entire summer season of 2012 does not appear in this graphic. Due to the listing of the entire survey data in May for Avon, this department’s results do not appear in the total for the month. Recording all of the potential recruits from Avon within one month (May) will skew the results for the month and season. A full-year study or the inclusion of the Avon results in a monthly breakdown could increase the totals for the summer season and other months throughout the study.

High23

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Monthly/Seasonal Potential Recruit DistributionT-15 - G-15 August 2012 - May 2013

12% Summer* 36% Fall 19% Winter 33% Spring

T-15 G-15 Totals


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With the designation of National Fire Prevention Month in October, activities throughout the fire service usually increase during the month; however, according to the graphic above, this is not the case in the Connecticut study. Although this is contrary to the results in the Virginia study, which had the greatest activity in October, a possible explanation is the general decrease in temperatures in October, as compared to milder temperatures in Virginia to the south, which may prompt earlier activities in September. This increased awareness for fire related issues prior to National Fire Prevention Month helps to boost recruitment totals – as indicated by the spike prior to October (September n=33). The low point for the T-15 group is in May 2013 (n=2). Overall, for the combination of both groups, September has the highest total for potential recruits (n=33), and February has the lowest totals (n=7). Concurrent with the Virginia study, Connecticut has the highest totals for the number of potential recruits in the fall season (36%), but the summer season only includes one month of results.

Recruit Responses on Tracking Forms For this study, the volunteer recruits or the departmental staff could submit a Volunteer Tracking Form (Recruit Form) that asks for responses to five questions - in addition to demographic information. The questions address sources of firefighter opportunities, primary occupations, social circles, volunteer motivations, and social media usage. The figures below show the results from the eight Recruit Forms. Geographic Location of Recruits The eight recruits reside within four ZIP Codes. Sixty-three percent live in an Avon ZIP Code (06001). Three other recruits reside in Simsbury ZIP 06070, Burlington ZIP 06085, and Windham ZIP 06280 (~12% each). The T-15 recruit has a Windham address in ZIP 06280.

Figure 12: T-15 and G-15 Recruits by ZIP Code Designation

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Recruits: T-15 & G-15 Geographic Location of Recruits8 Recruits - Responses from all recruits (T-15 n=1 and G-15 n=7)

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Reasons for Joining the Fire Service Within the Connecticut study, more than half of the recruits list a referral or combination with a referral as the impetus to join the fire service (~62%)(Figure 13). Other responses include a Fire Station or Truck Tour, Prior Membership, and a combination with a Banner Display (~38%). These results are consistent with the results in the Virginia study, where the majority of the recruits list a referral (58% without including the combinations with referrals) as their reason for joining.

Figure 13: T-15 and G-15 Reasons for Recruits Learning about Recruitment Initiatives

Primary Occupation The recruits list four primary occupations on their forms (Figure 14). Three recruits have employment in Food Services (with the category that also includes Accommodation Services) (38%), and two list Student as their occupations (25%). The responses also include Retired Military and Self-employed (12% each). One recruit chose not to respond to the question (13%).

Figure 14: T-15 and G-15 Recruit Responses for Primary Occupation

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Friend/family referralFirefighter referral: Capt. Thoreault

Friend/family/firefighter referralFire station or Truck tourOther: Prior membership

Combo 2: Firefighter referral/Banner No response

Recruits: T-15 and G-15 Reasons for Joining the Fire Service8 Recruits - No response from 1 recruit (T-15 n=1 G-15 n=7)

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Recruits: T-15 & G-15 Primary Occupations8 Recruits - No response from 1 recruit (T-15 n=1 G-15 n=7)

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Percentage of People that Recruits Know in the Fire Service Within the recruit population (n=8), the majority of respondents have 0-5% of their social circles within the fire service (50%) (Figure 15). The G-15 population (n=7) in this group outnumbers the T-15s (n=1). Two of the recruits (25%) have more than 50% of their social circles with firefighting personnel.

Figure 15: T-15 and G-15 Recruit Social Circles - Prior to Joining the Fire Service

Motivations and Primary Motivations The recruits chose 51 responses to the multiple-choice question on their motivations (Figure 16). All of the recruits chose Service to the Community as their motivation. In addition to community service, the top four choices, which also include the primary motivations, are Personal Fulfillment, Fire Response, and Friendship. None of the recruits lists monetary incentives (Financial, Retirement, or Tax Incentives) or the Only thing I am Good at as their motivations.

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8 Recruits - Responses from all recruits (T-15 n=1 and G-15 n=7)

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Figure 16: T-15 and G-15 Recruit Responses for Motivations (Primary in red)

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Recruits: T-15 & G-15 Motivations (Primary) for Volunteering to be a Firefighter

51 Multiple-choice Responses by 8 Recruits (Responses from all recruits)

T-10 G-10 Primary motivation

Total Responses – 51


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Social Media – Facebook and Twitter The majority of the recruits use Facebook (n=6), and half as many use Twitter (n=3). One of the recruits answered No to every social media question and another chose not to respond to the question. Half of the recruits think using either Facebook or Twitter to recruit is a good idea (n=4). Twenty-five percent would use Facebook or Twitter to recruit others into the fire service. One recruit registered a “maybe” response for the use of Facebook or Twitter to help recruit.

Figure 17: T-15 and G-15 Recruit Responses for Social Media

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Use Facebook or Twitter to help recruit?Good idea to use Twitter to recruit

Good idea to use Facebook to recruitNo Response

Recruits: T-15 & G-15 Social Media Usage8 Recruits - Responses from all recruits (T-15 n=1 and G-15 n=7)

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Comparative Analyses A comparative analysis of the T-15 and G-15 groups helps to illuminate the critical step in the intervention study process – assignment. Although each department in the study is unique, evaluating group characteristics and making comparisons between the groups using basic variables is informative. To compare the T-15 and G-15 groups, a few departmental demographic and staffing variables need consideration. The first departmental characteristic for consideration is population. As discussed earlier, with a ranking of the departmental population within each group, there are pair-counterparts for comparison between the groups (Figure 1 ). The following table (Table 5) lists the service area population (number and rank), number of volunteer firefighters, and total number of stations for each department. To staff departments within these groups that have relatively similar service area populations, the group departmental staffing structures would need to be similar – if service area population were the only variable to determine staffing. From Table 5, it is clear that population size does not solely determine staffing levels. For example, the departments with the twelfth largest service area populations, West Haven (T-15) and Windsor (G-12), have populations of 28,000 residents within their areas, yet Windsor has nearly four times as many volunteers in its eleven stations (386) compared to West Haven’s four stations (n=100). Excluding the departments in the 12th ranking, which have identically populated service area populations, generally, with the exceptions of Winsted, Monroe, and Wethersfield, the department with the lower service area population within the same ranking has the same number or more volunteer firefighters. In addition, excluding the departments in the 12th ranking, with the exceptions of New Hartford/ Drakeville and Wethersfield, the department with the lower service area population within the same ranking has the same number or more stations compared to its counterpart in the other group. This finding is contrary to the expected result of having fewer volunteers and stations in an area with a lower service area population – therefore, other complex factors beyond the population variable appear to determine staffing levels and station numbers in Connecticut. Other variables, including average median household income and the average median price of owner-occupied housing, factor into the determinations for firefighter staffing, departmental structures, firehouse placement, and coverage boundaries (Church et al, 2001) – all of which influence aspects of firefighter recruitment. Since the list of possible variables that determine staffing levels is extensive (Lawrence, 2001), these factors are not considered in this study. For the group totals, the service area populations, volunteer firefighter levels, and station numbers are similar. The T-15 group has a total of 303,294 residents, 1,672 volunteers, and 55 stations among its departments, and the G-15 group has a total of 351,275 residents, 1,625 volunteers, and 58 stations among its departments. As mentioned previously in the intervention study section, the service area populations are within about 16% of each other, but the numbers of volunteers and stations are nearly equivalent. The totals for volunteers and stations vary by about 3% and 5%, respectively.


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Table 5: T-15 and G-15 Demographics

Code Department CountyService Area Population

Departmental Volunteers Stations

T-1 Harwinton Litchfield 5,544 56 1T-2 Killingworth Middlesex 6,500 50 2T-3 New Hartford/ Drakeville Litchfield 8,700 57 3T-4 Winsted Litchfield 11,000 110 3T-5 Terryville Litchfield 12,000 90 3T-7 Coventry New Haven 14,500 100 4T-6 North Branford Tolland 14,500 80 2T-8 Clinton Middlesex 17,000 93 2T-9 Monroe Fairfield 20,000 80 6T-10 Waterford/ Niantic New London 22,500 135 7T-11 Wethersfield Hartford 26,000 100 3T-12 West Haven New Haven 28,000 100 4T-13 Bozrah Region New London, Upper 33,700 273 7T-14 Shelton Fairfield 40,350 260 4T-15 Southington Hartford 43,000 88 4

T-15 Totals 303,294 1,672 55

Average 20,220 111 4

Code Department CountyService Area Population

Departmental Volunteers Stations

G-1 Baltic Windham 3,100 70 2G-2 Chaplin/Windham Hartford 4,500 100 4G-3 Essex Fairfield 7,800 74 2G-4 Weston New Haven 10,000 60 4G-5 Old Saybrook Hartford 10,535 160 4G-6 Washington/Woodbury Hartford 13,000 100 5G-7 Cromwell Middlesex 15,000 60 2G-8 Avon New London 18,000 45 1G-9 Simsbury Hartford 24,000 88 6G-10 Farmington Middlesex 25,340 81 1G-11 Stafford/Ellington Hartford 27,000 150 5G-12 Windsor New London, Lower 28,000 386 11G-13 Wallingford Tolland 45,000 83 4G-14 Manchester Litchfield 58,000 108 4G-15 Mystic Region Middlesex 62,000 60 3

G-15 Totals 351,275 1,625 58

Average 23,418 108 4


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Generally, due to differences in each unique locality, locally driven factors determine many aspects related to firefighting, but overall, in this study, these departments combine into groups that have similar population totals, volunteer staffing, and stations counts – as well as average counts for each variable. As expected, these groups are not completely comparable at each of the rankings and due to locality differences, expecting these groups to be comparable in every aspect is unrealistic, but similarities in population, volunteer staffing, and station counts are valid for an intervention study.

T-15 and G-15 Comparison and Summary Study Results Although the groups are somewhat comparable, the results show differences in the recruitment activities (Table 6). The T-15s lead in Banner Display (n=71), Speaking Engagements (n=45), and surprisingly, Facebook Contacts (n=264). In total, counting each recruitment effort separately, the group has 4,390 activities. As expected with concentrating efforts on recruitment strategies within their communities, the GIS Group has nearly five times more activities (n=20,829). The G-15s lead in all activities in the Events and Media categories. In specific categories, the group has considerable totals compared to the T-15 group in Outreach Events (n=407), Public Safety Events (n=165), School Visits (n=180), Promotional Materials (n=5,822), Community Posters (n=1,583), and Webpage Contacts (n=11,822). For the study, the summary totals (Table 6) include Recruits (n=8), Potential Recruits (n=196), and New Members (n=155). In total, the group tally includes organizing over 1,000 events (n=1,016), distributing more than 10,000 pieces of information (n=10,667), conducting nearly 150 face-to-face contacts (n=148), and contacting the media almost 400 times (n=392). Although these are impressive efforts, the largest category of activity is in the social and web categories with over 12,000 contacts (n=12,637). The total activity count for the study is over 25,000 event activities, community contacts, and distributed materials (n=25,219).


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Activity -Variable T-15 G-15 TotalsTracking Forms 1 7 8Potential recruits 70 126 196New Members 72 83 155

Outreach events 51 407 458

Recruitment nights 14 31 45Station recruitments 18 28 46

Fundraising events 30 44 74

Public safety events 23 165 188School visits 25 180 205

Promotional materials 2858 5822 8680

Banner displays 71 49 120

Community posters 284 1583 1867

Speaking engagements 45 35 80

Business contacts 31 37 68

Media contacts 54 66 120Departmental contacts 40 60 100Media interviews 23 42 65Media ride-alongs 0 9 9Media press releases 17 56 73Media PSAs 0 25 25

Facebook contacts 264 152 416Webpage contacts 399 11822 12221

Total Activities 4390 20829 25219

Socia

l M

edia

Recr

uits

T-15 & G-15 Department Responses: Activities

1016

392

10667

148

12637

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artm

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l Eve

nts

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iaPr

omot

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ater

ials

Cont

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Table 6: T-15 and G-15 Comparison Table and Summary Results


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Regression Analyses Overview Regression analysis is a statistical tool to investigate and model relationships. There are two basic forms of regression – linear and multiple regressions. With linear regression, the goal is to use the values for one variable (the independent variable) to predict the values of another (the dependent variable). If the variables were perfect predictors for each other, graphing the independent variable on the x-axis and the dependent variable on the y-axis would form a straight line. This perfect relationship rarely exists, so in regression analysis, the goal is to calculate a line that best fits the data with as little deviation or error as possible. After determining the equation of this line, an analyst can use the equation to predict the value of the dependent variable with testing additional independent variable values. Generally, linear regression is a correlation between the two types of variables, and multiple regression is essentially a linear regression with more than one independent variable used to predict the dependent variable – providing joint predictive power. Dependent and Independent Variables In a regression analysis, variables are either dependent or independent, and the goal is to evaluate which independent variables will be predictors for the dependent variable. For this study, departments submit two types of forms that determine the variables. The number of Recruit Forms submitted by each of the participating fire departments (both T-15 and G-15) is the dependent variable, and the recruitment efforts documented on the Activity Form become the independent variables in the regression analysis (See forms in Appendix A). Overall, the number of recruits tracked by these forms is the measure of the recruitment activity success, which is one of the primary objectives of the larger study. The activities documented on the Activity Forms are – presumably – those that have led to the recruitment of volunteers tallied on the Recruit Forms. The objective of this analysis is to determine which of the recruitment activities on these forms appears to influence most positively the number of recruited volunteers. If there were a consistent trend demonstrating that particular recruitment activities lead to greater numbers of recruits, then future recruitment efforts can focus on these efforts. To determine if a consistent trend leads to greater number of recruits, the departments tally their monthly recruitment efforts, which are the independent variables, on the Activity Form. As noted earlier, the volunteer recruit or the staff member fills in the Recruit Form. Filling in the volunteer information on a Recruit Form is the goal of this initiative and the first step in the application process. The remaining twenty independent variables on the Activity Form fall within five categories: Events, Advertisements, Face-to-face Contacts, Traditional Media, and Social Media. In the category of Events, the forms list six variables. These include Outreach Events, Recruitment Nights, Fire Station Activities, Fundraising Events, Public Safety Events, and School Visits. The category of Advertisements – with the largest number of entries – includes Distributed Promotional Materials (buckslips and brochures), Banner Displays, and Community Posters. The category of Face-to-face Contacts incorporates Speaking Engagements and Community Business Contacts. Traditional Media, includes the variables of Contacts, Interviews, Ride-alongs, Press Releases, and Public Service Announcements (PSAs). To address social media, the final category includes contacts through social network services (Facebook/Twitter) and inquiries for


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Webpage information. Any of these activities may predict the number of recruits that the departments tally on the Recruit Forms. Additional entries on the Tracking form allow for text entries. Although the analysts cannot use this information in its raw form for regression analysis, this report includes a summary list of these comments. If trends appear in the comments, the analysts will categorize the comments subjectively, albeit with controls for internal consistency. Currently, the only effort with unintended text entries is the Leadership Activities category. These text entries will become part of the report in text format. Ideally, for this report, the analysis would include linear and multiple regressions. The linear regression analysis would include testing with each recruitment effort to see if any are predictors for the number of Recruit Forms. To ensure statistical significance, the report would not test results from efforts with fewer than five values. For this effort, the total number of Recruit Forms (paper and online) totaled only eight volunteers. Previous efforts in the recruitment study in Virginia reveal that values below 20 recruits within departments would produce autocorrelated results – the regression testing produces identical results with different variables due to the smaller sample size. Because this number is near the minimum threshold limit, this report does not include any regression analyses to determine if the activities are predictors for the number of recruits. For additional information on Recruits, check the Recruit section. In addition, see the Results section for the recruitment activities initiated by each of the departments. The Results section discusses the departments by group. At the end of the report, the Conclusion discusses these difficulties and includes possible avenues for future research to alleviate the problems with gathering forms from recruits. The following section lists the individualized results for each of the T-15 and G-15 departments in alphabetical order – beginning with the traditional group. The report includes results from August 2012 to May 2013. During this study period, eight departments, Clinton, Coventry, Southington, Terryville, and West Haven (T-15s) and Baltic, Essex, and Manchester did not submit information for activities or recruits.


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T-15 Individual Departments The following section discusses the jurisdictions in the T-15 group on an individual basis. For clarity, the T-15 departments have blue backgrounds and text, while G-15 departments have green ones. The first T-15 department is the Bozrah Region, which is the population counterpart of Wallingford in the G-15 group. The discussion of the T-15 departments in the report follows in alphabetical order.

Figure 18: Population Indicator for T-15 and G-15 Groups


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Bozrah Region The Bozrah Region ranks thirteenth for population, making it one of the largest departments in the T-15 group. This department has the second highest total of volunteer firefighters in the study (n=273). The regional jurisdiction has seven stations. Bozrah Region Activities The first step in evaluating the departmental recruitment efforts is to consider the number of recruits completing the Recruit Form. Bozrah had one recruit out of eleven potential recruits fill out

the form. The recruit lists a friend/family referral that prompted an inquiry into the station. Although this recruit did not list an activity as their impetus to join, the department did have some noteworthy activity in the study. The Bozrah Region ranks first in the G-15 group for three categories. Leading recruitment efforts include Outreach Activities (n=14), Recruitment Nights (n=6), and Fundraising Events (n=18). Eight new members joined the department and a note mentions the success of the Cadet Program with 12 members in January 2013. Overall, the results indicate that this department conducts a wide range of activities. With the exception of Media Ride-alongs, and PSAs, the Bozrah Region personnel list attempts with every other activity during the study. For additional activities, the department also notes monthly meetings with a professional to keep their website updated. Because of their efforts, the department has 72 Facebook Contacts and 162 Webpage Contacts. The following tables list the department’s recruitment efforts during the study. Table 7: Bozrah Activity Tables

Bozrah Region Departmental Activities

Month

Recruit Tracking Forms

Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits

Aug 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Sep Total 0 7 1 6 2 1 9 2 1Oct Total 0 3 1 2 3 1 4 2 3Nov 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Dec Total 0 2 3 1 1 1 4 1 1Jan 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0May 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 1 14 6 11 8 4 18 5 5


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Bozrah Region Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month

Distributed promotional

materialsBanner display

Community posters


Community business contacts Who contacted

Aug 20 1 1 0 1 0Sep Total 75 3 7 1 2 0

Oct Total 15 3 10 0 2Owner of new multi-family construction

Nov 0 1 0 0 0 0Dec Total 24 1 12 0 1 Horse FarmJan 10 1 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0May 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 144 10 30 1 6 See Above

Bozrah Region Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts

Aug 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30Sep Total 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 36Oct Total 1 1 0 0 1 0 72 0Nov 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 96Dec Total 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0May 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 3 3 0 0 1 0 72 162


47

Bozrah Region Recruits The region has one recruit listing during the study period. The recruit, who works in Food Service, lists Fire Response and a Family Connection as their motivations for joining. The recruit uses Facebook and Twitter and resides in Windham. Bozrah Region Summary The Bozrah Region is active with its recruitment efforts with leading activity in Outreach Activities, Recruitment Nights, and Fundraising Events. Because of these efforts during the study, the department documents one volunteer recruit, eight new members, and twelve new cadets. The region is the only department in the T-15 group to record a recruit in the study.

Bozrah Region Other

Month

Outreach or recruitment event description Leadership activity

Other comments

Aug 0

We hold monthly meetings with a website professional to ensure our website is updated and relevant. We are also tracking usage which will

help drive our content placement. Sent by Gardner Lake Volunteer Fire Company 0

Sep 0

Sent from Bozrah Region; Sent from Chesterfield; We hold monthly meetings with a website

professional to ensure our website is updated and relevant. We are also tracking usage which will

help drive our content placement. Sent by 0

Oct 0

Sent from Chesterfield; We hold monthly meetings with a website professional to ensure our website

is updated and relevant. We are also tracking usage which will help drive our content placement. Sent by Gardner Lake Volunteer Fire Company; 0; Sent

by Salem VFC 0

Nov 0

We hold monthly meetings with a website professional to ensure our website is updated and

relevant. We are also tracking usage which will help drive our content placement. Sent by

Gardner Lake Volunteer Fire Company 0

Dec 0

We hold monthly meetings with a website professional to ensure our website is updated and relevant. We are also tracking usage which will

help drive our content placement. Sent by Gardner Lake Volunteer Fire Company 0

Jan 0 Cadet program going well 12 members 0Feb 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0May Total 0 0 0

Totals 0 See Above 0


48

Clin

ton

T-8

Avo

n G

-8

8

Clinton

Clinton ranks in the middle of the T-15 group at number eight in the population ranking. The department operates 2 stations and lists 93 volunteers on its roster. The volunteers service an area with 17,000 residents.

Clinton Activities/Recruits/Summary Clinton did not submit any Activity or Recruit Forms during the study.


49

Cov

entr

y T

-7

Cro

mw

ell G

-7

7

Coventry

Coventry ranks seventh in the middle of the T-15 group population ranking. With a service area population of 14,500 residents, the department operates 2 stations. One hundred volunteers, who are identical to the number of volunteers in Cromwell, the department’s G-15 counterpart, service the area’s firefighting needs in the community.

Coventry Activities/Recruits/Summary Coventry did not submit any Activity or Recruit Forms during the study.


50

Har

win

ton

T-1

Bal

tic G

-1

1

Harwinton Harwinton ranks first in the T-15 group and has the smallest service area population (n=5,544) in the group. The department has a staff of 56 volunteer firefighters, and operates from 1 station. Harwinton is the only department in the T-15 group with one station.

Harwinton Activities Harwinton has recruitment activity in only one month of the study (September). During this month, the department lists a variety of activities. These activities include Meetings, Outreach Events, Promotional Materials, Banner Display, Community Posters, a Speaking Engagement, and Business Contacts (local restaurants). The department does not list any Media Contacts, but registers one Facebook Contact in the study. Table 8: Harwinton Activity Tables

Harwinton Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits

Aug 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Sep 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 2Oct 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0May 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 2

Harwinton Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters



Aug 0 0 0 0 0 0Sep 20 1 4 1 2 local restaurantsOct 0 0 0 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0May 0 0 0 0 0 0



51

Harwinton Recruits Harwinton did not list any volunteer recruits, potential recruits, or new members during the study. Harwinton Summary Harwinton, the smallest department in the G-15 group, lists all of its activities in September 2012. During the month, the department’s recruitment strategy includes an Outreach Event, Recruitment Night, Fire Station Activity, Fundraising, Public Safety Event, Meeting, and two School Visits. For promotional materials, the department distributes promotional information, displays a banner, and posts community posters. The tally also mentions business contacts at local restaurants. Unfortunately, these endeavors did not lead to any new recruits for the department.

Harwinton Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts

Aug 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Sep 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0Oct 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0May 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

Harwinton Other

Month


Other comments

Aug 0 0 0Sep Meetings 0 0Oct 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0

Dec 0 0 0

Jan 0 0 0

Feb 0 0 0

Mar 0 0 0

Apr 0 0 0May 0 0 0

Totals See Above 0 0


52

Kill

ingw

orth

T-2

Cha

plin

/Win

dham

G-2

2

Killingworth Killingworth ranks second for population, but has the smallest number of volunteer firefighters in the T-15 group. The staff of 50 volunteers operates from 2 stations. The community service area has 6,500 residents.

Killingworth Activities Killingworth has recruitment in all of the study months, except the first and final months. Even with its small size, the department is a group leader in distributing Promotional Materials (n=1,612) – with almost all of them distributed in November (n=1,600). Additional activity in the events category includes Outreach, Recruitment Nights, Fire Station Activities, Public Safety Events, School Visits, and Speaking Engagements. The recruitment strategy includes media activity, but no Social Media Contacts. Table 9: Killingworth Activity Tables

Killingworth Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits


Totals 0 4 2 5 4 1 0 5 5


53

Killingworth Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters


Community business contacts

Who contacted

Aug 0 0 0 0 0 0Sep 0 2 0 1 0 0Oct 12 1 40 2 0 0Nov 1600 1 0 0 0 0Dec 0 1 0 0 0 0Jan 0 1 0 0 0 0Feb 0 1 0 0 0 0Mar 0 1 0 0 0 0Apr 0 1 0 0 0 0May 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 1612 9 40 3 0 0

Killingworth Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts


Totals 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0


54

Killingworth Recruits Although the paperwork does not include any information on new recruits, comments indicate that one (or two) applicants are in the process of awaiting an interview and background check. In total, the department has five potential recruits and four new members due to its recruitment activity. Killingworth Summary Killingworth has recruitment activity in multiple categories and is a group leader in distributing Promotional Materials. With its most successful endeavor, the department has success with a distribution initiative (November n=1,600). Because of its recruitment activities, the department has two new applicants, but no information on new recruits.

Killingworth Other

Month


Other comments

Aug 0 0 0Sep 0 0 0Oct 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0

Feb 0

One application received, awaiting

interview and background checks. 0

Mar 0

One applications received, awaiting

interview and background checks 0

Apr 0 0 0May 0 0 0



55

Mon

roe

T-9

Sim

sbur

y G

-9

9

Monroe Monroe ranks ninth with a service area that has 20,000 residents. The department has 80 volunteer firefighters. Within the community of Monroe, the department operates six stations.

Monroe Activities Monroe is a leader in six activity categories in the T-15 group - Public Safety Events (n=6), Media Contacts (n=23), Media Departmental Contacts (n=20), Media Interviews (n=15), Media Press Releases (n=14), and Webpage Contacts (n=233), among other activities. Notes on the paperwork indicate inquiries from businesses and others for public relations surrounding 9-11 events. Additional activity includes “out and about” during the holidays and participation in the Memorial Day Parade. Contrary to typical activity, the department did not display a banner until after the holidays (4-5 months into the study). Overall, with the exception of School Visits and Media PSAs, the department has activity in all of the recruitment categories. Table 10: Monroe Activity Tables

Monroe Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits


Totals 0 8 1 17 13 4 7 6 0


56

Monroe Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters



Aug 0 0 0 2 2They contacted the FD for P/R events

Sep 0 0 3 3 2They contacted the FD for P/R events 911 related

Oct 0 0 0 0 0 0Nov 100 0 2 0 1 Boy Scouts

Dec 110 0 0 0 2 1 from business; 1 from FDJan 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 3 0 0

Apr 0 0 0 0 11 local business contacted FD

May 43 0 3 1 0 0


Monroe Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts


Totals 23 20 15 0 14 0 27 233


57

Monroe Recruits Monroe did not tally any recruit information, but it lists Potential Recruits (n=17) and New Members (n=13). In addition, the department notes two potential future applicants. During the last month of the study, the department marched in the Memorial Day Parade, and the exposure led to two inquiries. Monroe Summary As a leader in the T-15 group, Monroe has the highest totals in six activity categories – mainly surrounding the media. Overall, the department is active in all recruitment categories with the exception of only three of them (no other T-15s initiated Ride-alongs). In addition to the usual recruitment activities, to gain additional exposure, the department is active in the community during the holidays.

Monroe Other

Month

Outreach or recruitment event

description Leadership activityOther

comments

Aug 0September Form (Aug activities) 0

Sep 0October Form

(Sept activities) 0Oct 0 0 0

Nov 0

Banners going on buildings after the

holiday. 0

Dec 0

Good exposure month with the FD

being out and around for the

holidays. 0Jan 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0

Mar 0 March 2013 from 0Apr 0 April 2013 form 0

May 0

FD marched in Memorial Day

parade 2 potential future applicants 0



58

New

Har

tfor

d/ D

rake

ville

T-3

_

Ess

ex G

-3

3

New Hartford/Drakeville New Hartford/Drakeville ranks third with population in the T-15 group. The community service area includes 8,700 residents. Fifty volunteers staff three stations to service their firefighting needs. New Hartford/Drakeville Activities The department registers activity in all but three months of the study. The recruitment strategy mainly includes Outreach Events (n=6), Public Safety Events (n=5), School Visits (n=4), and Media Contacts (n=2)/Interviews (n=4). Displaying and distributing promotional materials is also part of the recruitment strategy, but in addition to these standard activities, the department has other endeavors in its strategy for recruitment success. Activities include a Safety Day/Fundraiser,

Pancake Breakfast/Open House, Magic Motion (touch a truck) event, and several local radio station interviews. Table 11: New Hartford/Drakeville Activity Tables

New Hartford/ Drakeville Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits


Totals 0 6 0 0 0 1 2 5 4

New Hartford/ Drakeville Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month


materialsBanner display Community posters



Who contacted


Totals 160 6 17 0 0 0


59

New Hartford /Drakeville Recruits Despite the department’s creative strategy to improve recruiting, it did not register any volunteer recruits, potential recruits, or new members. New Hartford /Drakeville Summary Even though New Hartford/Drakeville is in the T-15 group, its activities are similar to resourceful ones initiated in a G-15 department – including a Magic Motion (touch a truck) event. With regular recruitment practices, the department participates in events, distributes promotional materials, and contacts the media. Unfortunately, even with the additional activities, the department did not gain any new recruits or members during the study.

New Hartford/ Drakeville Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts


Totals 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 0

New Hartford/ Drakeville Other

Month Outreach or recruitment

event description Leadership activityOther

commentsAug 0 0 0

Sep 0Safety Day and fundraiser planned for

October; Sent by Drakesville 0Oct 0 Safety Day held; Sent by Drakesville 0Nov 0 Sent by Drakesville 0Dec 0 Sent by Drakesville 0

Jan 0 0 0

Feb 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0

Apr 0Pancake breakfast/open house held &

local radio interview 0

May 0

Magic Motion (touch a truck) event attended, & local radio station

interview 0



60

Nor

th B

ranf

ord

T-6-

Was

hing

ton/

Woo

dbur

y G

-6

6

North Branford North Branford ranks sixth within the group for population. The department has 80 volunteer firefighters that operate from 2 stations. The service area has 14,500 residents. New Branford Activities New Branford has activity during one month in the study (May). It registers activity in two recruitment categories – Banner Display (n=4) and Facebook Contacts (n=10). Because of these efforts, the department has three new members.

Table 12: North Branford Activity Tables

North Branford Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits


Totals 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0

North Branford Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters



Who contacted


Totals 0 4 0 0 0 0


61

North Branford Recruits North Branford did not register any recruits during the study, but in the final month, the tally includes three new members. North Branford Summary North Branford has activity in one month and registers three new members during the study. The staff includes an additional note for reference during the final month. The note states, “Similar to a few years ago, membership application may be suspended due to the lack of funding to provide new candidates with entry level medical exams and new protective clothing.”

North Branford Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts


Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0

North Branford Other



commentsAug 0 0 0Sep 0 0 0Oct 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0

May 0

Similar to a few years ago, membership application may be suspended due to the lack of funding to provide new candidates with entry level medical exams and new protective clothing 0



62

Shel

ton

T-1

4

Man

ches

ter

G-1

4

14

Shelton Shelton ranks in the fourteenth position for the T-15 group, making it the second largest department in the group with 40,350 residents in its service area. The department also has the second largest number of volunteer firefighters (n=260). Its firefighters operate four stations in the community.

Shelton Activities Shelton is a leader in the T-15 group with the largest values in six activity categories. The leading values include Potential Recruits (n=18), New Members (n=36), Fire Station Recruitment Activities (n=5), School Visits (n=6), Banner Display (n=20), Community Posters (n=100), and Speaking Engagements (n=9). Additional event activities include Outreach (n=7) and Recruitment Nights (n=2). Contacts include Media (n=8), Media Departmental (n=3), and Facebook (n=49). The department also distributes and displays the usual promotional materials (information, banners, and posters). An addition to the usual activities includes meeting during some months. Table 13: Shelton Activity Tables

Shelton Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits


Totals 0 7 2 18 36 5 0 0 6


63

Shelton Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters



Who contacted

Aug 30 2 10 4 0 0

Sep 30 2 10 4 0 0Oct 30 2 10 4 0 0Nov 30 2 10 4 0 0Dec 30 2 10 4 0 0Jan 30 2 10 4 0 0Feb 30 2 10 0 0 0Mar 30 2 10 2 0 0Apr 30 2 10 1 0 0May 30 2 10 2 0 0

Totals 300 20 100 29 0 0

Shelton Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts


Totals 8 3 0 0 0 0 49 0

Shelton Other

Month


descriptionLeadership

activityOther

comments

Aug Meeting 0 0

Sep Meeting 0 0Oct Meeting 0 0Nov 0 0 0

Dec 0 0 0

Jan 0 0 0

Feb 0 0 0

Mar 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0May 0 0 0



64

Shelton Recruits Shelton is the group leader with Potential Recruits (n=18) and New Members (n=36). It is unclear why none of these 54 candidates took the time to complete the Recruit Form. Without the recruit information, developing a definitive recruitment strategy is difficult. This finding indicates that procedural changes may help to address the difficulties with recruit documentation. Shelton Summary Shelton is the only department in the study to submit recruitment activity in every month; however, many results repeat each month. With data entries for every month, Shelton leads in six recruitment categories (see above) and lists 54 candidates for recruiting with a combination of potential and new members. Possibly procedural changes would help to gather this information and document recruits through the process of becoming firefighters.


65

Sout

hing

ton

T-1

5

Mys

tic R

egio

n G

-15

15

Southington Southington ranks fifteenth with the largest service area population (43,000 residents) in the T-15 group. The department has 88 volunteer firefighters that operate from its 4 stations. Southington’s counterpart in the G-15 group is the Mystic Region.

Southington Activities/Recruits/Summary Southington did not submit any Activity or Recruit Forms during the study.


66

Ter

ryvi

lle T

-5

Old

Say

broo

k G

-5

5

Terryville Terryville ranks fifth in the T-15 group for population size. With 4 stations, 90 volunteers cover the needs of the service area’s 12,000 residents. Old Saybrook is the department’s counterpart in the G-15 group.

Terryville Activities/Recruits/Summary Terryville did not submit any Activity or Recruit Forms during the study.


67

Wat

erfo

rd/N

iant

ic T

-10_

Farm

ingt

on G

-10_

10

Waterford/Niantic Waterford/Niantic ranks tenth in population and operates seven stations. The department has 135 volunteer firefighters to address both of the community’s needs. The Waterford/Niantic area has 22,500 residents. Waterford/Niantic Activities In the first two months of the study, Waterford/Niantic has activity in three main areas - School Visits (n=2), Promotional Materials (n=73 total), and various contacts (n=8 total). See the tables below for each of the activity values. Notations on the paperwork indicate that this activity is from Niantic.

Table 14: Waterford/Niantic Activity Tables

Waterford/Niantic Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits


Totals 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 2

Waterford/Niantic Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters



Aug 0 1 30 0 3Youth Services

2 schoolsSep 30 2 10 0 0 0Oct 0 0 0 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0May 0 0 0 0 0 0



68

Waterford/Niantic Recruits Waterford/Niantic did not submit paperwork on any recruits during the study; however, it mentions the addition of four new members to its roster. Waterford/Niantic Summary Waterford/Niantic’s recruitment efforts focus on school visits, promotional materials, and selected contacts. The promotional materials consist of the three standard methods of delivery - disseminating information, displaying banners, and hanging posters. The contacts include youth services at two schools and standard media/departmental activities. During the study, the department reports four new members.

Waterford/Niantic Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts


Totals 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0

Waterford/Niantic Other

Month



activityOther

comments

Aug 0Sent by Niantic

Fire Dept 0

Sep 0Sent by Niantic

Fire Dept 0Oct 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0

Dec 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0

Mar 0 0 0

Apr 0 0 0May 0 0 0



69

Wes

t Hav

en T

-12

Win

dsor

G-1

2

12

West Haven The West Haven department (T-15) and it counterpart in the G-15 group, Windsor, rank twelfth in population. From its 4 stations, the volunteer firefighters service the needs of 28,000 residents in the surrounding area. West Haven’s counterpart has 386 volunteers operating from 11 stations.

West Haven Activities/Recruits/Summary West Haven did not submit any Activity or Recruit Forms during the study.


70

Wet

hers

fiel

d T

-11_

Staf

ford

/Elli

ngto

n G

-11_

11

Wethersfield Wethersfield ranks eleventh in population. Its service area has 26,000 residents. One hundred volunteer firefighters operate from three stations to meet their community’s needs. The department’s counterpart is Stafford/Ellington in the G-15s. Wethersfield Activities Within the timeframe of the study, Wethersfield has recruitment activity in December. Activities include Distributing Promotional Materials (n=15), Speaking Engagements (n=2) Media Contacts (n=1), Departmental Media Contacts (n=1), and Webpage Contacts (n=1). See the note below for additional activity beyond the usually recorded recruitment activities.

Table 15: Wethersfield Activity Tables

Wethersfield Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits


Totals 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0

Wethersfield Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters



Who contacted


Totals 15 0 0 2 0 0


71

Wethersfield Recruits Wethersfield did not submit any information on recruits during the study. In December, the only month with an activity submission, the department lists four potential recruits. Wethersfield Summary Wethersfield has one month of recruitment activity in the study. During the month, both speaking events were to Boy Scout troops visiting the station to discuss volunteer opportunities. In addition to these visits, a note with the December submission explains the holiday activity in the department. According to a staff member:

Wethersfield Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts


Totals 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

Wethersfield Other

Month Outreach or recruitment event

description Leadership activity Other commentsAug 0 0 0

Sep 0 0 0Oct 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0

Dec

Both speaking events were to Boy Scout troops visitng the station. Volunteer opportunities are discussed.

The Department actively supported and participated in a major community Event – “Holidays on Main Street”. A station house was open to the public with a Santa Claus giving candy to children and having pictures taken in the apparatus bay. Additionally, the Fire Explorers sold pizza, soda, and hot chocolate as a fund raiser. There was a very large volume of foot traffic through the event. Volunteer materials were displayed. 0

Jan 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0May 0 0 0



72

“The Department actively supported and participated in a major community event – “Holidays on Main Street.” A station house was open to the public with a Santa Claus giving candy to children and having pictures taken in the apparatus bay. Additionally, the Fire Explorers sold pizza, soda, and hot chocolate as a fundraiser. There was a very large volume of foot traffic through the event. Volunteer materials were displayed.”


73

Win

sted

T-4

Wes

ton

G-4

4

Winsted Winsted ranks fourth in population within the T-15 group. The department has 110 volunteer firefighters on the rosters of 3 stations. Winsted’s firefighters provide services to a population of 11,000 residents.

Winsted Activities Winsted is a leader in the T-15 group in two activity categories. The department has the highest value in the study for Facebook Contacts (N=105) and the highest value in the T-15s for Community Business Contacts (n=12). Other than its leading activities in these categories, Winsted has a diverse recruitment program that includes activity in all of the categories with the exception of Speaking Engagements, Media PSAs, Media Ride-alongs (no T-15 Ride-alongs in the study). See the ‘Other” table for additional activities that go beyond the usual recruitment efforts. Table 16: Winsted Activity Tables

Winsted Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits


Totals 0 11 2 15 4 2 2 1 1

Winsted Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters



Aug 150 0 5 0 1Mallory Brook

CinemasSep 50 1 20 0 0 0Oct 75 2 5 0 6 0Nov 20 3 10 0 2 0Dec 10 3 0 0 0 0Jan 0 3 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 1 2 0 0 0 0Apr 13 2 5 0 3 0May 5 2 0 0 0 0



74

Winsted Recruits Winsted’s paperwork indicates their activities generated Potential Recruits (n=15) and New Members (n= 4), but no new recruits.

Winsted Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts


Totals 12 9 3 0 2 0 105 3

Winsted OtherMonth Outreach or recruitment event description Leadership activity Other comments

Aug

At the Winsted Fire Dept carnival we had a booth set up for recruitment. 150 buckslips were distributed, 5 applications were

handed out. 2 turned back in. 0 0

SepAt the Winsted Fire Dept carnival we had a booth set up for

recruitment. 0 0

OctSet up table at town's fall event on Main Street. Had an Open House

for Halloween. 0 0

Nov Table set up at holiday Main Street event

Met with high school to get them on board

with recruitment 0Dec 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0

Mar 0 0

Preparing for open house at end of April

Apr

Did an open house, had tours, demonstrations of live firefighter RIT training, demonstrated air pack bottle changing, showed gear and

equipment 0 0

May

Did an open house, had tours, demonstrations of live firefighter RIT training, demonstrated air pack bottle changing, showed gear and

equipment 0 0

Totals See Above See Above See Above


75

Winsted Summary Winsted has recruitment activity in nine of the ten months during the study. It is not a surprise that the department is a leader in its group. The department excels in its ability to generate activities in the Community Business Contacts and Facebook Contacts categories. Regular activities include almost all of the documentable activities in the study. Other endeavors that are similar to those in the G-15 group include participation in the Winsted Fire Department Carnival, Fall Main Street Event, Halloween Open House, Holiday Main Street Event, April Open House, and a high school recruitment event.


76

G-15 Group Analysis The G-15 Analysis Esri Tapestry Segmentation Prior to beginning this Intervention Study, Esri created GIS-based citizen-profile analyses for each of the G-15 Departments. Table 1 summarizes the overall group results, but breaking down the information and re-categorizing it by department also has some comparative merits. Individualized profiles help to distinguish the departments, present a clearer community image, and help to focus the recruitment efforts into a specific plan of action (Baroncelli, 2011; Esri, 2011). To encapsulate the individualized profiles for a synopsis, a circular graphic displays the combinations of market segments, LifeMode categories, and urbanization groups for each department. The graphic has a structure - similar to a clock/compass face – with three concentric rings. Figure 19 displays the key graphic and lists the options for the center, middle, and outer rings that represent the market segments, LifeMode categories, and Urbanization Summary Groups, respectively.

Figure 19: Key to Circular Graphics - Market, LifeMode, and Urbanization Summary Groups

To interpret these three rings, begin at the outer ring for the urbanization level. This summary group dictates the structure of the graphic by increasing the urbanization levels from the lowest level - beginning at the noon/midnight/north position – and continuing clockwise to the highest urbanization level. In the study, the G-15 departments represent seven of Esri’s eleven Urbanization Summary Groups. The most urbanized community in the G-15 study, Metro Cities I, ranks third on Esri’s list – indicating an overall urban-suburban-trending profile.


77

The middle ring represents the LifeModes of the community, which Esri bases on lifestyles and life stages (Esri, 2011). A LifeMode may have more than one level of urbanization (Figure 20); therefore, the categories do not specifically correlate with individual Urbanization Summary Groups. In this study, the G-15 group represents eight of Esri’s twelve LifeMode Summary Groups. The center ring lists the market segments for the department. Generally, these increase in urbanization from the noon/midnight/north position, but there are exceptions. The G-15 study includes 22 of Esri’s 65 market segments. For display, these are categorized first by urbanization level and then by LifeMode. An arrow in the graphic indicates a split LifeMode. Only one department has this split – Mystic. Even though a few of the market segments have the same LifeModes and urbanization levels, this does not change the graphic display for the individual departments.

Figure 20: G-15 Esri Tapestry Segments in Miniature As a miniature group display, these graphics easily indicate the similarities and differences between the departments – at a quick glance. With miniaturization of the graphic, text is not as important as overall appearance of the “bigger picture.” Darker shades generally signify increased urbanization, different colors indicate segment varieties, and number of segments denotes diversity. For instance, Avon, Farmington, Simsbury, Washington/ Woodbury, and Weston appear as the most urbanized with the Metro Cities I segments (dark orange) and the darker-shaded market segments (dark gray) in the center of the graphic. Other departments also have segments of urbanization in mostly suburban communities. Contrastingly, Baltic and Stafford/Ellington have outskirt segments (light orange) in mostly


78

suburbanized communities (yellow). Old Saybrook and Windsor appear as the least urbanized of the G-15 departments and have only suburban segments (yellow). In the middle ring of the graphics, different colors indicate that the LifeMode categories vary widely within the G-15 group. Weston has the least diversification in the LifeMode categories with the entire community categorized into only one segment – High Society. At the other end of the spectrum, Cromwell has five LifeMode groups. Most of the departments have 2 to 4 LifeMode categories. More importantly, from this graphic it is easy to differentiate the LifeModes by color. Pink indicates the single American Quilt segment in Washington/Woodbury and light blue denotes the Traditional Living in four departments. Overall, the magnitude of neutral colors indicates the majority in High Society (taupe) and Upscale Avenues (green) segments. For market segments, the number denotes diversity, and shading indicates general urbanization levels. Baltic and Weston have the least diversification with only two segments each – which is contrary to the majority of departments that have considerable diversification across market segments. One-third of the departments have five market segments. The most diversified department, Manchester, has eight market segments. The titles of these market segments give a snapshot description of the communities surrounding each of the G-15 departments. For more details, see the individual departments within their color-coded group section – blue for traditional and green for GIS. Recruitment Activity Results With 10 months in the study of the GIS group, twelve jurisdictions completed Activity forms. Baltic, Essex, and Manchester did not submit any of these forms. Only two departments in the group, Avon (n=6) and Simsbury (n=1) documented recruits. With lower total data points (below five), values can easily skew in one direction. Since the recruit totals for the G-15 group are either below or slightly above the threshold level for minimal sample size, this report does not include a regression analysis. Departments need to submit additional data points at the recruit level to test if either of the groups or the individual departments have activities that related to the number of recruits.


79

G-15 Individual Departments The following sections discuss the jurisdictions in the G-15 group on an individual basis. To signify the ranking of the departments in the study, an indicator on the first page for each department shows its position within the group (white background for the department) based on population size, which increases on a continuum as the rank number increases. The smaller graphic also lists the counterpart jurisdiction with the same ranking in the other group. For these figures, the T-15 departments have blue backgrounds, while G-15 departments have green ones (Figure 22). The first G-15 department is Baltic, which is the population counterpart of Harwinton in the T-15 group. Each of the G-15 department sections also includes a circular graphic. This three-ringed graphic depicts Esri’s urbanization, LifeMode, and market segments in the outer,

middle, and center rings, respectively. These designations correspond to the core and development segments for the department (Figure 21). The discussion of the G-15 departments follows in alphabetical order.

Figure 22: T-15 and G-15 Rank Indicator

Har

win

ton

T-1

Bal

tic G

-1

Kill

ingw

orth

T-2

Cha

plin

/Win

dham

G-2

New

Har

tfor

d/ D

rake

ville

T-3

Ess

ex G

-3

Win

sted

T-4

Wes

ton

G-4

Ter

ryvi

lle T

-5

Old

Say

broo

k G

-5

Nor

th B

ranf

ord

T-6

-

Was

hing

ton/

Woo

dbur

y G

-6

Cov

entr

y T

-7

Cro

mw

ell G

-7

Clin

ton

T-8

Avo

n G

-8

Mon

roe

T-9

Sim

sbur

y G

-9

Wat

erfo

rd/N

iant

ic T

-10_

Farm

ingt

on G

-10

Wet

hers

fiel

d T

-11

Staf

ford

/Elli

ngto

n G

-11

Wes

t Hav

en T

-12

Win

dsor

G-1

2

Boz

rah

Reg

ion

T-1

3

Wal

lingf

ord

G-1

3

Shel

ton

T-1

4

Man

ches

ter

G-1

4

Sout

hing

ton

T-1

5

Mys

tic R

egio

n G

-15

13 14 157 8 9 10 11 1261 2 3 4 5

Figure 21: Diagram interpreting Esri's Tapestry Segmentations


80

Clin

ton

T-8

Avo

n G

-8

8

Avon Activity - Leader Categories Count1 Webpage contacts 108172 Outreach events 3433 Public safety events 964 School visits 865 Media departmental contacts 236 Media press releases 237 Fundraising events 208 Recruitment night/events 129 Fire station recruitment activities (tie) 10

10 Media PSAs 911 Recruit Tracking Forms 6

Distributed promotional materials 0

Avon

Avon ranks eighth in the area population statistics, but operates only one station. Avon’s 45 volunteers provide services to the area’s 18, 000 residents. These firefighters reside in Esri’s Metro Cities Urban Chic and Retirement Communities or Suburban Periphery Exurbanites and Suburban Splendor communities (Figure 23).

Figure 23: Avon Esri Segments

Avon Activities Avon is the leader in this recruitment study. Its team leads in the GIS group and the overall study in eleven activities (one tie). As the leader, Avon has six of the eight documented recruits within the study (75%). Table 16 lists the activities. Table 17: Avon Activities - Leader in Eleven Categories

In this study, Avon captures a significant percentage of many activity categories. As the leader in the Webpage Contacts (n=10,817) category, the department has 89% of the total contacts in the study (total n=12,221). The Outreach Events (n=343) comprise more than 75% of the total events in the category (total n=458). In addition, Avon has 51% of the Public Safety Events (total n=188), 42% of the School Visits (total n=205), 32% of the Media Press Releases (total n=73), and 27% of the Recruitment Night Events (total n=45). The department has a few “peculiarities” in the study. First,

with the individual activities, the department does not list any activity in the Distributed Promotional Materials category. Distributing promotional materials is a common activity in the study. In the 10-month study, the only other category without any departmental activity is Media Ride-along. Second, this


81

department’s activities are not included in monthly graphics, because the department combined its entire study recruitment efforts into one month (May 2013) (See the tables below). Table 18: Avon Activity Tables

Avon Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members

Fire station recruitment

activitiesFundraising

events


School visits

Aug 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Sep 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Oct 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0May Total 6 343 12 16 7 10 20 96 86

Totals 6 343 12 16 7 10 20 96 86

Avon Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters



Aug 0 0 0 0 0 0Sep 0 0 0 0 0 0Oct 0 0 0 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0

May Total 0 2 8 4 5

Chamber of Commerce PTA-

schools



82

Avon Recruits Avon has six documented recruits in the study. More than half of these recruits list a referral as the impetus to join the fire service. The recruits list primary occupations as Self-employed, Retired, or Students. Two recruits work in Food Service. All of the recruits answering the motivations question list Service to the Community or Personal Fulfillment as their motivations to join (total n=7 for each motivation). With respect to the Social Media category, five of the recruits use Facebook and three recruits think it is a good idea to use it as a recruitment tool. It is not clear if the six recruits for this department continued with the application process, but Avon does document seven new members during the study period. Avon Summary Avon is the leader in almost half of the recruitment activities. The department has a niche activity with its webpage – with more than 10,000 Webpage Contacts, but it also uses referrals in its recruitment strategies. Focusing on residents in the Avon 06001 ZIP Code would be another potential strategy as five of the six recruits reside there.

Avon Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts

Aug 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Sep 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Oct 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0May Tot 23 23 4 0 23 9 46 10817

Totals 23 23 4 0 23 9 46 10817

Avon Other

Month

Outreach or recruitment event description

Leadership activity

Other comments

Aug 0 0 0Sep 0 0 0Oct 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0

May Total 0 0 0

Totals 0 0 0


83

Har

win

ton

T-1

Bal

tic G

-1

1

Baltic Baltic ranks first in the G-15 group for population – it has the smallest service area population in the study (n=3,100). Seventy volunteers from two stations cover the area’s firefighting needs. These current firefighters reside in two Esri Market segments – Main Street USA and Cozy and Comfortable (Figure 24). Only one other G-15 department has only two market groups, but Esri categorizes Baltic in less urbanized summary groups than Weston – which differentiates it in this study.

Figure 24: Baltic Esri Segments

Baltic Activities/Recruits/Summary Baltic did not submit any Activity or Recruit Forms during the study.


84

Kill

ingw

orth

T-2

_

Cha

plin

/Win

dham

G-2_

2

Chaplin/Windham Chaplin/Windham has the second to lowest population ranking. The department lists 100 volunteer firefighters on its roster that serves 4,500 residents from 4 stations. The community is diverse with six Esri marketing segments and five Urbanization Summary Groups (See Figure 25 below).

Figure 25: Chaplin/Windham Esri Segments

Chaplin/Windham Activities This department has activities in Outreach, Safety, Schools, Speaking, Media, and Social Media. Although none of these activity levels is a leader in the group or study, the activity is noteworthy, because it occurs in only a few months. Unfortunately, with the exception of January, 2013 results, the rest of the activities occur in 2012. With the recording of activity later in 2013, the levels would be considerably higher than listed here. Table 19: Chaplin/Windham Activity Tables

Chaplin/Windham Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits


Totals 0 5 0 2 1 0 0 6 3


85

Chaplin/Windham Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month


materialsBanner display Community posters



Who contacted

Aug 0 0 0 0 0 0

Sep 25 1 10 1 1Shift

ManagerOct 50 1 25 3 0 0Nov 0 1 0 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0 0 0 0Jan 25 0 10 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0May 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 100 3 45 4 1 0

Chaplin/Windham Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts


Totals 2 0 1 0 2 1 3 1

Chaplin/Windham Other



commentsAug 0 0 0Sep 0 Sent by North Windham 0Oct 0 Sent by North Windham 0Nov 0 Sent by North Windham 0Dec 0 Sent by North Windham 0Jan 0 Sent by North Windham 0Feb 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0May 0 0 0

Totals 0 0 0


86

Chaplin/Windham Recruits Chapin/Windham did not document any recruits, but the department did list two potential recruits and one new member. Chaplin/Windham Summary For a smaller department, Chaplin/Windham’s activity level shows promise for the future. Recording activities completed after January would definitely boost this department’s recruitment values. Documentation shows that North Windham is the department contributing to these recruitment efforts.


87

Cov

entr

y T

-7

Cro

mw

ell G

-7

7

Cromwell Cromwell ranks seventh in the G-15 group for population (n=15,000 residents). Similar to other jurisdictions within the group, this department staffs its stations with volunteer firefighters (n=60). The department provides services to the population from two fire stations. The community is diverse with six of Esri’s market segments and five LifeMode Summary Groups. See the circular diagram below (Figure 26).

Figure 26: Esri Cromwell Market Segments

Cromwell Activity Cromwell has noteworthy group and study activity in two categories – Media Ride-alongs and Interviews. First, the department has a niche activity with Media Ride-alongs – 78% of the total study activity (7 out of 9 Ride-alongs). Second, the department is tied for its Media Interviews (n=16), which is about 25% of the total study activity (total n=65). Cromwell leads both the group and the study in these categories. The department’s activities are also noteworthy because all of it occurs in only four months of the study. During these months, the department lists Public Safety Events (n=13), School Visits (n=20), and Speaking Engagements (n=4) – along with other activities. In each of these four months with recorded activity, the department mentions its Chief Officer’s Development Seminars and classes. Listing additional activities – especially activities in 2013 - would help to refine the recruitment strategy for this department.


88

Table 20: Cromwell Activity Tables

Cromwell Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits


Totals 0 13 3 5 7 1 0 13 20

Cromwell Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters



Who contacted


Totals 0 4 10 4 7 0

Cromwell Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts


Totals 2 2 16 7 3 0 0 1


89

Cromwell Recruits Cromwell does not have any recruits in the study, but it does list seven new members. Cromwell Summary In four months, Cromwell has group and study leading activity in Media Ride-alongs and Media Interviews (tie). Other noteworthy activity includes monthly Chief Officer’s Development Seminars and classes. During the study, the department added seven new members.

Cromwell Other

Month Outreach or recruitment event description

Leadership activity

Other comments

AugChief officers development

seminar x 3 classes 0 0

SepChief officers development

seminar x 3 classes 0 0

OctChief officers development

seminar x 2 classes 0 0Nov 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0

JanChief officers development

seminar x 1 class 0 0Feb 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0May 0 0 0



90

New

Har

tfor

d/ D

rake

ville

T-3

_

Ess

ex G

-3_

3

Essex Essex ranks third and is one of the smallest departments in the G-15 group. The department’s 74 volunteer firefighters reside in 3 Esri market segments – Sophisticated Squires, In Style, and Urban Chic. The Urban Chic segment is in the highest Esri Urbanization Summary Group – Metro Cities (Figure 27). Essex provides services to its population (n=7,800) from two fire stations.

Figure 27: Essex Esri Segments

Essex Activities/Recruits/Summary Essex did not submit any Activity or Recruit Forms during the study.


91

Wat

erfo

rd/N

iant

ic T

-10_

Farm

ingt

on G

-10_

10

Farmington Farmington ranks tenth in the G-15 group for population with 25,340 residents in its service area. Surprisingly, its 81 volunteer firefighters operate out of only 1 station. The communities where the firefighters live and recruit are suburban (not rural as its name implies) to urban with Esri market segments of In Style, Prosperous Empty Nesters, Main Street USA, Wealthy Seaboard Suburbs, and Urban Chic (Figure 28).

Figure 28: Farmington Esri Segments

Farmington Activities Farmington is a study and group leader with several activities. At the study level, Farmington leads in Community Business Contacts (n=13), Media Contacts (n=24), and Potential Recruits (n=43). Ties for first place at the study level include Media Interviews (n=16), Media PSAs (n=9), and Fire Station Activities (n=10). At the group level, the department leads in New Members (n=29; second in study), Speaking Engagements (n=10; second in study), and Facebook Contacts (n=65). Other notable second place activities include Outreach Events (n=21), School Visits (n=30), and Media Departmental Contacts (n=20). With the exception of August 2012, the department has activity in every month during the study.


92

Table 21: Farmington Activity Tables

Farmington Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits


Totals 0 21 0 43 29 10 8 5 30

Farmington Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters



Aug 0 0 0 0 0 0

Sep 0 0 0 0 2Exchange Club

and RotaryOct 0 0 0 1 0 0Nov 0 0 0 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 2 3 0Feb 0 0 0 3 2 0Mar 0 0 0 1 1 0Apr 0 0 0 1 3 2May 0 0 0 2 2 0


Farmington Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts


Totals 24 20 16 1 9 9 65 8


93

Farmington Recruits Farmington did not have any recruits in the study. In total, the department led the study with Potential Recruits (n=43) and finished second with New Members (n=29). Although the results are surprising, the process did have paper and online options for the Recruit Forms available for the departments. With higher values for potential recruits and new members, these findings may indicate a procedural issue in the study. Farmington Summary Farmington is a leader in the recruitment study. By participating in the program during nine of the ten months of the study, in total, the department leads, ties, or is second with eleven of the activities. All of this leading activity and higher than usual counts for new members and potential recruits indicates a potential problem with the recording of recruit information.

Farmington Other

Month

Outreach or recruitment event description

Leadership activity

Other comments

Aug 0 0 0Sep 0 0 0Oct 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0May 0 0 0

Totals 0 0 0


94

Shel

ton

T-1

4

Man

ches

ter

G-1

4

14

Manchester Manchester ranks fourteenth in the G-15 group (second largest). The department has 108 volunteers. The firefighters reside in a highly diversified (eight market segments) and unique area (three unique segments) in the study. Manchester is the only area with Esri’s Aspiring Young Families, Old and Newcomers, and Solo Acts (Figure 29). Manchester has the second largest population in its service area (n=58,000) and fulfills its resident’s firefighting needs from only four stations.

Figure 29: Manchester Esri Segments

Manchester Activities/Recruits/Summary Manchester did not submit any Activity or Recruit Forms during the study.


95

Sout

hing

ton

T-1

5

Mys

tic R

egio

n G

-15

15

Mystic Region

Mystic Region is the most populated service area in the study (62,000 residents). Within the region, sixty volunteer firefighters operate from three stations. The firefighter communities and recruitment areas are diverse with seven Esri market segments and five Urbanization Summary Groups. The communities range from Rural Green Acres to Metro Cities Urban Chic (Figure 30).

Figure 30: Mystic Esri Segments

Mystic Region Activities The Mystic Region results include activities from Center Groton, Mystic, North Stonington, and Groton Long Point companies/departments. One of the stations reports having monthly meetings for its outreach activities. Overall, the region is second in Webpage Contacts (n=991), Potential Recruits (n=24), and Fire Station Recruitment Activities (tie; after two other departments tied for first in the category) (n=5). Table 22: Mystic Activity Tables

Mystic Region Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits

Aug 0 0 2 12 12 2 1 1 0Sep Total 0 2 2 8 6 3 0 7 6Oct 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0May 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0

Totals 0 2 5 24 18 5 2 8 6


96

Mystic Region Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters



Aug 200 1 0 0 2 Fire Chief FauntieroySep Total 50 1 10 4 0 0Oct 0 0 0 0 0 0Nov 50 0 2 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 15 0 2 0 0 0Mar 15 0 2 0 0 0Apr 15 0 2 0 0 0May 15 1 3 0 1 Local Political Division


Mystic Region Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts

Aug 2 2 1 1 1 3 15 991Sep Total 2 1 1 0 1 0 20 0Oct 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0May 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 4 3 2 1 2 3 35 991


97

Mystic Region Recruits In the 10-month study, the Mystic Region did not report any recruits. However, the departments/companies did add 18 new members to its roster. The higher totals for potential and new members, compared to many of the other departments, may indicate a problem with recording information from recruits. Mystic Region Summary The Mystic Region is the only participant in the study to generated activity in all of the recorded categories – even Media Ride-alongs. The departments/companies have nearly 1,000 contacts through their webpage. During the study, the region added 18 new members to its roster.

Mystic Region Other

Month

Outreach or recruitment

event description Leadership activity

Other comments

Aug 0

Sent by Center Groton Fire Department 0

Sep TotalMonthly Meeting

Sent by Mystic and North Stonington

Volunteer Fire Company; N/A 0

Oct 0 0 0

Nov 0Sent by Groton

Long Point 0Dec 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0

Feb 0

Sent by Groton Long Point VFD

on one form (Feb-April) 0

Mar 0



Apr 0



May 0


on one form (May - June) 0

Totals See Above See Above 0


98

Ter

ryvi

lle T

-5

Old

Say

broo

k G

-5

5

Old Saybrook Old Saybrook ranks fifth in the study with 10,535 community residents, 160 volunteer firefighters, and 4 fire stations. According to Esri, the surrounding suburban recruitment area has market segments that are Cozy and Comfortable, Silver and Gold, Prosperous Empty Nesters, and Exurbanites. Half of the recruitment market segments in Old Saybrook relate to Senior Styles (Figure 31).

Old Saybrook Activities Old Saybrook centers its recruitment efforts in one group of activities – Promotional Materials. The department did not participate in any activities other than distributing promotional materials, displaying a banner, or hanging community posters. By concentrating its efforts into one group of activities, the department gains recognition as the leader in Community Posters (n=1,250). In addition to posters, the department distributed 700 pieces of material, but did not participate in any outreach, media, or social media events in the 10-month study.

Figure 31: Old Saybrook Esri Segments

Table 23: Old Saybrook Activity Tables

Old Saybrook Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits


Totals 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0


99

Old Saybrook Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters



Who contacted


Totals 700 1 1250 0 0 0

Old Saybrook Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts


Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Old Saybrook Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts


Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


100

Old Saybrook Recruits Old Saybrook did not formally record any recruits in the study, but a note indicates some applicant activity. According to the March 2013 note, the department has applicants, but none of them mentions the posters (etc.) as their impetus to join. During the study, the department lists one potential recruit. Old Saybrook Summary Old Saybrook chose an unusual recruitment strategy for this study. The department’s activity has a focus on distributing promotional materials – mainly posters (n=1,250), and it did not record any events, media, or social media contacts. Although this strategy did not result in any documented recruits, the department did have unrelated applicant activity, and it plans to mail a recruitment letter this October.

Old Saybrook Other

Month Outreach or

recruitment event Leadership activity Other commentsAug 0 0 0Sep 0 0 0Oct 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0

Mar 0

We have some applicants that have joined, but not due to posters, etc.; We are putting a recruitment letter to be

mailed out (Oct?) 0Apr 0 0 0

May 0 0 0



101

Mon

roe

T-9

Sim

sbur

y G

-9

9

Simsbury

Simsbury near Avon and Farmington ranks ninth for population in this group and has six stations. The firefighters provide services to its 24,000 residents. The department has 88 volunteer firefighters. According to the department’s Tapestry report, the recruitment community has five market segments and is mainly a suburban community (Figure 32).

Simsbury Activities Simsbury is a study leader in distributing promotional materials. Within 10 months, the department distributed 2,307 pieces of information to the community. The department sent out the majority of that total – almost two thousand – in one month (March 2013). With the exception of some media activities, the department participates in almost every type of activity – including a leadership class.

Figure 32: Simsbury Esri Segments


102

Table 24: Simsbury Activity Tables

Simsbury Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits


Totals 1 3 2 4 4 0 2 1 1

Simsbury Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters



Who contacted

Aug 0 0 0 0 0 0Sep 100 2 10 0 0 0Oct 0 0 0 0 0 0Nov 100 1 4 0 0 0Dec 55 1 10 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 100 0 1 1 1 RotaryMar 1952 1 0 1 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0May 0 0 0 0 0 0


Simsbury Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts


Totals 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 1


103

Simsbury Recruits Simsbury has one recruit for the study. The recruit, who is a prior member, mentions a referral as the reason to learn more about joining the department. In addition to this recruit, the department lists four new members in its ranks during the study period. Simsbury Summary The department’s primary recruitment activity is distributing promotional materials. Although the paperwork does not mention the specifics of the activity, clearly the department can organize an initiative to distribute close to 2,000 pieces of information in one month. Simsbury is the study leader in this category.

Simsbury Other

Month



commentsAug 0 0 0

Sep 0We are still awaiting new

data 0Oct 0 0 0

Nov 1 Staff Meeting

No events scheduled for holidays; Poster used at

three locations 0Dec Staff Meeting 0 0Jan 0 0 0

Feb

Staff Meeting Reviews/Attended

Leadership Class 0 0Mar 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0May 0 0 0

Totals See Above See Above 0


104

Wet

hers

fiel

d T

-11_

Staf

ford

/Elli

ngto

n G

-11_

11

Stafford/Ellington

Stafford/Ellington, which is located in the northern portion of the state, ranks eleventh for population in this group. Its 150 volunteer firefighters serve 27,000 residents from 5 fire stations. The community is more rural and suburban than many of the other communities in the study (Figure 33). Stafford/Ellington Activities Stafford/Ellington’s has the second highest total for Public Safety Events in the study (n=17). The majority of these events occur in October (n=14). Almost all of the activity within the department occurs in September and October, probably to prepare for National Fire Prevention Month

(October).

Figure 33: Stafford/Ellington Esri Segments


105

Table 25: Stafford/Ellington Activity Tables

Stafford/Ellington Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits


Totals 0 10 3 11 4 0 5 17 6

Stafford/Ellington Promotional Material Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters



Who contacted

Aug 0 0 0 0 0 0Sep Total 505 2 22 0 0 0Oct Total 515 2 20 0 0 0Nov Total 0 0 12 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0May 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 1020 4 54 0 0 0

Stafford/Ellington Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts

Aug 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Sep Total 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0Oct Total 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0Nov Total 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0Dec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0May 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0


106

Stafford/Ellington Recruits Stafford/Ellington did not add any recruits to its roster during the study period; however, it did add four new members. Stafford/Ellington Summary Stafford/Ellington has a focus on supporting activities in preparation and support of National Fire Prevention Month, which occurs in October. The department ranks second in Public Safety Events during this month. All of the department’s activities occur in 2012.

Stafford/Ellington Other

Month



comments

Aug 0Sent by Stafford Fire

Department No 1 0

Sep Total 0

Sent by Stafford Fire Department No 1; Sent by

Ellington 0

Oct Total 0


Ellington 0

Nov Total 0


Ellington 0

Dec 0Sent by Stafford Fire

Department No 1 0

Jan 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0

Apr 0 0 0May 0 0 0



107

Boz

rah

Reg

ion

T-1

3

Wal

lingf

ord

G-1

3

13

Wallingford

Wallingford has a service area with 45,000 residents and ranks 13th in this group. To serve the population, the department has 83 volunteers that operate from 4 stations. According to Esri’s designation for the core and development segments in the recruitment area, the community is suburban with areas of Main Street USA and Pleasant-Ville (Figure 34).

Wallingford Activities The Wallingford Department has activity in one of the study months. During the month of April, the department had three fundraisers. Other than these fundraisers, the department did not record any other activities during the study.

Figure 34: Wallingford Esri Segments


108

Table 26: Wallingford Activity Tables

Wallingford Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits


Totals 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 0

Wallingford Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters



Who contacted


Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0


109

Wallingford Recruits Although Wallingford does not have any recruits in the study, the department did record three potential candidates associated with its fundraisers. Wallingford Summary Wallingford’s activity in the study includes three fundraisers. Although the tally sheet does not indicate the specifics of the fundraisers, the department did gain three potential recruits for their efforts. The department did not record any other activities during the study.

Wallingford Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts


Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Wallingford Other

Month



activityOther

commentsAug 0 0 0Sep 0 0 0Oct 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0May 0 0 0

Totals 0 0 0


110

Nor

th B

ranf

ord

T-6-

Was

hing

ton/

Woo

dbur

y G

-6

6

Washington/Woodbury Washington/Woodbury ranks sixth in the G-15 group for population. The community is diverse with rural and urban areas – including the only segment with an American Quilt designation (Figure 35). This community has 100 volunteers to staff 5 stations.

Figure 35: Washington/Woodbury Esri Segments

Washington/Woodbury Activities The majority of the department’s activities occur in September 2012. Among the activities are ten Public Safety Events, six Speaking Engagements, and 4 Media Press Releases during this month, which is in the month preceding National Fire Prevention Month. The department also lists an event to raise money for the Community Fund in November. Overall, the department has activity is eight of the ten study months, but mentions in an email that the department’s roster is full.


111

Table 27: Washington /Woodbury Activity Tables

Washington/Woodbury Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits

Aug 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0Sep Total 0 2 3 3 0 1 2 10 6Oct 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Nov 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0Dec 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0May 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0

Totals 0 6 3 10 2 1 4 11 6

Washington/Woodbury Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month Distributed

promotional materialsBanner display

Community posters



Aug 0 0 6 0 0 0

Sep Total 100 2 50 6 5Chief Morgan; Capt Shaker

Oct 0 0 0 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0May 30 1 6 0 0 0


Washington/Woodbury Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts

Aug 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0Sep Total 2 2 2 0 4 0 0 0Oct 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0May 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0

Totals 2 3 2 0 10 0 0 0


112

Washington/Woodbury Recruits Washington/Woodbury did not record any recruit information during the study; however, the department did gain two new members during the study. Washington/Woodbury Summary Although Washington/Woodbury mentions that its roster if full, the department continues to conduct recruitment activities. The department did not record any recruit information during the study. However, with submissions in all but two of the study months, it is one of the most active with consistent recruiting initiatives – particularly prior to National Fire Prevention Month.

Washington/Woodbury Other


event descriptionLeadership

activity Other commentsAug 0 0 Sent by Washington

Sep Total 0 0 Sent by Woodbury and WashingtonOct 0 0 Sent by Washington

Nov 0 0Sent by Washingon; An event was held to raise

money for Community Fund.

Dec 0 0 Sent by Washington

Jan 0 0 0

Feb 0 0 Sent by WashingtonMar 0 0 0Apr 0 0 Sent by WashingtonMay 0 0 Sent by Washington

Totals 0 0 See Above


113

Win

sted

T-4

Wes

ton

G-4

4

Weston Weston ranks fourth in the G-15 group. Sixty volunteers staff four stations. The firefighters serve 10,000 residents in the community. The community is the least diverse in the study with an entirely High Society recruitment area (Figure 36).

Figure 36: Weston Esri Segments

Weston Activities For the study, Weston has activities in the fall season. All of the activities occur between September and November. The department’s efforts focus on Public Safety Events (n=6), School Visits (n=14), Promotional Materials (n=800) and Community Posters (n=42) within the community. All of these efforts occur in only three months. Table 28: Weston Activity Tables

Weston Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits


Totals 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 6 14


114

Weston Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters



Who contacted


Totals 800 6 42 0 0 0

Weston Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts


Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3

Weston Other

Month

Outreach or recruitment

event descriptionLeadership

activityOther

commentsAug 0 0 0Sep 0 0 0Oct 0 0 0Nov 0 0 0Dec 0 0 0Jan 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0May 0 0 0


115

Weston Recruits Weston did not record any recruit information during the study. Weston Summary For their efforts in the Fall of 2012, the department lists seven potential recruits. Public Safety Events, School Visits, Promotional Materials, and Community Posters are the activities of choice for the department. The department did not record any recruiting information in 2013.


116

Wes

t Hav

en T

-12

Win

dsor

G-1

2

12

Windsor Windsor ranks twelfth in the G-15 group for population. The suburban community has eleven fire stations – the most in the study. To staff these stations, the department has 386 volunteer firefighters to provide serve to an area with 28,000 residents. The area is suburban in character (Figure 37).

Figure 37: Windsor Esri Segments

Windsor Activities In 2012, the department lists many recruitment efforts. The leading activities include School Visits (n=8), Media Contacts (n=7), Press Releases (n=4), Banner Display (n=18), Distributed Promotional Materials (n=405), and Community Posters (n=66), among others activities. Windsor is the leader in the G-15 group for Banner Display. In addition to the regular recruitment activities, for fire prevention and recruitment, the department operates a booth at the local town fair (September 2012) and attends a chili-fest with over 5,000 visitors (October 2012). All of the department’s recruitment activities occur in 2012.


117

Table 29: Windsor Activity Tables

Windsor Departmental Activities

Month


Outreach events


Potential recruits

New members


Fundraising events


School visits


Totals 0 4 3 0 11 1 0 2 8

Windsor Promotional Materials Face to Face Contact Activities

Month



Community posters



Aug 0 0 0 0 0 0Sep 100 3 20 0 0 0Oct 300 5 40 0 0 0Nov 0 5 0 0 0 0

Dec 5 5 6 1 2Fire Marshal's

OfficeJan 0 0 0 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0 0 0 0May 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 405 18 66 1 2 0


118

Windsor Recruits During the 10-month study, the department lists 11 new members, but no recruits. Windsor Summary During this study, the staff lists School Visits, Media Contacts, Press Releases, Distributed Promotional Materials, Community Posters, and other activities as its regular recruitment efforts. In addition to these regular recruitment activities, Windsor attends two events during the Fall – a town fair and a chili-fest. For the study period, all of these activities occur in 2012, and the department lists eleven new members for its efforts. The department did not record any recruitment activity in 2013.

Windsor Media Contacts Social Media

Month Media

contacts

Media departmental

contactsMedia

interviews

Media ride-

alongs

Media press

releasesMedia PSAs

Facebook contacts

Webpage contacts


Totals 7 7 1 0 4 0 0 0

Windsor Other

Month Outreach or recruitment event descriptionLeadership

activity Other commentsAug 0 0 0

SepA town fair occurred - booth was manned for both the

FMO/Fire Prevention and recruitment 0 0

OctA town fair occurred - booth was manned for both the

FMO/Fire Prevention and recruitment 0A Chili-fest occurred in town in early

October with over 5,000 visitors

NovA town fair occurred –booth was manned for both the

FMO/Fire Prevention and recruitment 0 0

DecA town fair occurred –booth was manned for both the

FMO/Fire Prevention and recruitment 0 0Jan 0 0 0Feb 0 0 0Mar 0 0 0Apr 0 0 0May 0 0 0

Totals See Above 0 See Above


119

Conclusions While it is best to interpret the results presented here with careful consideration of all the issues faced by departments during the recruitment process, there is an understanding of the complexity with real-world recruitment given the situations within the departments at the time of the study. Unforeseen emergencies, disasters, and tragedies within departments, communities, and the state take priority over recruitment efforts. During the study period of August 2012 to May 2013, the Connecticut firefighters experienced several major events that would channel resources and personnel to urgent matters. Although this report does not include testing for a statistically significant association with higher recruitment levels due to the minimal submission of recruit information, it does not necessarily indicate that the levels of activity are not successful. This could either encourage departments to increase the amount of these activities or maintain the current levels in order to concentrate on areas that could be more successful with additional resources. Activities (without a statistically significant relationship) could be viewed as positive activities that may benefit from increased resources or an alteration of the methods by which that activity is undertaken. Activities could be seen as those where the results are not as planned, and may be in need of significant revision in order to allow them to have a positive influence on recruitment levels. An example of this is possible procedural changes to encourage the departments or individuals to submit information on Recruit Forms or enter this information into a database. The outcome of this study can direct procedures and research along several avenues. Relying on the lessons learned from this effort, in the future it may be useful to track individual recruits from their first contact in recruitment process to determine the means that “bring them in the door.” Changes in the methods of collecting the data may help ensure that data entry is thorough, yet reasonably easy for the participants to complete. Procedural updates can also help to track these recruits to the application phase, through training, and ultimately into the fire service. Additional tracking and information regarding the recruitment activities could also lead to additional analyses. For many of the activities, particularly for the G-15 group, it is unknown if specific recommendations based on the core and development designations drive the changes in the method of implementing the activity. Although this overall process of gathering more information would require Human Subjects Research approval to ensure the safety and confidentiality of the participants, additional spatial statistics with the collection of more recruit information would gain a greater understanding of recruit residences or clusters of recruits and the demographic variables associated with these locations.


120

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Appendix A Tracking Forms


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