Note: The article was first published in 2024
GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (2024(Cleary’s Notebook News)–The Gloucester City Mayor Dayl Baile and Council hired the Smith Consulting Group of Ocean City, NJ, in 2024 to assess the members Gloucester City paid fire department. The owner, James P. Smith Jr., has 30 years of experience in firefighting and is the Ocean City Fire Chief overseeing 67 department members.
According to the report, the 14-page evaluation was conducted by interviewing all 22 department members to understand their issues, views, perspectives, and ideas for future growth.
After interviewing the members, the evaluator observed that discipline needs to be consistently administered and that officers should be trained to handle infractions. The report mentioned that nine people, or 40 percent, have left the department over the past 11 years.
Smith released 20 recommendations, each placed under a subtitle. For example, under the title DISCIPLINE Smith wrote in part;
1: The department should receive training from a legal expert in managing disciplinary issues in the fire service. All members must understand what is deemed harassment, unacceptable acts, and the value of respect towards peers. The current culture in the department is disappointing, and for many members, it is seemingly void of respect towards their peers.
2:The department must create a set of rules and regulations that is a guide for the department rules and acceptable actions and behaviors.
3: Return to basics for training. If a member needs more time to become proficiendt in a certain skill, they should recieved the proper time and instruction.
4: Organize training with Camden City for hazardous materials and special operations is important. A better understanding of who is responding for the GCFD crew when in Camden is necessary. Once threw with training in Camdem the crew should return to the city immediately.
5: Provide prior knowledege to the shift that training will be upcoming.
6: The department should invest in a records management program to log and record all training.
7: Consider a schedule change from a four platoon system to a three platoon system. This will require a negotiation with the unions. It is more efficient and will provide extra staffing that the members requested.
8. Carrying vacation time from year to year should stop. This would eliminate the unknown of how many shifts the chief need to cover for any given year.
9. If a three-platoon system is enacted, vacation slots should be limited to just one member daily.
10. Sick time usage in 12 hour-blocks should stop. Members may be capable of returning to work in less time, but are forced to stay out for a full 12.
11. Consider merging the two labor unions for the betterment of the department and the community.
12. Consider starting a Community Risk Reduction program to assist the citizens of Gloucester City before emergencies happen.
13. Establish the civil service rank of deputy chief and promote an officer who shows strong qualities of a future department chief. The newly created deputy chief rank salary should minimally be the current fire chief salary.
14. The GCFD must reestablish relationships with all of their mutual aid partners. Training needs to occur with more than just Camden City.
15. The entire department should receive leadership training.
16. The department should rebrand itself. Have a fresh new start and place the hostile acts and behaviors in the past.
17. Some type of sensitivity training needs to occur. The stories from the interviews are disappointing. The members need to be informed of what is unacceptable behavior.
18. Once the local civil service entrance list is exhausted, consider hiring firefighters from the county list.
19. The fire chief salary needs to be raised to attract the best and the brightest to the position.
20. Consideration should be made around Chief Hagan’s retirement that an outside individual hired as a department head may be better than just promoting someone internally to the fire position. Some patience is vital to finding the right person. Internal or external pressure to fill the position should not be entertained.
