The Truth About Public Safety, Part 9: Let’s Hear from Some Experts: IAFC

Consolidation of Fire and Police Departments: A Position Statement by the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Inc.

Historically in the United States, the proposal to combine police and fire departments is believed to have first occurred in Cincinnati, Ohio about 1877.

The International Association of Fire Chiefs, then named “The National Association of Fire Engineers”, opposed such action at that time and has continued to do so over the years.

The most recent resolution in opposition to such proposals was passed by the 91st Annual Conference meeting in Houston, Texas, October 19-22, 1964.

The resolution stated in part: “...the International Association of Fire Chiefs reaffirms its stand against attempts to consolidate the fire and police departments in municipalities and to work toward restoration of separate fire and police forces in those communities where consolidation has been effected........”

Similar resolutions had been passed at Conferences held in 1954 and 1957 as examples of more recent years.
The International Association of Fire Chiefs opposes consolidation from several points of view.

Perhaps the most important is that the consolidation concept breaks up the company unit which is the basic attack unit of a fire department. The company is that instrument of a fire department which does the work necessary to bring a hose line to bear on a fire after the preliminaries (or ventilation to permit this action) such as sizeup, rescue and “lay-out” or “stretching-in” of hoselines have been accomplished following arrival at the scene.

By their very nature, the above actions require closely coordinated teamwork which can only be considered "professional” when performed by a group which recognizes the objective, obeys the commander who orders the action, and subordinates personal desire toward success of the team in the interest of service to the people of the community.
This requires a philosophy of teamwork versus individual action which in the long run is the difference between fire fighters and police.

This is the reason why the fire service has considered itself semi-military over the years. The military has never found a substitute for its form of discipline, training, and living system over the centuries. A fire company can be thought of as a military fire-team as a corollary.

Consolidation schemes, no matter how phrased, tend to break up the team concept and stress individual action except at those times when a fire occurs. At such times, uncoordinated actions are bound to occur, due to circumstances beyond the control of anyone concerned, with inefficiency and chaos as the inevitable result.

Economy has been the key word in all proposals for consolidation of forces heretofore. Unfortunately, the record of those schemes which have been implemented do not bear this out. In fact, most objective reports on the subject indicate exactly the opposite together with poor morale, low fire fighting efficiency, and poor service to the public.

Fire Service Commanders as represented by this Association have held these views for nearly 100 years. In their considered opinion nothing has happened in this time which would indicate to them that any other system of organization and operation would truly increase their efficiency and economy and, at the same time, permit them to carry out the obligation to safeguard the lives and property of the people they serve.