Managing Conflict in Combination Fire Departments

VISION: Produced by the ICMA in July 2000. This report explains when and why CFDs are efficient compared with both all-career fire departments and all volunteer fire departments, and it also describes the principal management problem—the conflict or potential conflict between career and volunteer firefighters. Case studies are followed by a classification of CFDs into four types. Guidelines help policy makers determine the type of CFD in their jurisdiction, and four conflict management strategies are presented.