Maintaining good conduct amongst firefighters is imperative, but too often, it’s a challenge for station managers to uphold. Station managers must develop a plan for implementing positive behavior and ensuring that team members adhere to the standard of conduct. Investing in a management liability plan can facilitate this goal, but several other approaches can be equally effective. Like more people, firefighters may respond well to positive reinforcement. If you insure firefighters, you should be aware of the following strategies to help your clients maintain good behavior, minimize liabilities and maintain a culture of integrity in the fire station.

Create a Management Liability Plan

One of the first steps that a fire station should take in the fight against poor conduct is the formation of a management liability plan. Management liability refers to the risk that all fire station leadership faces when performing the daily duties of the job. Allegations of harassment, discrimination, or negligence can easily compromise a fire station’s mission and cause costly liabilities to emerge. In addition to investing in management liability insurance, every fire station must proactively implement a plan to address and prevent the aforementioned risks proactively.

Understand the Cause of Negative Behavior

Unfortunately, a management liability plan can only be effective if it addresses the root of the problem behavior. If fire station leadership is liable for using inflammatory language, this is a matter of interpersonal conflict. The use of provocative language is unlikely to stop if the individuals in question do not first resolve their interpersonal conflict. Leadership must always take steps to understand the cause of unwanted behavior to address it effectively.

Reward Positive Behavior at Every Opportunity

In addition to interrogating and penalizing unwanted behaviors, fire station leadership should make an effort to reward positive behavior, too. If a fire station exclusively recognizes unwanted conduct and overlooks those who display exemplary conduct, there is little incentive to maintain the standards that management imposes. Management should reward firefighters who demonstrate exemplary conduct by acknowledging their efforts and upholding them as role models. Rewarding positive behavior can be even more effective than penalizing negative behavior.

Invest in Management Liability Insurance

Management liability plans can effectively address and minimize the prevalence of unwanted behaviors in the fire station. Even the most effective strategy is unlikely to eliminate these problems. For this reason, fire stations must invest in protection through management liability insurance. Management liability insurance for fire stations covers a wide range of liabilities so that leadership can focus on maintaining high standards of ethics. These high standards can minimize liabilities and ensure that firefighters continue to serve their communities with dignity.

About Provident Fire Plus

At Provident Fire Plus, we offer custom tailored packages to best protect firefighters and volunteer firefighters. We understand the risks that emergency response teams are subjected to on a daily basis, and have worked to serve these dedicated professionals for over 87 years. For more information about our products and policies, we invite you to contact our experts today at (855) 201-8880.