From Firefighter to Fire Chief – The Tom DeSorcy Story - 397

In this episode, Dr. Gasaway talks with Retired Fire Chief Tom DeSorcy about how he quickly went from being a volunteer firefighter to career fire chief.

 

Tom DeSorcy joined the fire service in 1983 and became the first paid firefighter in his hometown of Hope, B.C., when he became fire chief in 2000.  This followed a career in broadcasting in local radio and his talk show eventually was heard across Canada, via satellite from Vancouver in the early ‘90s.  Now retired, his voice can be heard on the Firefighting in Canada - The Podcast and he lends his voice in narrating online training.   Tom is married with 2 children, and 2 grandchildren.  He is equally at home at a bonspiel (which for us lay people, is a curling tournament), on the golf course or in the kitchen, and he continues to enjoy his connections to the fire service.

 

Tom’s story may be unique as he quickly went from serving as a volunteer fire fighter to becoming the fire chief almost.  The town of Hope was surrounded by two regional district electoral areas and each had their own fire department.  When all of these areas were amalgamated into a District Municipality, 3 fire departments existed. 

 

It became apparent that a single fire department needed to be created and thus a contract fire chief position was offered which Tom accepted the position.  Originally this was supposed to be a 10 month contract however, Tom realized that it could be extended to a permanent position and began to seek out training opportunities to “put himself in a position to accept a job should it be offered”.  That was in 1999.  In 2000 the contract ran out and a permanent position was not being considered.  This is when the existing volunteer chiefs put their pagers on the council table in a mass protest resignation until Tom was hired.

 

Tom then set out on the journey to create a “modern” fire department from the current social club that existed, all the while battling resistance to change not only from within, but from the community.  This was a struggle to say the least.   It was through various associations and the networking it brought to connect Tom the outside world of firefighting.  He adopted a “Moss and Grass” approach to leadership where he supported positive growth and ignored naysayers that stood in his way.  

 

Today, he’s come full circle in creating a succession plan where they now have a Fire Chief and Deputy in a progressive and busy department of professional volunteers. 

During this episode we discuss:

 

The unique demographic of the community of Hope, British Columbia and the challenges it creates for the fire department.

 

How Tom became the fire chief when the three existing fire chiefs in the community all resigned. 

 

Tom’s thoughts on the generational changes he’s observed since joining the fire service in 1983.

 

Tom’s application of his unique “Moss and Grass” leadership.

 

The role fire associations played in Tom’s personal development journey.

 

How Tom planned for succession and preparation for retirement.

Tom’s advice for firefighters preparing for retirement.

 

 

About the Host

Richard B. Gasaway, PhD, CSP is widely considered a trusted authority on human factors, situationa