Firefighter Mentorship

Mentorship is vital to the future succession planning of the fire service. Everyone can positively benefit from having a mentor. Mentorship is how we bring continuous improvement to our profession. There is value in having an established advisor in your life to offer you counsel and guidance throughout your career.

I have immensely benefited from the sound guidance from my valued mentors throughout my career. The ability to have someone to call and ask for help is vital and extremely necessary, regardless of rank, title, or position. Mentorship transcends the firefighter classification and applies to all in our profession. Mentoring is critical, especially when developing a career action plan with your mentor for future succession planning.

I am the product of my mentors. My successes are their successes, and my failures are also their failures. Through each, I share the burden of failure or the joy of success with my mentors. The value of having a mentor can be the difference between success and failure.

The mentorship continuum is exemplified when you transcend the role of mentee and become a mentor. The mentorship continuum comprises of an initial investment that is reinvested into a mentee. Mentorship is how we leave the fire service better for future generations. My mentors have demonstrated through their example of mentorship how to pay it forward and invest in the future.

Mentorship is simply coming along the side of someone and assisting them throughout their fire service career. How many mentors have guided you throughout your fire service career? Have you called your mentors recently to acknowledge and express your gratitude for the value of their mentorship? We honor our mentors when we return their investments into the future generations of the fire service. It's what we do; we mentor each other.