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We’re merging! Now what? A street-level look at combining organizations

Our chief helped us visualize that change through a merger with our neighboring department might be our lifeline, not our ruin

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Chief Qualman’s changing of command ceremony. Qualman (right) hands the flag to incoming Chief Baker (left).

Photo by Eric Hurst

By Steve Whitehead

For months, it seemed that all anyone in my firehouse, Parker Fire Protection District station #71, could talk about was the possibility of merging with our neighboring department. South Metro Fire Rescue, to our west, had recently announced the departure of their chief and several high-ranking officials. The feeling was if a merger with our neighbor was the right thing to do, the time to do it was now.

I will admit, with some degree of shame, that my thought on the whole idea of a merger was, “What does this mean for me?” Like a petulant child in a sandbox, I didn’t want to share my chiefs, my coworkers and my shiny ambulances and rescue equipment with the kids next door.

Who were these firefighters from the city next door? Over the past several years all I had heard about them was their struggles, their budget issues and the fights between their union and their administration. I wasn’t eager to be the next possible solution to their ongoing problems.

I wasn’t alone in my trepidation. As the plans for a potential merger solidified and the rumor mill spun out of control, an informational meeting was arranged. Employees could hear about the state of the merger discussions, ask questions and air concerns. I took a seat toward the middle of the room and listened while chiefs and administrators laid out the current state of affairs.

The questions from my coworkers all followed a theme. What does this mean for me? How will my world change? Why do we need to do this? What’s in it for us?

Visualize the future
The mood in the room was tense as Parker Fire Protection District Chief Dan Qualman took the floor. Qualman had led the organization for over 20 years and was one of the most respected leaders in emergency services.

He cleared his throat and unfolded a few pieces of paper.

In his subdued tone he explained, “I’d like to read to you all a few news stories. None of these stories have been published, but I feel that they are all well within the realm of possibility.”

The first fictitious news story was dated a few months in the future. It explained that after much debate, to avoid internal conflict, the department had decided not to pursue a consolidation with our neighboring department.

The next story was dated a year in the future and it explained that multiple large corporations on our western border had decided to stop participating in a dual-response system that currently had them paying taxes to two separate fire districts. The fictitious article explained that loss of revenue to our department would be significant.

The next story was several more years in the future and it outlined the changes to our response plan and service area to adapt to changes in our declining tax revenue from the ever-worsening economy. Next was a story about layoffs and changes in minimum staffing. On and on, each story painted a new and potentially bleaker picture of our future.

The technique wasn’t without risk. In the sometimes cynical world of emergency services, the chief’s fictional news stories could have easily come across as overblown scare tactics, but each story seemed plausible and realistic. Each example carried the weight of a leader with two decades of department history and a reputation for candor, honesty and respect.

In his quiet and thoughtful way, Qualman explained his hopes and his fears for our future. He brilliantly changed our focus. For many of us, it was the first time we had considered why a merger could be a good thing, not only for our neighbors, but for us and for our citizens.

What is right?
Much of the remainder of Qualman’s talk focused on the potential positive outcomes of a merger. What was the right thing to do? What was the best possible future for our department, for our brothers and sisters across the freeway, and for the public that we were sworn to serve?

As the months passed, there would be many more meetings and conversations. Chiefs from each of the departments toured all of the stations, often answering the same questions and addressing the same concerns over and over. But much of the tension from the ‘what’s-in-it-for-me’ bubble had been drained. Qualman helped everyone see the road to a better future.

We responded together
Less than a year later, the merger took place. South Metro Fire Rescue and the Parker Fire Protection District came together to form the South Metro Fire Rescue Authority. The crews were shuffled and no station was left untouched. Staffing was changed to ensure that no station maintained staff entirely made up of one department or the other.

The most remarkable thing about the morning of the merger was how unremarkable it really was. The department name on the uniforms changed. Some of the faces around the dinner table were different, but the laughter remained the same. The tones went off and we responded to calls. Differences in policy and SOG’s were discovered and addressed.

I don’t know if any of Qualman’s predictions about the future of our department would have come true had we decided not to merge with our neighboring department. I do know that few, if any, of our current members would argue that we were better off as separate entities. The idea and vision that we would be stronger, better and more resilient as one department has come to fruition.

Over the course of the seven years that have passed since the consolidation, many other changes have taken place. As a larger organization, we’ve remained insulated from many of the economic struggles that have affected so many of our brothers and sisters around the state and the country. Our expanded training center has brought the latest ideas and techniques in fire and EMS to our front door. Our service to our citizens remains top-notch and our leadership remains uncompromising.

Emotions of workplace change
When we talk about the merger today with our expanded family, we mostly marvel at how fast the time has gone by. We frequently observe with amazement, “Has it really been seven years already?”

A little over five years after the consolidation, Qualman hung up his white helmet and retired from the fire service, passing his seat to his second in command. With that, his legacy continues. And it’s not surprising that he is sought after as an advisor and consultant to fire departments everywhere who are considering similar consolidations.

From my seat in the medic unit, I’ll never really know all that had to happen to make it possible for two of the largest departments in Colorado to merge into one entity. I only know how it felt. When significant changes happen outside of our control and influence, the feelings are predictable. Anxiety, apprehension and fear typically rule the day. Like falling into a rushing river, a major change in our workplace can make us feel disoriented and out of control.

Qualman’s solution was unique in its effectiveness. He didn’t try to simply quell our fears or placate our anxiety. Had he tried, I don’t think his words would have been any more effective than yelling out to a man swept away in a raging river that everything is going to be OK. Instead he allowed us to see that change might be our lifeline, not our ruin. He demonstrated that addressing the future boldly might be the safest of all options. And time has proven him right.

Paramedic Chief Digital Edition is an EMS1 original publication that focuses on some of the most challenging topics facing paramedic chiefs and EMS service leaders everywhere.
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