We recently sat in on a Fire Captain Oral Board Interview for another department. One of the candidates gave a fantastic answer to this challenging question. His answer really impressed his Chief.

“Describe your view of discipline”

There are two meanings to discipline in the fire service. The first is using discipline as a tool to improve the performance of an individual. Our progressive discipline procedure has this as its primary goal. It ranges from a verbal warning, up to termination. The goal of every step before termination is to improve the performance of an employee. Each step has performance improvement steps and measures.

The second meaning of discipline can be viewed in terms of a disciplined crew. As a newly promoted company officer, I plan on running a disciplined firehouse and crew. To me this means a crew that self starts on tasks, follows all procedures and rules, and is “on the ball”. We will train daily with the goal of being the best that we can be. A disciplined crew is highly efficient and effective.

This is a fantastic answer. Remember, discipline is not a punishment; it is a tool to improve performance. When answering this question, you also may want to discuss your role in the disciplinary process. We have added this question to our Fire Officer Interview Questions guide.