Business educational skills for successful aviation fire officers

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the business educational skills aviation fire officers use to manage airport fire departments. Design/methodology/approach The methodology was a qualitative phenomenological design. The participants began with 10 aviation fire officers from airports throughout the USA who were at least 28 years old, held leadership roles, and had at least 10 years of experience as aviation fire officers (Buttenschon, 2016). Saturation was reached at seven during the interview phase. The limitations of this study were gaining participants' trust and obtaining comprehensive information from them. Findings Six themes emerged from this study, with the top three identified: management, finance and education, which are critical in managing an aviation fire department. The findings indicated that management, finance and education work together to meet the departmental objectives. Research limitations/implications The limitations included participants' adherence to traditions, experiences, and general knowledge of the subject matter (Sedlmeyer and Dwyer, 2018). Gaining the participants' trust was hindered by their reluctance to divulge sensitive information from their organizations for fear of reprisal (Sedlmeyer and Dwyer, 2018). The practical implications of this study may improve the management of the fire department's operational areas, including fiscal matters and the overall management of the department's goals and objectives. The small sample size stems from Information Power Concept which employs a narrow aim, a homogeneous group, and participants with rich information (Malterud et al. (2016). Practical implications Budget reductions are common across industries. Public safety reductions include personnel reductions, pay cuts, facility closures, and service interruptions (Reilly, 2013). Maintaining solvent municipalities is paramount to emergency services. The industry's current demands require business leaders to do more with less to remain solvent. Leading aviation fire departments from a business perspective enhances service by enabling frugal management and addressing the municipality's business challenges (Reilly, 2013). Social implications The perception of being viewed as a cost, traditional fire departments and aviation fire departments are under the microscope. By using business skills to improve their departments, aviation fire officers could create an efficient operation, just as private businesses (Fleming, 2008). Adopting these practices could create innovative new processes (Zashkiani et al., 2011). Originality/value Identifying business educational skills may allow aviation fire officers to operate their operations efficiently, with fiscal responsibility, and provide adequate resources for emergency operations. Social implications include shifting from a traditional aviation fire officer role to a business-focused role, which may create cost savings for their citizens and save lives.