Rural Volunteer Fire Department

[RobertN]

Our district, and the surrounding ones, do not use any lights etc for volunteers going to the station. We are expected to proceed to the station in a legal fashion. If we get a ticket or cause an accident in route to the station, it is our fault, not the districts. We have no clearances to go code-3 in personal vehicles.

Even code-3, there are still speed limit considerations, right of way, etc. You can't just go blasting around. You still have to stop for red lights, stop signs. Emergency vehicle operation classes are available, as is literature. It is better to get there going slower, than it is to cause another incident, especially when someone gets hurt or dies.

In your case, I would have had that dump truck parked in front of the fire chiefs office, and had a very very serious discussion with them.

District and state SOP's do very city to city, state to state. You sure wouldn't go code 3 in a personal vehicle around here.

I would like to see more driver training and stricter rules on volunteers going to a scene. Every cowboy here that buys a redlight at JC whitney uses that as an excuse to not have to follow highway rules. I know of 3 head on accident cause by gungho folks on the way to an accident that were passing on a curve or hill. I was recently run off the road in Coleman park by a fire fighter going to a leaf fire. I was i na dump truck loaded and these 3 cars with red lights passed another car halfway down the hill. I took the ditch and it really irked me.

 

[deerefan]

We have a rule in our district...no vehicle, fire truck/ems included, goes more than 10mph over the limit and that is only to calls where life is in jeapordy. We do not run code to grass fires or mva w/out injury. We come to a complete stop @ all intersections regardless. First offense is a 6 month suspension, second offense you are dismissed w/out the option to rejoin. I adhere to this strictly...no need creating a second incident when we are already short handed. A couple years ago my wife and i were on our way to dinner and i was run off the road by fireman from one of our districts departments. I called dispatch and verified his number and the call...a grass fire. He received a little more than a talking to if you catch my drift.

 

[RobertN]

We have a rule in our district...no vehicle, fire truck/ems included, goes more than 10mph over the limit and that is only to calls where life is in jeapordy. We do not run code to grass fires or mva w/out injury. We come to a complete stop @ all intersections regardless. First offense is a 6 month suspension, second offense you are dismissed w/out the option to rejoin. I adhere to this strictly...no need creating a second incident when we are already short handed. A couple years ago my wife and i were on our way to dinner and i was run off the road by fireman from one of our districts departments. I called dispatch and verified his number and the call...a grass fire. He received a little more than a talking to if you catch my drift.

Agree, 110%

 

[copefarms]

a higher level of training may help your local insurance rating.
Its also safer for you and your fellow volunteers so you are all on the same page and level of training.
It will also teach you how to put out a fire better than just throwing water on it.
As others have stated running lights on your personal vehicle is different in every district.
Realize that if you are in an accident while running lights and your insurance company finds out you could be dropped and put on a black list where you are then considered "high risk" where any other insurance company that will take you will charge you a premium.

 

[atgreene]

I have been in the volunteer fire service my entire life. Grew up in a home with a "red phone" where all emergency calls rang into 8-10 houses with emergency phone lines. A crew was then mustered from there via phone lists and a radio system. We even had the radio bases station that we dispatched the calls on for 10 years or so.

I went through all the training and managed to get hired full time at a fire department. Through it all I've been every rank in the volunteer department including chief for 9 years. I now run as deputy chief with almost 6 years in that rank.

On the full time side, I have 16 years in, 8 as a lieutenant.

My heart is in both sides, but my mind tells me that any volunteer department has to be held to some sort of standard. If someone calls 911 they expect a level of service regardless of where it comes from. The only way to weed out the "red ball express" yahoos is through training. A standard level of training forces those who want to join for the joy of running code to calls out, and brings everyone to the same level. A level where all personnel can be expected to look and act as professionals, whether paid or not.

I've had many people join the department here and immediately ask for a redlight. Those are the guys who I know will never make it. The ones asking for training, asking how to pump and how an scba works are the ones I'll nurture.

Lets face it, if a guy comes screeching into your driveway in a vehicle all festooned with redlights but doesn't know what to do to help you, you're going to have some choice words for the chief and the town officials.

I've always argued that I would rather have 12 well trained fire fighters than 30 yahoos. I see it on a daily bassis where full time guys get more done with less. It's all about training.

 

[schmism]

in many respects the Volunteer has more training than the paid guy.

every member of the dept is required to know how to operate every piece of equipment. from the pumper to the tanker to the brush truck.

ask a paid city guy who is hose guy to pump water and he'll look at you with a dumb look... "thats the engineers job" ask the paid city engineer to draft water off a dump tank and they will look at you with a dumb look. (we had this happen when the paid city guys were called out to a large truck fire on the interstate last year. They had to call in the volunteers from the next town over to bring there dump tank and tanker and draft water for them.)

as a rural dept we cover everything from structure fires, brush fires (when was the last time a city guy had to strap on a Indian pack and hike around the woods with a flapper for 2 hrs) barn fires, full arrest EMS calls, child birth, machinery accidents, grain bin rescues, auto extraction, just last week we had a fully engulfed 250hp tractor go up on the highway. having 8 HUGE ag tires on fire is a little more difficult than your avg car fire. (busted out the foam) and the occasional hazmat call. (last year we had a full semi tanker of propane lay it over across one of the major hwy's 500yrds from a highschool at 3:30 in the afternoon)

 

[atgreene]

in many respects the Volunteer has more training than the paid guy.

every member of the dept is required to know how to operate every piece of equipment. from the pumper to the tanker to the brush truck.

ask a paid city guy who is hose guy to pump water and he'll look at you with a dumb look... "thats the engineers job" ask the paid city engineer to draft water off a dump tank and they will look at you with a dumb look. (we had this happen when the paid city guys were called out to a large truck fire on the interstate last year. They had to call in the volunteers from the next town over to bring there dump tank and tanker and draft water for them.)

as a rural dept we cover everything from structure fires, brush fires (when was the last time a city guy had to strap on a Indian pack and hike around the woods with a flapper for 2 hrs) barn fires, full arrest EMS calls, child birth, machinery accidents, grain bin rescues, auto extraction, just last week we had a fully engulfed 250hp tractor go up on the highway. having 8 HUGE ag tires on fire is a little more difficult than your avg car fire. (busted out the foam) and the occasional hazmat call. (last year we had a full semi tanker of propane lay it over across one of the major hwy's 500yrds from a highschool at 3:30 in the afternoon)

To some extent you have a point, but in my full time dept. every ladderman has to pump, every engine man has to tiller now and then, everyone goes to the roof for a vent, including paramedics on the bus, and we all do ems, take ot on the fireboat etc... etc... The only thing the fulltimers lack is drafting know-how, but there are so many of us from the vollie world we could make it happen...... if we only had hard suction and a few tools.

 

[RobertN]

To some extent you have a point, but in my full time dept. every ladderman has to pump, every engine man has to tiller now and then, everyone goes to the roof for a vent, including paramedics on the bus, and we all do ems, take ot on the fireboat etc... etc... The only thing the fulltimers lack is drafting know-how, but there are so many of us from the vollie world we could make it happen...... if we only had hard suction and a few tools.

As a volunteer in a mixed full time/volunteer district, I have to agree. We are semi rural. Our paid guys are top notch, and are very good and can do anything with any equipment in the district. I have learned a lot from them; there is not much the volunteers in our district could teach them.

Our Paramedics are full Paramedic/firefighters. They get time on the engines and the medic units.

For years, our district only had 2 people on the engines and medic units. They had to know everything.

We have a number of people who have grown through the ranks, starting as volunteer ff/first responder, and going at least thru BC.

Funny, we hardly ever draft; I have never seen it done at a scene. We have a collapsa-pool on our water tender, but it has never been used on a fire.