Rural Volunteer Fire Department

[RobertN]

I found info on my district.

Intro to volunteering in El Dorado County Fire

El Dorado County Fire District :: Volunteer Program

Class schedule for current academy(190 hours)

http://eldoradocountyfire.com/district/documents/2009_VRA_Training_Schedule.pdf

This is multi district training. Our district train seperately for medical, to First Responder. Although it is 190+ hours, most is weeknights, or Saturdays towards the end. This training is about 90% of Level-1 or, in California, State Fire Marshal Firefighter-1. In this case, each district has thier own SOP's, so most new volunteers still do a little in house training for thier particular districts equipment ect.

 

[txdon]

Wow, that is a lot of training. The politicians will vote tomorrow. Maybe then I'll be able to find out what the proposed mandatory training will be for Texas. If anyone finds out let me know.

 

[scott_vt]

I just found out that our great state is on its way to passing a bill that will require volunteer firefighters to have a minimum educational and training standards and have continuing education. Are there any other states that have set mandates for their volunteer fire departments? Has it affected recruitment? Thanks.

Good Evenin Don,
I have been a volunteer in our Ct town for the past 25 years. Each year it gets increasingly more difficult to maintain our accreditation as volunteers ! All new members coming into the dept are strongly encouraged to take the FF1 course as a minimum.

As a company we drill every tuesday evening from 7:30 to 9 pm sometimes as late as 9:30. We try and break the drills up to cover everything that we use and do over the course of the year.

We also have some mandatory drills, such as air pack certification scba, blood bourne pathogens etc.

We are required to take a yearly physical also.

It has become increasingly difficult to get new people interested, probablly because of the time involved ! Young families are stretched thin time wise allready ! Im not sure how it will all end, but I do know that many small communities cant afford to pay the taxes associated with a paid FD !

 

[RobertN]

We are required to take a yearly physical also.

It has become increasingly difficult to get new people interested, probablly because of the time involved ! Young families are stretched thin time wise allready ! Im not sure how it will all end, but I do know that many small communities cant afford to pay the taxes associated with a paid FD !

Our district does not do a yearly physical. I think they should... Read of too many heart attacks and stuff on the department related bulletin boards, "Secret List" etc.

Volunteering has changed all together. It is harder to get people for more than an hour here and there. A lot of people are busy, or are tied up in thier lives. Even fraternal organizations are getting it; why go to the Elks Lodge these days, when you have a big screen and surround sound at home?

And, rural fire used to be a meeting place. They guys did fire stuff, the ladies were in the auxiliary and cooked meal and took them to the fire ground. They had dances, community days etc. Again, not so many people are in to organizations like that any more.

It is getting really tough. I see it here, because we are a mix of full time and volunteer. We have a full time 24x7 engine and medic unit at the station. We(volunteers go in as backup and/or additional staffing. If our engine is out for 8 hours, we try to staff the second out engine to maintain a ready engine. We will also move around our district to provide coverage at our other stations. Some stations are 25 miles from ours.

And, as you and others have mentioned there are all the training and updates. It is a lot of hours to so. But, look at all the changes in the last 25 years. EMS came in to it's own. There are so many new hazards, new construction types, electric cars etc etc.

I do not know where it will end either. We are having a hard time keeping responding active volunteers. And recruiting. There are new staffed stations in the area. At least where I am, I do not know how much longer they will keep the program up. I am sure 5 years, but I do not know past that...

 

[deerefan]

Ive been a captain (fire attack and equipment) in our volunteer dept for about 7 years now. It is very hard to recruit people...the volunteer spirit has seemed to have faded drastically. I understand some of the requirements are steep and difficult to obtain for a full time employed person, but if your heart is in it you find a way. I do think the local and fed gov. is making it very difficult to be a vol. firefighter. I have attended CPR classes, basic firemanship, pumper operations, extrication and so on and I still feel very undertrained. My wife is a first responder in our dept. also. She handles puke and poop way better than I ever will, but fire is not her thing so we are even. Joining the dept. was one of the best decisions we have made. Even if you cannot do alot due to family and time, even a little help goes a long way.

 

[Regal]

I also left the department after 21 yrs in Fire and EMS. Attended tons of classes and on going training. Training IS needed if your going to be responding to all the different types of emergencies that occur. I simply just got worn out and my heart wasn't in it anymore.
I will say though, some of the continuing Ed hours are wasted on things like--You can't call them "accidents" any more. They must be referred to as a "motor vehicle crash". Lots of changes like that over the years that don't really need to be made. What goes around comes around. Used to be "Scoop and swoop" (get your patient loaded and get on the road) , then they want you to spend more time on scene and play doctor. Now it's coming back around that too much time is spent on scene and you need to load and go. I always felt that the situation would dictate the actions taken and time spent on scene.

Volunteerism is becoming a thing of past whether we like it or not. I,for one think we will suffer because of it. There are simply too many requirements.

I have felt for years that there should be an income tax deduction for emergency services volunteers. It should be substantial too. This could help compensate for some of the hours taken from family.

All that being said, I did really enjoy giving my time to help others. And when you get that hug and a heart felt "thank you" it really is rewarding.

My hat's off to all you volunteers that are still out there.

 

[scott_vt]

I have felt for years that there should be an income tax deduction for emergency services volunteers. It should be substantial too. This could help compensate for some of the hours taken from family.

All that being said, I did really enjoy giving my time to help others. And when you get that hug and a heart felt "thank you" it really is rewarding.

My hat's off to all you volunteers that are still out there.

Good Mornin Regal,
A few years ago they instituted a break on your property taxes if you met the points criteria in the FD. You need to make so many calls, drills, meetings etc to qualify for the 150 points that would give you a $1000 reduction on your property taxes.

I allways felt its a nice thankyou for your time and gas spent running around etc !

If you didnt meet the full requirement, you could still get a 75% reduction and also a 50% break, netting you $750 or $500.

Even with this system, we still have trouble recruiting new people !

 

[CDsdad]

It was hard for me to grasp the "mandatory" training thet went along with being a member of the "volunteer" fire department. So needless to say they asked for my fire pager back. Or in other words, I got kicked out of a "volunteer" position.

But, these people are still our neighbors, so we support their fundraisers and get along fine with them. I wouldn't be part of their organization if it became a paying job, though. Too much state involvement now. That's what happens when people depend on the government too much.

 

[txdon]

Good Mornin Regal,
A few years ago they instituted a break on your property taxes if you met the points criteria in the FD. You need to make so many calls, drills, meetings etc to qualify for the 150 points that would give you a $1000 reduction on your property taxes.

I allways felt its a nice thankyou for your time and gas spent running around etc !

If you didnt meet the full requirement, you could still get a 75% reduction and also a 50% break, netting you $750 or $500.

Even with this system, we still have trouble recruiting new people !

Scott, The property tax break sounds just like the incentive that the volunteers will need in this county. If you could get the specifics on the point system I'd like to propose it to the county commissioners. Thanks, Don.

 

[firemanpat2910]

I am an assistant cheif on our dept. Been invovled since 1987. Florida laws have made compliance almost impossible. 200 hours here, 30 hours there, hazmat, blood, cpr, it is terrible. I know the old days needed improvement but they went way overboard. it is very hard to get new recruits. we do get some that are very young and get the FF1 training free with us then apply to surrounding paid departments to get hired. then if they move away or if the paid job has a no volly policy we start all over again