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Why ask paid or unpaid??
I don't understand why we ask things like that or should women be on the fire ground. If we ask these questions then we must be going into it with a predetermined idea. I have been both a unpaid and paid professional fire fighter and I just want to say all my fellow fire fighters I don't care why you do what we do I am just saying thank you for doing it.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by byron on
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i lift up my glass to this who the hell cares if you are paid or volunteer we are all in this for the same reason
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Permalink Reply by Bob on
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One of the bigggest problems, at least in Mississippi, is that the instructors at the Sate Fire Academy drill a statement into the ehads of the trainees there, that "One professional Firefighters is worth 2 volunteers". While you and I realize that this is manure, some of these youngsters take it to hart. That's why we see some of the older guys repeating the same line... They'd had it drilled into their heads as well.
Over 3/4 of the Firefighters in this country are Volunteers. Yet you rarely hear a volunteer department getting kudos for a job going well down here. But let one little screw up happen...
The brutal fact is, that the Volunteer Departments in the southern end of my County have a better structure save rate than the 2 city "professional" departments. That makes an interesting discussion when the Volunteers (And yes, I am a volly) have had a bellyful of crap from the uninformed.
It should not matter a damn if a volunteer or a pro does the job. As long as property is saved, lives are protected and everyone goes home, then its all good.
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Permalink Reply by Pablo Gonzales on
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in the end that is all that matters
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Permalink Reply by mike wright on
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we all take the same basic training regardless of the paid or unpaid. why does it matter. does one make one ff any more valuable than the other. thanks for bringing it up.
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Permalink Reply by Dan Hoey on
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Well according to the government when your getting your ISO score its 4 volunteers to every paid guy..Sad huh...
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Permalink Reply by Tom Kenney on
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First off, I think many here are getting their noses bent out of joint for nothing - but then again I've never had my balls busted for being a "Volly". I am a paid firefighter in a large city department, and have been for 27 years.
You can agree with me or not but I believe that neither the fact that someone is a "professional" nor "volunteer" firefighter makes that person a better or worse firefighter than the other.
One of the things that make the difference when comparing "Departments" however is experience. Compare the number of structure fires (especially occupied) an FDNY firefighter respoinds to per year to that of a firefighter from a small rural town. Now multiply those #'s by 10 (for 10 years vets of each department). Now pretend you have a fire in your home. Which department would you want to respond?
Most people would respond that they wanted "FDNY". If you answered the "small rural department" then you are a volunteer who has major issues. The response of "FDNY" in this case is based solely on experience. Training is great. Training is necessary. Training is important. .....BUT.....there's no substitute for experience.
Volunteer Fire Departments are a long-standing proud tradition within the fire service. Many of these departments are led and manned by some of the finest human beings in this country. Their readiness to serve their fellow citizens without the benefit of a paycheck in return is commendable.
Unfortunately there are many areas where there are still volunteer departments where there shouldn't be anymore. If a city, town or county is large enough to warrant a full-time paid department, the volunteers in that area need to "step down". As with experience, "timely response" to an emergency situation is also crucial in determining the outcome. A full crew arriving within 4 minutes of the call is much better than a single person showing up and others arriving one by one to the scene.
If I moved to a small rural town I would proudly participate in my town's volunteer department. If, however, I moved to a medium sized area that had a volunteer department, but should have (could have) a full-time paid department, I would not participate in any of the volunteer companies' activities.
If there is no alternative to an all volunteer fire department in your area and you're volunteering - you're doing a great service for your fellow citizens. If you're on a volunteer fire department in an area that is competing with a full-time paid department, you're probably doing your fellow neighbors an injustice and you should rethink your actions.
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Permalink Reply by Bruce Carrico on
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I AGREE WITH THAT MY SISTER-IN-LAW WAS ALWAYS NAGGING ME WHILE I WAS A VOL. FIREFIGHTER. AS SHE PUT IT PLAYING FIREMAN. BUT SHE NEVER REALIZED THAT THE VOL. FIREFIGHTERS DO THE SAME AS PAID JUST CAN GO HOME AN COME BACK. I BELIEVE THAT ANY SMALLER DEPT. NEEDS TO BE A COMBINE DEPT. BECAUSE MUTUAL AID IS NOT ALWAYS AVAILABLE. WE RUN A 6 MAN SHIFT IF WE CATCH A FIRE WE ARE IT TILL THE NEXT DEPT CAN GET THERE. WHEN I WAS A VOL. WE HAD PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THERE QUICK.SO MY HATS OFF TO ANYONE WHO TRIES.
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Permalink Reply by Bill Brierton on
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While this is a well thought out statement and does not "bash" volunteers but I do take offense to the last statement. I am in an area that is a combination department, which means it relies on both career and volunteer fire fighters, we are not doing our neighbors an injustice and I will never rethink my actions as to being a volunteer. The fire does not care whether or not you're career or volunteer it will hurt or kill you just the same.
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You're right about one thing about my statement - I don't bash volunteers. There are a number of factors that might make someone a better firefighter than another, and being paid to do the job is not one of them.
[q]The fire does not care whether or not you're career or volunteer it will hurt or kill you just the same.[/q]
This is NOT my point, This has nothing to do with my point. My point is that a paid department can guarantee full coverage 24/7/365. Can your volunteer department guarantee that? Even during the Fireman's Ball, etc. And I mean full crews at the station ready to respond - not responding from different locations via a pager or horn system. If your volunteer department does, then it is different from volunteer departments near me. If so, I apologize and will bow out as someone who knows not what he's talking about on this issue.
$MONEY$
If no community had to worry about tax money to pay for their fire department ALL fire departments would be paid departments that could require the staffing of full crews 24/7/365. That is my point. Not which one of us is a better firefighter. A full crew of mediocre firefighters responding together within 5 minutes of a call is worth more than 2 full crews of 'crack' firefighters responding seperately over a 15 minute period.
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this is getting to be abig piss fest. some have never had a chance to go paid an be at the station for full shifts. does that make them worse then career? umm no i have a lot of vol.firefighters i would trust going in a dangerous situation with me before i would go in with some career. the only difference is that some are paid. the vol. firefighters do the job out of love and respect, career do it for the money. i see alot of aspects of the service but i want everyone to realize man or woman vol. or career we are all here for the service and if we can make the call we will. my hats go off to the vol. firefighters because they are on call 24/7/365. when your career you work your shift and can go home. alot of the vol. firefighters see alot more action then a full time firefighter due to the fact not all calls come on one shift. if they train and work hard they have my blessings .yes there are some that want the glory and think they don't need to train. but i know the vol. dept. i was on we trained regularly and were mostly certified fire 1 an 2 emt's so hmmm we were equiveant to a career member. the cracks a"A full crew of mediocre firefighters responding together within 5 minutes of a call is worth more than 2 full crews of 'crack' firefighters responding seperately over a 15 minute period." is a bad statement because if your first in crews fight hard for 15 mins then the others come in that is fresh members to help. i am on a full time dept. i wish i had vols to come an help us. SO ALL YOU VOL. FIREFIGHTERS YOU ARE MY IDOLS I TRULY RESPECT YOU ALL. IF YOU READ THIS AN LIKE WHAT I SAY GO AN ADD ME . GOD BLESS EVERYONE AND STAY SAVE
BRUCE
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