Junior FF running calls!

I have a question for the more experienced people here. I have been wanting to restart our Jr. FF program, but several qustions have came up alot when talking with the chief and other FF wanting to help. One of the major ones was what about them running calls. The old rules state which calls they can run and what not, but most Jr.s have a parent in the dept. and can run the calls with them. I want the program to get larger and have kids that may not have a parent inside the dept. I had said if they want to run calls, and they have no parent in the dept. they must be at the station during working hours(we have a paid guy at the station 12hrs a day, 7 days a week.) My chief just kept saying they wont stay interested if they cant run calls. I dont think thats what the program is about. its about learning and seeing what we do for the community. Another question that came up was if they cant run calls then what we gonna do to keep them interested in the program. Ive though of some ideas but the chief just isnt to interested or something. I dont know. If anyone can give some help and what i can do to keep kids interested in the program and ways to start and keep a good program, please help.

0 members like this

Replies are closed for this discussion.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tony Leonard,Jr. on January 20, 2010 at 12:32pm

Back when I was in Explorers,or as I heard it refered to as "The Extreme Boy Scouts" We where expected to assist the Fire Department at all fund raisers,work details,truck checks,& where invited for the dinner/awards portion of the annual installation dinner.Also,we WHERE allowed to take calls,but that was under the guise of when we turned 16 we had to take N.Y.S. Certified First Responder (C.F.R.) Course(A step BELOW EMT-Basic),as a Dual Member of the EMS Squad.But that dosen't mean we exactly rode the Ambulance or Rescue truck only.Only Certain members where allowed to ride the Pumper or Ladder Truck depending on the results of an In-House Equipment Location Test and the results of thier Explorer Essentials Classes.ONLY a few of us where trusted the most important task of HITTING THE HYDRANT,upon review by the chief an approved by vote of the Fire company at thier monthly meeting.I consider myself lucky that I was apart of a great org. after leaving a Regular BSA Troop.As what we learned in that time helped 15 of the 20 of us have become officers in the Fire/EMS Service as well as the 4 in the Military.

Permalink Reply by rene edwards on January 21, 2010 at 6:00pm

Derek, i get u im just saying to jr.s have alot contribute to the engine companies. Being there and watching how the sence is suppose to be handle helps alot in the future.

Permalink Reply by lutan1 on January 22, 2010 at 3:09am

where expected to assist the Fire Department at all fund raisers,work details,truck checks
Sounds like slavery, not learning. "Hey junior! Here's a shitty job that no one else wants to do- come here and do it for me!"

Permalink Reply by Derek R. on January 22, 2010 at 11:05am

You honestly see that as not learning? Fund raising is a big part of the volly service, and if you are in the service FOR the community, you SHOULD be aware of all that is involved and BE involved in it. Therefore, knowing the ropes of fundraising is important. Plus, the jr's that are serious about it still feel like they are contributing in some way.
Work details: Same as above in that there are many things to learn that the new guy coming in has no idea about, that way, when he/she becomes of age to work a fire, the little things like this will already be known.
Truck checks? Really though, I don't see how truck checks can be associated with slavery. Everyone in the dept. needs to know where everything is on the trucks. So why not get a head start on it as a jr./explorer.
And really, probie's get all the crappy jobs that nobody else wants to do, but they stick with it because it's a step toward their goal of becoming a firefighter. Same goes for the jr's. Not only is it a step toward a goal, but for us in the dept, it weeds out the one's who are in it for the wrong reasons or sheds light on to something they weren't sure of.
You've been around here for a while Lutan1 and are respected, and I have enjoyed reading your posts, but for this particular post, I have to disagree that it sounds like slavery and not learning. There are crappy jobs to do and need to be done, nobody should feel like they are "better than that" and shouldn't have to do it, so start them young. Everything done in the fire house is a learning experience.
KSHF

Permalink Reply by Justin Blythe on January 24, 2010 at 4:57pm

lutan, you cant just to expect to get into a dept and get all the fun stuff to do. You gotta work your way up like everyone else. And like others said. you have to know where stuff on the truck is if you wanna be usefull on scene. Everyone knows time can be crucial.

Permalink Reply by FETC on January 24, 2010 at 5:06pm