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Young members being able to move up in the Vol. Fire service.
Hello brothers and sisters. My name is Jon. I am a Vol. firefighter for dept., just south of Buffalo NY. I have been a member for about 5 years. In thouse 5 years i have been a top responder all years and have taken many classes ranging from EMT-B to RIT, Fast team ops. im a member of out extracation team, and im on our ATV search and rescue team. Ive seen many fires, auto accidents and "bad" calls. Im cleared to drive all apperatice in the dept. The funny thing is, is that i have more classes then some of the capts and even chief officers. My question is why is there such a push to keep the young members of fire depts from moving up to becoming officers. I feel before things get out of control, some trust needs to be put on the younger members before it is to late!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by turk182 on
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are your officers elected or appointed. first "elected" usually when elected alot of the voting is not done by training it is who has the most friends. i my department we pushed for minimum training and years in for each position so not only do you have the training but experience. and if the chief appoints them then depending on the chief either he goes by friends or by training. that being said some departments don't let the "new guy's" advance because they are afraid of change and some of the guys may have held the position for a long time and don't want to lose their positions.
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Permalink Reply by Judy Keihl on
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you got that right.....mostly we need change too.
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Permalink Reply by 214Firefighter18 on
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Well from my own personal experience it took 16 years to move up to Lt. Elections can vary depending on departments. In my company the chief is elected and appoints all the Under Officers. I was REMOVED by a past Chief not for poor performance but because of personal issues. My advice keep taking all the training you can get and do not look for the end goal of advancement but merely look to be the best firefighter you can be for that is something that cannot be taken away from you regardless of position.
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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on
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First; patience is a virtue.
Why is everyone in such a hurry to get it YESTERDAY?
The "older" guys aren't SITTING NEXT TO YOU in all of the classes that you take, are they?
That should be your first clue. They don't see it and they don't care.
It's when they see you STANDING NEXT TO THEM at a fire, MVA or a rescue call that starts to build that trust and confidence that everyone is so fond of talking about.
If you have no more respect for them than to believe that they are holding you back, then you shouldn't expect their respect in return.
Sometimes, whether we like it or not, WE have to make that "first move".
Yeah; I know, but it's only a little pride that we swallow.
Be more analytical and less critical. Find out what it takes to change it, then set out to change it.
Blaming the old guys is easy, fashionable and fun, but in most departments, the "old" guys still call the shots.
Sometimes sad, but true.
Art
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