A friend and I are having a dicussion and have come to well I guess you could say a stumbleing block...We are dicussing whether you can be apart of only one voulenteer agency or if you can voulenteer for multiple agencies.

 

As far as I know in NYS you can be on multiple paid agencies but you can only voulenteer in one voulenteer agency..Due to the fact that paid agencies you are assigned times and days to be there and answer calls and when you are not on duty you do not have to answer calls for that agency but a voulenteer is on duty 24/7 and you can not be in two places at once if both agencies were to recioeve a call at the same time.

 

So who is right? Is he correct? Can you voulenteer on multple agencies?

 

Or

Am I correct?..You can only be in one voulenteer agency?

 

In New York...

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Ashley search the forum topics I think there are quite a few postings similar to this in which this topic has been extensively discussed.

 

As far as my opinion, don't do it - because you have divided loyalties and attentions and then you are really only 1/2 or less a member of each dept.

Ashley,

It's spelled VOLUNTEER.  It might seem like a small issue to you but, as the general public can pop in here and read these posts, having such a......an absolutely unacceptable misspelling as "voulenteer" paints such a poor picture of volunteers.  Please change your spelling, at least in the discussion title. (You are consistent, but that still doesn't make the spelling anymore correct.)


I am a career firefighter and a member of 2 paid on call FDs, with a third paid on call FD interested in having me join.

 

I disagree with the divided loyalties idea.  I make drills and meetings for both Paid on Call departments.  I make the fund raiser activities when i am not working.  As far as calls go, whoever's pager goes off first gets me.  It is that simple.  I have been at fires where both FDs were there and been on different departments.  No one seems to care.

 

If you have the time and it is legal, I say why the heck not?

I am a member of one paid on call FD in the town I live in and a member of the paid on call FD in the next town about 5 miles away.  I do not ever sit in either station on duty I respond from home or out and about.

 

Do I make EVERY training and meeting?  Nope, never have, my schedule at the career FD doesn't allow that,m and frankly, neither does family committments.  I make the majority and in fact I make more than some of the guys that are only on one FD.

 

If someone has the time, and committment, to serve more than one FD, AND it is legal, I say go for it. 

 

 

Our county enacted a law to prevent anyone from being a active member of more than one dept in the county unless you are a life member with certain years, or associated or honoary.

Now one of our little cities has a fire dept and a separate rescue squad in two different locations in the city. Some of those people there are members of both, but now the two operations are equal because the fire dept operates a ambulance and paramedic unit and the rescue squad has a rescue engine which makes them a fire company.

Now members can have membership in a county outside the county or across the state if they want has long has they don't have more memberships in the county. 

If you are asst chief on one dept and a firefighter on another and you are at the same scene together - which role are you in? Who listens to you and takes direction from you? who gives you direction?

 

If you become chief of one dept, do you suddenly resign the other depts?

 

hmmm...

It is my understanding from an experience my company in PA had last year that NYS volunteer firefighters are prohibited by NYS law from joining any other volunteer fire company in any other state.  When we consulted our attornies, they indicated that the NYS law deals with volunteer firefighters and retirement/injury & illness.  I couldn't believe that one state's law can affect other states directly but in this case, it does.
Oops!  Just a post-script:  I misspelled "attorneys." 
Ok here your answer Ashley! As im from NYS an am a member of multipal departments. You can be a member of different departments, You can only be a full time member an collect a pension from 1 department an im talking non paid (volunteer). You can volunteer in a 2nd department as long as you work in that departments coverage area, or live within a certain mileage from the firehouse. That is the way you can be a member of multipal departments (volunteer). If you happen to be paid at one fire company an vol. at another thats a different story anyone can do that!
Like Jack said, it is volunteer, get it right. It makes you look, well, stupid.
I am on three different departments. The city I live in I consider my primary and the others secondary. The people on the secondary stations know this up front and I am an officer on one of them. If we are all paged to the same scene who every is the initial call is in charge and I respond according to that. I am there doing what ever is needed.
Ash thanks for letting me know you posted this on here

Just so every one knows, the discussion we were having was more along the lines of could you belong to a volunteer fire agency and a volunteer ems agency at the same time. My understanding is that you can belong to both at the same time. we are both aware that you cannot be a paid member and volunteer for the same agency, but we were trying to find if you could volunteer for seperaet fire and ems agencies.

on a side note, i dont think that it is a good idea to volunteer for more than one fire or ems agency at a time.

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