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Permalink Reply by FF Nick on December 30, 2009 at 9:20pm

Well now this depends, if he's paid by the fire department itseft than no you can't volunteer there. However if you get by the county or a fire district then it's not considered working for that department itself.

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Cole on January 1, 2010 at 10:14am

This situation can have a negative effect on both the department (or community) AND the firefighter. The department loses the skills, experience, and productivity of the career firefighters, and the firefighters lose the chance at gainng experience, and honing their skills. We all know that we learn the most by going to fires. This usually affects smaller departments that could otherwise benifit from the call-back of members.

You MAY be able to negotiate this to your benifit. Perhaps the use of comp time in lieu of over-time salary? That would require your ability to actually use such time. Does your department replace personnel who are off sick, vacation, personal time, etc? If not, then comp time would not be a solution.

It may come down to how many fires or responses actually require the use of call-backs, or full department responses. If your department utilizes a page system in which the entire department is toned out to specific runs, how much would the actual cost be for the given number of working jobs or responses in which the off-duty firefighters would be used?

In some cases, where a general, or specific response is paged, and off-duty personnel respond, compensation is in the form of full benifit coverage only in cases where the incident last less than 15 minutes, in which companies are ordered to remain in station or return while enroute upon the arrival of the first-due officer for obvious false alarms, or minor incidents. Incident responses lasting longer than 15 minutes require voucher submission for over-time for the first hour, and after the first hour, payment is minute for minute at over-time rate. This is basically a 'give and take' type agreement that benifits both sides.

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Permalink Reply by Spanner 122 on January 2, 2010 at 9:35am

IAFF states that if you are a fulltime firefighter, you can not volunteer at the same department or any other department that is combination. It is against the bylaws. They have loosened the reins a little and are turning a blind eye to those who are fulltime and volunteer in a fully volunteer department, but you can be tossed out of your Union for two hatting in another partly unionized department, which in turn, in many departments means you will also lose your job. In order to be a member of a fulltime unionized department in many (if not most or all) cities, you must be a member of the Union, not a member; not an employee.
Is it worth losing your fulltime employment?

You may be able to volunteer in another district, as long as it is not a combination department. Check with your local Union to be sure.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Brooks on January 2, 2010 at 5:47pm

This is true, however it is up to each Local to enforce it. My Local could care less what you do on your time off. If we get hurt at our part-time/volunteer fire jobs, we are still under Ohio Worker's Comp. Yes, the City will not be happy with us, but they can't stop it either. Some City's have tried to use in negotiations against the Unions. Why would you work for 1/2 or volunteer to do the same job and expect a raise? But, they don't know what it takes to feed my family or put the roof over their heads. How is this any different than an off duty firefighter working anywhere else? You can get hurt walking in your own house.

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