Juniors Being Pulled From School to Go on Calls

Hey, well i have to write a an editorial on an important topic. SInce i am a member of the Bagdad fire protection district junior program i chose the topic of juniors being pulled from school to go on calls. However i cant find really reliable information on the actual dept.'s that pull students from school so i need your help. I need:

statistics for how mant departments pull juniors from class

Regulations for what kind of call and if the time of the day makes a difference as to if they are pulled out of class

age limits on being pulled from class

if a drivers license is required to leave class

if missed work can be made up

excused absence?

if red/blue lights are given for personal vehicle use from school to a fire scene

what types of call they can respond to during school hours

and anything else you think might be relevant to my topic
Thank you so very much, stay safe
Jessica

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Permalink Reply by Ashley Renee Miller on February 21, 2011 at 11:50pm

Ok so the way I look at this is...If the junior member is a senior in high school and does not have a full schedule they should be allowed...To explain this more....I have a two hour time frame (7:30-9:30) in the mornin that I am sitting in study hall doing nothing....I feel because I am a senior and I'm just sitting there I should be allowed to go if they were to recive a call.....If I'm late for my 9:40 class I feel it would be my duty to make up the work and make up the absence.....And as long as I did this and maintained a C average (I actually have straight A's...not trying to brag!) then we should be allowed to go....Accademics always come first because if attedence an grades slip to low then you can't do anything anyway......So basically the way I look at it is if they have study halls and have good attendence and grades and I way to get to the call or station..They should be alllowed to go....As for pagers I think we should be able to carry them as long as they are off in classes and only on vibrate in study halls they are ok to have them....And if the student receives a call durnin study hall they should have common curdisy to leave quietly...Which is common sense.....As for lights they can have them when ever there company allows them...such as after prohibation...But they shouldnt turn them on until they have left school grounds...

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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on February 22, 2011 at 12:19am

eeeeeeeeeeekkkkk....hit the brakes.

Did you read through such responses before replying?

Once again, what business does a child have on a fireground, and what is so important they must leave school for it?

A junior or explorer has no business operating on a fireground and thus no reason to leave school. there is no reason for a dept to rely on children and nothing that needs to be learned on the fireground that can't be taught in a controlled environment.

As for lights they can have them when ever there company allows them...such as after prohibation...But they shouldnt turn them on until they have left school grounds...

Really? So if there is no purpose for a child on the fireground, what purpose would there be to respond lights to a call? Do you honestly think a kid has the control and use of Due Regard to thus operate as an emergency vehicle?

I think you have much to learn rather than worry about leaving school.

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Permalink Reply by Ashley Renee Miller on February 22, 2011 at 12:45am

Well I never said that they needed to rely on children (young adults)...I simply said that its what I felt..Never said its what needed to be done....you are attacking me for absolutly no reason...I was just simply stateing an opion is all I did....Everyone is entitled to their own opion anis entitled to voice theirs....But it doesn't mean others have the right to attack them if their opions differs.....Soo instead of attacking me voice your opion......Obviously our opions differ and that is fine with me... I am not going to argue or attack you as you did me.

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Permalink Reply by Ashley Renee Miller on February 22, 2011 at 12:52am

Devon.....I was not trying to start anything..I was just simply stateing an opion...as for my other post it had randomly disapearded i was reading a post and it took me back to my home page I tried to get back to it and it was not there. I saw your reply though and I thank you.

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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on February 22, 2011 at 1:02am

ok... i think we all agree this subject gets an answer of a "BIG RED NEGATIVE!"
I think before we start another Junior vs. Senior war we should lay this forum to rest

Why? So another similar thread sprouts up? Plain and simple it comes down to reading the past replies.

Junior vs Senior war? No, there is no war about it, it comes down to the simple fact the fireground is no place for children, let alone that they should leave school. The problem with shutting down such a thread is that there is a vast amount of actual adult logic put in this to have the same arguments repeated. Instead, this is an easier thread to place like minded ideas of juniors leaving school to rest.

Thing is most junior's arguments are the same and don't hold water. The bottom line is that juniors really are not that important to the fire service where they must leave school, drive lights to a call, or operate on a fireground. And yes, I did get my start as an Explorer and was eager to do and learn as well.

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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on February 22, 2011 at 1:10am

No Ashley, not attacking, but there is absolutely reason for my comments. It boils down to safety.

It is one thing to be at a station doing a ride along or learning the job in a controlled environment, but there is no reason for a kid to be on the fireground. If lucky to be on a scene the place to be is observing, not participating. Even some simple task as being a gopher or changing air bottles is not a necessary task to pull one from school. Under no circumstance should an uncertified FF even be on the fireground.

No where did I make an attack, I placed the reality of the topic bluntly. It is fine to be eager and want to learn, but things need to be taken in perspective, everything that needs to be done on a fireground can be learned in a controlled environment. Thing is your opinion about leaving school is wrong, because my question is rhetorical, it really can't be answered.

Now why do you think I have been responding to such similar posts? It is quite simple, not to attack, but to give a harsh reality. The last thing we need to do is bury more kids because they think they are more important to the fire service than what they are.

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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on February 22, 2011 at 1:20am

Yes, there was tension, but the reasoning for it was the same reasons as many such issues. I thought this had run its course as well, but considering the start date of this post and the number of like minded thoughts of leaving school, obviously the topic is still pertinent.

A big reason you see me responding here is because many times this is the first or one of the first threads a new junior replies to. While I can't control what occurs in every junior/explorer program out there, a sense of reality does come into play. I would hate to read about some kid who gets injured or killed, because they thought they were important to leave school for a fire call. I would hate to see even moreso a kid injured or killed on a scene because adults felt it was OK. If one wants to go back several pages, there were a few adults I questioned as well, but received no reply.

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Permalink Reply by Ron Ayotte on February 22, 2011 at 1:00pm

I played fighter pilot when I was a kid... it doesn't mean I can strap myself into an F22 Raptor and fly supersonic...

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Permalink Reply by Sarah on February 22, 2011 at 1:30pm

As I said before, I do NOT think Juniors should be pulled from school for calls.

BUT
I did like how my friend's school allows Seniors (They MUST be 18) at the second half of the year to carry pagers in school and respond to incidents as long as the teacher allows it and they have a B average. You have to get permission from your department and school to do this.

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Permalink Reply by WestPhilly on February 22, 2011 at 1:44pm

Was someone being a crabbe?

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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on February 22, 2011 at 2:21pm

Devon,
Just because one may think that juniors are the future of the fire service, doesn't make them that important. There are many kids who tried explorers or juniors only to find out it wasn't for them, likewise there are a vast majority of firefighters today who never started as a junior and have adjusted quite fine. I will say a vast majority of the people I know entering the fire service today never started as a junior or explorer. Such programs were not meant to be a training ground for future FFs, but to give kids a chance to see if this would be a career path they would like to pursue.

Easy to enjoy the seniority? Not really. There are many depts out there that don't have such programs in place and there are many that do, but run the programs safely and accordinly without putting kids in danger.

You can take my words on here as being harsh and I do mean them to be for the most part. I understand the gravity of an actual scene, I have seen firefighters hurt and killed, the fire scene is no playground. I have spoken harshly to some adults on here as well who think kids should be pulled from school or operate on a fire scene. Yes, people are human which is also why I will embelish more with an explaination but sometimes a harsh tone is needed to get the point across. The gravity of the situation is real and the idea that kids need to be on a scene to learn or leave school is absurd. It is reality, however, tone can be interpreted however one wants. When someone is told no, or that they are wrong, they will take things differently as opposed to be told they are right.