I see we have a very diverse group of folks reading / replying. In the case of MY fire Dept. We need the manpower and do not have the ability to count on mutual aid. As I said in my 1st post we may get 1 firefighter with a tender and that’s all we get, again thou that is after waiting 30 minutes or longer. Many times I have run calls by myself and had to try and make due. Our High School Students have really helped are man power issues and even saved me from a potinally bad situation. Last week 2 of my HS students pulled their friend from a car that was rolled over and saved that students life. It was only the 3 of us and I was the IC. So yes I am all for it.
Not all areas have a high level of applicants and people wanting to be firefighters. We do not turn away many folks. As far as school work our firefighters have to maintain a 3.5gpa, make all the trainings and show that they are mature and able to handle the stress that come with the job. College is a great thing to have. However where high school students are needed due to a shortage of man power, then I am all for it.
You might want to talk to Jake Dylan, (Jake you capatalise names I learned that in high school) he has a 4.0 GPA. But he can't spell, put a sentence together or punctuate.
What are you calling kids...I was 18 and a fully certified firefighter. More than some of the older firemen that had been on my department much longer than me.
18 is an adult....Or thats what ive heard since I was old enought to remember if not what age do you think is an adult, and what makes them an adult...If its maturity I know many 18 year olds that are more mature than many adults
So by your standards since I was 18, and also certified, had been in many house fires with no incidents...I was to imature to be a real Firefighter. So tell me when do I get to be a real Firefighter Greg. I not trying to start a fight with you. But unless youve been on a rual volunteer department youd never understand how hard it really is to staff and train and have people to make calls. If i had to leave school to make a call back then so be it.
You're giving Jake a hard time Gregory. You should have looked at his Profile page, you'd have seen: "well just had a small fire but it was pretty big and i put it out before the other staion got there!!!! hahahahaha i rule Sep 13" So he must be good...
A fire was small and it was also pretty big. Makes sense to me.
Tough one. I'd love to say that school should always come first. I suppose if a student is over 18, they cant legally keep them there. In my opinion, it comes down to individual responsibility. If they're responsible enough to be that active in the fire service and make sure that they're grades are up to snuff, I suppose so. As long as it's not disruptive to the other students.