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Seniors (18) Leaving School For a Call?
i know there is a Juniors Being Pulled From School to Go on Call post but what about seniors that are 18 years old? do they get to leave school for a call?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Louise Thornton on
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A physical age should not make that kind of different but the mental age should. We had several teen on our Explorer crew and some of them were mature and some were not.. Even though they were not allow to leave school unless our district is burning down. They were allow to respond with the trucks as long as there one of our regular FF was driving and in charge. The Explorers that do respond were out of school or vacation or on weekends.
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If you have a small department with no extra back up. It's nice to have 16 and 17 year old to assist with the incident.
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Your right on that except for when you have to right the report you better know how to spell.
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Permalink Reply by WestPhilly on
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Greg,
Your house is littered with broken glass. (Check your spelling and punctuation.)
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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If you have a small department with no extra back up. It's nice to have 16 and 17 year old to assist with the incident.
Sorry Louise, now you are really going to an issue, discussed numerous times here, about MINORS being utilized on a fire ground. That is a no go, it is definately unsafe and children should NOT be utilized as FF's.....and I could really care less if "it works for us" type of thing, because a dept relying on children for fire suppression is a liability waiting to happen.
The only saving grace on this thread is the issue about 18 year olds leaving school, because now they are considered legal adults. I disagree with the issue of any kid leaving school, but it is a much larger issue with using MINORS for such activities.
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John,
Yep, the military is taking people without a diploma or GED. (The Army is.)
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WP...I looked up the program and it is a pilot program in place and it is not a widespread deal. It is only the Army doing this. Secondly, if reading this, the program is about teching the people to get their GED, if they do not pass the program they are sent home. What that does boil down to is that they are NOT in the Army, they do not go to bootcamp, until they pass the program and earn a GED.....meaning the Army is not taking people without a GED.
What this looks like is a program to help those who have dropped out and don't have the means or resources to obtain a GED on their own and thus can't meet the current military entry requirements, this program helps them to obtain that requirement. This doesn't mean they are in the Army, because if they don't pass, they don't go to boot.
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Permalink Reply by Station10Capt106 on
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wow, this certainly has brought a wide range of responses. I guess if everyone else is throwing their 2cents into the ring I will too.
Regardless of if they are 16 or 18 I believe that school is their number 1 priority. I don't think that they should leave school no matter what type of call that is. But I also think that if the department leaders are ok with it, the school is ok with it, and the parents are ok with it then exceptions can be made.
I fully support junior firefighters and want to see them involved with the department, but the fireground is not the place for their involvement. Especially if you are short on manpower. If you don't have enough manpower to do the job how are you going to devote adequate time to watching over, protecting and directing the junior firefighters? If we don't have enough firefighters to adequately control the incident then we will call in mutual aid, if it takes 30 minutes for them to arrive then we stage defensively and try to contain the incident but I will not put myself or any of those under me in any undue risk. First and foremost is our own personal (not personnel) safety.
I know how hard it is for junior firefighters, young members and new recruits to sit back and wait. You want to jump right into the excitement and be part of it. Just remember that your time will come. Get your education, stay in school, attend training, get your certs. Better you miss a few fires now and become better firemen to be able to attend many fires for years to come than to rush off before you are ready and be maimed or disabled or even worse before your life even begins.
Just my thoughts for whatever they are worth.
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John,
I know it's only the Army doing it, that's why I said the Army is doing it. And it's been a very successful program which they have every intention of retaining. The program has something like a 98% passing rate, so not very many enlistees are going home.
The bottom line is that the Army will - and has throughout its history - accept applicants without a diploma or GED. (And you can bet your last dollar that if recruiting and retention become a problem with the services, they will be even more willing to accept more applicants without a diploma or GED.)
But keep in mind, this discussion is about 18 year-old students who may miss only a class, or even only part of a class, to respond to an alarm during school hours. If it's okay to have 18 year-old firefighters to begin with, missing a couple hours of school on very rare occasions isn't going to make or break their education.
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The minimum age for out fire department in 18 If They pass all of the testing they will be going to the Academy and my the time they graduate the they will be 20. During their training they do get paid. and everything they need is issued to them.
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The bottom line is that the Army will - and has throughout its history - accept applicants without a diploma or GED. (And you can bet your last dollar that if recruiting and retention become a problem with the services, they will be even more willing to accept more applicants without a diploma or GED.)
Actually if you look at it, the bottom line is the Army is still only accepting applicants with a HS diploma or GED. This program is only to assist the people with obtaining that minimum requirement. As it is though, recruitment and retention is not a big problem, considering the economy right now.
As for this discussion, I don't agree with kids being able to leave school, even if they are 18.
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Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on
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Personally I don't believe that 'children', minors under the age of 18, should be on the fireground nor should they be leaving school for 'fire calls'. However, an 18 year old IS a legal adult despite the fact he or she is still in high school.
For those of you pontificating about the importance of education, these are legal adults and should their absence(s) affect their grades or graduation it is a decision made by a legal adult. Butt the F out.
Interestingly, many of the responses in support of (as well as some against) students leaving school for fire calls, based on their attempts to spell, are exemplars of exactly why students should NOT be leaving school for any reason other than more school. But once one turns 18, it is his or her decision to make. Unless you don't think an 18 year old is of legal majority.
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