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"VOLUNTEER"
The term volunteer bothers me. We are actually "paid on call". Mostly it bothers me cause ppl seem to think we are not "real" firefighters. Like somehow we dont attend "real" fires, MVC's, medical aids, etc. Like somehow our fires are not as hot or we dont have any training. In my opinion being a "volunteer" is actually more difficult! we have other jobs too! Emergency's can happen anytime. We are on call 24-7. Our "waiting for calls" never comes to an end. We are expected to save life, property, and environment with speed and efficiency. We never know how many members will show up (which means we often work twice as hard) or who those members will be. we must be jacks of all trades. one day im entry team, the next pump op, the next tanker shuttle, the next rescue team, the next medical team, and on and on... my hall training is very specific and tough. we are working through 1001's....i do my best to enlighten ppl... anyone else have this frustration?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Daniel Stoddard on
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In the beginning are you saying you don't like the term volunteer because you are "paid on call?" or did the sentence placement confuse me? In that case not every department is "paid on call", mine is volunteer although we are moving towards the combination deal. Anyway, the thinking we are not real firefighters is all over the country. You just have to let it roll of your back and keep on doing what you do.
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Permalink Reply by David Walker on
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Ill put it to you like this. Yes i am a paid firefighter. but on my days that im not working on shift, you will probably find me at one of my three volunteer stations. When i was just a volunteer i had people ask me all the time when i was going to become a real firefighter. The general public fails to realize that volunteers also have to go through the same training as these full time firefighters. They think that because you say volunteer your less of a firefighter than someone who is paid. And when i became an actual paid guy, my eyes were opened. I do love my job, but in the end i still get more of a rush when im at home or a friends house and that unsuspecting tone drops. so when people ask me what i do for a living, i still reply, "Im a volunteer firefighter"!!! cause thats where its at!!
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Permalink Reply by Eric Stamey on
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My department is volunteer and we operate on a $8,000 annual budget from the county. Minus wages all other county departments get condiserably more on their budget. We continually get overlooked every year and if you ask for more money they just view us as any other charity organization on the budget. With the way the economy is, it is getting harder to find volunteers in the community. My view is we (volunteers and paid) come from the same breed. We all care and want to help people. That's why i never refer to other firefighters as volunteer or paid. We are firefighters period.
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Permalink Reply by Stephen G.Kelley on
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Being a volunteer is a calling not a job (career). You volunteer because it is what you want to do no pay, very little recognition,and sometimes other peoples gratitude (rarely). But you do it because it is WHAT YOU DO!!!!! It become part of your life and what you are. It even ends up that you pay to do it with your time, your heart and your soul. Your willing to do what it takes and still get up the next day and go to your regular job. That is the way I feel and I have done this for 22 yrs now and plan on staying with it for many more years to come!!!!!!
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Permalink Reply by Michael Gawley on
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The job isn't over until the mess is cleaned up. I spend far more time rolling hose, picking up tools, and the rest of it, than I do at the nozzle. And these days, most of my calls are EMS. Although we usually have adequate personnel on-scene, I stick around until the patient is in the ambulance and things are cleaned up at the site. That's when I usually disappear.
BTW, any celebrating done at the scene is NOT for the loss of someone's property - it is for getting the fire under control and STOPPING the loss of property. My Department is very professional and I only used that example to say that I'm not in this for personal recognition - I'm in it to help others. I'm sure I speak for the vast majority of volunteers in this regard. -
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Permalink Reply by kara-lee allen on
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no my concern was/is that we are all firefighters... its the term. the image it brings up for the public. but oddly getting paid a little seems to change that perception a bit. even here. its funny i can feel the "difference" in just reading the posts. and sure its a calling. not everyone can do it. paid or volunteer, or paid on call or whatever. FIREFIGHTING. ppl ask my if i'm insane regularly. (and i am a little i guess) same type of reason i like to jump out of planes... :) and i WOULD make this my full time job if i could. for me its about the "job" not about the volunteering.... does that make me a bad person?? i love to fight fire, rip cars apart, and play in the mud... its not a deep sense of personal fulfillment for giving back to the community... sorry... and the reason i would continue to do it even if they took the pay away is still the same....
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oh. i like overhaul too. if i have the time i like to hang out with the fire investigator, learn what happened, see the burn patterns. sometimes ive actually gone home and removed, changed, or checked things that had/or could have caused some fires. then called my friends and family to get them to check. and really? no cause ever for some "quiet" high fives?? i disagree. for example....we were just at a motel structure fire. we saved most. we did well. we worked well as a team, we set up properly, there was no free lancing, no injuries, etc etc etc. these are causes for high fives. most ppl thought this was going to be a total loss. including the owners and the giant crowd of by standers... maybe some of us... sometimes there are reasons for celebrating......
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Permalink Reply by Damo on
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OK, just to stir the pot a bit more. How does it come into conversation then? Say you meet someone new in what ever kind of circumstance, do you say oh I am school teacher/oil and gas executive/bus driver, oh and by the way a volunteer firefighter at blah blah station? Unless of course you are wearing your station tee or some other kind of apparel.
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First, I admit that I have not read all the replies, so if this is repeated, please forgive me.
I had a conversation with paid firefighter that considered himself better than volunteer. I took him and showed him our equipment, with the exception of the SCBA (we had Scott 2.2 where they had Scott 4.5), everything else was just about the same. He even commented that our truck was a 2009 model (newer than theirs).
He came by during one of our training nights and observed what we did. Other than a few suggestions, he was impressed.
Finally, I asked him where do you think the money came from to pay for that this. No clue was his response. I told him donations, and savings. Where his equipment was purchased by tax support.
I asked if a community should be denied fire/ems protection because they don't have a tax base to support it. Where a "career" department would have a response time of more than an hour. Where a person could die from a heart attack because delayed response.
When presented with the facts, he changed his mind.
So, if you have a disagreement with a "career" firefighter, invite them to your department. Show them what you do, how you train, your equipment, etc. Some of them will change their minds.
One final note, I took him around our community and pointed out the houses where there were fires in the last year. All but one house was saved. That impressed him even more. He never did think we would be as agressive as his department was. -
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Permalink Reply by Ryan James Johnsrud on
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And as I am not paid, but am on call 24-7 I wouldn't qualify for the paid on-call distinction. By splitting up the Volunteers into paid on call and not paid, those not paid would lose the respect we have helped gain (through our on-scene professionalism and dedication to training) for volunteer firefighters. I am proud to be a volunteer and even if I get a paid position I will always be proud of how I started and the men and women who trained me.
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Permalink Reply by Alex Sharp on
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I know that the word bothers some because they think that we are unprofessional or lack training or failed in getting a full time job, or etc... but those people's perception changes really fast when you are helping them. I also want to ask. Through FLSA you can still be considered a volunteer even if you get compensated per call as in Paid-Call firefighting. As long as the money is considered a reimbursement for travel, food maintenance. Also if it is for "uniforms" as some depts. do it. I know many depts. who pay 15-20 dollars a call but they are still considered volunteers because it is either a reimbursement or for uniforms.
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