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Why Does the Older Firefighter Have a Problem with Juniors/Explorers?
in my company there r very few firefighters that like the junior program is that the same in every company or jus mine and how come kids say stuff about us calling us wanna bes if they only really new how much we doo ....
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by eddie payne on
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thanks alot dude we jus started to be aloud out on calls in the last month and ive bine to 6 workin fires its really cool but i jus dont think some of the firefighters relize howmuch we do for them
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Permalink Reply by Firefighter Tyler Supplee on
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Thanks man,I've been having a really bad day...and eddie says it all.We are nothing but wannabes and kids pick on the 4 jrs in my school.I am the main one thats picked on because of how I dress(usually has a FD shirt or something related to the FD on) and usually my pagers(Med and Fire).Whenever my pager goes off everybody is yelling "shut that d*mn sh!t off(idk what the rule for cursing is)"or they end up grabbing my pager off my pocket and turning it off themselve.Being a Jr Firefighter is a joke to all the kids but the teacher have a lot of respect for me, all but one who is one out of 3 local Medics,she takes my pager and turns it off till the end of class:(...
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I've been in the company since I was 14,the minute I turned I called the Chief!I was able to run calls the minute I joined...except for:
Mon. through Thur. 1510-2200
Fri. 1510-2200 on Sun.(Any time on Fri,Sat,and Sun till 2200
Then Summer Anytime
Our company is one of a kind...the only company that let us respond after school...I left school on a friday for a haybail fire and got there just as our tanker did!
Don't worry man I know how ya feel
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Thanks man...same to you and eddie
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Permalink Reply by ffbam24 on
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Maybe it's because of their superior spelling, grammar and punctuation. ; )
Hang in there. It's like being a probie: Keep your mouth shut and your ears open.
Seen, not heard. And even then, not wanting to be seen. What a world!
Happy T-day!
bam
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Permalink Reply by Engineco913 on
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The older members tend to be less favorable to change, and young blood runs the risk of change. So long as you participate in training, and keep the horseplay out of the fire department you will eventually prove to these members that you are indeed more than an asset to the department. Every department has a mouth (usually an old timer) it is just avoiding them and getting the job done every time, no questions asked. Keep your chin up, and stay safe
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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on
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Being an older firefighter myself, all I can say is that you will run into folks that aren't happy no matter what happens. They may not be able to accept change, preferring to keep things as they are and not have new members around pestering them. It may be jealousy, because you are young and they are old. It could be other things that are best left to the psychologists.
Try not to feel like people are against Juniors because they are Juniors. If there were no Junior program , then it would be the new members or probies. I think it's human nature to single out the new people.
The Junior firefighter programs are preparing teens to be the firefighters of tomorrow. With the steady decline of volunteers over the years, and the advancing age of the remaining members, people like you are going to be taking over for people like me. Learn and train as much as you can.
Oh, and the kids that pick on you... invite them to join and see what it's really like. Maybe the firefighting business will reach out and touch them like it has you.
Keep on doing it!
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Permalink Reply by matt poppe on
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im an explorer and at my dept. all the firefighters are really cool about us being up there we all get along great, we sometimes eat dinner with them. there is one our two I can think of that are not to fond of the explorers.
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Permalink Reply by Ray Smith on
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It's not the same in all companies. Most of our senior members love the idea of juniors. I know how hard it is to stay somewhere when your not wanted. But there is always that one person that just rains or your parade.
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Permalink Reply by Erikka on
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I know what you are going through. I have been a part of our explorer program for a little over a year and a half now. We get the same issues. The first time you work with a certain crew or person, there can be some tension. I have learned that the more I am down at our station, the more they except you. All of our guys know who I am and I know all of them. It just takes time. Respect the older guys and never argue with them. I also learned that it helps when you offer help to a new firefighter since they do have a higher rank than you yet you have seniority over them. Plus if there are any other girls out there, these are just a few problems and many more for us. Hang in there.And we will all get through it. We ARE the future.
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Permalink Reply by jonathan on
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hey bro. here the firefighters love us!! y? cause there is an age gap. im in a county vfd service with 13 stations. at one of those the youngest member is 71!!!! and are just regular firefighters not officers. there are about 20 firefighters who r btw 20-50. and myself and a couple of other jrs are turning 18(our age where youre not a jr anymore) here in the next year so this will allow some but not all of the older guys take officer positions or retire.
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Permalink Reply by Cody Scott on
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Fellow firefighter,
Don't be discouraged by the older men of your company. My department worked for two years to get a explore program but the majority of its older members did not like the idea there for kept voting against it. So we moved to the process of lowering the age to apply from 21 to 18. This did not happen either. we had to spend another 7 months going through all this by-laws bull s**t to get myself on the department.
It's not really a matter of they hate the explorer or Jr. firefighter personally, they just hated the idea of change. In a vol. department we haven't seen a lot of change in the way things have been done since our department was founded in the 1920. Just tell future wanna be explorers to show there dedication to your station and how much they appreciate you guys and hopefully things will change for the good.
Best of luck to you.
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