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Should a volunteer be forced into doing something they don't feel comfortable with?
My questions to anyone is this:
Should a volunteer member be forced into doing something that they don't feel comfortable with? What if they are being told that if they do not do this, they will no longer be a member of the department?
Here's what it going on (just to paint you the picture)...a member of the department who is medical only is now being told that if they do not do something, they will not be allowed to be a member anymore. This person gave up fighting "The Beast" a few years back due to an incident on a grass fire gone wrong. After that incident they gave up firefighting and pursued medical.
This person has been doing medical for 6 yrs now and there has never been an issue with that. Now, they are being told that they also have to become a firefighter again. Once again, if they do not follow this, they cannot be a member of the department. The issue cannot be taken to someone higher, i.e. county fire marshal, as he is the acting chief of the department during re-organization. The new S.O.G.'s for the county state that all members must be at least FF1 certified AND at least FR; preferably EMT-B.
The acting chief has been made aware of the circumstances as to why this person does not do firefighting anymore. He said he understands the reason, but that was as far as it went. Now, I'm not saying that an exception has to be made to accomidate for this, but if someone has the desire to help out their community as a medical responder, shouldn't that be taken into consideration? Shouldn't their loyalty in that part of the department be enough?
Yes, this person could leave the department, but it is the only other medical unit in the county that is run on a volunteer basis (2 other departments have medical units, but both are in the cities). The other county volunteer fire departments are just that, fire only.
In your opinion, what do you think that this member should say and/or do? Should they just walk away from something they love to do, or try to fight this battle and see where it goes? I would love to hear what you have to say to all of this. Any and all ideas/opinions would be greatly appreciated on this issue.
Laura
Should a volunteer member be forced into doing something that they don't feel comfortable with? What if they are being told that if they do not do this, they will no longer be a member of the department?
Here's what it going on (just to paint you the picture)...a member of the department who is medical only is now being told that if they do not do something, they will not be allowed to be a member anymore. This person gave up fighting "The Beast" a few years back due to an incident on a grass fire gone wrong. After that incident they gave up firefighting and pursued medical.
This person has been doing medical for 6 yrs now and there has never been an issue with that. Now, they are being told that they also have to become a firefighter again. Once again, if they do not follow this, they cannot be a member of the department. The issue cannot be taken to someone higher, i.e. county fire marshal, as he is the acting chief of the department during re-organization. The new S.O.G.'s for the county state that all members must be at least FF1 certified AND at least FR; preferably EMT-B.
The acting chief has been made aware of the circumstances as to why this person does not do firefighting anymore. He said he understands the reason, but that was as far as it went. Now, I'm not saying that an exception has to be made to accomidate for this, but if someone has the desire to help out their community as a medical responder, shouldn't that be taken into consideration? Shouldn't their loyalty in that part of the department be enough?
Yes, this person could leave the department, but it is the only other medical unit in the county that is run on a volunteer basis (2 other departments have medical units, but both are in the cities). The other county volunteer fire departments are just that, fire only.
In your opinion, what do you think that this member should say and/or do? Should they just walk away from something they love to do, or try to fight this battle and see where it goes? I would love to hear what you have to say to all of this. Any and all ideas/opinions would be greatly appreciated on this issue.
Laura
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dustin J. Millis on
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Hmmm.... this is a tough one. On one hand, if you want to be on a fire department, you had better be ready to fight fire. On the other hand, I've always told any new guys on the dept. that they shouldnt do anything they do not feel comfortable doing. Of course; if training standards were tougher for volunteer firefighters, which they should be!!!!!!!!!!; we would be more comforable doing certain things. ie. I have never been real comfortable in the water, sure I like to go swimming and stuff, but say... 500 yards out in Lake Michigan; I'm freakin out. In anycase, we had an ice rescue training that I wasnt real thrilled about attending. I did go to the training and it turned out to be a huge confidence builder. So... maybe your friend should try to start fighting fire again. To throw out a cliche, you gota get back on the horse!!! Also... if your friend has been running EMS calls for six years, hopefully they are at least an EMT-B. Maybe they could find a professional career in being an EMT. They could still fulfill their dreams, get paid for it, and stay away from the hot stuff. Good luck
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Permalink Reply by John Schander on
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Was this person told that they had to fight fires or just get certified? As the training officer in my dept I know that we have people who are certified to fight fire, but don't, they concentrate on the medical side, but everyone has to be fire fighter certified. You have to understand that the standards for federal grants, and many state wide fire fighter mobilazation plans require a minimum of FF I training. Like Dustin said it's a tough call, why join a fire dept if you don't want to fight fires, but then again you are making a contribution by concentrating on medical calls. In the end it's got to be a descision that the Chief and this person have to make.
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Permalink Reply by Smoke Eater on
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We have a female who was on the dept. some yrs. ago and resigned. She was a firefighter and first responder then. She has since came back as medical only. I don't agree with this but on the other hand I don't agree with telling someone they have to fight fire if they don't feel comfortable with it. The only reason I don't agree with out member is that she just goes to the station to run on the treadmill every day but very rarely makes a run. But to answer your question, No I don't think that's a very fair way to deal with the issue.
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Permalink Reply by Robert on
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Get certified as a FFI doesn't mean you have to run calls. I would assume your training would be safe and you can work through your issues. That should satisfy people.
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Permalink Reply by Laura L. Baehr-Falconer on
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I totally understand about getting back on the horse once thrown. Fire is something to fear and respect at the same time. The person was caught in a situation with a grass fire that nearly took them. When that replays in the mind on a fire call, it's somewhat hard to get past. It's like an officer shooting someone in the line of duty and even though they have tried to get back into the routine, sometimes they can't. Some do still find a way to do what they love, just not directly in that specific area.
And trust me, out here our standards are tough. Yes, anyone can join, but they have a certain amount of time to get their certs and trainings in. I agree that with more training, we would be able to be a little more comfortable with doing things we don't like. With that said, as of now, this department is the only department that is being forced into this. The person would join a different department if they had medical units running with them.
As far as going career with it, they have and still does prn on occassions. They just want to give back to the community, but seems they can't now.
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All members were told at the meeting last night that it is mandatory they get certified AND fight. Before, all you had to have was your certs and you could choose what you wanted to do more of. Right now, there is a very small amount of medical personnel to run as it is.
When this person joined, they did start as a firefighter with some certs already under their belt from other departments, so it's not like they don't have the training (just not all of it). The department had stated that if anyone wanted to be medical they could and without reprocussions. Now, we as members are being told different. Right now our chief is the fire marshall. He knows what happened in the past and says that he is going to take it into concideration, but does not know.
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I agree with you on the fact that if this member is only using the department as a gym and is not responding, that they should not be a member. If they were doing their fair share of calls, that is one thing, but if not...
Thank you for agreeing with the fact that this situation is not a fair deal. The last time I checked, it is a volunteer dept, not a paid one. I know that certs are required, but to force the issue when certain personnel know what happened is not fair to the member. Originally, it was agreed that it was not a problem to do medical only, as that would not take away from fire personnel that would be needed for a call.
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Permalink Reply by Todd on
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I understand the situation and i am wondering if the member ever attended any type of stress debriefing or counseling after the incident with the grass fire?
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Permalink Reply by Andy Entwistle on
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We have both interior and exterior firefighters - some choose to stay exterior and not get their FF1. We are okay with that - it takes plenty of folks outside a fire as well as inside. We have a couple who just wnat to do medical calls. We are basically okay with that as well - if it sounds like a call they don't want to do, like a brush fire, they should simply not respond. If they do show up, we expect they'll at least do the exterior duties like pulling hose. Better that than have a guy quit - who can afford that? There is room for everyone. Now, even among certifed firefighters, some don't do ladders, for example. OK, we'll send someone else up. We don't get so many people at a call that it's as if they bumped someone more capable off the truck. We'll take all we can get and from among them find someone who can do what needs to be done.
I recall at a FAST class the instructor was bawling us out - I'm a bit older and weaker than some, and I couldn;t get the 'fallen FF' up the stairs like he wanted, so he told me I didn't belong there. I told him you are missing the point. We are not a big department. If you have a place where ten guys want three jobs, you are right - I'm a weak link. But we have three guys for ten jobs and even if i can;t do it all, the parts I can do help out. If I don;t show, no one is stepping up to fill my spot. I don't think he bought it - his dept has the luxury having a stable of young studs. Our average age is in the high 40's.
Better to have someone say I can;t go up there and refuse than bully them up there and have them freeze.
That's my two cents.
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Permalink Reply by Dave on
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Its a tough question to answer. On one hand, times are tough and to equip and train a member cost money. Some departments because of this only have enough spots for people who want to do the job. If this dept no longer has the space for a person to pick and choose and needs all members to be willing to as you say " fight the beast" then maybe this person should move on and make way for a person who is willing to do both. If this person had a bad fire or a close call and can not get past it, it maybe time for him/her to hang it up.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on
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If I understand this situation the "member" is a Firefighter (or was)...So technically he IS a Firefighter already...Nothing says he has to fight fires.....Does your Department have so many people knocking down the doors to get in that they are willing to let a proven, trusted member walk away...? Now that would be a crime...Paul
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Permalink Reply by Mick Shelley on
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What you need to do is go read your By-Laws,
and see what is required by your department.
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