Is Volunteer Experience Equal to Career Experience?

Just a question to get some discussion going. The region that I live in has many volunteers that are also career firefighters/officers. The question always arises; Should a firefighter's experience as a volunteer be taken into account for promotion, hiring or otherwise with a career department?

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Permalink Reply by Loyd Dittfurth on August 30, 2009 at 9:04pm

sorry, just a number i threw out there. Thank you I will try to use correct punctuation from now on.

Have a nice day!!!

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Permalink Reply by DUST on August 30, 2009 at 9:45pm

Your punctuation I can live with but I don't want to see your junk...cover thy self!

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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on August 30, 2009 at 9:46pm

Should a firefighter's experience as a volunteer be taken into account for promotion, hiring or otherwise with a career department?

I know I'm late getting in on this, but it is better than putting the thoughts on the "Travis" thread about basically the same topic.
A person's volly experience should NOT be taken into account when it comes to promotion on a career dept. You are talking about two completely different departments here and promotion of an individual should be based upon their qualifications, score, merit and even seniority for the CAREER dept. What they do as a volly has no bearing upon what they do on the career dept and volly experience should in no way count towards the person's promotion for a career dept.

As for hiring? That is strictly up to the hiring dept and what they are looking for. As I mentioned in the "other" thread, I agree with preference points for military members but I don't agree with preference points for vollys. A person's experience with another dept can be helpful, but it is up to the individual themselves to sell that knowledge and experience to the career dept to persuade the hiring panel that they have what it takes to be a member of that dept. The reality is that experience is not necessary to become a FF and a dept will still train personel their own way, so there is no reason for a career dept to take into account someone's volly experience.

Personally, on our dept we have many people that were vollies somewhere else, myself included. When a new FF is hired and they have experience as a volly, it really doesn't mean squat to me. I will base my judgements from what you bring to THIS career table, I don't care what you did before. This is more than just volly going to career, but also career guys coming on too. Their experience may help with drills, different ideas and so forth, but we are not the old dept, we don't care how you did things before.

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Permalink Reply by Kirk D. Baughman on August 30, 2009 at 9:53pm

i'm a volunteer and been one for 11 years now i enjoy every bit of it. i think that if you are with a volunteer department it should not even question if you are a career firefighter or not. i think it should be the time and experience with the department. i know with the career fighters in the volunteer department i'm with shows up less than the volunteers them selfs do.

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Permalink Reply by FETC on August 30, 2009 at 9:59pm

I love listeing to WP and Kali badger eachother....

Thanks Kali, I as well missed that particular photo :)

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Permalink Reply by Ron Ayotte on August 30, 2009 at 10:33pm

"Should a firefighter's experience as a volunteer be taken into account for promotion, hiring or otherwise with a career department?"

In a word... no.

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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on August 30, 2009 at 10:40pm

Krikeez:
I wonder how many friends she has.
How did I miss that?
And take it easy on lloyd. He just got busted for a DUI.
TCSS.
Art

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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on August 30, 2009 at 10:44pm

Hell, Gonz; it isn't even taken into account on many volunteer fire departments!
The "good ole boy" rule always trumps experience.
Hey; this isn't a career vs. volunteer thread is it?
Because, you know what happens to them.
TCSS.
Art

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Permalink Reply by Loyd Dittfurth on August 30, 2009 at 11:38pm

Ok, I will change the pic. I don't Have any real good ones im kinda of an ugly ducklin.

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Permalink Reply by Loyd Dittfurth on August 30, 2009 at 11:53pm

well yall are right on that i mean some one could see it that dosent agree with it

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Permalink Reply by blair4630 on August 31, 2009 at 1:13am

Well I went to teh TRaeVis thred BUt dee admenostreter blkd t, so I'll just pick up here.

You said here, it's the hiring departments policies and procedures that count, and it isn't all that important how things were done before at the applicants previous department, and also that you don't care about what the person did before. Well, why would that sword not cut both way for vollies and military veterans?

I do understand what you mean about the vets having a good sense of discipline and prodecures, although again a good vollie has the same experience, in the specific field of firefighting.

If this is just your personal feelings, that vets should have preference points, then I won't post another piece on this debate, because I'm not trying to sway (nor could/should I) your personal opinions on whether or not vets deserve this. I am looking at this at more of a logical hiring perspective.