DO YOU THANK IT SHOULD BE MANDITORY FOR ALL VOL TO DO SOME AMOUNT OF TRAINING EVERY YEAR., AND FOR VOL. TO BE CRET. TO BE AN OFFICER.? MY ANSWEAR IS YES AND I AM A VOL. JUST SAYING...
Yes. To keep us from killing ourselves we must train and be trained just as if we were paid. In Texas a firefighter must achieve a certain level of training before he or she can even enter a burning building, for instance. So, to answer your second question, an officer must be certified as well. We have pride, don't we? We also want to do our job to the best of our ability to stay safe and to keep others safe.
As a Training Officer and a volly for 11 years prior to being hired I think training is VERY important! As far as being certified to be an officer yes you need officer training. Not only do you need certs, but you need years of time on the job before becoming a officer. I know of a dept near a military base that if you hold an officers position for the Army you get an officer's position at the dept. I call bullcrap on that specially when people are in position that can't fill the boots. All though I have also witness a Asst Chief and Head of Training that had no clue how to cut a car during extrication training. Now tell me if you think he needs his officer position? Not bashing people just stating the facts and that's my opioion.
james i to am a vollie,,,,,,i train and take classes when ever i can not just for myself but for the betterment of my dept. safty is the biggest thing in our dept and the more training ya get the safer ya are. sharpen a knife it stays sharp.but being a vollie is just that.....some may go threw some training just to get on a dept and some take it to the next level.....depends on who YOU are,are ya a glory hound and THAT guy or are ya in for the long hawl...
I believe it should be mandatory. Our department even makes it so. One must have 24 hours of training time per year or they have to attend some weekly rookie trainings to cover the defecit. We offer monthly training classes that meet the goal if you make each one during the year. Other training opportunities like house burns, state fire marshal, and other department's training activities count as well.
That said, much of the training we do in house is not new techniques but continuation. It helps us maintain the level of proficiency that we need to have to aid our community. Since we cover both a small town and the rural community, we tend to train towards the majority of our responses and as the seasons change, cover potential big threats like combine fires, ice rescue, and grassland fires.
Our officers undergo a much more rigorous training requirement and must meet certain minimums. As I'm content to stay where I am, I do not know enough about their requirements to say.
All said, everybody needs to continue training whether paid or not. The stuff we learn or relearn is vital to keeping ourselves, our customers, and our equipment safe.
I think you should get all the training you can. Whether you are on a paid dept or vol. The more training you get the better you will get at your job. Not only will the training help you it will also help your fellow firefighters. There may be a time a certian kind of training may save your life of your fellow fighters. YES get all the training you can whether it is manditory of not.