Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Wes Anders on July 19, 2008 at 7:22am

I dont have any sugestions on this but sure would like to hear any this is a pretty big problem for us also.

Permalink Reply by Ken Wagner on July 19, 2008 at 7:48am

My department does not have a monthly buisiness meeting so to speak that the volunteers come to , we do have monthly training and we have to have so many hours of this to stay with the district. At the end of the year they add up points for training and the calls that we have responded to and they give us a little bit of money for that. Not very much but sort of a thank you for being here.
My department also has a reserve program, where the members do not live in the district can still be a member, and last year for I guess all of the members they started the food reimbursement, where we get $ 1.00 for every hour that we are on a shift, given that we do at least 10 hrs of the 12 hr shift. they pay us on a monthly basis of course after it is approved by the officers and the board.
I think that this little incentive has actually had a very good impact since I first came on the department, I have seen alot of people that I never used to see. Good luck and I hope this was some help to you.

Permalink Reply by Tim on July 19, 2008 at 10:03am

We meet every Tuesday (4 in a month; 5th Tuesday off). The first one is an association meeting, the rest are trainings. As far as incentives are concerned it's actually quite simple. Miss too many trainings and you are booted from the department. There are a number of reasons for this. We need at least 120 hours a year of continuing ed to keep our certification. We also need to be kept up to speed with the rest of the department so when we respond everyone is on the same page, so to speak. Another reason (which should probably be the first on the list) is safety of the individual as well as the team. I wouldn't want to go into a burning building with someone who hasn't been training with us. I would consider these reasons "incentive" enough. We also (through the association) offer $6 a call and $3 a training through a point system. You get 1 point per response and 1/2 a point for trainings at $6 a point. This was devised by our voluteers association mainly to compensate for fuel costs to get to the station or training facility. The bottom line is (I'm with Paul on this one) if you can't come to trainings or respond to calls, you shouldn't be in the department. Thanx for the great topic! Stay safe!

Permalink Reply by turk182 on July 19, 2008 at 11:00am

I do not understand this paying volunteers to go to calls, training, and meetings. To me if you are getting paid any sum of money wether it is a penny or more then you are no longer a volunteer you are a paid department that has really lousy wages.

I joined my department when I was 16 years old and just turned 36 in april. I joined to help people when they need it most I do not want anything in return for doing what I love to do.

Usaully there are reasons volunteers quit showing up and the four most reason I have found over the years are:
1. Family issues.
2. Work schedule conflicting with alarms and training and yes meetings.
3. Lack of interest.
4. And the biggest one I found was department members fighting among theirselves and it usaully drive the ones that used to go to alot of the calls away because they get tired of hearing the arguing or "drama" as some people say.

But you have to figure out the issues in your department and try to correct them, but paying them to volunteer is not the answer.

And the minute you pay anyone for going to an alarm then you should have the word "volunteer" remove from your trucks and building because as I said above you are now a paid department.

If they would offer me money to show up to calls I would tell them to keep it I do not want it but I guess that is just the way I am. I was raised to help everyone you can in life because onday you might need the help and one of those people you helped might help you.

Permalink Reply by Rob Young on July 19, 2008 at 11:31am

I guess I have to disagree with all of you who say that getting something back in the way of cash takes away your volunteer status. On several departments around here, and on three of my past departments we received a small ($100-$200) stipend each year based on such things as number of call, and trainings, stated as a clothing allowance, or gas allowance. I guess I didn't see that as a bad thing if the board, city council, etc. wanted to show some appreciation for our efforts. I didn't join for the money in the first place and in each case didn't know anything about the money until I was handed the check the first time. I do agree however, that the main issue is chiefs, and boards not following their own bylaws. Ours state that if you miss three meetings in a row without justification, you are off the department, problem is, even if the chief wanted to follow this, there are many guys who won't back him up. Prsonally, I think you need to either get rid of the dead weight, or you need to refocus your attention on those who obviously are interested in being there, but again, I am not in charge at this point.

Permalink Reply by James on July 19, 2008 at 2:40pm

I'm on a volunteer department in Kentucky we have 70 members and we train every Thursday in the am and pm. We turn out about 45 between both trainings. We do get $6 per training and $6 per run. We have plenty of equipment for all of them, but those 25 think they don't have to train. We have 3 stations and building 2 more. Lack of apparatus and personnel isn't the problem it is attitude.

Permalink Reply by cliff on July 19, 2008 at 2:50pm

Incentives for Volunteers the iccentive is you signed up to VOLUNTEER . If you joined i volunteer unit looking for payment of ur services it is no longer volunteer cause you get paid it becomes a paid department. i dont know about most of the other departments but like one bother said that a lot of equipment that could be bought for the department so what could be done to get attendance to the training sessions or meetings i guess hope that the one's that volunterly filled out the app will soon see that they are providing a service that many people dream of doing but never will because there is no money involed.

Permalink Reply by Reg Mathis on July 19, 2008 at 3:09pm

One of the things that I have witnessed within our own department is the treatment of volunteers is sometimes "less than cordial" when interacting with the full-timers. Volunteers are often not included in department functions(cookouts, etc.) and can tend to feel excluded from the "team". Personaly, I did not volunteer for the money so any type of cash incentive wouldn't be that big a lure for me.

But being treated as a "second class" member of the team could definitely affect the level of commitment for some of your volunteers. I'm not saying your department is guilty of this, but it might bear watching?

Permalink Reply by Tim on July 19, 2008 at 4:48pm

Actually the money, as I stated in my reply to the orginal post, is raised by the volunteers association which I am a part of. We raise the money ourselves to benefit ourselves, the volunteers. I was able to purchase wild land boots with this money as well as training shirts and other odds & ends like a flashlight and extrication gloves.We do fund raisers and things to cover most of it. Some people just turn their "points checks" back over to the association. We actually have an account which enables us to get things like insurance for the personell. Like I said, the money is raised ourselves for ourselves. This money does not come from taxes or outside entities so therefore we are not a "paid" district. There is a difference.

Permalink Reply by Bull on July 19, 2008 at 10:39pm

I live in a town of 300 people. Selection of volunteers is slim to say the least. If we had to cut people for this and that we would have about 5 people left. We now have 25 on roster, and usually get the same 10-15 every call. We only run about 25 calls a year, and 90% of them are mutual aid. With the price of gas, we are considering some form of payment, more of a thank you gesture. We have a pretty good crew, and Fire Dept for a small town. I wish there was an easy answer, damned if you do, and damned if you dont.

Permalink Reply by Chief Thomas Maahs on July 19, 2008 at 10:52pm

Trip to Cancun

Permalink Reply by Tony P on July 19, 2008 at 11:05pm

Not bad money at all Luke - I'd have banked nearly $4000 if the $15 mark was in use here! Very nice!

And yes, there are a lot of Vols who would love a payment system, and maybe more who wouldn't? Every so often the concept of 'retained' comes up, and I always like to point out then that if such a thing were to be introduced here, Brigade memberships would receive a drastic cut, back to around 12 or 15 members each I'd say. With that there'd probably be rostering of the members, and in an area like mine, where there is virtually no work available (dormitory suburb), who would be able to be rostered for day calls? My comments usually close down the discussion...

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