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Permalink Reply by Mike Livingston on July 22, 2008 at 7:01am

We have a point system with points for call volume, duty shifts, meetings, drills and training classes. If you earn 50 points per year for 10 years or more, you get a small pension from the county after you reach a certain age -- the dollar amount goes up and the starting age goes down the longer you've been earning points. There's also a state tax break, local bus passes, tuition reimbursement at the community college or the Maryland Fire/Rescue Institute, and (just started a couple years ago) an annual stipend of $300 if you had 50 points in the previous year. But y'know what? I'm a recruiter, and I've never once heard a prospective applicant ask about fringe benefits. I don't think this stuff is an incentive to volunteer -- it's an incentive to fill out all the paperwork.

Permalink Reply by Nomex 207 on August 8, 2008 at 6:25pm

We have tried diffrent things over the years,some worked for a short time some did not.The thing we have found is the ones who realy ENJOY and LOVE the fire service are going to be committed to it and make as much training ,meetings and runs as they can.The others are still going to show up when they feel like regardless of pay or other offerings. We keep a record of who attends what,taking into consideration why they were not there {work,out of town,family...etc} and the ones with low attendance are put on a probation period where they improve or they are replaced.

Permalink Reply by Classair on August 13, 2008 at 3:38pm

We have to show up for meetings and ride a minimum of 24 hours per month. If a volunteer fails to do the ride time or miss three meetings in a month he or she is history. We also have the point system.