FWIW I was a vollie in a small town in Colorado in the mid 70s.

Training was pretty much non existent. You were shown by the guys how to run the machines and that was about it except for a halfway decent training film about once a month.

One thing it was NOT was a drinking club. We did what we could with what little we had. Some of our machinery was pre WW2.

Most of the guys had a thing called a Plectron to notify them of when there was an emergency. I didn't because I had no electricity where I was living (in a tipi) at the time.

Talk about hillbilly! I was close enough to the road that I could hear gunfire if it came from a certain spot. Some of the guys lived further out than me and if there was an emergency they would stop quickly along the way and do a mag dump and I'd run to my parked along a fire trail VW bug and come a-runnin'.

The one big fire was up in Cripple Creek and I arrived a little late and was handed a hose while in my bunker gear and told to hose down a certain spot. It was mid winter, close to zero and windy.

The mist got hit by the wind and stuck to me and froze! After a while I became an immobile block of ice!

When it was over nobody knew what to do with me so some guy figured that he could break the ice with a ball bat.

Needless to say the guy's name was 'Tiny' and you know that that means. He tapped me gently twice and no appreciable amount of ice broke so he really walloped me and I went flying about 125 yards (or so it felt) and when I got up after laying there stunned there wasn't a piece of ice on me big enough to chill a drink! Apparently the ice took the shock and shattered  and kept me from getting a bunch of busted bones.

Sometimes it was pretty whacked out, other times comical as hell but at least it wasn't boring.

When you look back on it, I think we did damned well considering what we had to work with. Our insurance consisted on what the locals could raise from bake sales if we got hurt.

It was just a bunch of country folk with a damned limited budget, no training and more balls and dedication than brains.

I think we really made a difference.

been a state certified volly for 5 years

we do medical,crash extrication,fires,lift assists,hell just about everything
only our certified guys do interior attack

for the most part ff's respect ff's regardless of pay
i have had some young local paid guys talk smack(which is ironic as our call volume is higher than theirs)

i just laugh and say

"I'm old and out of shape and I do everything you do,for free, for my fellow citizens because you cant be bothered to get out of the recliner
if they are a couple miles outside the city limits "

almost got beat up one time for that one...lol

I was a vol for year when I was a military firefighter before I went full time civi fire.

Our station was no joke.

We ran calls on the 401.

It all depends on the people and the professionalism.

Ive never understood or supported the animosity between paid and volunteers. I'm in my final year of a 34 year career as a paid firefighter and have always been amazed at the dedication and enthusiasm volunteers had without getting paid anything close to what I was making.

I tip my helmet to all the volunteers across the USA!

I was 18, working in my mother's bakery in Ocean Isle Beach NC when a short guy came in wearing a denim jacket with a Maltese cross design on back. I asked if he was I firefighter in the area and he chuckled and said that he recently retired from Joliet Illinois with over 30 years as a paid firefighter and he moved to the beach to sit back and play golf.

I told him the local station could always use somebody with his experience but he shrugged it off and said he was done.

fast forward several months later I show up at a meeting to apply to be a member and who do I see sitting in the corner grinning like a possum when he recognized me

That was 1992 and I looked on the station's Facebook page recently and so he is still assisting them.  The city took us over in 1999 and provided a paid chief and eventually paid firefighters but he's still there.  He must be 80 by now.

That's actually pretty cool.

Going on 15 years as a vol firefighter.  Local fire dept, regional forest fire crew, and county hazmat team.

I imagine it's a whole lot easier to get training funds than it was back in the day.

I remember that one of the guys knew someone that knew someone that knew someone on the Ft Carson FD and that's where most of our training films came from and probably along with some of our equipment. I do know some of out turnout gear was military at some point in time, probably fished out of a Ft Carson or Pete Field dumpster.

A friend of mine that is about 25 years younger than I am is a local vollie and the training he get is something we were not able to even dream about yet he gripes occasionally.

Like I said earlier, we did what we could with what we had. All things considered I think we made a difference. The training and equipment really isn't anywhere near as important as the people.

90.2% Volunteer in PA

Yet the city boys treat us like trash

Around my area the volunteers are being ran off and are always looked down on.  

I would take a good ol boy over a 90lb affirmative action female hire any day.  I don’t give a shit how many certifications she “earned”.

No joke as far as I'm concerned.  I've worked with the local VFD quite a bit as a LEO and they have always been professional and got the job done.

They earned an ISO Class 1 rating in 1995 and still maintain it.  At the time the first VFD in the nation to do so.

Attached File

That ISO 1 is a big deal, like a really big deal. A lot of fulltime FDs cant maintain a class 1.

Vol FF for last 13 yrs.  Nobody in my family ever did it before.

POC here.  We run a combination dept with a Chief and three Division Chiefs, the Div Chiefs are the fulltime and work 48/96's.  We cover about 85 square miles and do about 400 calls every year.  Our city also has private EMS but we have a BLS ambulance we run when they are busy.

The couple of times that law enforcement in Fallon came up in conversation people really seem to like the job you do in a way I don’t think I’ve seen anywhere else.

If you knew Chris from the base he’s my chief.

I think I talked to him a few years ago when I was setting up a HAZ MAT class.

I started as a volunteer,  but sadly we have been phasing out the program.  We still have a handful.  

The only real animosity I have witnessed was towards the people who live the job off duty.   But you only see them at the station for the bare minimum.    


We run als transport as well as fire.   88% ems, 8% fire, 4% misc.

We found that the cost/benefit for a non emt volunteer was fairly minimal.    After outfitting, training, annual med exams, recent training. Etc.   We were not getting the value where needed it.

We have transitioned to a fire intern program.   They are emt-B.   We run them on the box with a medic.

Not me, but an old friend who was vol. fire died in an accident while responding to a fire.

RIP Shane. He was a good guy. Too many of my old friends are gone.

Been on volunteer for 10 years.  Made it to Assistant Chief in our dink town.

 Thinking of resigning, and joining on with a neighboring town-same-county rural fire department.    Do mutual aid with my own department possibly but do all training with next town over.

   Chief's a giant Ahole.  Never does reports, no grant work, hell for 7 years he neglected to send in training records for our retirement, little bit it is so all of us lost out on 4 years of service.  7 years for me since he never signed me up.     Constantly bickering and every damn time I try to get us to move forward into the 19th century he pushes back.   Doesn't want anyone to train so no one realizes how little he actually knows.        Made me asst. chief after the old one resigned before hitting him with an axe.   Figured I'd be a yes man.  

Real bitchy that I've actually pushed and gone to state training, training with other towns,etc.    Last year got in 135 hours of training.     Not alot to most people on here but for our area it's alot.    He never even gets in his minimum of 30 in a year.      Fixed our retirement problem, some insurance, got us a new truck on a Grant along with getting our incident reporting online.

   Just frustrating.   Still want to help and serve me neighbors but getting to the point I cannot call the man chief and take his orders directly.    And I still want the training.  And I love the service.   When I go anywhere but my department to train I feel a part of the community.    I have had more respect from chiefs of large departments who WANT to help me learn, than I'll ever get from this "leader"


Sorry....long rant.   Frustrated and finally at the end of my rope and about to do something about it.
   

Sounds like you have been able to fix what he was unable or unwilling to fix for the department. to you.

Guess you can either go elsewhere where leadership is better or stick it out and fix all the things he cannot or will not do. Maybe one day you’ll be in position to take the chief position and really get things done.

I am curious though....how does a part time firefighter retirement work?

I've been sticking it out for the past year.  That's when he really shoved back because "I'm making him look bad".   Haven't gotten anything accomplished that he hasn't quashed.    


  Our retirement is the Montana Public Employee Retirement System or PERS.   After a minimum of 10 years (with disability), 20 years (minimum) or 30 years(max) when someone retures from a VFD they can collect I think $95-$175-$225 respectively per month.  

 No one I know cares about it, like me, I had never even heard of it and still served 10 years.   I could still care less.   It was the chief intentionally thinking it wasn't worth the effort to fill out the form every year and screwing guys who work hard who COULD use it that was the final straw.    Oh....he also conveniantly quit doing it as soon as he got his 20 years of service in.......

Volunteer FF/EMTs saved my life when I was a teen.

Small town in Maine, 1980


Not maybe saved.   They saved my life.

 Neighboring department is a good crew and have been good about lending a sympathetic ear.    Debating on joining one of their rural-only smaller departments to be on their insurance and training.  Training and etc. with them and still responding in my own area.       Only downside is I am sure my current chief wouldn't want to integrate me with "his" department on fire and crash scenes so it would be a waste.

   That's the trouble:  
Do what's best for me: My wife mentioned it and when I stopped to examine myself, my mental health is taking a beating like a mofo from it.  
Do what's best for my community.   If I leave there's only 6 other firefighters that actually respond.  Another 6-8 on the roster but they refuse to do anything involving the chief.

I started as a volunteer.  It got me a paid job.  The best times of my life were at the VFD.

Any Paid F/F that thinks Vollies are less than equal has no idea the B.S. and struggles most Volly Dept.'s go thru. In 4 years when I retire from the Paid Carreer Dept. I am on, hopefully I can find a decent Volunteer F.D. where I move to.

Dad was a Vollie for nearly 30 years.  I ran Vol. EMS for 7.  MY certs were the same as any paid guys as were my Dads.

Are there a bunch of yahoo whackers out there?  Absolutely.    Are there also some guys who I would trust with my life when I rolled up on a scene or God forbid were a victim myself? YUP>

That is a helluva thing to do.  When I volunteered from 2002-2006, we went from a 4 to a 3 and it was a giant pain in the ass. I couldn't imagine the work y'all have had to do.

Been volunteering for about 14 years in Southeastern Oklahoma. County wildland task force and water rescue team as well.

Same, started off Volunteering for a dept in NC. Got myself certified then got hired career. Wasn’t getting much service where I was working so started looking at busier departments. Got hired in MD. Definitely a lot busier now.....

If it wasn’t for my volunteer days. I wouldn’t be working where I’m at now.