Posted: 9/18/2006 5:48:44 PM EDT
I'm leaving in a few minutes to go have my interview with the local fire chief, to see if I can join the academy. 
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Good for you. My house is my extended family. If you have a good crew there you will do great. Be ready to train, train, train. Fire 1 here is about 150 hours, and so is EMT-B. Don't be a dork though. Please dont get a lightbar and 10,000 stickers on your back window.  - Lt. Andrews |
LMFAO!! I know exactly what you are talking about, there is a guy on our department in that the only thing that he is missing is a skid unit and we could have a third brush truck |
We call them "Wackers" here in PA ETA I Worked my first code a few hours ago. I have been on many ems asst calls just never the full ride all the way to the ER. |
I was a paid-call FF in Barstow, CA before I joined the USCG. Since then I havent gotten back into the Fire Service  . Im in AK right now which runs a paid and vol dept. Im always amazed at the number of volunteers who are full time plumbers/retailers/teachers/etc that run a shitload of FF-type stickers all over their POV's. To each his own, it just cracks me up. 
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If you stay out of the politics of a Volunteer FF Department, you'll have a great time. Training, answering calls, training, inspection of equipment, trainikng, maintenance, training, etc... is a lot of fun and self graditude. However, like everywhere else, politics interplay with the Mayor, Chief, Training Officer, City Counsel, the old timers at the hall, etc. Recognize that the politics exists, stay clear of it, and you being the newbie will have a great time!!!! -P |
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On vacation once the wife and I ran into two firemen on vacation with their families, one was from Chicago, I think, and the other from somewhere out west who had done a lot of work in wildfires in addition to working as a paid fireman in a city somewhere. It was extremely interesting listening to them talk about what was really involved in fighting fires and the sort of inside knowledge they had. I never thought that it was just rolling up and squirting water around, but there was a lot more to it than I thought listening to these older guys talk about it. I guess there must be a pretty steep learning curve you have to get over to stay safe. Congrats 
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Put in my 22 years and retired. I never regretted a day of it. Being an adrenaline junky, it was quite an adventure! I never had the mindset to be an EMT, though. Some rural volunteer departments are run pretty loosely, so I'll throw this bone out: ALWAYS wear your boots and turnout gear on a run. |