My town where I just moved has a volunteer department. They'll pay to send you to school for either skill set, and all you basically have to do is answer the call when the beeper goes off.

Once you're active, they get you new gear, pay you and give you a pension.

I'm interested because I enjoy learning new skill sets and this one would be not only beneficial to me, but potentially to others.

Anyone do this? What should I consider? Look out for?

I'd imagine this has been posted before so I apologize if I haven't seen it.

Volunteer Firefighter/Paramedic, we don't get paid but get $20 a year for a pension for each year in service up to 20 years.
Good stuff to know, especially the EMS side.

From a practical perspective, will I get much EMS side from the firefighter side or would I be better off going EMT?

Get your Emt and run rescue with the fd

Very much worth it. I'm wanting to get the emt side of things both to run more calls and for me personally as I have family, hike with friends, etc

I remember talking about that shit show on clash of clans.  I'm surprised they haven't injured anyone yet.


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I can't say I've encountered a volunteer department that I would describe as "clownshoes" around here, although I'm sure they're out there.

I ran with two different departments (home & work) - and while they certainly had differences, both took training fairly seriously.  One evening a week was dedicated to training and there were other events available on a regular basis in addition to classes held at state and county level training centers that they would pay for.

Classes and certifications will vary a little on a state-to-state basis, but there's some common ground. The basic firefighter classes were about 160 hours, then hazmat awareness and ops classes, plus first aid, CPR and AED certification and you were ready for the FF1 certification test. I never completed the test - I registered, but they were 1 person short, so they cancelled - and I never got around to rescheduling at another facility for a variety of reasons (schedule conflicts, full enrollment, etc). Also did water rescue awareness & ops, vehicle rescue awareness, ops & technician (that was fun) and a bunch of other classes. There's a pretty broad range of skill sets you can train for...

I'm no longer running due to changing jobs, a busier work schedule, and a back injury (not FF related) that I felt could make me a liability.  Overall, I enjoyed my time spent as a volunteer. It's an interesting mix of experiences and it requires a certain level of mental and physical toughness (although the latter is, ummm, sometimes lacking).  There is an adrenaline rush at times and you may have to face some of your fears - it's certainly not for everyone. I also remember how much it sucks to wake up at 01:30 to go put on sweat soaked gear (from training last night) to respond to the local old people's home for a malfunctioning smoke detector or burnt food.

Best advice is, like others said, check out the company, talk to people and form your impressions. If you don't have any major reservations, give it a shot.

As other posters have said, some departments can be great, others are social clubs with fire apparatus; it won't be that difficult to determine which one your local department falls into.

Even within a district, different companies handle training differently, some take it seriously and put time into it, others not so much.  A lot of it depends on the company leadership and mentality.

I was lucky enough to join a company that takes it very seriously, and it shows during training and calls.

We have company drills at a minimum of once a week, special ops and district drills once a month, send members to trade and training conferences (FDIC and others) as well as national and state cert classes, all at no cost to the member.

Depending on your location, if you put the time in you can get some very high quality certs and training if you want it.

Make sure you spend several paychecks to make your car lights better than the police.

Only if you have a truck, and the prerequisite air horns that you salvaged from a derailed locomotive. 

I will try give some info here, hopefully it will help:

I joined my local VFD earlier this year. I already had my TCFP & EMT certs as well as a degree in fire science when i came on. I also joined a paid dept at the same time. For the VFD i came as complete stranger. I made every meeting and got voted in. I was put on probation and not allowed to do much for 90 days. At least in theory. Instead i jumped straight in using my skills and knowledge. I have only missed 2 calls since February. I love my crew and understand what must be done before it needs to be said. I have seen some gnarly things and been through some no shit scary things. As a new member you must be willing do whatever is needed. Attend the meetings. Take whatever training you can right now. Learn your area. Offer helpful input where and when it's needed but don't try to change their world.

For my paid position it's a totally different ballgame.  

Pm me or email me if you want any other info.

Depends on your area, but we run almost 600 calls a year, and 80% are EMS related.  My FD only runs a BLS level, they paid for my EMT-B.  

I went out of my own pocket to get my Paramedic license, and was just hired on a Private Ambulance Service...so now I'm both a paid medic and a volunteer LT FF.  So, you never know what opportunities come to you if you work hard and take it seriously.

A lot of departments vary.  My own included.....A lot of it comes down to what YOU are willing to put into it as a volunteer.

 I'm in a small rural VFD.  Almost no budget, half the members are there for the shirts and the parade.

 The other half are hardcore.  We work hard maintaining the equipment, spent many, MANY of our own dollars purchasing gear the county and town would not and there's a small "core" group of 5-6 of us that work hard to get what training we can, pairing up with other departments that have sessions,etc. since our own does not.

  We're tired and exasperated with the other volunteers that won't help (or screw things up), the city and county .gov that won't provide funding and the bad reputation caused by the lazy half of the department.

  That said it's been very rewarding, I wouldn't ever give it up even with all the difficulties.  I HAVE to help our local community.  I don't think I could not help at this point.

Sounds familiar. There's quite a few at my vfd don't show up for meetings and training. Hardly ever show up for routine calls but boy i tell you what we get a structure fire and a small army shows up. Not that they do much besides lean on fence posts or act like they know it all. We have a very small budget. PPE is what you can get. Training night usually results in watching a video. But all in all we make do. The ones that show up consistently know what they are doing. I doubt the OP will look back in on this thread but even with the downers i wouldn't trade it for anything.

Sign up for some ride-alongs if they offer it, at least for the EMS side.  If you like it, and want to put the time and effort into it, by all means jump in! I was somewhat hesitant to join the squad early on; I didn't know if I'd be able to handle the time and effort, but now I spend way, way too much time doing this stuff! Don't burn yourself out... starting out I was spending 200+hours a month when I was precepting... which is way too much. Somewhere along the lines of 30-60 would be much more sane.

Sorry I took so long to reply, the training for each is separate in our department. With that being said, you can, as I have, be both.

Joining an FD is not something to take lightly. If you do it determine that you will learn all you can AND follow directions and come back alive.
Learn ALL the equipment, what it does and how it works, this is paramount.
Do the things that others won't, take out the trash, pick things up, be an 'extra' pair of hands. Most newbies/probies won't do this.
Don't talk too much, unless you have a question. Listen and learn first.

I definitely recommend going the medical route, if you have the aptitude for it. The great majority of calls are medical.
I think EMT class is 4 or 6 months long. You can also make a living as an EMT or Paramedic outside of your VFD.

I hope this helps. It can be every rewarding and satisfying, and you can make a difference.