The Demands Of The Volunteer Fire Service

[firecapt32 282]

Some people have posted in here that the demands on the volunteer fire service are overwhelming. Is that a true statement,if so what do you think should be done about it, or should the State demand more.

[HFD750 6]

I think the state should demand more personally,Like I said in another post FF1 isn't enough. You need more training. To say you have FF1 and you are now ready to battle a 3 alarm fire would be wrong. TRAIN TRAIN and TRAIN. As for overwhelming I don't think so,If you want to be a firefighter then train to be one,learn everything you can,ask questions and listen. One class dosen't cut it for me regardless of what the state says. Besides the state isn't fighting the fires in my town. Just my thoughts.

Edited January 18, 2007 by HFD750

[Remember585 815]

I think it's like anything else in life. If you really want to be a part of something, then you will do what it takes. If you want to be a volunteer firefighter and be a part of all it has to offer, I am sure that you will do whatever it is asked of you.

People are busier today then they were generations ago. If it is in someone's heart to do something, they will find a way to make it happen. The complaint that people are not joinining or staying because of increased standards is, to be frank, Bull. The bulk of the people we've lost in the last few years is because they have found something else to consume their time and interest. Nobody has left because we ask too much of them, they've left because they've moved, started families, taken on new jobs/careers or some other "legit" reason. None of the guys that have left have ever said that we ask too much out of them, it's "a lack of time." And that, to me, is not just limited to the fire service. How many of you would play softball or go to the gym more if you had the time? Working longer days and in many cases, working more then one job is killing the American society's "free time." THAT - not increased requirements, is cutting down our membership.

In other words, if the State mandated 250 hours of initial training, I would think that the person who joined and wants to be a part of the brotherhood would take it and complete it. I get calls and e-mails all week long from members of our Department looking to take some kind of class - VOLUNTARILY. A lot of what our members take beyond FF 1 is a choice, if we took some of these classes and merged them into one I am more then confident that the County would still fill these classes faster then they post them.

That's my two cents, anyway.

[turk182 37]

How does New York compare to other states? I do not know if that matters but it might be a good comparision. Just a thought.

[Guest partyrock]

All this talk about FF1 being too long, and I see people fighting, scheming and begging to get in. The demand is there for training. At this point the training demands are great enough that the "casual" members don't join any more. I know its easier said than done, but instead of waiting for the state to getting around to changing the standards why not push for change from the bottom up.

[x242Steve 1]

How does New York compare to other states?  I do not know if that matters but it might be a good comparision.  Just a thought.

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Fire Training is one area where NY State has a bit of an edge on some surrounding states as far as availability. The County system comes in handy, in that most counties have a Training Center, or at least a Fire Administration that can help out with setting up training.

Connecticut, for example, has counties but they have no governmental structure on the county level... i.e. there is no Fairfield County Department of Emergency Services. I'm sure BFD182, CHIEFPHIL, or another CT firefighter can elaborate, but from what I have been told by co-workers, many volunteers in CT have to travel all the way to the state training center in Windsor Locks (near Hartford) for classes unless they can get a large enough group together to have a state class at a satellite location.

IMO the WCFTC is in an excellent location as far as being easy to get to from all points in Westchester.

As far as the length of classes, I have not encountered anyone who was literally unable to attend a certain class due to the time committment. Everyone I know who is committed to learning more has found ways around work and family-related scheduling conflicts. If you are genuinely eager to join the FD, you can usually figure out a way to make classes work.

[Guest]

All this talk about FF1 being too long, and I see people fighting, scheming and begging to get in.  The demand is there for training.  At this point the training demands are great enough that the "casual" members don't join any more.  I know its easier said than done, but instead of waiting for the state to getting around to changing the standards why not push for change from the bottom up.

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True, it's nicer to have a department made up of people who are all up to the task of taking FF1. Casual members don't really do too much good.

As for FF1 being enough? Of course not. It's a good bench mark though, a good place to start. It's 87 hours and fairly comprehensive. It doesn't make someone an interior FF overnight (nor does an academy, although sometimes more comprehensive). It's a base to train on a base to build on and helps to quicken the pace through which people can become confident interior FF's. You should never stop training, especially with the number of classes being offered at the excellent training facility we have in Westchester.

Partyrock....nice. O&A?

[AFS1970 504]

Yes, allot of the time we have to do the 90 mile run (from Stamford) to the state academy, but CT does have a regional fire school system, that is roughly done by county. There is no county government and the various schools are largely independent, but they work well for local area departments. Fairfield County now has two, one in Fairfield and one in Stamford. Stamford is new as a regional school, but they have been bringing in some good classes, from instructors both in and out of state.

Individual departments are able to bring in state classes two ways. You can always contract a class, pay the cost to the state and charge attendees to reclaim the cost. You can also apply to host a State class on the regular calendar, but you don't always get all the classes you want that way.

[eckyphats 0]

All this talk about FF1 being too long, and I see people fighting, scheming and begging to get in.  The demand is there for training.  At this point the training demands are great enough that the "casual" members don't join any more.  I know its easier said than done, but instead of waiting for the state to getting around to changing the standards why not push for change from the bottom up.

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That is true for certain classes, there are regional fire schools scattered around the state... 6 i believe. Luckily in trumbull we have over 15 certified fire instructors and we can run just about any class in house.... 60% of personal are FFII or higher, and many members have specialty classes