Administrative Vol Firefighter

[lisnak 0]

Is there anything in writing on what the duties are for a volunteer firefighter in new york state who had been classified as "administrative" are? It does not seem right that if a medical doctor from a department declares a person as administrative, that person becomes a wall flower.

[CHIEFPHIL 90]

Although , my dept is not in NY. We face similiar situations here in CT as well. my dept has broken down our membeership levels .

we have cadets [16 and 17 yr olds]

Active - 18 yrs old no max age. minimum call volume, must attend drills , meetings etc and hold either MRT, EMT or FF1 or above cert.

Life - 15 yrs in dept... respond to calls, no minimum call volume must attend mandatory drills. drops from pension and tax abatement. Cannot run for line officer positions, only board of directors

Retired - 20 yrs in dept, no longer can respond to alarms, but can be on board of directors , hold parlimentry positions and works on committees, max out in pension, dropped from tax abatment, no voting privaleges unless meets minimum meeting requirements

Associate - 18yrs old and above , does not respond to any alarm, must work on 2 committees and is accountable to the board of directors. No pension, no tax abatement. no voting of officers, only board of directors

[ex-commish 490]

Is there anything in writing on what the duties are for a volunteer firefighter in new york state who had been classified as "administrative" are?  It does not seem right that if a medical doctor from a department declares a person as administrative, that person becomes a wall flower.

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Like anything else with volunteer depts in NY, it is a home rule issue. Whatever duties your AHD wants to write for that position is up to them as long as they are trained for the duties they are to perform.

Dispatching, paperwork, record keeping, inventoryare some of the suggestion I have for that position. You can also have them assist with doing pre-planning. Let them go to various buildings in your response area and gatehr info on the building that would be useful in a preplan. Maybe going door to door asking homeowners if they are in need of smoke detectors. THere is plenty for them to do I feel and it also frees up the officers to tend to other duties like training. Hope this helps.

It takes the burden away from the officers and frees them up for more fire related issues like training.

[CFI609D 119]

Is there anything in writing on what the duties are for a volunteer firefighter in new york state who had been classified as "administrative" are?  It does not seem right that if a medical doctor from a department declares a person as administrative, that person becomes a wall flower.

←

All career/combination and most volunteer fire departments use NFPA 1582, "Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments." It clearly lists ailments and issues which can disqualify a firefighter from front line duties performing structural firefighting duties and using respiratory protection (SCBA). You can get a copy of the standard directly from the NFPA at:

www.nfpa.org

In order to prevent firefighters with physical limitations or medical restrictions from becoming "wall flowers", many departments allow them to perform "exterior" operational duties. In the event a qualified physician familiar with the NFPA's occupational standards determines that the medical conditions completely restrict a firefighter from any operational duties, they can be placed on "Administrative" status, which allows them to perform some duties involving limited physical exertion, such as dispatch, fire prevention & education, and other administrative functions.

Hope this helps!