Jolly Volly

[MerlinMedic 5]

Somewhere in the Beekman/Alamo thread a person said how hard it is to get people to volunteer. The July issue of JEMS had an editorial on part of the problem is the leadership of volunteer agencies; too this, too that. The county I live in has 13 fire departments, 6 of which have an ambulance, and 2 others who have an EMS rig. There are 3 EMS only agencies.

The 3 independent agencies rarely have trouble getting their rig out, and provide some level of ALS (mainly CC, but some P). One of these agencies always has 4 people on their rig and never is short help. The others generally get 3, but sometimes roll with 2.

These are poor towns, no money like Dutchess County; small, only one township is over 1000 people. Yet when you call 911, these folks staff the rig & roll it, whether it is to the nursing home, State prison (medium security) or community college.

The one fire/EMS agency that has mutual aid with a commercial agency has problems getting the rig staffed. They have the volunteers, but they don't come out except for the "BIG ONE". The other fire based EMS units have problems getting people to join the EMS part of the FD.

What I would like to see is responses from volunteers. What made you join? Why do you stay? What would make you quit volunteering? And, any thoughts on how to get more volunteers?

Thanx in advance for your thoughts & ideas.

[ex-commish 490]

Somewhere in the Beekman/Alamo thread a person said how hard it is to get people to volunteer. The July issue of JEMS had an editorial on part of the problem is the leadership of volunteer agencies; too this, too that. The county I live in has 13 fire departments, 6 of which have an ambulance, and 2 others who have an EMS rig. There are 3 EMS only agencies.

The 3 independent agencies rarely have trouble getting their rig out, and provide some level of ALS (mainly CC, but some P). One of these agencies always has 4 people on their rig and never is short help. The others generally get 3, but sometimes roll with 2.

These are poor towns, no money like Dutchess County; small, only one township is over 1000 people. Yet when you call 911, these folks staff the rig & roll it, whether it is to the nursing home, State prison (medium security) or community college.

The one fire/EMS agency that has mutual aid with a commercial agency has problems getting the rig staffed. They have the volunteers, but they don't come out except for the "BIG ONE". The other fire based EMS units have problems getting people to join the EMS part of the FD.

What I would like to see is responses from volunteers. What made you join? Why do you stay? What would make you quit volunteering? And, any thoughts on how to get more volunteers?

Thanx in advance for your thoughts & ideas.

I joined the fire service as a volunteer in 1980. I joined mainly because at the time I was a typical 17 year old with long hair and an attutude and was somewhat a rebel. I was heading down the wrong track. I was taken by a gruop of men who pretty much straightened me out and taught me how to be a productive community servant. Now at 44 my attitude towards community service is the same as it was back when I first joined. I loved the comradity, friendship, the pranks and more so the training and learning new things. I was told you are here for 3 reasons...... keep your mouth shut, learn, and do as your told. Something I still believe in today but unfortunately even the fire service to some degree has become politically correct and that is what is ruining it.

I don't know the answers on how to get more volunteers. The simple answer to the shortage if depts dont want to recruit is hire.

[E58RET 24]

Part of the problem with recruiting volunteers today is the ECONOMY. The days when your boss/company woulds let you leave to go to a call are gone.The days when you lived and worked in the same community are also gone.The problem is further excacerbated by the creeping urbanization of the northern suburbs with a lot of possible volunteers now traveling to their jobs in the city or elsewhere and after commuting to and fro have no time to spend traning or respondig to calls.

[ny10570 745]

Part of the problem with recruiting volunteers today is the ECONOMY. The days when your boss/company woulds let you leave to go to a call are gone.The days when you lived and worked in the same community are also gone.The problem is further excacerbated by the creeping urbanization of the northern suburbs with a lot of possible volunteers now traveling to their jobs in the city or elsewhere and after commuting to and fro have no time to spend traning or respondig to calls.

What he said...

That and in light of these challenges many agencies have responded by just putting more pressure upon their members to step up instead of trying to change to attract new members or seek outside help. One agency that I was a member of turned me into an officer less than a year after joining. Then when I was trying to make a career out of EMS they laid down the gauntlet and asked me to re-evaluate my priorities because my time in the EMS academy was interfering with my volley time. The other volunteer organization I'm a member of wished me luck and is still tolerating my brutal schedule. It use to be there was a glut of people who wanted to do right by their neighbors and had the time to give. Today those people are few and far between. So now you have to reach out to people who aren't so motivated to serve their community, but have the time to do it. We have always received some form of compensation for our time, whether it be camaraderie, parade season, Christmas parties, etc. Now the trick is finding out what it'll take to get the next wave of people in. I don't know what the magic bullet is, but the attitiude that I do it for nothing more, so why don't they has got to go.

[Guest feraldan]

The July issue of JEMS had an editorial on part of the problem is the leadership of volunteer agencies; too this, too that.

Not mentioning specifics, but this is a huge issue. Its too easy for the wrong types of people to take over a volunteer organization and dominate it or worse yet, do absolutely nothing to better it. A lot of organizations are lucky enough to have solid leadership but many others don't have that luxury. Sometimes recruitment is just not a major goal. Sometimes training or retraining is not a major goal! Its easy to get stuck in your ways.

I think the key is to hit them young. Go to the high schools and develop a solid Junior Corp. A lot of the kids will disappear and go off to college but you'll get some that will stay and remain devoted.

I think you also need to progressively weed out the good volunteers from the bad volunteers. A lot of people have this attitude that "well, we're all volunteers, so I mean, you gotta tolerate some bad behavior" but I find that excuse to be total bunk. If someone is doing something wrong, you attempt to correct it. If they keep disobeying orders, remove them. Volunteer or not. Professionalism is professionalism.

You've got volunteers who want to dress up fancy and march in parades and you've got volunteers who want to help people. You need to foster the right type of attitude and remind people regularly that we're here to serve the patients, not ourselves.

[RWC130 594]

NY10570,

What he said...

That and in light of these challenges many agencies have responded by just putting more pressure upon their members to step up instead of trying to change to attract new members or seek outside help. One agency that I was a member of turned me into an officer less than a year after joining. Then when I was trying to make a career out of EMS they laid down the gauntlet and asked me to re-evaluate my priorities because my time in the EMS academy was interfering with my volley time. The other volunteer organization I'm a member of wished me luck and is still tolerating my brutal schedule. It use to be there was a glut of people who wanted to do right by their neighbors and had the time to give. Today those people are few and far between. So now you have to reach out to people who aren't so motivated to serve their community, but have the time to do it. We have always received some form of compensation for our time, whether it be camaraderie, parade season, Christmas parties, etc. Now the trick is finding out what it'll take to get the next wave of people in. I don't know what the magic bullet is, but the attitiude that I do it for nothing more, so why don't they has got to go.

SO TRUE!!!

[Goose 188]

I quit and won't ever go back to volunteering because of the bullsh*t. Too many wackers, too many people who think they have a clue but don't, too many in it for the wrong reason, all too often agencies pull the wool over the eyes of those they claim to service but have no problems taking their money. Granted, i deal with my fair share at work, but there people actually get an acceptable standard of care within an acceptable amount of time...and i get a paycheck.

[Guest]

Part of the problem with recruiting volunteers today is the ECONOMY. The days when your boss/company woulds let you leave to go to a call are gone.The days when you lived and worked in the same community are also gone.The problem is further excacerbated by the creeping urbanization of the northern suburbs with a lot of possible volunteers now traveling to their jobs in the city or elsewhere and after commuting to and fro have no time to spend traning or respondig to calls.

I think that E58RET hit it on the head with todays ECONOMY. Yes the young kids are great but they eventually go off to school and start a family where they can afford it. I was established at my job before I joined my dept. I am only a night time and weekend FF. That is what i have time for.

I quit and won't ever go back to volunteering because of the bullsh*t. Too many wackers, too many people who think they have a clue but don't, too many in it for the wrong reason, all too often agencies pull the wool over the eyes of those they claim to service but have no problems taking their money. Granted, i deal with my fair share at work, but there people actually get an acceptable standard of care within an acceptable amount of time...and i get a paycheck.

Yes you are right there is allot of BS in the Vol service but there is allot of BS every where. You just have to know why you are doing it and if it's right for you. And if that day ever comes when you realize that you are done. Hang up your gear and tell them thanks for the ride.

[Guest]

everyone had there reasons to start and there reasons to stay, but if your dept has a pension plan, u got an edge

[WAS967 97]

everyone had there reasons to start and there reasons to stay, but if your dept has a pension plan, u got an edge

No offense but you really need to do some research on these so called "pension plans" before you call them the guiding light for volunteerism. How much money will these pensions pay out at retirement? 100 dollars a month? Yay. That MIGHT buy you a burger and fries when you're 80 (which will likely be the retirement age by then).

There is no one solution. There is no easy solution. Ever agency has the same problem with root causes that can come from different problems. Solving those problems isn't easy and I don't envy the people who face them. Sure, we can all say, go paid. But as we can see from the Putnam situation, that isn't always a viable solution.