For many fire departments across the US, this represents a unique challenge. Needless to say, volunteers do their work because they want to serve their community. But in order to fulfill their responsibilities, they also need the freedom to tend to their work and family commitments.
If too few people show up, mutual aid is called in and other fire stations are alerted, resulting in a longer period before the emergency can be addressed. If too many people show up, some of them will only arrive at the station to see the tail lights of the truck. Even if the latter accomplishes the goal of providing a timely response to the incident, it also has the potential the downside of needlessly interrupting people during their work or family commitments.
The lack of scheduling availability of firefighters can result in an anxious wait for the station commander right after the call just before knowing who is arriving, and in unnecessary interruption for the extra firefighters left behind.
For a medical call, for instance, many stations only require 2 attendants: one to perform CPR and one to assist. Once you sign up to be a firefighter or EMT, you will need to be trained. Training requirements vary by state, locality, and department. The time investment in training depends on the level of training and certifications your specific department requires.
Fire departments typically provide or arrange for volunteer personnel to receive all required training at no cost to the individual. Contact your local department to learn what training they require. Yes, departments often utilize community volunteers to assist with the non-emergency tasks of the department.
This frees up the firefighters and EMS personnel to focus on training and response activities, while enabling community members to provide needed support to help their local department run. Activities may include fundraising, administrative support, book-keeping, translation services, incident pre-planning, community outreach, fire prevention and life safety education, providing rehab at incident scenes, and much more.
So, the majority of volunteers have other forms of paid employment. What unites volunteer firefighters is a desire to give something back to the communities that they live in and serve. Volunteer firefighters are people who give up their time to act as members of the fire service.
They are fully trained firefighters though they may, sometimes, provide a more limited range of functions than a full-time professional firefighter does. This will depend if the work for a volunteer only department or a combination department volunteers and career firefighters working together. Take a look at this video showing what being a volunteer firefighter is really like:. You might, if your department allows for it, receive a small sum per call or on a monthly or annual basis and this will not reflect your performance on the job.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has previously rejected calls to pay volunteers, in the face of increasing pressure. But the deaths of two young fathers have shown the sacrifice can be much more than financial. Mick Holton said serious change was needed after this fire season, with many volunteers battling blazes on and off for months. He said overall, all levels of government needed to work together to better manage the battle against bushfires.
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.
Their efforts have sparked widespread calls for compensation. But just what exactly would — or could — that look like? What entitlements do volunteer firefighters currently get? The answer is not much. Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
Watch Duration: 33 seconds 33 s. Scientists explain why this summer is 'smashing the extremes'. Homes lost, person killed as bushfires burn throughout South Australia.
0コメント