Always on Call: A look inside volunteer fire departments

[@joe8211]

It was never about the money or the lights/siren. I enjoyed the being a part of a team with a common goal of helping people in need. The right thing to do regardles.

[@johnm4579]

Hi joe yes true, was helping your community/town. Today people working 2 full time jobs to pay the bills. Take car of the kids, and no time to volunteer ff

[@jackremington2020]

The lights and sirens may have been a small factor as to why I joined.. but hey, gotta love the Q

[@LM-sc8lu]

I can honestly say I am proud to have served my City as a Volunteer FD for over twenty years, from riding the "beaver board" to Chief. At the same time I served as a Police Officer, then Deputy Sheriff. Would do it all again tomorrow if I could.

[@razrramonel4077]

My Cousin is a retired city firefighter (Paid of course), my older brother & I were both Volunteer Firefighters all 3 of us live in Kentucky and we all 3 loved the idea of firefighting and saving the properties of other people.

[@wilsonbloxer]

1:51 Here, let me correct you: When volunteer numbers dwindle, response times go UP.

[@tonypuntillo4931]

instead of putting them down, why dont you fill out a application and join them

[@jaysmith1408]

Not necessarily, you still get trucks on the road in the same time, it just comes with fewer people. We leave in under three minutes whether we have one, or sixteen. Only when halls close do response times rise.

[@KyleSoldani]

@@tonypuntillo4931 He's not putting the volunteers down, he's commenting on the WNCT reporter.

[@Biffo1262]

@@tonypuntillo4931 Where the hell is he pulling them down? A bit touchy aren't you!

[@vacexpert2020]

@@jaysmith1408 You usually need at least 2 people to run a truck for fires, we don't take a truck to lift assists or similar calls, partly because it's faster to POV, partly because it's a big ass Freightliner KME heavy rescue that doesn't do well in confined spaces, once the dust settles from 2 new trucks we're gonna look at a squad truck to replace it, as we don't transport medical patients, only stranded motorists, but that can be done with a crew cab squad that's more maneuverable and fuel efficient, we needed it when we bought it, but now that we have a much better suited heavy rescue as a partial replacement for our dying pumper-tanker we can downsize to a squad, as the new heavy rescue not only does what the Freightliner does, but it does it better in every way

[@firerescue2283]

I’m a Volunteer and 15 years old, I have been in the department since 2018

[@Biffo1262]

15 is too young. It's 18 in the UK.

[@firerescue2283]

@@Biffo1262 I’m a Junior, I’m now 16 and allowed on calls. I become a firefighter at 18

[@juanmendoza2746]

You can go to the calls but not partake in them 😂

[@firerescue2283]

@@juanmendoza2746 Actually I can but okay bud.

[@firerescue2283]

@@juanmendoza2746 Everything I do is just exterior only.

[@johnm4579]

im a vol. ff for 35 years and most guys with time like me are very few. I live in ny and its so expensive to buy a home here, people have to work two jobs. When I joined the FD we had 130 to 150 fireman. Today we're lucky to have 50 people. Everyone has to work, the husband and wife. Then when the baby comes along, all bets are off. Its getting dangerously short of volunteers. Its simple there is not enough time in a day, when all you do is work to pay the bills, or be homeless. Im my dept. we have fire explorers, or fire cadets, juniors, call it what you will. They are still kids and can train but there age and because of the high insurance costs, they can't go to real fires, calls,etc. I did explorer training for 29 years and most kids, young adults don;t stay and why you ask ? The same reason as the adults, they got to work two jobs or some young people three jobs to pay for college, get a car and then car insurance. Its a revolving door you can't get out of. We have tried so many different idea's to recruit and retain people, and it simply dosen't work. Im telling you it all comes back to the money. Work and no play time

[@willamtomczak6032]

John M did it for 17 years sorry I ever did it shit benefits the most popular win office.

[@tonypuntillo4931]

so true, on call 24hrs a day, 365

[@LindaFirefighter03]

When volunteer numbers go down response times go UP not down as you said in the video.

[@phughly]

Not entirely true that volunteers are unpaid. Do they get money? No. They just get paid in free food, dirty jokes, and buckets of water on the head. Got to love the FD. God bless all the men and women who jump out of bed in the middle of the night, leave their families behind, and rush across town to help someone they've never met.

[@mattteixeira2788]

Most of volunteer fire depts in Connecticut get paid per call get check every 3 months

[@jadsmvs8651]

Yeah, these are called retained firefighters. It's really common in the US.

[@lookingglass9175]

Not really a volunteer then.

[@mattteixeira2788]

Its call incentive check going calls drills yes they are volunteer dumbass

[@elmerfudd7674]

Pretty hard to recruit new young volunteers when there are no jobs in rural America. Federal and State requirements make it even harder to be a volunteer. And also the new entitled generation wants the T-shirt, license plate, hats, but don't want to earn them.

[@lindanwfirefighter4973]

When volunteers go down response times go UP not down like you said in your piece.

[@MegaMantim]

Volunteer fire depts. Tried to fill the mandates of fulltime departments...it became rediculous to meet those demands...TRUTH

[@josiahrickens4556]

I'm a former vol firefighter in TN looking to join up with another volunteer FD

[@Biffo1262]

Can't pay or won't pay them? If we, in the UK can pay our retained firefighters, a retaining fee, turn out fee, attendance fee plus hourly rate on the job, plus bounties and pensions then why can't 'the best country in the world' do so? Like I said; 'can't or won't?'

[@overbank56]

I've never heard of family members being FFS at the same time. This is very unusual to me. But, I guess you do what you must

[@jacobhinsdale7274]

Christofer Riche that’s how must of us in small town USA survive is the families that have kept these departments running for the last 20 years since the volunteer crisis started

[@Biffo1262]

Are you kidding me? The fire service always has been a family occupation. I was Oic to my son and I know one station that had father and three sons all of us full time.

[@overbank56]

@@Biffo1262 didn't know that

[@jadsmvs8651]

@@Biffo1262 Even here in Australia, most of the OICs at my station are family. It's actually a bit weird. We've been trying to shake things up to get a better mix of interests into the officer pool lately but for some stations, family lineage is the only way to keep it going.

[@lookingglass9175]

You live a sheltered life

[@annbarondick8724]

Why can't they get volunteers? because back in the late 70's the squirrels showed up and ran the good guys off, and that applies to just about every volunteer fire company in rural america

[@414RadioTech]

Well if they would stop their bitching and if they would have had this like back in my day when I went to high school which was back in 97 to 2001 during those years of school nothing was ever offered to us at all get nowadays it's available at every school across the damn country so I lost out on getting anything like this‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️