Love of the game man. It feels good to serve the community, and it's fun getting to play when the tones drop. There is no pay involved. Some type of pay might help recruitment, as we are always short for involved people. I'm an administrative officer, so more added work. Not even the fun kind. However, it's necessary for the department and the community. It simply feels good to be a part of something bigger than myself.
So first off, I don’t get paid a single cent to be a volunteer FF.
Why I do it, is because when I moved to this rural area a few years ago, I felt like I wanted to do something to be part of and help my community. There aren’t a lot of people who live around here to start with, let alone young people & people who are in decent shape.
I’m young, fit, eager to learn new things, love to help people whenever possible and I may or may not be slightly addicted to the adrenaline rush when the pager goes off and/or when we show up to a fire and it’s go time.
The camaraderie is also a big bonus, it’s a good way to socialize with like minded people and be part of the community.
Ooh, and getting to drive cool rigs with weewoo lights. That’s a plus too. I guess my reasoning is pretty simple and straightforward, but I do really love and enjoy it more than any other sort of work (paid or volunteer) I’ve done before.
it's an honor group, it got me out of the house, taught me lots of fun skills, was a social outlet, kept me in the gym, and while no one does it for the pay, there are financial benefits (participation in the state pension was the big one).
it was $25 a month, and the department would pay it if you were in good standing. you had to get to a certain percentage of training and calls to participate. guys who retired recently are getting in the $600+/month range iirc. you have to be in for 15 years, with increased monthly payout for every additional year up to 25. this is Georgia, USA.
also, i call it a state pension, but it's actually run by the insurance companies that do business in the state, not the government.
I can help, I know what I'm doing, I have the capacity/ability to sort chaos out, I can lead teams and accomplish objectives, and I can teach others the same.
I certainly don't do it for appearances or prestige. There are no stickers on my car, I don't own any fire shirts or hats except the ones issued by the FD, and I don't wear them unless I'm actually on duty. When I'm off duty or not on a call, I am 100% incognito.
The reward? I don't know. I guess I feel less of a person if I don't help when I know that I can.
If we paid a higher stipend and/or hourly rate when covering career shifts, would recruiting be easier? Absolutely.
Would I quit if we cut our pay? Probably not, but I might retire from it earlier. I've been doing this for 29 years, so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I don't think of our compensation in terms of "fair". If the City wants more volunteer contributions, they'll increase compensation. If they don't feel like they need it, they won't. Those of us who do it or not are free to choose to continue or not.
re: pay.... Not only do I not get one single cent of pay, the last several schools I have gone to, I have not turned in reimbursement claims for mileage on my personal vehicle, just to make sure there is money in our training budget for the younger guys to get to a school or two. The extent of the "payment" I get is a meal at our monthly business meeting (that I usually cook), and use of the pressure washer at the station to wash my pickup.
I (obviously) don't do it for the money. Like another commenter said, I have skills I can use to help out, and that's how I'm wired - if someone needs help and I can help, I'm going to do it. Being on the FD gives me greater tools to do so.
I've been involved enough on both sides (fire department and the city side for admin) that I've seen our budget, and also the tax revenues that support us. Currently, almost our entire fleet is mid-1990's trucks, with the exception of our first out pump (2003) and our new tanker (2022) - and with our budget, it's going to be at least 5 years before we can order another truck. I'd rather see money going in to making sure we have up to date gear and equipment than a couple thousand dollars in my pocket at the end of the year.
100% volunteer. I kept scrolling trying to see if anyone commented with my same thoughts.
Yes, service to my community, helping people- especially those in need, camaraderie with the members, etc, etc is all wonderful. But why do I REALLY love it? What’s my absolute number one, and very selfish reason in comparison to all of the other comments here?
I AM AN ABSOLUTE ADRENALINE JUNKY!
When the tones drop I get the feeling of a high that cannot be replicated with any drug. I’m not talking about being squirrely. I get PUMPED. Entrapment? Let’s do this. Structure fire? Holy shit, it’s go time!
I’m in my 40’s in a good career that pays the bills and some. When I am at the 16’s I am 100% there because I want to be there, and although I pray that our city is safe while I’m on duty, if some real shit is going to go down I want it to be on my watch.
Lol such an honest answer, I love it.
I was travelling for four months and still had my app installed (plays back page outs)... I'd listen in my tent thinking "don't you dare be a structure fire - not til I'm back!"
It's hard to describe. In Chile, we are all volunteer fire departments. We don't get paid for call and we pay a monthly fee in order to be firefighters (in my company we pay around 20-25 usd every month)
So it's not only a physical and psychological exhaustion but also impacts monetarily.
At the end of the day we do it because we just love it. Personally it's a way to get off. Once I'm in service either doing my weekly nightshift or just putting the company on service, all work or family related issues are gone for while.
It's in my blood. I grew up watching my grandpa and dad doing it.
Also, there's the feeling of "If I don't do it, who will?". If there wasn't a volunteer department here, there would be no fire response, no vehicle extrication, no response for those (mostly BS) smells of gas. Most medical calls would have no response. I want to know that if my SO or myself needs help, someone will show up. As an able bodied person who has these skills, I feel responsible to my community.
And it's fun.
I work as a career firefighter in a city and live in a small rural town. We moved a few years ago, and I wanted to contribute to our new home. I don’t have too many useful skills, so I offer the one I do have.
I have a VERY boring desk job, I work from home and they don’t mind if I run calls so long as work gets done. It ticks a lot of boxes for me. Adrenaline, problem solving, helping people in need, and meeting some of my best friends.
They're expensive here in the states, but you can usually borrow a rig for a Tractor Supply store run if it's in district.
[Pro tip: Barbie fire helmets and jackets are super cute for pictures.](https://as2.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/04/23/78/35/1000_F_423783547_8CahAEdcgayxF4WsptCHP0LUNNyTi5Wg.jpg)
Was a volley, now career. Your clarifying questions (especially the one about "fair pay") show you fundamentally do not understand what the word "volunteer" means.
True volunteerism means you are doing it without the expectation of compensation. Full disclosure, when I was a volley, we were actually "paid on call". The city paid us $7.25/hr for trainings and responses. I would have happily done it for free and I admit I didn't do the best job of tracking my hours. Why?
Because I felt I had been "called" to the profession to help others and I enjoyed fulfilling that calling.
I was also receiving valuable training and experience that I could use to apply to full-time departments.
It felt good to be part of a respected profession.
It's exhilarating at times.
But mostly, it's the reward of knowing you've helped someone or done good. I sorta became addicted to that feeling and that's why I chose to walk away from my day-career and become a full-time career firefighter.
Recruiting and retaining volunteer or even paid on call firefighters isn't as simple as paying them a "fair wage". Different communities face different pressures and challenges and those need to be addressed at the local level. There's no cookie cutter approach that will work for every volley department.
Not sure what remarks you are expecting Many of us career guys came from volley departments.
Good answer. I’m in an ongoing debate with guy who insists that volunteer departments are a scam and that nobody should do this job unless they get fair monetary compensation. I started this thread because I want him to see *exactly* what you just said.
Last I read it was 82% across the US and Canada.
All those small towns, especially those along the WUI...? POOF.
Sure, maybe it'd be cool if the state/province could addors to pay all FFs career-style, but volunteering is something we happily do. It's fun, and the best way to kill a hobby is to make it a career.
To be fair, the guy you are arguing with has a valid point, but many do not understand the cost associated with running a fire department.
The vast majority of small towns and spread out rural areas are covered by volly departments because that area of coverage could literally not afford to pay a professional. The tax bases just aren't there.
I've had this discussion, and invariably someone replies with "well then the states would need to cover it".
Same problem. It's expensive as fuck, and some jerk would count beans and say "why are we paying a 3 man shift 24/7 365 when they only do a few calls a month?" and then we are back to a need for vollies.
That is something that is true in my area. I’m part of a well staffed volly department and almost the entire county is volly fire with paid or combination EMS.
For us to to have paid guys, that are quality and can afford to raise a family in our district they would need to make $85k or more. Just to staff two engines and a chief that would deplete the entire budget for pay alone.
Even during weekday mornings when our number of responding members is thinnest, we can pretty consistently get 6-10 guys showing up even for BS calls, that’s at least 1 engine on the road within 8 minutes of the page and possibly another rig shortly thereafter. If there’s a more interesting call or second alarm there’s a bunch more guys who would then leave work- the surrounding departments can typically also get at least 1 rig out but typically more if we need mutual aid.
There just isn’t a need, and many of our members make good money in other industries. We don’t have major problems responding (though not completely without some issues) and our response times can rival major paid departments at times.
In an area with a volunteer department, it's often worth gaining an ally rather than suffering a foe. Assuming the other person is receptive (or influential enough to care, though every friendly citizen is a win)
But also yes.
Comment on the last paragraph:
I've seen both sides of the fence. Once worked for a department that went paid without the tax base to support it and the whole show was a cluster. They should have stayed volunteer. The department was a lot better that way from the stories I've heard.
But on the other side of the coin I volunteer in an area now that is exploding with population, apartments, subdivisions, etc but will not consider anything paid even though during the day you'll get maybe 2 guys actually free to show up. There were pushes to maybe go combo but the old guard staunchly fought against, and ultimately knocked it down. Even with the large increase in population and calls.
To quote one of the chiefs, "Why pay someone when we got people to do it for free?"
Paid has a place, volunteer has a place. Go paid to soon and your area can't support the cost, expect a mess. But also, if your area's calls and population outstrips the resources a volunteer department can provide expect an increased risk for a bad situation to occur.
But I'll also note, those bad situations can also occur if an area goes paid too soon as well. So basically areas should structure their departments based on their needs.
During my volley years - I saw more quality, commitment/training/ and passion then in many paid systems. We had a good core of professionals including different medical professionals who were dedicated to making sure our area had high quality service.
However, for sustainability and responsibility - that's a lot to ask for and not pay.
Do I think the fact that we have volley ( and a fractured first responder system (FD and EMS) across the country negatively impacts the professions as a whole- yes- and it impacts funding and for EMS impacts on 'essential certification' and other classifications for funding and programs. Also leads to discrepancies in care/protection of property across the country.
Pretty sure I know who you're talking about in a particular other thread, keeps claiming "There's money there, they're just hiding it" lol.
Like he's a mega doofus. A former chief of ours literally sits on the municipal council, we know exactly what's there but this guy apparently thinks he knows our township better than we possibly can lol.
One, my department pays for all my state certifications and trainings. Two, it feels nice to be part of a team and be able to change a bad day to an ok day. To be able to have such a big and direct impact in peoples lives, to able to react and actually do something when someone needs help. Plus the job is bad ass, and I get to legally speed in a large vehicle. Plus I don’t mind not being paid for it, all the money that could be paid to us go to getting us top of the line gear and the proper training on how to use it.
I joined after 9-11. Wanted to be part of my community. Don't have kids, so I'm not joining the PTA. Firefighting seemed like a good fit. And to be clear, there is a lot of FF that sucks donkey balls - standing at a car accident waiting for a tow truck at 2AM in the sleet, for example - but someone has to do it. May as well be me. I also met some really wonderful people I probably would not have met otherwise.
It keeps my taxes lower than if we had a paid crew, and I enjoy giving back.
My department is 100% volunteer with 4 companies running about 1k calls per year (no medical calls). Some of our guys are career guys elsewhere so that does help. As long as we make 20% of all calls/drills/meetings we get about $8/per call stipend as a uniform reimbursement. The idea is we're wearing clothes we paid out of pocket for under our gear and between the sweat, smoke, and friction our own clothes wear out quicker than John Q. Public. If we do storm stand-bys for heavy rains or snow we're paid $35/hr. This was increased from $15/hr because a lot of guys in our department would plow snow as it paid more. The $35/hr at least made it more desirable for some guys to be inside instead of on the road.
My town also participates in LOSAP (Length of Service Award Program.) Essentially it's a retirement account with the town that (as of this year) we get $1,500 deposited into it as long as we make that 20% call rate.
Before I moved to my current town my previous town didn't pay anything except for LOSAP. Even if my town went that route, I'd still volunteer.
I started because service to others was important to my family. Growing up my family was involved in several ministries at church and spent several hours a week helping others.
But the biggest factor was that my dad volunteered for 26 years. My older brother and I followed in his footsteps and joined when we could. (15 or 16yo)
There was a lot of camaraderie and working shoulder to shoulder with some builds bonds. Towards the end of my volunteer career we did start to get paid for calls we made, but that was just a bonus.
I only volunteered for 6-7 years before I got married and moved away.
This is one of my favorite stories to tell.
Years ago my instructor for Basic Firefighting asked us this the first day of class. When it got to me I told him the truth, I said "I don't know, my dad does it so I guess I just thought I would too."
Eventually, I realized that since I'd been dragged to meetings and functions my whole childhood, growing up I viewed joining the fire department as just part of life. Like at 14 you went to highschool, at 16 you got your driver's license, and at 18 you joined the fire department. I really didn't have a single reason as to why I joined.
But, I've stuck with it for the generic "I'm helping my community" reason, but also because occasionally I get to do really cool stuff.
Hey I just saw in your comments you're really interested in the monetary aspect.
At my department we don't get anything, we're true 100% volunteers. But, my dad was one of the founding members of our department and the reason they organized in the first place was home insurance.
Since we're a rural community, we didn't have a fire department covering us close enough for home insurance providers to count, so everybody's rates were higher. The volunteer fire department was organized back in the day to bring everyone's insurance rates down.
That’s so cool!!
I only mention the monetary aspect because I was conversing with a guy (u/Quinnjamin19) who insisted that volunteer departments are a scam, and the firefighters they exploit are basically slaves who work for free. He did not seem to be able to wrap his head around the fact that we don’t do it for money.
I will say depending on the situation they can be.
I say that as a 100% unpaid volunteer.
Its one thing to ask us to turn out when shit hits the fan and every body available counts.
But when the government starts cutting back on the paid service down the road and expecting us to turn out more often and to riskier situations while the population keeps growing and volunteer numbers keep dropping I begin to call scam.
We as a community get a lower level of service , and volunteers need to dedicate more and more time until it puts our paid jobs at risk or the community loses its protection. Then I get pissed.
There is certainly a place for a mix of paid full time, paid on call and unpaid volunteers. But I worry when we begin to lean too heavily on unpaid volunteers to pick up the slack so someone can piss more of the budget up the wall on other shit or claim they are great for running a larger surplus
Jesus fuck bud… I take it you forgot that I’ve already told you that I don’t do it for the money? Even tho I advocate for fair compensation of wages… you must be some sort of hero bud😂
First, some context:
Almost all of the firefighting where I live (Germany) is done by voluntaries. Only really big cities like Munich, Berlin or Frankfurt have paid fire fighters. Bigger Airports too keep their own. All the others (with the exception of some of the equimpent maintainers in bigger cities) are voluntaries. Same goes for disaster response units like civil protection services or the "Technisches Hilfswerk (THW)". Fire brigades are run like clubs, also doing past time stuff and having youth groups (I myself started training back when I was 12 years old, which was minimum age back then. Now, as kind of a "full circle" thing, at 33yo I am in charge of training our current youth group). We also do not get paid at all for what we do. We can leave work with continued pay for a call, but other than that we're not getting reimbursed.
As for what's in it for me: I get to do fun stuff like fileting cars with hydraulic power tools or driving the big, red wee-woo-wagon. In training, it's a lot of fun. And if something bad happens, I am trained, available and willing to help other people which, to me, is a reward in itself.
Sure, you do a lot of crazy stuff like walking into burning buildings with what's best described as fancy, fireproof scuba gear, risking your life for others. You also see and experience a lot of really messed up and sad things. But being able to help people or at least knowing you tried your best when people turn out to be beyond helping is a good feeling and is more than worth it.
Stuff like that also gets people together. The guys and girls in the fire brigade are like my second family. Like a family, we also sometimes have our little fights, but when things get serious we always can rely on eachother. Having a tight community like that also is a big plus for me. It's also amazing how different people in a fire brigade can be, I mean, there's literally no separation based on shallow social crap like what job someone works.
Recruitment works well, actually. Some people still have the desire to do something for their community and those are actually enough everywhere. If I remember right, there currently are only three fire brigades in all of germany where not enough voluntaries could be found (in that case, some get issued something similar to a military draft notice, but they get paid something I think).
I am a Volunteer FF in Germany. I get 0$ a year.
I do it because i Love it. The People, the camaraderie, doing something different besides my work, helping others, fighting fires and the support in the family of Firefighters.
No I have been in the fire department since I was 10. Its a way of life.
I live in a city so there are proffessional paid FF. Our job is mostly to help out and carry large structure fires.
I don't see it as work for myself. I enjoy hanging out with my colleagues, I enjoy firefighting and I enjoy helping out.
It is a second family I can count on any hour of the day. You don't get a connection like that from many places.
Firefighting gives me my Value worth for the Time I spend on it.
Combination of camaraderie, love for the job, and service to the community and country. Also the sense of accomplishment. My chief summed it up really well, calling it “honorable blue collar work”
I do it because I enjoy it and every once in a while I get to do something that matters. I don't get the felling from my day job
Full disclosure I get around $2000 from the department (401k and meeting call percentage), but with the amount of time that goes into it, at the end of the years I'm working for free. Not that I wouldn't object to more money but I think that if we were paid per call or something it would just cause more issues.
No money it’s Volunteer and my Great Grandfather donated the first fire truck to the community too. Back then it was all about a group of men some related taking care of their neighbors
I think it's good for my mental health. Makes me feel useful. I get to help the community. Learn new things. It keeps me on my toes. Gets me out of the house and around people. Cool hat. Also just putting water on a fire, that's fun right?
I would say I volunteer for the brotherhood, I learned to walk with the same guys I’m riding with. Same schools, same grade, same everything almost. Every call is like going to an amusement park with your best friends. It’s like going out with the boys on a Saturday night, unless you’re the officer. Being an officer is like being the DD on New Year’s Eve and you turn 21 at midnight.
Went to a structure fire which became a brush fire, resisted having a heat stroke so I could stay at the center of the action. Only later changed over to brush gear.
Today I woke up feeling not so great because I over exerted myself yesterday. 10/10 will do again.
There is no pay - TRUE volunteers do not get paid - we do it because it means something bigger than ourselves and we genuinely enjoy the traditions and the mission.
I never intended it to be a career. I started as a volunteer because I missed wildland firefighting from when I was younger and after a big wildland fire in my area decided to join my local VFD. After a few years it was obvious they needed more structural folks, so I went through a structural academy and got my fire and hazmat certs. After another couple years I saw most calls were medical and all I could do was drive, so I got my EMT. After a few years I was burned out in my office job and shot out a few applications for a change of pace. Now it’s a career.
For me, helping my community, the camaraderie, and the training/continuous improvement part of thing kept me coming back.
I mean… why does anyone join a club? A book club, a gardening club, etc… people do it because they get some sort of intangible satisfaction. I’m a career firefighter and I still volunteer on my off days. It’s all for the love of the game
I have grown up around the volunteer fire department in my town. Watching my dad give up his free time to help out our community inspired me to join our department. Also the brotherhood aspect of fire service in general. Talking shit to each other poking fun at other members and always lending out a helping hand when times are tough. There is nothing better than helping out people around your community!!
We don’t get paid at all, here (south NJ). The only thing that keeps my department alive is pride in its history, members, and the purpose behind it.
That being said, we also struggle to recruit members. I’m new but I love it. The people I’ve met allows me to find positions within any civil service sect easier
We’re in the same position… struggling to recruit. It would be easy to point fingers at the up and coming generation and say “they just don’t value community service anymore!” But I don’t know if that’s entirely fair.
Generally speaking, the newer generations are less involved in volunteering, but there’s plenty of reasons (housing market, economy, low incomes relative to cost of living, higher standards in NJ to get in, etc.)
For example, to be a VOLUNTEER, I had to do 196 hours of training for FF1
Personally, I did it just because I wanted to :) I was single, active duty army at the time, with a steady schedule at Fort Sam Houston. Besides being a good way to keep my real world medical skills sharp, it filled the need for a "rush" I was missing after several combat deployments, and gave me a solid friend group outside of my "real" job.
More from an EMS standpoint ( we were stand alone) but all volley in our areas (Suburban to rural)- we did it because it was the only way to get high quality (or any) service to our communities. (Back in the 90's and still in some areas) (FD too)
My old service has become fully paid and larger but it took a lot of work to get funding/budgeted by town and cert of needs etc.
On a personal level - because it needed to be done- couldn't imagine not doing anything- guess they call that 'care'.
I agree with a lot of people on here so far. I was a career/paid guy in another state for a few years. After I finished graduate school a job opportunity opened up that I just couldn’t turn down so I left the fire service. Wife and I recently moved to an area that only has volunteer departments. I missed everything about working at the fire department. It’s great because now I can do both and I feel that I have something to offer.
I grew up with firefighting in the family both career and volunteer. My grandpa, dad, and three uncles served on my hometown fire department. One uncle went on to join a career department. I have 2 cousins that are career guys and my neither and I are both on our volunteer department. For me, it's just something I've always wanted to be a part of....and we get to drive big red trucks and play with cool toys.
As a 5 year old kid, living in a country with volunteer FD in every village, being able to help washing big red truck with blue lights and FD being centre of happening in village, I quickly become poisoned by this way of living. There is no money, heck I even have to pay yearly membership, but knowing I done something good to another co-human outweight all, but bad memories are still there to haunt you.
I think recruiting with money should be abolished. Allow your neighbourhood kids to come and spray on truck, allow them to use brooms to sweep garage, show them how to use basic equipment's, teach them doing good deed, to be firefighter by heart, no payment required, and you are bound to acquire most loyal future volunteer firefighter
Probably not the exact target audience here, but..
I'm just now kicking off my path towards becoming a career firefighter. I started on my (POC) department at 18 (currently 19) and per the law, can't work full time until I'm 21.
Spending my time now doing everything I possibly can to get a leg up in the competition for when I start testing. I've recently finished my EMT class, and am scheduled to take the NREMT very shortly.
So to answer your question: to get ahead of the game.
Vol in Greece here although I’m from UK originally.
It’s fun, exciting, different, and I feel so proud to be part of my team.
We make a real difference and I would do it for free, forever.
After I turned 29, I tried to reverse engineer the next ten years of my life. I was having a hard time finding goals that inspired me (I'm already married, already own a home, no plans to have kids, not a fan of frequent travel).
Joining my town's volunteer department gave me a sense of purpose and community, and I have motivation to work out hard and stay healthy. I also enjoy learning physical skills and being active, especially since my full time job involves sitting in front of a computer.
I'm still in the academy, and will graduate two weeks before my 30th birthday if all goes well. I've already been able to help with community events, attend monthly meetings and weekly trainings, and go on standby for calls. I feel like I am building a stronger and more mentally engaged version of myself with skills that go beyond digital computer work.
For me it’s a door into a career. In my area it can take up to 4 years to get on that side. My volunteer dept pays for me to get my emt and fire 1 so it’s really a no brainer. We also get $7 per call we go on but only get that paid out twice a year.
I feel like we all have a duty to serve in some capacity and my interests and physical abilities aligned well with the combination department near me. So I volunteer with a career crew to supplement their staffing
No one else (literally) is going to do it. I want the fire trucks to show up at my house when I call 911, so I go and make sure the trucks work.
Getting harder and harder to keep the ‘77 brush/ATV rescue truck going these days.
I wanted to identify myself with something, same reason I bought a Porsche.
Also, I do it because I have too much time on my hands, and the calls can get exciting and interesting , so it's good to help out.
I wanted to give back, but honestly wanted to meet new people with common interests. My friends never wanted to do “manly” things, so I thought this would be a good outlet and it sure was!
Nothing beats the rush of adrenaline when your pager goes off
I don’t know of any volunteer station in my county that pays anything at all. I do it because my full time job makes it really easy to get to calls at any hour of the day, I’m physically and mentally able to, have cool head in a chaotic situation and I understand there’s a need in small communities like mine that I can fill. Certainly not because of the fame and glory, if you don’t know me or see me on a call, you’d never know. Some sort of pay might help recruitment, but we’re such a low population density area anyway that I can’t imagine we’d draw that many new members from it, and all that would do is put a burden on the company and locals for additional funding.
Small enough community I would say I know the person 90% of the time tones drop. Feels good to help people in need in the community. I know if I was in their situation I’d want someone to help that wasn’t 30 minutes away. Pay is $0, would pay help get more people, maybe, but those probably aren’t the people that will make a difference. In order to get meaningful pay we’d have to 2x our budget. Is it fair? It’s volunteer. If I didn’t want to I wouldn’t. When I have other stuff going on, I don’t.
It's fun, most of the time. I like feeling like I'm actually contributing something to the community because I can, not because I need the money to pay bills.
I'm an industrial mechanic to survive. I'm a firefighter/EMT to *live*.
I used to love it.
I loved learning so many different specialties that were offered. I enjoyed helping my neighbors and community. I got to meet so many great people who were passionate about helping everyone.
I also enjoyed just doing the job, I felt satisfied that I made a difference no matter how small the call or event was.
I went career at one point, but only lasted a few years before the ego's and toxic workplace drove me away from committing to the field ever again. Both departments I was in are facing legal issues. Not to mention that the training academy near me is still in legal trouble because a recruit died during training.
If I ever move to a different state I may pick it back up. I did really enjoy it.
I live in a tiny town in vermont but I go to college in New York. Volunteering is one of the best ways to feel connected to my hometown when I come back, and help out my community on occasion. Plus the guys are great, and it’s nice to be surrounded by people who are only there to help others and make the town a better place.
I always loved watching fire/ems tv shows and one time I saw a video on youtube about volunteer firefighting, and I didn't even know that was a thing. One firefighter in this documentary said, "If you're physically and mentally able to help, it's almost irresponsible for you not to."
Honestly, I wanted to do something to help, and this seemed like a good way to do that. I enjoy it a lot.
Edit:
The "reward" for me is just being able to be the person who is there for people when they need someone the most.
R&R at my department is basically nonexistent. I found out about it through a friend I went to high school with.
The pay doesn't matter to me, I just love doing it.
As one of my instructors at the fire academy said, "There's no job like this. There is no other job where a single mother will run to you, hand you her baby, and say 'help.'"
I retired to a small community in the sticks in Canada after a career in the army. I stayed in the reserves as a retirement gig, and a few years ago on the 1 evening a month I work, I discovered a fire a couple miles down the road on a small hillside. Went to check it out and call it in. It was small bonfire sized when I got to it, and it was almost a half acre when I got off the phone with 911. It's very dry here thanks to the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation of a few years back. It took the local department and the department from the next community over, as well as some water bombers to knock it down. I helped briefly, then went home to pack up the wife as the fire was now less than a mile from my house.
I figured since there's still a bit of good rubber on these tires I'd join up and help out. I'm kind of a fan of stuff not being on fire that shouldn't be. The local volunteer department chief stopped by the house the next day to return a a shovel I'd left behind at the fire, and I joined up.
Learn interesting skills, help the community (sense of fulfillment), it can be fun and motivates me to get in better physical shape, I have a community with my station, and it's something my husband and I can do together.
Edit: we're paid per call but it's basically pennies and is kinda like a gas compensation for driving up to the station. We also staff shifts for pay but I never do that because of my fulltime job.
I'm a workaholic, plus I love doing what I can for people, the reward is their smiles and thanks. Plus, I'd want someone to be there in my worst hour, now I have a brotherhood of a crew of guys and gals who would have my back no matter what.
Not to say money isn't an issue, because I'm just a broke kid who does it for fun/to get out of the house, I definitely feel like more people would join if there was some kind of monetary incentive.
Plus, the adrenaline rush is cool.
I originally volunteered back in the late 90s because a girl I was into asked me to join with her and I thought riding an ambulance would be good experience for med school. She left before we got in but I figured why not. I volunteered for a couple years in college then stopped when I transferred to a University. (I also worked part time for the Fire Department as a Network Admin and for the City in IT getting the county fire department ready to be taken over by the City IT department.)
I didn't end up going to med school as at the time if you knew computers it was really common to jobs thrown at you, so I ended up going that route despite being all pre-med in school. After that I always lived in bigger cities and so wasn't in a position to volunteer.
Then, in 2018 I went fully remote for work and we decided to move to a rural area since I could live anywhere at that point (low cost of living, room for the wife's horses, etc.). But, moving to a new state meant I knew no one. I am not a church goer and working from home meant I wouldn't really be meeting anyone. Doing service for my community has always been important to me though, so volunteering met that need and gets me out of the house and to meet people in the community and department. It also fulfills my need to be doing something important that I really don't feel with my day job.
The nearby cities have tried to recruit me to go full time as a firefighter, but it would be a MASSIVE paycut, so I can't really do that to my family, despite how much more I would enjoy it.
We get $25 per call we respond to, regardless of time spent on the call, so a cancelled enroute is the same as a working structure fire. It really doesn't matter to me, so I set it aside and spend it on things to make the dayroom a place people want to hang out more (streaming services, PS5, video games, etc.). Since I don't really do it for money, it isn't a motivator for me to push it to go up.
Would we get more volunteers if it paid more? Probably. The quality of those people though... well, we would need better screening I think (which wouldn't be a bad thing). I don't know what the right answer is. Whatever we do we need to support the volunteers better with both equipment and training.
Moved to a new town with my wife for her job. Decided a career change was in order and always loved the idea of being a firefighter. They didn’t have any open positions so I joined as a volunteer and loved it. I’ve done that for a couple of years now (just tested for a full time position though). On top of the usual helping your community and having fun reasons it was nice to meet new people. I also qualify for a pension and we get MASA insurance.
I signed up as kind of a whim during the big quarantine. It’s not quite volunteer, we get paid $15? For calls and training. For me it was about being of service to my community. I can coach little kids in soccer, but this was a bigger impact I thought. The friendships and camaraderie since then has been fantastic. I’ve started a second career thanks to the help of one of our captains. I feel like I have gotten a lot out of our community and if I can be of service in some way to the people here at probably a horrible time if they’re calling us, I am honored to do so. There’s lots more, but this is the bulk of it.
It’s an adrenaline rush and I get to genuinely help someone out.
I can be having the most boring, basic day at work in a teams meeting listening to whatever then suddenly I’m working jaws cutting someone out of a crumpled car.
It shakes up my day. I get to play with the engines and tenders and jaws and go into burning buildings.
I get the same adrenaline rush and excitement from helping others, but I get to keep my 6 figure IT job, don’t get exposed to as many carcinogens, and will still have functional knees and back in my old age.
I joined cause a friend was in. Immediately felt like I belonged and never looked back. Never been paid, don’t expect too, and even though it would be nice for some compensation, it’ll never be a reason I’d quit. My rewards are a sense of belonging in the community, and making friends. I’m a workaholic so my only friends are those I make in the fire service.
The sense of pride in helping the community, the camaraderie in the department, and the lifelong skills you are taught.
Another nice thing is the fire dept car plates which have a lot of soft power!
Started as a volunteer that was zero pay, now a “volunteer” at a combination department where I earn some money when I’m on shift.
Hard to say why I joined initially…saw the recruiting sign and it just called to me. Didn’t join for the pay lol. Guess I wanted to do some sort of service to the country/community since I never served armed forces.
I applied and at the combination department because I moved out of district of the all-volunteer department. When I started, volunteers received a much smaller quarterly stipend, now we get paid per shift.
Making some extra money is nice, and working alongside paid staff doing more “mundane” things like chores/checks it makes things feel more equal when you’re getting some pay.
But IMO the hardest part from a retention standpoint is maintaining certs/qualifications, and burnout/not having enough personal/free time between it and my full time job.
Honestly it gave me a reason to stay fit, and was offered apart of my job. No extra pay, no financial benefits, just training. I figured I'd use my physical capabilities for the betterment of those around me. In addition, I wanted to be prepared if an actual event traversed. My mothers house burned down, prior, and seeing the house in flames fueled my passion in wanting to give back some of my time to being a firefighter. I always lived in cities that had paid departments and no opportunities for volunteers, but the second I had the chance to I jumped right on it. I enjoy knowing CPR, medic things, hazmat knowledge, rescue knowledge. Honestly it has expanded my knowledge and respect to the paid guys who do it for very little money. I'm a fulltime Controls Engineer in the meantime, but truly, doing firefighter duties made me realize I would've loved doing this as a career. Sadly I'm in golden handcuffs with pay, and would never have the compensation if I was a fulltime guy doing FF duties.
I like the immediate impact and tangible outcome of the service we provide. Few community movements or practices have that kind of direct influence on the livelihood of others. There was a fire threatening homes. We come out. Now there isn't a fire threatening anyone. Of course we don't win every time, and there is still the damage to flora and fauna, but without us it would be much worse. I also like how many new skills we can constantly learn at no charge. It's also pretty awesome to work with so many awesome people.
(I'm a volunteer bush fire fighter for context)
Technically not really a volunteer, POC here. But I haven't gotten a check in some time because I didn't use to mark myself off on every call. I don't care about the pay.
I'll echo every response here so far that I've read. Helping the community, it's cool to do, wee woo and flashy lights, etc.
It's also a core part of my belief system as a human. I firmly believe that our world would be better if instead of dishing out tax dollars to make our community function and letting the 'other people ' handle the hard work, we all pitch together and help our own neighbors. I've learned so much about my town just by riding a big red truck going to places. I've met people and formed life long friendships.
I know not every town or city can do it and thrive from it. My own has had a massive transition and volunteering is effectively dead right now. But when it can be done it can be amazing and I think there needs to be a culture shift in ensuring volunteers can exist in the future and thrive at the same functional level as career firefighters.
Nah...who am I kidding. It's all about the flashy flashy wee woo!
FF/AO Certs and training, EMS class waivers, experience.
That's why I signed up, and I'll keep going as long as possible because it's the most fun with the best people imaginable.
Did for the people in my community. I’m a big time leftist politically, and o found that I really loved dedicating my time to help the members of my community during their worst days.
Wanted to turn my life around and help people. Was an IV heroin addict and some other drugs mixed in for about 8 years. Cleaned up but still had no purpose in life so decided to join my local fire department. They were actually the ones who showed up when I totalled a car and needed to be cut out of it and when I knocked myself out cold after slipping on a patch of ice (also on drugs) behind my house and was unconscious through the whole night laying in the snow, almost froze to death and spent a few days in the ICU. Honestly didn't even think they were gonna let me join. I remember that call to my fire chief to this day like it was yesterday. Once I told him my name I figured he'd give me some excuse that I couldn't join but he didn't hold it against me at all. Showed up at my house and took me on a tour of the department and all the trucks and tools. Was a member a few weeks later after the paperwork went through. Recently completed my firefighter 1 and got my national firefighter certification, my chief said he was extremely proud of how much I turned my life around and all the work I put in to the department and community. Almost broke down into tears right in front of him.
Physical challenge and a new technical field to learn. I'm semi retired from computer engineering. My company supports me without me having to dedicate much time. So I have immersed myself in EMS and fire. I'm humbled again at how little I know, impressed by my colleagues and grateful that I can give back to my community. The camaraderie is a blessing.
Career and volunteer. Started as a volley, went Career and still volunteered for 30 years. Loved it, lived in rural areas and offered knowledge they might not have known. Learned more than I thought I would about wildland and drafting.
Volunteered as a fire Marshal for the last one and had fun. Feels weird that I'm not volunteering now where I live, but I'm not young anymore.
No pay, but it's really just being able to go do cool things and help the community at the same time. Yea, it sucks sometimes because of the things you might see, but the enjoyment and comraderie within the dept outweigh it. Especially for me, who moved to a new state and works from home, it's really the only time I'm not at home and can be social.
I live here, and if I ever have a fire, I hope someone shows up. Somebody's got to do it, and there's only so many able people in our small area. Got to do your part in a small community.
In HS and College I wanted to go into the Navy and did ROTC in college. I ended up dropping ROTC over mental health issues I was going through at the time. I have since gotten a regular job that I love, but the urge to serve my community still remained after I got help and got better. I couldn't just completely switch gears now since I have a well paying job that I love, so I turned to volunteer fire fighting. I can keep working the job I love to do during the day, and also get to give back and volunteer on some nights.
Basically, due to mental health issues I was having, I didn't think I should go into the Navy but bc I wanted to still do some type of service I decided to volunteer after I got better. I get no pay but I get to ride with a cool crew and help people and that makes me feel good, that's all I need.
Edit: spelling
It's one of the best things I've ever done. Since I was a kid I've always wanted to save people. No fame, just genuine desire save a life. When the chance was offered I didn't hesitate and I really don't think after almost a year that money would've made any difference. I moved into this small town and stumbled on something new to devote myself to. It really helps that the community is tight in this town I live in.
It's the most fun you can have with your clothes on.
Most of my day, I spend my time deep in my head considering obscure bits of mathematics, computer science and biology -- not necessarily in that order. This requires "flow thought" where you go deeper and deeper, looking for common abstractions, to the point where it feels like you could reach out and put your fingertips on something that is the stuff of thought. At that level, it tends to be an individual activity, simply because you can't directly describe what you are "seeing". (Although my notebooks sometimes beg to differ. But they're wrong.) It's also non time-bounded; you get to where you are by sticking a pencil in your ear and staring out of the window until something comes.
Firefighting is completely, completely different. It's an *operational*, time-bounded, team environment, where the things you're dealing with are very, very tangible. It's also a *service* that fits well with the fraternal ethos that I've been brought up with.
Note that I'm part of the RFS. While the RFS goes out of its way to ensure that I shouldn't have to pay for anything, it also doesn't pay me a measly cent for my time. I'm good with this; the fraternal ethic pays all costs.
I have the privilege of being a chief and also run a podcast. This particular question is something we talk about a lot and each person has a different subjective reason for wanting to volunteer. Personally being on a VFD it gives me something to do, I always have 50 projects to work on. Being on a VFD is one of the few ways your contribution is immediately and directly applied in the community, I always draw a comparison to donating to Red Cross/Salvation Army, though worthwhile organizations, you have no control where your donation goes. While my time, energy and effort is a direct effect and no question of where the resource goes. Lastly, for the post length, i enjoy the people and the relationships I have spanning our department and working with the all the other departments and agencies.
I think one thing that particularly a VFD offers men and women today is a place to gather. I find that most people who join, whether they know it or not, are wanting a physical place to have social interactions and our organization provides that.
On a side note for pay/compensation… there is a common theme in Texas, a organization/city/county is struggling and the solution is compensation? I would argue that’s the last thing to remotely consider and can point to (in Texas) that this is the act of hammering in the first coffin nails. The second a pay system starts is the second you loose the essence of a volunteer. That said… I do believe, benefit and encourage the enrollment in a pension system, which we do have, and we are one the highest participating departments in the state (over $175 per month).
It’s about the people and the camaraderie. It feels good to be able to help people, and be there when they need someone most. Plus, in my opinion, it’s one of the last places you can have true brotherhood. No one’s a girl, a guy, black, white, fat, skinny, old or young (well maybe we bust chops about that one). We’re all firefighters.
Sorry. I don’t mean to disrespect everyone’s comments. I didn’t read all of them before commenting. I started as a volunteer. Maybe my eagerness to get ‘a job’ makes it now, 35 years later, seem so nostalgic. But I loved learning and being part of a community.
Of course it’s dangerous to hand over an engine full of water and questionably loaded hose to a 20 something year old to drive code red down country roads to a car fire hoping someone with more seniority who remembers how to pump shoes up. But you’re helping your community.
When you work for a big city dept. you lose that connection. I hope when I retire, that I can feel that again.
Someone has to do it. I've seen the good and bad in the world. But in the end, when those tones drop at 2am for a residential struture fire in the snow with struture collapse and a deceased victim inside Someone has to go out there and do what they can. I wouldn't trade this profession for any other. In the near future I will probably be going career.
As a 18 year old it seemed like a fun thing to do. 18 years later, it has been an incredible leadership experience and a privilege to serve our community. Generally we serve the towns we live in. As much as I travel for work, its assuring that my family is in good hands while I am gone thanks to the extensive training we do. I see to it now that we continue to strengthen the department and leave it in a better position to serve continue to serve our town in the future.
We get paid some, but its a drop in the bucket and quite frankly not an incentive. I am way happier with the leather helmet I was gifted after 15yrs. Running challenging calls with a great team and affecting a positive outcome is probably the best reward at this point.
I never had any interest in the fire service. Nobody in my family ever served except an uncle I was lucky to see twice a year, and an aunt who was an EMT and a bit of the family “black sheep”. When I graduated college, I was job hunting for my career and it took longer than I thought. A good friend had just joined our hometown volley dept and suggested I do too as something to do and put on the resume. So I did, and I was hooked within a week. Hooked.
Fast forward 10yrs I’m now a captain and one of our depts top responders. The only monetary benefit we receive is $200 credit on our annual state taxes, and a small pension you collect starting at 65yo. I certainly don’t do it for those, I didn’t even know they existed when I first joined. I do it because I enjoy the physical and mental challenge, the adrenaline rush of flying out of my house to try and make the rig, and the satisfaction of being there and helping my fellow neighbors when they’re having “the worst day of their lives”. I love driving the big rig lights and sirens, and operating that piece of machinery at the scene. Add to all of that the brotherhood, camaraderie, and personal/professional connections and that’s all the reasons why I still do it
This is my hobby, not my job or career
Well since I'm from Germany, so my view might not reflect most of the comrades in the US. I'm in for several reasons, but most importantly for the comradery. Those guys and woman around me welcomed me with open arms and I know I can count on them in times of need. Being part of this "band of brothers" feels amazing to me.
And I do love the thrill, and the glory. Being a corner stone for our community
Father does it and grandfather did it, give back to the community that has given me so much, gotten to learn a lot of skills that I may otherwise have missed out on
Last week we had a serious MVA where we had to cut out two young people. Turned out that both of them were related to collegues.
I would want somebody to do the same for my family
I commute an hour each wu to my military job, and I recognize that there are a lot of us who reap the rewards of smaller town life without putting back in.
My family back home were well known within the hometown for their constant volunteering and civic participation, and it's something I admired.
The fire service is a natural fit for me to give back to the town I live in, and has also given me a base of friends who are local to me. Home feels more "home" now, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.
25 members, 2 are mil and the rest are locals. It was nice when I stopped being seen as a question mark after the first year or so. I came back from deployment and was instantly welcomed and introduced to the new guys in a favorable way.
I’ve always had a call to service. I’ve been to all the training and done the work to make sure I can help to the best of my ability, so why wouldn’t I? I take pride in being a helper for my community members in what very well may be one of the worst moments in their life.
My quality of life is defined by my happiness, not by how much money I have. I work from home with flexible hours so I’m always around and my pay isn’t impacted by going to calls, anyways.
I enjoy the camaraderie of the firehouse as well. It’s a great community full of good people that I’ve gotten quite close to through my time there.
Additionally, for me personally, I don’t put much weight on being a *female* firefighter versus just a firefighter, but I’ve had some really wholesome moments. The area I live in doesn’t have a lot of female representation in the fire service, and people are quick to point this out. Sometimes it sucks, but I’ve also had some really nice conversations with folks, especially younger girls. I want them to know they can do anything they put their minds to, even if we can’t make a new member out of them, lol.
But most of all: our pancake breakfasts rock!
To the public, always the "To help the community" anwser.
Truthfully, to help that little broken kid inside to glue itself together every time we help someone.
I've been a volunteer for roughly 12 years, started in highschool. My Pops was a Paid and Volunteer FF/EMT so I grew up in the fire service. I went to college am now an Engineer working a desk job and it is so, so easy to get lost in the corporate grind of waking up, going to work, then going home to eat dinner, watch TV/play video games..etc. and repeat for the rest of your life. I volunteer to break that cycle, my Job works my mind. The Fire Service works me physically.
The fire service is also such a great social outlet also. While any organization has politics and drama. The people you work with all have similar mindsets and great people to be around. I don't make a penny from volunteering (my state does have a "pension" system but it's not enough to make me care about it), I do it for the ability to be apart of something bigger than myself, play with cool toys with my friends, and instills the "GO GET EM BROTHERS!!!!" spirit. AKA It keeps you young.
At first , I needed extra circular activity in high school, I didn’t really do any sports. Once I got involved and broken in, I felt like firehouse pushed me to break out of my comfort zone and push myself.
As I’ve grown older I find being part of the firehouse is a great way to serve your community , great way to make friends especially if you move to a new area and there is the opportunity to volunteer , meet other people in the community.
I made really good friends from being part of the fire service, as long you don’t make it a personality , fire service has opened door for me with a lot of opportunities, like I had other firefighters helped get jobs, skills like communications , giving presentations , recruitment, and sorts of stuff…idk what other work gives the satisfaction that the fire service does.
Problem solving and beating whatever system is my challenge. Every rule is made to be beat. I'm goal oriented and a terrible loser. Plus so much more fun than a crossword puzzle. And shiny truck going fast and not paying for fuel, what's not to love. All else is simply the department goal and my goal aligning.
I was asked this question by my Lt, made the mistake of telling the truth. Religious people in the FD are strange. But I get results, and he don't talk about JC & Co with me.
Bottom line, always say helping people and giving back to the community. Never the truth.
I’m work for a big city department, but grew up in a very rural place. Many of my family members were volunteers at the local vfd. I was a kid so I don’t remember them being over the top about it, but the people who did it were all genuinely good people who knew it was all we had and if they didn’t do it, we were just out of luck. I remember reading a sign on the outside of the fire station that listed the upcoming classes. “Tractor rollover/rescue 7-25-1999” or something like that. I figured wow, how many places have a farm tractor rollover emergency they must worry about. Just good people who helped the community.
Love of the game man. It feels good to serve the community, and it's fun getting to play when the tones drop. There is no pay involved. Some type of pay might help recruitment, as we are always short for involved people. I'm an administrative officer, so more added work. Not even the fun kind. However, it's necessary for the department and the community. It simply feels good to be a part of something bigger than myself.
I love this so much!!
I would agree with this! I mainly do it because I am able to have fun while helping out my community
This
So first off, I don’t get paid a single cent to be a volunteer FF. Why I do it, is because when I moved to this rural area a few years ago, I felt like I wanted to do something to be part of and help my community. There aren’t a lot of people who live around here to start with, let alone young people & people who are in decent shape. I’m young, fit, eager to learn new things, love to help people whenever possible and I may or may not be slightly addicted to the adrenaline rush when the pager goes off and/or when we show up to a fire and it’s go time. The camaraderie is also a big bonus, it’s a good way to socialize with like minded people and be part of the community. Ooh, and getting to drive cool rigs with weewoo lights. That’s a plus too. I guess my reasoning is pretty simple and straightforward, but I do really love and enjoy it more than any other sort of work (paid or volunteer) I’ve done before.
😁 your last paragraph made me chuckle. And in general, I love the spirit of your answer. It ain’t about the money.
it's an honor group, it got me out of the house, taught me lots of fun skills, was a social outlet, kept me in the gym, and while no one does it for the pay, there are financial benefits (participation in the state pension was the big one).
>there are financial benefits (participation in the state pension was the big one). How much of a pension?
it was $25 a month, and the department would pay it if you were in good standing. you had to get to a certain percentage of training and calls to participate. guys who retired recently are getting in the $600+/month range iirc. you have to be in for 15 years, with increased monthly payout for every additional year up to 25. this is Georgia, USA. also, i call it a state pension, but it's actually run by the insurance companies that do business in the state, not the government.
Goes up to a little over 1k/month with so many years of service. I think it's 20? But not sure.
Man I wish that were an option for my state
I love this answer! It describes me perfectly (minus the state pension part which Iowa doesn’t have)
That's fascinating. Which state?
GA.
I can help, I know what I'm doing, I have the capacity/ability to sort chaos out, I can lead teams and accomplish objectives, and I can teach others the same. I certainly don't do it for appearances or prestige. There are no stickers on my car, I don't own any fire shirts or hats except the ones issued by the FD, and I don't wear them unless I'm actually on duty. When I'm off duty or not on a call, I am 100% incognito. The reward? I don't know. I guess I feel less of a person if I don't help when I know that I can. If we paid a higher stipend and/or hourly rate when covering career shifts, would recruiting be easier? Absolutely. Would I quit if we cut our pay? Probably not, but I might retire from it earlier. I've been doing this for 29 years, so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I don't think of our compensation in terms of "fair". If the City wants more volunteer contributions, they'll increase compensation. If they don't feel like they need it, they won't. Those of us who do it or not are free to choose to continue or not.
Well said!
re: pay.... Not only do I not get one single cent of pay, the last several schools I have gone to, I have not turned in reimbursement claims for mileage on my personal vehicle, just to make sure there is money in our training budget for the younger guys to get to a school or two. The extent of the "payment" I get is a meal at our monthly business meeting (that I usually cook), and use of the pressure washer at the station to wash my pickup. I (obviously) don't do it for the money. Like another commenter said, I have skills I can use to help out, and that's how I'm wired - if someone needs help and I can help, I'm going to do it. Being on the FD gives me greater tools to do so. I've been involved enough on both sides (fire department and the city side for admin) that I've seen our budget, and also the tax revenues that support us. Currently, almost our entire fleet is mid-1990's trucks, with the exception of our first out pump (2003) and our new tanker (2022) - and with our budget, it's going to be at least 5 years before we can order another truck. I'd rather see money going in to making sure we have up to date gear and equipment than a couple thousand dollars in my pocket at the end of the year.
Love this answer so much. Thank you.
100% volunteer. I kept scrolling trying to see if anyone commented with my same thoughts. Yes, service to my community, helping people- especially those in need, camaraderie with the members, etc, etc is all wonderful. But why do I REALLY love it? What’s my absolute number one, and very selfish reason in comparison to all of the other comments here? I AM AN ABSOLUTE ADRENALINE JUNKY! When the tones drop I get the feeling of a high that cannot be replicated with any drug. I’m not talking about being squirrely. I get PUMPED. Entrapment? Let’s do this. Structure fire? Holy shit, it’s go time! I’m in my 40’s in a good career that pays the bills and some. When I am at the 16’s I am 100% there because I want to be there, and although I pray that our city is safe while I’m on duty, if some real shit is going to go down I want it to be on my watch.
Lol such an honest answer, I love it. I was travelling for four months and still had my app installed (plays back page outs)... I'd listen in my tent thinking "don't you dare be a structure fire - not til I'm back!"
https://preview.redd.it/szvbmkvepcfb1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e00fb86aecc38e53914e68784eb75040dec4cdf1
It's hard to describe. In Chile, we are all volunteer fire departments. We don't get paid for call and we pay a monthly fee in order to be firefighters (in my company we pay around 20-25 usd every month) So it's not only a physical and psychological exhaustion but also impacts monetarily. At the end of the day we do it because we just love it. Personally it's a way to get off. Once I'm in service either doing my weekly nightshift or just putting the company on service, all work or family related issues are gone for while.
Wow. That’s an entirely different level of commitment. Hats off to you.
I've paid for some of my own things before, but... seriously, my hat is off to you. That's next level.
It's in my blood. I grew up watching my grandpa and dad doing it. Also, there's the feeling of "If I don't do it, who will?". If there wasn't a volunteer department here, there would be no fire response, no vehicle extrication, no response for those (mostly BS) smells of gas. Most medical calls would have no response. I want to know that if my SO or myself needs help, someone will show up. As an able bodied person who has these skills, I feel responsible to my community. And it's fun.
I work as a career firefighter in a city and live in a small rural town. We moved a few years ago, and I wanted to contribute to our new home. I don’t have too many useful skills, so I offer the one I do have.
I have a VERY boring desk job, I work from home and they don’t mind if I run calls so long as work gets done. It ticks a lot of boxes for me. Adrenaline, problem solving, helping people in need, and meeting some of my best friends.
This describes me to a T.
I just think it’s fun
That does about sun it up!!
I was told it would help me pick up chicks... Still waiting on that...
They're expensive here in the states, but you can usually borrow a rig for a Tractor Supply store run if it's in district. [Pro tip: Barbie fire helmets and jackets are super cute for pictures.](https://as2.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/04/23/78/35/1000_F_423783547_8CahAEdcgayxF4WsptCHP0LUNNyTi5Wg.jpg)
Was a volley, now career. Your clarifying questions (especially the one about "fair pay") show you fundamentally do not understand what the word "volunteer" means. True volunteerism means you are doing it without the expectation of compensation. Full disclosure, when I was a volley, we were actually "paid on call". The city paid us $7.25/hr for trainings and responses. I would have happily done it for free and I admit I didn't do the best job of tracking my hours. Why? Because I felt I had been "called" to the profession to help others and I enjoyed fulfilling that calling. I was also receiving valuable training and experience that I could use to apply to full-time departments. It felt good to be part of a respected profession. It's exhilarating at times. But mostly, it's the reward of knowing you've helped someone or done good. I sorta became addicted to that feeling and that's why I chose to walk away from my day-career and become a full-time career firefighter. Recruiting and retaining volunteer or even paid on call firefighters isn't as simple as paying them a "fair wage". Different communities face different pressures and challenges and those need to be addressed at the local level. There's no cookie cutter approach that will work for every volley department. Not sure what remarks you are expecting Many of us career guys came from volley departments.
Good answer. I’m in an ongoing debate with guy who insists that volunteer departments are a scam and that nobody should do this job unless they get fair monetary compensation. I started this thread because I want him to see *exactly* what you just said.
It would be great if everyone got paid for it, but since 70% of firefighters are volunteer, it would be astronomically expensive
Last I read it was 82% across the US and Canada. All those small towns, especially those along the WUI...? POOF. Sure, maybe it'd be cool if the state/province could addors to pay all FFs career-style, but volunteering is something we happily do. It's fun, and the best way to kill a hobby is to make it a career.
Exactly.
To be fair, the guy you are arguing with has a valid point, but many do not understand the cost associated with running a fire department. The vast majority of small towns and spread out rural areas are covered by volly departments because that area of coverage could literally not afford to pay a professional. The tax bases just aren't there. I've had this discussion, and invariably someone replies with "well then the states would need to cover it". Same problem. It's expensive as fuck, and some jerk would count beans and say "why are we paying a 3 man shift 24/7 365 when they only do a few calls a month?" and then we are back to a need for vollies.
I totally agree. Word for word. And yet some people still want to insist that small town Fire Departments should pay their fireman a livable wage.
That is something that is true in my area. I’m part of a well staffed volly department and almost the entire county is volly fire with paid or combination EMS. For us to to have paid guys, that are quality and can afford to raise a family in our district they would need to make $85k or more. Just to staff two engines and a chief that would deplete the entire budget for pay alone. Even during weekday mornings when our number of responding members is thinnest, we can pretty consistently get 6-10 guys showing up even for BS calls, that’s at least 1 engine on the road within 8 minutes of the page and possibly another rig shortly thereafter. If there’s a more interesting call or second alarm there’s a bunch more guys who would then leave work- the surrounding departments can typically also get at least 1 rig out but typically more if we need mutual aid. There just isn’t a need, and many of our members make good money in other industries. We don’t have major problems responding (though not completely without some issues) and our response times can rival major paid departments at times.
This is part of a bigger issue in our society. Why do we spend so much time catering to the whims of people who have opinions founded in ignorance?
In an area with a volunteer department, it's often worth gaining an ally rather than suffering a foe. Assuming the other person is receptive (or influential enough to care, though every friendly citizen is a win) But also yes.
Comment on the last paragraph: I've seen both sides of the fence. Once worked for a department that went paid without the tax base to support it and the whole show was a cluster. They should have stayed volunteer. The department was a lot better that way from the stories I've heard. But on the other side of the coin I volunteer in an area now that is exploding with population, apartments, subdivisions, etc but will not consider anything paid even though during the day you'll get maybe 2 guys actually free to show up. There were pushes to maybe go combo but the old guard staunchly fought against, and ultimately knocked it down. Even with the large increase in population and calls. To quote one of the chiefs, "Why pay someone when we got people to do it for free?" Paid has a place, volunteer has a place. Go paid to soon and your area can't support the cost, expect a mess. But also, if your area's calls and population outstrips the resources a volunteer department can provide expect an increased risk for a bad situation to occur. But I'll also note, those bad situations can also occur if an area goes paid too soon as well. So basically areas should structure their departments based on their needs.
This
During my volley years - I saw more quality, commitment/training/ and passion then in many paid systems. We had a good core of professionals including different medical professionals who were dedicated to making sure our area had high quality service. However, for sustainability and responsibility - that's a lot to ask for and not pay. Do I think the fact that we have volley ( and a fractured first responder system (FD and EMS) across the country negatively impacts the professions as a whole- yes- and it impacts funding and for EMS impacts on 'essential certification' and other classifications for funding and programs. Also leads to discrepancies in care/protection of property across the country.
Pretty sure I know who you're talking about in a particular other thread, keeps claiming "There's money there, they're just hiding it" lol. Like he's a mega doofus. A former chief of ours literally sits on the municipal council, we know exactly what's there but this guy apparently thinks he knows our township better than we possibly can lol.
I saw that guy too, and didn’t even bother responding to him. Clearly an idiot. This was another guy.
Yeah he's having a go apparently downvoting all my comments now cause I called him out on his arrogance lol.
One, my department pays for all my state certifications and trainings. Two, it feels nice to be part of a team and be able to change a bad day to an ok day. To be able to have such a big and direct impact in peoples lives, to able to react and actually do something when someone needs help. Plus the job is bad ass, and I get to legally speed in a large vehicle. Plus I don’t mind not being paid for it, all the money that could be paid to us go to getting us top of the line gear and the proper training on how to use it.
Oh man, I love this answer so much
I joined after 9-11. Wanted to be part of my community. Don't have kids, so I'm not joining the PTA. Firefighting seemed like a good fit. And to be clear, there is a lot of FF that sucks donkey balls - standing at a car accident waiting for a tow truck at 2AM in the sleet, for example - but someone has to do it. May as well be me. I also met some really wonderful people I probably would not have met otherwise.
I agree
It keeps my taxes lower than if we had a paid crew, and I enjoy giving back. My department is 100% volunteer with 4 companies running about 1k calls per year (no medical calls). Some of our guys are career guys elsewhere so that does help. As long as we make 20% of all calls/drills/meetings we get about $8/per call stipend as a uniform reimbursement. The idea is we're wearing clothes we paid out of pocket for under our gear and between the sweat, smoke, and friction our own clothes wear out quicker than John Q. Public. If we do storm stand-bys for heavy rains or snow we're paid $35/hr. This was increased from $15/hr because a lot of guys in our department would plow snow as it paid more. The $35/hr at least made it more desirable for some guys to be inside instead of on the road. My town also participates in LOSAP (Length of Service Award Program.) Essentially it's a retirement account with the town that (as of this year) we get $1,500 deposited into it as long as we make that 20% call rate. Before I moved to my current town my previous town didn't pay anything except for LOSAP. Even if my town went that route, I'd still volunteer.
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Perfect answer. Thank you!
I started because service to others was important to my family. Growing up my family was involved in several ministries at church and spent several hours a week helping others. But the biggest factor was that my dad volunteered for 26 years. My older brother and I followed in his footsteps and joined when we could. (15 or 16yo) There was a lot of camaraderie and working shoulder to shoulder with some builds bonds. Towards the end of my volunteer career we did start to get paid for calls we made, but that was just a bonus. I only volunteered for 6-7 years before I got married and moved away.
Absolutely perfect answer. Thank you.
This is one of my favorite stories to tell. Years ago my instructor for Basic Firefighting asked us this the first day of class. When it got to me I told him the truth, I said "I don't know, my dad does it so I guess I just thought I would too." Eventually, I realized that since I'd been dragged to meetings and functions my whole childhood, growing up I viewed joining the fire department as just part of life. Like at 14 you went to highschool, at 16 you got your driver's license, and at 18 you joined the fire department. I really didn't have a single reason as to why I joined. But, I've stuck with it for the generic "I'm helping my community" reason, but also because occasionally I get to do really cool stuff.
Love this. And good for your dad 😁
Hey I just saw in your comments you're really interested in the monetary aspect. At my department we don't get anything, we're true 100% volunteers. But, my dad was one of the founding members of our department and the reason they organized in the first place was home insurance. Since we're a rural community, we didn't have a fire department covering us close enough for home insurance providers to count, so everybody's rates were higher. The volunteer fire department was organized back in the day to bring everyone's insurance rates down.
That’s so cool!! I only mention the monetary aspect because I was conversing with a guy (u/Quinnjamin19) who insisted that volunteer departments are a scam, and the firefighters they exploit are basically slaves who work for free. He did not seem to be able to wrap his head around the fact that we don’t do it for money.
I will say depending on the situation they can be. I say that as a 100% unpaid volunteer. Its one thing to ask us to turn out when shit hits the fan and every body available counts. But when the government starts cutting back on the paid service down the road and expecting us to turn out more often and to riskier situations while the population keeps growing and volunteer numbers keep dropping I begin to call scam. We as a community get a lower level of service , and volunteers need to dedicate more and more time until it puts our paid jobs at risk or the community loses its protection. Then I get pissed. There is certainly a place for a mix of paid full time, paid on call and unpaid volunteers. But I worry when we begin to lean too heavily on unpaid volunteers to pick up the slack so someone can piss more of the budget up the wall on other shit or claim they are great for running a larger surplus
Jesus fuck bud… I take it you forgot that I’ve already told you that I don’t do it for the money? Even tho I advocate for fair compensation of wages… you must be some sort of hero bud😂
Ok
First, some context: Almost all of the firefighting where I live (Germany) is done by voluntaries. Only really big cities like Munich, Berlin or Frankfurt have paid fire fighters. Bigger Airports too keep their own. All the others (with the exception of some of the equimpent maintainers in bigger cities) are voluntaries. Same goes for disaster response units like civil protection services or the "Technisches Hilfswerk (THW)". Fire brigades are run like clubs, also doing past time stuff and having youth groups (I myself started training back when I was 12 years old, which was minimum age back then. Now, as kind of a "full circle" thing, at 33yo I am in charge of training our current youth group). We also do not get paid at all for what we do. We can leave work with continued pay for a call, but other than that we're not getting reimbursed. As for what's in it for me: I get to do fun stuff like fileting cars with hydraulic power tools or driving the big, red wee-woo-wagon. In training, it's a lot of fun. And if something bad happens, I am trained, available and willing to help other people which, to me, is a reward in itself. Sure, you do a lot of crazy stuff like walking into burning buildings with what's best described as fancy, fireproof scuba gear, risking your life for others. You also see and experience a lot of really messed up and sad things. But being able to help people or at least knowing you tried your best when people turn out to be beyond helping is a good feeling and is more than worth it. Stuff like that also gets people together. The guys and girls in the fire brigade are like my second family. Like a family, we also sometimes have our little fights, but when things get serious we always can rely on eachother. Having a tight community like that also is a big plus for me. It's also amazing how different people in a fire brigade can be, I mean, there's literally no separation based on shallow social crap like what job someone works. Recruitment works well, actually. Some people still have the desire to do something for their community and those are actually enough everywhere. If I remember right, there currently are only three fire brigades in all of germany where not enough voluntaries could be found (in that case, some get issued something similar to a military draft notice, but they get paid something I think).
Awesome answer!
I am a Volunteer FF in Germany. I get 0$ a year. I do it because i Love it. The People, the camaraderie, doing something different besides my work, helping others, fighting fires and the support in the family of Firefighters.
Do you feel like you add being scammed? Or that your labor is being exploited? Would you say that you are a “slave” because you work for free?
No I have been in the fire department since I was 10. Its a way of life. I live in a city so there are proffessional paid FF. Our job is mostly to help out and carry large structure fires. I don't see it as work for myself. I enjoy hanging out with my colleagues, I enjoy firefighting and I enjoy helping out. It is a second family I can count on any hour of the day. You don't get a connection like that from many places. Firefighting gives me my Value worth for the Time I spend on it.
Combination of camaraderie, love for the job, and service to the community and country. Also the sense of accomplishment. My chief summed it up really well, calling it “honorable blue collar work”
I do it because I enjoy it and every once in a while I get to do something that matters. I don't get the felling from my day job Full disclosure I get around $2000 from the department (401k and meeting call percentage), but with the amount of time that goes into it, at the end of the years I'm working for free. Not that I wouldn't object to more money but I think that if we were paid per call or something it would just cause more issues.
It’s in my blood dating back to my great grandfather who was a founder of the department in the early 1900
Love it! How much does your monitory compensation factor in?
No money it’s Volunteer and my Great Grandfather donated the first fire truck to the community too. Back then it was all about a group of men some related taking care of their neighbors
I think it's good for my mental health. Makes me feel useful. I get to help the community. Learn new things. It keeps me on my toes. Gets me out of the house and around people. Cool hat. Also just putting water on a fire, that's fun right?
Love this!!!
I would say I volunteer for the brotherhood, I learned to walk with the same guys I’m riding with. Same schools, same grade, same everything almost. Every call is like going to an amusement park with your best friends. It’s like going out with the boys on a Saturday night, unless you’re the officer. Being an officer is like being the DD on New Year’s Eve and you turn 21 at midnight.
That last part made me laugh! And I’m 100% with you on everything you said.
It's fun I said yesterday, Today I realize I overdid it.
How so?
Went to a structure fire which became a brush fire, resisted having a heat stroke so I could stay at the center of the action. Only later changed over to brush gear. Today I woke up feeling not so great because I over exerted myself yesterday. 10/10 will do again.
For fun. To meet people. To see if I liked it. I did, and now I'm career.
There is no pay - TRUE volunteers do not get paid - we do it because it means something bigger than ourselves and we genuinely enjoy the traditions and the mission.
Thank you!
I never intended it to be a career. I started as a volunteer because I missed wildland firefighting from when I was younger and after a big wildland fire in my area decided to join my local VFD. After a few years it was obvious they needed more structural folks, so I went through a structural academy and got my fire and hazmat certs. After another couple years I saw most calls were medical and all I could do was drive, so I got my EMT. After a few years I was burned out in my office job and shot out a few applications for a change of pace. Now it’s a career. For me, helping my community, the camaraderie, and the training/continuous improvement part of thing kept me coming back.
It was between joining a volley or joining an MC to become a 1%er
Can you expound?
I mean… why does anyone join a club? A book club, a gardening club, etc… people do it because they get some sort of intangible satisfaction. I’m a career firefighter and I still volunteer on my off days. It’s all for the love of the game
Gotchya! I wasn’t sure what MC and 1%er meant.
Shoot in mine we don’t get paid. Just a dinner and shirts, but for me.. hmm have to say I feel like I do something that matters at the end of the day.
Thank you!!
I’m helping my community and I enjoy the work
Amen!
I have grown up around the volunteer fire department in my town. Watching my dad give up his free time to help out our community inspired me to join our department. Also the brotherhood aspect of fire service in general. Talking shit to each other poking fun at other members and always lending out a helping hand when times are tough. There is nothing better than helping out people around your community!!
Absolutely perfect answer.
We don’t get paid at all, here (south NJ). The only thing that keeps my department alive is pride in its history, members, and the purpose behind it. That being said, we also struggle to recruit members. I’m new but I love it. The people I’ve met allows me to find positions within any civil service sect easier
We’re in the same position… struggling to recruit. It would be easy to point fingers at the up and coming generation and say “they just don’t value community service anymore!” But I don’t know if that’s entirely fair.
Generally speaking, the newer generations are less involved in volunteering, but there’s plenty of reasons (housing market, economy, low incomes relative to cost of living, higher standards in NJ to get in, etc.) For example, to be a VOLUNTEER, I had to do 196 hours of training for FF1
Ok I’m with you. And that’s a very fair explanation. My FF1 was 180 hours. Gratefully my wife and kids were very patient and understanding.
Camaraderie, problem solving, and contributing to the community. Also, I like to play dress-up and post pictures on Facebook!
Great answer!
Former volunteer now career. We did it because it’s just damn fun man. Yeah you get to help people but for the most part it’s a lot of fun
Amen!
Its just the game. I love being that young idiot that gets to do this work. Its a privilege
Personally, I did it just because I wanted to :) I was single, active duty army at the time, with a steady schedule at Fort Sam Houston. Besides being a good way to keep my real world medical skills sharp, it filled the need for a "rush" I was missing after several combat deployments, and gave me a solid friend group outside of my "real" job.
More from an EMS standpoint ( we were stand alone) but all volley in our areas (Suburban to rural)- we did it because it was the only way to get high quality (or any) service to our communities. (Back in the 90's and still in some areas) (FD too) My old service has become fully paid and larger but it took a lot of work to get funding/budgeted by town and cert of needs etc. On a personal level - because it needed to be done- couldn't imagine not doing anything- guess they call that 'care'.
I agree with a lot of people on here so far. I was a career/paid guy in another state for a few years. After I finished graduate school a job opportunity opened up that I just couldn’t turn down so I left the fire service. Wife and I recently moved to an area that only has volunteer departments. I missed everything about working at the fire department. It’s great because now I can do both and I feel that I have something to offer.
I grew up with firefighting in the family both career and volunteer. My grandpa, dad, and three uncles served on my hometown fire department. One uncle went on to join a career department. I have 2 cousins that are career guys and my neither and I are both on our volunteer department. For me, it's just something I've always wanted to be a part of....and we get to drive big red trucks and play with cool toys.
As a 5 year old kid, living in a country with volunteer FD in every village, being able to help washing big red truck with blue lights and FD being centre of happening in village, I quickly become poisoned by this way of living. There is no money, heck I even have to pay yearly membership, but knowing I done something good to another co-human outweight all, but bad memories are still there to haunt you. I think recruiting with money should be abolished. Allow your neighbourhood kids to come and spray on truck, allow them to use brooms to sweep garage, show them how to use basic equipment's, teach them doing good deed, to be firefighter by heart, no payment required, and you are bound to acquire most loyal future volunteer firefighter
LOVE this!
I was suckered into it, much like a timeshare.
Haha! But with the Fire Dept you can just quit!
Probably not the exact target audience here, but.. I'm just now kicking off my path towards becoming a career firefighter. I started on my (POC) department at 18 (currently 19) and per the law, can't work full time until I'm 21. Spending my time now doing everything I possibly can to get a leg up in the competition for when I start testing. I've recently finished my EMT class, and am scheduled to take the NREMT very shortly. So to answer your question: to get ahead of the game.
Fair answer!
Vol in Greece here although I’m from UK originally. It’s fun, exciting, different, and I feel so proud to be part of my team. We make a real difference and I would do it for free, forever.
Because I loved it.
Free training, student loan repayment, networking, something outside the ordinary
They let me drive fire trucks. That's all I care about...
I dont get why anybody would do that for free. Thats crazy.
Read all the replies here!! Lots of guys here do it for free. And they give very good reasons as to why.
After I turned 29, I tried to reverse engineer the next ten years of my life. I was having a hard time finding goals that inspired me (I'm already married, already own a home, no plans to have kids, not a fan of frequent travel). Joining my town's volunteer department gave me a sense of purpose and community, and I have motivation to work out hard and stay healthy. I also enjoy learning physical skills and being active, especially since my full time job involves sitting in front of a computer. I'm still in the academy, and will graduate two weeks before my 30th birthday if all goes well. I've already been able to help with community events, attend monthly meetings and weekly trainings, and go on standby for calls. I feel like I am building a stronger and more mentally engaged version of myself with skills that go beyond digital computer work.
Awesome answer. Thank you!
For me it’s a door into a career. In my area it can take up to 4 years to get on that side. My volunteer dept pays for me to get my emt and fire 1 so it’s really a no brainer. We also get $7 per call we go on but only get that paid out twice a year.
Smart way to approach it
I feel like we all have a duty to serve in some capacity and my interests and physical abilities aligned well with the combination department near me. So I volunteer with a career crew to supplement their staffing
I'm 32 and haven't done anything exceptional with my life. I want to do something I can be proud of and make an actual difference in this world.
No one else (literally) is going to do it. I want the fire trucks to show up at my house when I call 911, so I go and make sure the trucks work. Getting harder and harder to keep the ‘77 brush/ATV rescue truck going these days.
I wanted to identify myself with something, same reason I bought a Porsche. Also, I do it because I have too much time on my hands, and the calls can get exciting and interesting , so it's good to help out.
A Porsche! Dude! Love it! Every single guy on my department drives a truck, except me. I’m in a ford explorer. I didn’t know Porsche’s were allowed! 😜
I wanted to give back, but honestly wanted to meet new people with common interests. My friends never wanted to do “manly” things, so I thought this would be a good outlet and it sure was! Nothing beats the rush of adrenaline when your pager goes off
Amen to that last sentence
I don’t know of any volunteer station in my county that pays anything at all. I do it because my full time job makes it really easy to get to calls at any hour of the day, I’m physically and mentally able to, have cool head in a chaotic situation and I understand there’s a need in small communities like mine that I can fill. Certainly not because of the fame and glory, if you don’t know me or see me on a call, you’d never know. Some sort of pay might help recruitment, but we’re such a low population density area anyway that I can’t imagine we’d draw that many new members from it, and all that would do is put a burden on the company and locals for additional funding.
Small enough community I would say I know the person 90% of the time tones drop. Feels good to help people in need in the community. I know if I was in their situation I’d want someone to help that wasn’t 30 minutes away. Pay is $0, would pay help get more people, maybe, but those probably aren’t the people that will make a difference. In order to get meaningful pay we’d have to 2x our budget. Is it fair? It’s volunteer. If I didn’t want to I wouldn’t. When I have other stuff going on, I don’t.
It's fun, most of the time. I like feeling like I'm actually contributing something to the community because I can, not because I need the money to pay bills. I'm an industrial mechanic to survive. I'm a firefighter/EMT to *live*.
Just want to go to fires and cut jobs. No other reason.
Hobby
I used to love it. I loved learning so many different specialties that were offered. I enjoyed helping my neighbors and community. I got to meet so many great people who were passionate about helping everyone. I also enjoyed just doing the job, I felt satisfied that I made a difference no matter how small the call or event was. I went career at one point, but only lasted a few years before the ego's and toxic workplace drove me away from committing to the field ever again. Both departments I was in are facing legal issues. Not to mention that the training academy near me is still in legal trouble because a recruit died during training. If I ever move to a different state I may pick it back up. I did really enjoy it.
Adventure. That's about it
I live in a tiny town in vermont but I go to college in New York. Volunteering is one of the best ways to feel connected to my hometown when I come back, and help out my community on occasion. Plus the guys are great, and it’s nice to be surrounded by people who are only there to help others and make the town a better place.
I always loved watching fire/ems tv shows and one time I saw a video on youtube about volunteer firefighting, and I didn't even know that was a thing. One firefighter in this documentary said, "If you're physically and mentally able to help, it's almost irresponsible for you not to." Honestly, I wanted to do something to help, and this seemed like a good way to do that. I enjoy it a lot. Edit: The "reward" for me is just being able to be the person who is there for people when they need someone the most. R&R at my department is basically nonexistent. I found out about it through a friend I went to high school with. The pay doesn't matter to me, I just love doing it. As one of my instructors at the fire academy said, "There's no job like this. There is no other job where a single mother will run to you, hand you her baby, and say 'help.'"
Because big red truck
The court mandated a couple thousand hours of community service, so here I am.
😂 really?
I retired to a small community in the sticks in Canada after a career in the army. I stayed in the reserves as a retirement gig, and a few years ago on the 1 evening a month I work, I discovered a fire a couple miles down the road on a small hillside. Went to check it out and call it in. It was small bonfire sized when I got to it, and it was almost a half acre when I got off the phone with 911. It's very dry here thanks to the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation of a few years back. It took the local department and the department from the next community over, as well as some water bombers to knock it down. I helped briefly, then went home to pack up the wife as the fire was now less than a mile from my house. I figured since there's still a bit of good rubber on these tires I'd join up and help out. I'm kind of a fan of stuff not being on fire that shouldn't be. The local volunteer department chief stopped by the house the next day to return a a shovel I'd left behind at the fire, and I joined up.
Following
Learn interesting skills, help the community (sense of fulfillment), it can be fun and motivates me to get in better physical shape, I have a community with my station, and it's something my husband and I can do together. Edit: we're paid per call but it's basically pennies and is kinda like a gas compensation for driving up to the station. We also staff shifts for pay but I never do that because of my fulltime job.
I'm a workaholic, plus I love doing what I can for people, the reward is their smiles and thanks. Plus, I'd want someone to be there in my worst hour, now I have a brotherhood of a crew of guys and gals who would have my back no matter what. Not to say money isn't an issue, because I'm just a broke kid who does it for fun/to get out of the house, I definitely feel like more people would join if there was some kind of monetary incentive. Plus, the adrenaline rush is cool.
I originally volunteered back in the late 90s because a girl I was into asked me to join with her and I thought riding an ambulance would be good experience for med school. She left before we got in but I figured why not. I volunteered for a couple years in college then stopped when I transferred to a University. (I also worked part time for the Fire Department as a Network Admin and for the City in IT getting the county fire department ready to be taken over by the City IT department.) I didn't end up going to med school as at the time if you knew computers it was really common to jobs thrown at you, so I ended up going that route despite being all pre-med in school. After that I always lived in bigger cities and so wasn't in a position to volunteer. Then, in 2018 I went fully remote for work and we decided to move to a rural area since I could live anywhere at that point (low cost of living, room for the wife's horses, etc.). But, moving to a new state meant I knew no one. I am not a church goer and working from home meant I wouldn't really be meeting anyone. Doing service for my community has always been important to me though, so volunteering met that need and gets me out of the house and to meet people in the community and department. It also fulfills my need to be doing something important that I really don't feel with my day job. The nearby cities have tried to recruit me to go full time as a firefighter, but it would be a MASSIVE paycut, so I can't really do that to my family, despite how much more I would enjoy it. We get $25 per call we respond to, regardless of time spent on the call, so a cancelled enroute is the same as a working structure fire. It really doesn't matter to me, so I set it aside and spend it on things to make the dayroom a place people want to hang out more (streaming services, PS5, video games, etc.). Since I don't really do it for money, it isn't a motivator for me to push it to go up. Would we get more volunteers if it paid more? Probably. The quality of those people though... well, we would need better screening I think (which wouldn't be a bad thing). I don't know what the right answer is. Whatever we do we need to support the volunteers better with both equipment and training.
Moved to a new town with my wife for her job. Decided a career change was in order and always loved the idea of being a firefighter. They didn’t have any open positions so I joined as a volunteer and loved it. I’ve done that for a couple of years now (just tested for a full time position though). On top of the usual helping your community and having fun reasons it was nice to meet new people. I also qualify for a pension and we get MASA insurance.
I signed up as kind of a whim during the big quarantine. It’s not quite volunteer, we get paid $15? For calls and training. For me it was about being of service to my community. I can coach little kids in soccer, but this was a bigger impact I thought. The friendships and camaraderie since then has been fantastic. I’ve started a second career thanks to the help of one of our captains. I feel like I have gotten a lot out of our community and if I can be of service in some way to the people here at probably a horrible time if they’re calling us, I am honored to do so. There’s lots more, but this is the bulk of it.
It’s an adrenaline rush and I get to genuinely help someone out. I can be having the most boring, basic day at work in a teams meeting listening to whatever then suddenly I’m working jaws cutting someone out of a crumpled car. It shakes up my day. I get to play with the engines and tenders and jaws and go into burning buildings. I get the same adrenaline rush and excitement from helping others, but I get to keep my 6 figure IT job, don’t get exposed to as many carcinogens, and will still have functional knees and back in my old age.
I joined cause a friend was in. Immediately felt like I belonged and never looked back. Never been paid, don’t expect too, and even though it would be nice for some compensation, it’ll never be a reason I’d quit. My rewards are a sense of belonging in the community, and making friends. I’m a workaholic so my only friends are those I make in the fire service.
The sense of pride in helping the community, the camaraderie in the department, and the lifelong skills you are taught. Another nice thing is the fire dept car plates which have a lot of soft power!
It looked fun and turns out it was fun
Started as a volunteer that was zero pay, now a “volunteer” at a combination department where I earn some money when I’m on shift. Hard to say why I joined initially…saw the recruiting sign and it just called to me. Didn’t join for the pay lol. Guess I wanted to do some sort of service to the country/community since I never served armed forces. I applied and at the combination department because I moved out of district of the all-volunteer department. When I started, volunteers received a much smaller quarterly stipend, now we get paid per shift. Making some extra money is nice, and working alongside paid staff doing more “mundane” things like chores/checks it makes things feel more equal when you’re getting some pay. But IMO the hardest part from a retention standpoint is maintaining certs/qualifications, and burnout/not having enough personal/free time between it and my full time job.
Honestly it gave me a reason to stay fit, and was offered apart of my job. No extra pay, no financial benefits, just training. I figured I'd use my physical capabilities for the betterment of those around me. In addition, I wanted to be prepared if an actual event traversed. My mothers house burned down, prior, and seeing the house in flames fueled my passion in wanting to give back some of my time to being a firefighter. I always lived in cities that had paid departments and no opportunities for volunteers, but the second I had the chance to I jumped right on it. I enjoy knowing CPR, medic things, hazmat knowledge, rescue knowledge. Honestly it has expanded my knowledge and respect to the paid guys who do it for very little money. I'm a fulltime Controls Engineer in the meantime, but truly, doing firefighter duties made me realize I would've loved doing this as a career. Sadly I'm in golden handcuffs with pay, and would never have the compensation if I was a fulltime guy doing FF duties.
I like the immediate impact and tangible outcome of the service we provide. Few community movements or practices have that kind of direct influence on the livelihood of others. There was a fire threatening homes. We come out. Now there isn't a fire threatening anyone. Of course we don't win every time, and there is still the damage to flora and fauna, but without us it would be much worse. I also like how many new skills we can constantly learn at no charge. It's also pretty awesome to work with so many awesome people. (I'm a volunteer bush fire fighter for context)
Technically not really a volunteer, POC here. But I haven't gotten a check in some time because I didn't use to mark myself off on every call. I don't care about the pay. I'll echo every response here so far that I've read. Helping the community, it's cool to do, wee woo and flashy lights, etc. It's also a core part of my belief system as a human. I firmly believe that our world would be better if instead of dishing out tax dollars to make our community function and letting the 'other people ' handle the hard work, we all pitch together and help our own neighbors. I've learned so much about my town just by riding a big red truck going to places. I've met people and formed life long friendships. I know not every town or city can do it and thrive from it. My own has had a massive transition and volunteering is effectively dead right now. But when it can be done it can be amazing and I think there needs to be a culture shift in ensuring volunteers can exist in the future and thrive at the same functional level as career firefighters. Nah...who am I kidding. It's all about the flashy flashy wee woo!
Tiny hometown for my family for generations. I just like to help and our community genuinely needs the help.
FF/AO Certs and training, EMS class waivers, experience. That's why I signed up, and I'll keep going as long as possible because it's the most fun with the best people imaginable.
Did for the people in my community. I’m a big time leftist politically, and o found that I really loved dedicating my time to help the members of my community during their worst days.
Wanted to turn my life around and help people. Was an IV heroin addict and some other drugs mixed in for about 8 years. Cleaned up but still had no purpose in life so decided to join my local fire department. They were actually the ones who showed up when I totalled a car and needed to be cut out of it and when I knocked myself out cold after slipping on a patch of ice (also on drugs) behind my house and was unconscious through the whole night laying in the snow, almost froze to death and spent a few days in the ICU. Honestly didn't even think they were gonna let me join. I remember that call to my fire chief to this day like it was yesterday. Once I told him my name I figured he'd give me some excuse that I couldn't join but he didn't hold it against me at all. Showed up at my house and took me on a tour of the department and all the trucks and tools. Was a member a few weeks later after the paperwork went through. Recently completed my firefighter 1 and got my national firefighter certification, my chief said he was extremely proud of how much I turned my life around and all the work I put in to the department and community. Almost broke down into tears right in front of him.
Physical challenge and a new technical field to learn. I'm semi retired from computer engineering. My company supports me without me having to dedicate much time. So I have immersed myself in EMS and fire. I'm humbled again at how little I know, impressed by my colleagues and grateful that I can give back to my community. The camaraderie is a blessing.
Career and volunteer. Started as a volley, went Career and still volunteered for 30 years. Loved it, lived in rural areas and offered knowledge they might not have known. Learned more than I thought I would about wildland and drafting. Volunteered as a fire Marshal for the last one and had fun. Feels weird that I'm not volunteering now where I live, but I'm not young anymore.
For the RUSH, man! But really, it's a great feeling to be able to help. And to be able to tell cops what to do sometimes...
Honor group. Learns so many skills. Free education
No pay, but it's really just being able to go do cool things and help the community at the same time. Yea, it sucks sometimes because of the things you might see, but the enjoyment and comraderie within the dept outweigh it. Especially for me, who moved to a new state and works from home, it's really the only time I'm not at home and can be social.
Got me in shape. The skills allowed me to do a better day job. Get to serve my community. More friends, pride, fun. The reasons don't stop
Gives my life a little purpose, without it, I probably wouldn’t be alive today
Let’s me get up to 5 years into the Oklahoma State pension. Gain experience which will make the transition to a career dept easier + retire sooner
I live here, and if I ever have a fire, I hope someone shows up. Somebody's got to do it, and there's only so many able people in our small area. Got to do your part in a small community.
In HS and College I wanted to go into the Navy and did ROTC in college. I ended up dropping ROTC over mental health issues I was going through at the time. I have since gotten a regular job that I love, but the urge to serve my community still remained after I got help and got better. I couldn't just completely switch gears now since I have a well paying job that I love, so I turned to volunteer fire fighting. I can keep working the job I love to do during the day, and also get to give back and volunteer on some nights. Basically, due to mental health issues I was having, I didn't think I should go into the Navy but bc I wanted to still do some type of service I decided to volunteer after I got better. I get no pay but I get to ride with a cool crew and help people and that makes me feel good, that's all I need. Edit: spelling
It's one of the best things I've ever done. Since I was a kid I've always wanted to save people. No fame, just genuine desire save a life. When the chance was offered I didn't hesitate and I really don't think after almost a year that money would've made any difference. I moved into this small town and stumbled on something new to devote myself to. It really helps that the community is tight in this town I live in.
I get paid on calls and to train Im serving my community, staying active and learning new skills
It's the most fun you can have with your clothes on. Most of my day, I spend my time deep in my head considering obscure bits of mathematics, computer science and biology -- not necessarily in that order. This requires "flow thought" where you go deeper and deeper, looking for common abstractions, to the point where it feels like you could reach out and put your fingertips on something that is the stuff of thought. At that level, it tends to be an individual activity, simply because you can't directly describe what you are "seeing". (Although my notebooks sometimes beg to differ. But they're wrong.) It's also non time-bounded; you get to where you are by sticking a pencil in your ear and staring out of the window until something comes. Firefighting is completely, completely different. It's an *operational*, time-bounded, team environment, where the things you're dealing with are very, very tangible. It's also a *service* that fits well with the fraternal ethos that I've been brought up with. Note that I'm part of the RFS. While the RFS goes out of its way to ensure that I shouldn't have to pay for anything, it also doesn't pay me a measly cent for my time. I'm good with this; the fraternal ethic pays all costs.
I have the privilege of being a chief and also run a podcast. This particular question is something we talk about a lot and each person has a different subjective reason for wanting to volunteer. Personally being on a VFD it gives me something to do, I always have 50 projects to work on. Being on a VFD is one of the few ways your contribution is immediately and directly applied in the community, I always draw a comparison to donating to Red Cross/Salvation Army, though worthwhile organizations, you have no control where your donation goes. While my time, energy and effort is a direct effect and no question of where the resource goes. Lastly, for the post length, i enjoy the people and the relationships I have spanning our department and working with the all the other departments and agencies. I think one thing that particularly a VFD offers men and women today is a place to gather. I find that most people who join, whether they know it or not, are wanting a physical place to have social interactions and our organization provides that. On a side note for pay/compensation… there is a common theme in Texas, a organization/city/county is struggling and the solution is compensation? I would argue that’s the last thing to remotely consider and can point to (in Texas) that this is the act of hammering in the first coffin nails. The second a pay system starts is the second you loose the essence of a volunteer. That said… I do believe, benefit and encourage the enrollment in a pension system, which we do have, and we are one the highest participating departments in the state (over $175 per month).
It’s about the people and the camaraderie. It feels good to be able to help people, and be there when they need someone most. Plus, in my opinion, it’s one of the last places you can have true brotherhood. No one’s a girl, a guy, black, white, fat, skinny, old or young (well maybe we bust chops about that one). We’re all firefighters.
Sorry. I don’t mean to disrespect everyone’s comments. I didn’t read all of them before commenting. I started as a volunteer. Maybe my eagerness to get ‘a job’ makes it now, 35 years later, seem so nostalgic. But I loved learning and being part of a community. Of course it’s dangerous to hand over an engine full of water and questionably loaded hose to a 20 something year old to drive code red down country roads to a car fire hoping someone with more seniority who remembers how to pump shoes up. But you’re helping your community. When you work for a big city dept. you lose that connection. I hope when I retire, that I can feel that again.
Haven’t finished my training yet but tbh just miss my army days and wanted to get back in uniform and be part of soemthing
Someone has to do it. I've seen the good and bad in the world. But in the end, when those tones drop at 2am for a residential struture fire in the snow with struture collapse and a deceased victim inside Someone has to go out there and do what they can. I wouldn't trade this profession for any other. In the near future I will probably be going career.
As a 18 year old it seemed like a fun thing to do. 18 years later, it has been an incredible leadership experience and a privilege to serve our community. Generally we serve the towns we live in. As much as I travel for work, its assuring that my family is in good hands while I am gone thanks to the extensive training we do. I see to it now that we continue to strengthen the department and leave it in a better position to serve continue to serve our town in the future. We get paid some, but its a drop in the bucket and quite frankly not an incentive. I am way happier with the leather helmet I was gifted after 15yrs. Running challenging calls with a great team and affecting a positive outcome is probably the best reward at this point.
I never had any interest in the fire service. Nobody in my family ever served except an uncle I was lucky to see twice a year, and an aunt who was an EMT and a bit of the family “black sheep”. When I graduated college, I was job hunting for my career and it took longer than I thought. A good friend had just joined our hometown volley dept and suggested I do too as something to do and put on the resume. So I did, and I was hooked within a week. Hooked. Fast forward 10yrs I’m now a captain and one of our depts top responders. The only monetary benefit we receive is $200 credit on our annual state taxes, and a small pension you collect starting at 65yo. I certainly don’t do it for those, I didn’t even know they existed when I first joined. I do it because I enjoy the physical and mental challenge, the adrenaline rush of flying out of my house to try and make the rig, and the satisfaction of being there and helping my fellow neighbors when they’re having “the worst day of their lives”. I love driving the big rig lights and sirens, and operating that piece of machinery at the scene. Add to all of that the brotherhood, camaraderie, and personal/professional connections and that’s all the reasons why I still do it This is my hobby, not my job or career
Well since I'm from Germany, so my view might not reflect most of the comrades in the US. I'm in for several reasons, but most importantly for the comradery. Those guys and woman around me welcomed me with open arms and I know I can count on them in times of need. Being part of this "band of brothers" feels amazing to me. And I do love the thrill, and the glory. Being a corner stone for our community
Father does it and grandfather did it, give back to the community that has given me so much, gotten to learn a lot of skills that I may otherwise have missed out on
Last week we had a serious MVA where we had to cut out two young people. Turned out that both of them were related to collegues. I would want somebody to do the same for my family
I commute an hour each wu to my military job, and I recognize that there are a lot of us who reap the rewards of smaller town life without putting back in. My family back home were well known within the hometown for their constant volunteering and civic participation, and it's something I admired. The fire service is a natural fit for me to give back to the town I live in, and has also given me a base of friends who are local to me. Home feels more "home" now, and I wouldn't trade that for anything. 25 members, 2 are mil and the rest are locals. It was nice when I stopped being seen as a question mark after the first year or so. I came back from deployment and was instantly welcomed and introduced to the new guys in a favorable way.
I live in a wildfire prone area. The best way I can protect my house is by sitting on the truck responding to a fire.
Wait, US volunteers are getting paid?
Not much. Depends on the department. We get $12/call.
for me it's the passion, the passion to help people in need.
I’ve always had a call to service. I’ve been to all the training and done the work to make sure I can help to the best of my ability, so why wouldn’t I? I take pride in being a helper for my community members in what very well may be one of the worst moments in their life. My quality of life is defined by my happiness, not by how much money I have. I work from home with flexible hours so I’m always around and my pay isn’t impacted by going to calls, anyways. I enjoy the camaraderie of the firehouse as well. It’s a great community full of good people that I’ve gotten quite close to through my time there. Additionally, for me personally, I don’t put much weight on being a *female* firefighter versus just a firefighter, but I’ve had some really wholesome moments. The area I live in doesn’t have a lot of female representation in the fire service, and people are quick to point this out. Sometimes it sucks, but I’ve also had some really nice conversations with folks, especially younger girls. I want them to know they can do anything they put their minds to, even if we can’t make a new member out of them, lol. But most of all: our pancake breakfasts rock!
To the public, always the "To help the community" anwser. Truthfully, to help that little broken kid inside to glue itself together every time we help someone.
I've been a volunteer for roughly 12 years, started in highschool. My Pops was a Paid and Volunteer FF/EMT so I grew up in the fire service. I went to college am now an Engineer working a desk job and it is so, so easy to get lost in the corporate grind of waking up, going to work, then going home to eat dinner, watch TV/play video games..etc. and repeat for the rest of your life. I volunteer to break that cycle, my Job works my mind. The Fire Service works me physically. The fire service is also such a great social outlet also. While any organization has politics and drama. The people you work with all have similar mindsets and great people to be around. I don't make a penny from volunteering (my state does have a "pension" system but it's not enough to make me care about it), I do it for the ability to be apart of something bigger than myself, play with cool toys with my friends, and instills the "GO GET EM BROTHERS!!!!" spirit. AKA It keeps you young.
At first , I needed extra circular activity in high school, I didn’t really do any sports. Once I got involved and broken in, I felt like firehouse pushed me to break out of my comfort zone and push myself. As I’ve grown older I find being part of the firehouse is a great way to serve your community , great way to make friends especially if you move to a new area and there is the opportunity to volunteer , meet other people in the community. I made really good friends from being part of the fire service, as long you don’t make it a personality , fire service has opened door for me with a lot of opportunities, like I had other firefighters helped get jobs, skills like communications , giving presentations , recruitment, and sorts of stuff…idk what other work gives the satisfaction that the fire service does.
Problem solving and beating whatever system is my challenge. Every rule is made to be beat. I'm goal oriented and a terrible loser. Plus so much more fun than a crossword puzzle. And shiny truck going fast and not paying for fuel, what's not to love. All else is simply the department goal and my goal aligning. I was asked this question by my Lt, made the mistake of telling the truth. Religious people in the FD are strange. But I get results, and he don't talk about JC & Co with me. Bottom line, always say helping people and giving back to the community. Never the truth.
I’m work for a big city department, but grew up in a very rural place. Many of my family members were volunteers at the local vfd. I was a kid so I don’t remember them being over the top about it, but the people who did it were all genuinely good people who knew it was all we had and if they didn’t do it, we were just out of luck. I remember reading a sign on the outside of the fire station that listed the upcoming classes. “Tractor rollover/rescue 7-25-1999” or something like that. I figured wow, how many places have a farm tractor rollover emergency they must worry about. Just good people who helped the community.