Volunteers are the back bone of all communities. All communities need
volunteers to help out in many different ways like at school, scouts, sports,
and so on. We as citizens of the community need to do our part.
Fire departments need dedicated individuals that can give their time to
train and respond to calls. As most firefighters will tell you that it does
require a lot of time but it is well worth it and rewarding! All over the
Becoming a member of the fire department also helps out the community
in a financial way. Could you imagine the cost if we had to pay for this
service? Volunteers cut millions of dollars off local municipalities
budgets. That savings stays in your pocket.
In a fire department there are many different things you can do to help
out. There are some that don’t like heights or don’t want to be an interior
firefighter or think that you are to old. That’s alright! There is a spot for
anyone.
Below are descriptions for the different positions in the fire dept.
The training that is required is free of charge and usually offered in the
boundaries of the county. A lot of the courses are up to you if you want to
pursue them.
Fire
Police
Fire Police are the eyes of the boundaries around an emergency
scene. They control all traffic around an emergency scene. Fire Police have the
right, under the direction of the Fire Chief or Sheriff’s Dept., to close down
a road to provide safety to those persons that might be working an accident,
fire or another type of an emergency situation.
Fire Police are under the command of a Fire Police Captain and or Fire
Chief. They direct traffic away from a scene by giving the motorist an advance
notice of an emergency situation that lies ahead. They will reroute the traffic
away from the scene.
To become a Fire Police, you must take a course that would include 2
nights of class room instruction and day of practical experience to become
qualified (about 9 hours).
Pump Operators
The pump operator is a person that has taken a course to learn how to
run a pump on a fire truck (about 15 hours). The course is 6 nights and 3 hours
a night. A few other things they would need to know all the equipment and know
where it is kept on the truck.
He or she would also need the Emergency Vehicle Operators Course
(E.V.O.C.) to be able to drive the truck. This course is 4 week nights of
training. Most of the course is classroom training with a driver course on the
last class.
After pump operators and E.V.O.C. has been taken, the person needs to
show his skills to a line officer to be cleared to drive each apparatus they
want to drive.
Exterior Firefighters
Exterior firefighters are firefighters that do not like to go into
burning buildings. These persons will help assist with getting tools and
advancing hoses to different places on the fire scene. At large structure fires
that are deemed unsafe for interior attack are known as an exterior fight.
Exterior firefighter will also be use to maintain fire streams.
An exterior firefighter has to take the same training as an interior
firefighter. The Firefighter 1 course is 1 night a week for 32 weeks. It will
train you to know every basic aspect of a fire scene. It will also teach you
the proper way to use fire tools and equipment.
Interior Firefighters
An interior firefighter is a lot like the exterior firefighter except
they have the knowledge of how to fight fires inside a structure. This requires
more on hands training to know what to do and to help keep your skills up. He
or she will train on air packs, hose advancement, search and rescue,
ventilation, nozzle techniques and other vital important training.
Same as the exterior firefighter you need to take firefighter 1. This
course will give you all the basics of fire fighting. To become a better and
more prepared interior firefighter there are other courses that you can take at
your leisure. There is not time frame or requirement for you to get the further
education.
Normally it takes a good 2 years to train an interior firefighter to
know what they need to be aware of and what they need to know to be able to be
safe and do the job right while inside.
All these positions are taught either by the state or county and are
offered throughout the year. The courses normally are at the Ontario County
Training Facility on
See county training schedule here.
www.co.ontario.ny.us./emergency_mgt/UpcomingCourses.pdf
Extrication Techs.
There are many departments that offer extrication to their community.
Many of the firefighters receiver training on how to use extrication tools
(Jaws of Life). Depending on the fire department, a lot of departments require
the extrication personnel to also be at least exterior firefighters due to the
possibility of a vehicle catching fire. There are courses that teach you how
the extrication someone from a vehicle and also how to stabilize.
Radio Operators
Some individuals do not like to be on an emergency scene. Base radio
operators are very important to a Fire Chief and the emergency scene. The radio
operator is there to assist the chief with getting different equipment rolling
or equipment that he might need, relaying messages to the Fire Dispatcher and
other needs from the scene.
The radio operator needs to know the operations of the radio and the
different frequencies he or she will talk on. They will also need to know the
different equipment so that they will know what is needed when it is asked for.
This training is done by the individual fire department. Each dept. is
different in what they may require to operate the radio.
If you would like to become a valuable member in the community and like
to help out your fellow neighbor when an emergency arises....we have the job
for you! Feel free to stop down to the fire house and talk to the men and women
about becoming a member. Feel free to ask questions and check the apparatus
out. They would enjoy showing you! Mondays nights are our drill nights.
To Schedule a interview, Please email us at.....
