Tag Archives: volunteer fire

If you had just 30 seconds to convince someone why they should join your volunteer fire department, what would you say?  What would your message be? Do you have a standard sales pitch that you use for just such occasions? ...

As we discussed in my netcast on recruitment and retention last night at www.firefighternetcast.com, programs like Venturing, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Brownies, Cub Scouts, Boys & Girls Clubs and certainly Explorers and Junior Firefighters, etc. are all breeding grounds and a feeder system for youth development into the fire service.

"I urge all fire service leaders to develop, establish, disseminate, abide and enforce a Fire Service Code of Ethics.” Kelvin Cochran-United States Fire Administrator.

The FireRECRUITER joins FireCritic and FireDaily as their special guest on this week’s edition of Firefighter NetCast.

I took particular interest in the sample best practice document titled "Pledge to My Peers" that frankly, is appropriate to "kids of all ages" in our fire departments.

Who Can Afford to Volunteer? That's the question asked by Don Grogg, a commissioner for Harris County Emergency Service District No. 9 in Texas in this article titled: "Suburban Fire Districts Sound the Alarm" in the Houston Chronicle.

And while I think the author is right on the mark that prospective candidates should do their homework before signing on the dotted line, I disagree with emphasizing and entering fundraising into the conversation so early. There are too many other positive parts of our business that could be used to highlight the benefits of volunteering. Fundraising is one of those functions that some volunteers must do when they're not doing what they signed up to do -- fighting fires and providing emergency services.

In order for all potential applicants to have sufficient time to consider this revised policy guidance, DHS will extend the 2009 SAFER application period. The new application deadline will be 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Friday, January 15, 2010.

Here’s a link to a news story on FirefighterNation.com about some volunteer fire departments in Pennsylvania who are teaming up to reach out to local high school students for new recruits. Managed, trained and nurtured properly, Explorers and Junior Firefighters can be ...

I'll start at home with this link to our Boot Camp video developed by WKBW-TV (Channel 7 in Buffalo NY) which describes the 10-day intensive training that we offer every summer at the Erie County Fire Academy. This full length feature was first shown at the graduation ceremony for Boot Camp Class of 2006 during which it was filmed by WKBW Photographer Chris Couell and narrated by Pete Kenworthy, their news anchor who joined the Hamburg Volunteer Fire Department and was embedded in the class as a student.