volunteers

[Unregistered1234]

Why do we volunteer and get treated like a paid employee?

[Unregistered324234]

I don't know bout you, but my paid employer doesnt treat me as bad as the officials in the fire department....

Basically, those people who don't command anything on a regular basis, are given the opportunity to command people in a volly organization now... they overdo it and tend to abuse thr powers...

[FF/EMT]

I don't know bout you, but my paid employer doesnt treat me as bad as the officials in the fire department....

Basically, those people who don't command anything on a regular basis, are given the opportunity to command people in a volly organization now... they overdo it and tend to abuse thr powers...

Agreed! Managing volunteers is much harder than managing paid employees. There is no mortgage payment depending on getting along with the chief. I think if chiefs are going to be effective, that have to more like a coach, and less like a boss. Unfortunately, many of the chiefs are not managers in thr real jobs and are poorly prepared for this very difficult managerial position.
Volunteers get angry and stop showing up.

[Bill Parcells...]

Agreed! Managing volunteers is much harder than managing paid employees. There is no mortgage payment depending on getting along with the chief. I think if chiefs are going to be effective, that have to more like a coach, and less like a boss. Unfortunately, many of the chiefs are not managers in thr real jobs and are poorly prepared for this very difficult managerial position.
Volunteers get angry and stop showing up.

I like your coach theory, that means we can bench or trade away the useless members right! We all know that you can get rid of 50 members and it wont mean diddly squat to your departments day to day operation.

For the record, that's why volunteers suck. Each department has about 20 good fireman and the rest are pretty much useless. There's nothing worse than the excuses fresh air fireman come up with when they didn't make it into the burning structure.

Now bash me and tell me I'm wrong...

[Unregistered654321]

I like your coach theory, that means we can bench or trade away the useless members right! We all know that you can get rid of 50 members and it wont mean diddly squat to your departments day to day operation.

For the record, that's why volunteers suck. Each department has about 20 good fireman and the rest are pretty much useless. There's nothing worse than the excuses fresh air fireman come up with when they didn't make it into the burning structure.

Now bash me and tell me I'm wrong...

nope, youre right! i laugh at the guys that stand at the stagng area and complain after all the work is done. or they get all excited about doing overhual, then they talk it up about how they got scrwed about going in or they talk about how it was in there.. and what they mean was good they did at the overhual. lol. i dont understand why the guys that are useless still in the dept. they should start thr own company that dont drill or do anything for that matter. im sure they would fit right in.

[FF/EMT]

I like your coach theory, that means we can bench or trade away the useless members right! We all know that you can get rid of 50 members and it wont mean diddly squat to your departments day to day operation.

For the record, that's why volunteers suck. Each department has about 20 good fireman and the rest are pretty much useless. There's nothing worse than the excuses fresh air fireman come up with when they didn't make it into the burning structure.

Now bash me and tell me I'm wrong...

I agree with your math. 20 good versus 50 useless seems like the right percentage. I won't go as far as to say volunteers suck, but I would agree that people who get paid and do something full time, are on average, much better at doing something than part time volunteers. As far as the coaching analogy...this is college sports. You can't trade them but you can bench them. I'd spend my coaching time making sure the 20 people who can do the job are happy. If they go away everyone loses.

[Unregistered1of20]

not getting paid.... you should really think again. LOSAP, life insurance policies, Exempts, etc... Not many things left before it does get turned into a paid force.

I will agree that we have alot of dead wood, and that 10% of your FD causes 90% of the problems. I also agree that chief's should have to take management classes to better "manage" thr members, but there are also alot of members (old & new) that refuse to listen to new ideas, and would rather just cause kaos....

[Unregisteredretiree]

Life insurance policies are really policies for the department - to make sure they don't get sued when gramps drops dead after a call - it's insured instead.

LOSAP??? My paid job gives me 50 times that in retirement... LOSAP is a joke!

[CFD Ladies]

Volunteers don't get paid, not because they're worthless, but because they're priceless. Sherry Anderson - Arthur..



I feel your pain!!!

[Weeeeeeeeeeeee]

I didn't join my FD because of benefits... I joined to help my community.

I never even KNEW we got benefits and what not, now I know why there was such a long grooling process to join.

Ya know what, let me volunteer without any headaches and bullshit and you can KEEP your fucking benefits.

[Unregistered654321]

I didn't join my FD because of benefits... I joined to help my community.

I never even KNEW we got benefits and what not, now I know why there was such a long grooling process to join.

Ya know what, let me volunteer without any headaches and bullshit and you can KEEP your fucking benefits.

i feel the same way. when i started 15 years ago i didnt have a clue we got ANYTHING. i really dont care if we do or not. i like doing the job, i love to be fires and i like the feeling i get when i help someone who actually needs my help. thats enough "pay" i need, although im looking into getting a firefighter job as we speak.

[Unregisteredomg]

i feel the same way. when i started 15 years ago i didnt have a clue we got ANYTHING. i really dont care if we do or not. i like doing the job, i love to be fires and i like the feeling i get when i help someone who actually needs my help. thats enough "pay" i need, although im looking into getting a firefighter job as we speak.

You realize there may be a test, like you would have to actually write answers or you are just a paid dweeb that is happy they actually passed it and feel so above all the others now.