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Post by 921batt on Feb 22, 2006 10:21:13 GMT -5
Manpower or Womanpower seems to be a growing problem for the Fire service in general.
The discussion of another thread (RIT) led me to start this thread dealing with staffing issues. One note of interest was that some of your Departments do not provide for any feeder programs. An ancillary duty of mine is to recruit high school youths' by igniting interest through the school system. I work for a Paid Department and we focus our recruitment through the high Schools on Career Day. There is no proviso for Juniors in our department. However in the Volunteer departments surrounding the City nearly all have Junior programs. We have found that a good percentage of our guys started as Juniors in nearby Departments. Don't miss the boat here guys, this is the way to generate interest. Our County (Mercer) also offers FF1, E.M.T, and basic fire science through the trade school. As a senior you are eligible to attend as a part of the high school curriculum. It doesn't get any better than that.
What is your County doing for recruitment?
Get em while they are fresh! Joe
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Post by herrick3 on Feb 22, 2006 13:51:09 GMT -5
I heard a few months back that someone was trying to get firefighting courses in at the local technical school, which is attended by some high school students, but I haven't heard anything since then. If they could get a course for this in there then we would have to probably talk to the different school districts to let them allow their students to take such courses. Here's hoping that this can be accomplished.
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Post by 921batt on Feb 22, 2006 15:49:28 GMT -5
O-k Jason you heard that someone was trying to do something, thats a start. We all hope that someone does something to help but the reality is that we all need to do our part in this endeavor. We just cant assume that someone will do something. We need to take a pro active stance and advocate for our cause. I realize this will require some sacrifice, but in the end will it be worth it? You bet it will! Someone needs to step up to the plate and I hope it is one of you younger guys. Get out there and let the public know what is needed to provide them with the protection they need. The public tends to take us for granted until they require our services. Your the future of the Fire Service. Show them you are motivated!
Learn the art of networking it is the way to open doors.
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Post by Medic13 on Feb 22, 2006 16:50:38 GMT -5
I honestly think we're off to a good start. Just in the past year, we've had several "get 'em started" classes... Essentials, EMT, and just recently BVR. This is great, because many younger guys and gals who were untrained members took advantage of the small flood of classes, and the number of trained personnel in both fire and EMS has risen. I know from experience that 3-4 years ago, it was tough to find even an EVOC class in the area, let alone Essentials or EMT. Now, there are enough that you can choose which one is most convenient. So that's what I think will help. Once people realize that they don't have to drive out of the area for training, and don't have to wait a year or two for a class to come up, we'll see a greater increase in trained manpower. Also, it definitely wouldn't be a bad thing to get out in the public, show people our cool toys, explain what we do on a regular basis, ect. Just my thoughts.
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