Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Volunteer Fire Dept.

Saw smoke coming from a house one day and called FD, all volunteer in this area. Me and a neighbor went in and made sure no one was in the house while FD was enroute, they come boiling in with their tankers and pop up a mini pool and start filling it with water. By now house is completely engulfed. They get about 4 loads of water in the mini pool and start pumping water on the house, and here comes Bubba with his load of water, backs into the pool and caves the side in and all that water went in the yard. House burnt to the fuqking ground.

Lol cooking chili and playing video games? Lol....ya tough work.

Go look up how many structure fires your local fire dept went on in 2020, then divide that by 365......prepare to laugh.


Ps heaven forbid you joke around in a fire fighter thread....the butt hurt will flow.

Those that won't criticize.

Those that are willing...DO

I've been with a volunteer FD nearly everywhere I've lived and worked since the mid-90s. Been pretty fortunate (lucky) to not to have much activity over the years. When I pull the pin on my day job and make my final move to my up north house in a few months, I'll apply to volunteer for that department too. Not much structure activity there so far either, but they do get sent out to hold the line on encroaching wildland fires from time to time.

Thanks to all that are full and volunteer fire fighters! I have a friend that is the Chief of a small fire department. His is a slightly more challenging as he lives on a island of about 60-80 full time residents. I had the unfortunate luck to need his department’s services. My wife fell and shattered he elbow. It was 8:00 Saturday night when I made the call. In 5 minutes the Asst Chief was there. The ambulance and 3person crew in about ten minutes and the Chief with in 15. They stabilized Her arm and shoulder and transporter her and I to the harbor and had the marine transport boat waiting for us. We where transported across the s Straits of Mackinaw to the nearest port with a hospital. At the port we where met by a ambulance to get us to the hospital. All arrangements made by my friend the Chief. So again Thanks you to all volunteers for all the training and planning to help them in their time of need! These fine people gave my wife the help she needed during a time I couldn’t do much!

My brother put in a number of years working with a VFD. He told me that you never know when it is going to be your house, so they need someone.

I was on our FD in my home town for 12 years, and it seemed every time we had nasty weather, something would happen. One time we were called out in an ice storm and we nearly killed ourselves getting to the station, and it was a false alarm......other times during snow and storms it was a structure fire or wreck.....gotta go to find out.

Five Years VFD. Fifteen years EMT. Hats off to all the guys who spend countless hours each year, planned, and unplanned, to keep the rest of us safe. Finally got to the age that I could not run all night, and work the primary job all day.

@OP, relative to getting fiire apparatus to a difficult location in snow and ice. The VFD I ran with in NE PA finally went to having people building new homes on the side of mountains sign a waiver to get their building permit. Waiver acknowledged that the VFD would do best effort to get to their houses in the winter. However, VFD was not going to risk lives, or valuable equipment, to extinguish a fire during ice and snow, just because the owners could afford to build in billy goat heaven.

What does the number of structure fires have to do with how good or bad a volunteer fire department is? Our local VFD has an ISO rating of 3. Saves us a bunch on everyone’s home owners insurance.

I was a member for 25 years, left and my youngest son now wears my number.

Obviously you have never had to extract someone from a vehicle with them screaming in your ear.

Or the day we rolled up on an accident only to find out it was the 18 year old son of one of our firefighters. Yeah that’s a lot of fun. Not everyday you get to break the news to one of your brothers that they just lost their only son.

Over the years I have seen things that cannot be unseen. All the while earning zero in compensation.

Jackson Handy you are an [bleep] or an arsonist. Or both. I have found that most folks that talk [bleep] about fire departments typically do so because they take the fun away.

25 year paid fireman here. Small intermountain city, coverage includes rural as well wild land urban interface. We respond to fires of course, but also provide ALS ambulance and transport. Swift water and ice rescue. Regional Haz Mat response. Vehicle extrication. High angle and technical rescue. ARFF. lots of variety in skills and responses. We are most of the time the first to arrive at downed power lines, electrical hazards, natural gas and propane leaks. At a minimum all members are trained to EMT-B. Ambulance is staffed with at least one individual trained to EMT-P. Department responds to in the neighborhood of 14,000-15,000 calls per year, with over 80% being the EMS variety , with those including vehicle accidents. At the end of my career now, its a young mans game. Physically I still keep up with the youngsters (for awhile at least), but the sleep deprivation is what gets to me now. Its been a good run. I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by like minded individuals who enjoy serving the public and training/staying physically fit. We have made the difference in the lives of some people. Good friend of mine was brought back from cardiac arrest by co workers on another shift. Through the years I remember some of those we saved and some of those we couldnt. Several years ago I remember extricating a 16 year old girl with severe head trauma. T bone accident. Lengthy and difficult extrication but we were able to cut her out, provide ALS care and transport to ER. We all thought she wouldnt last the night but she actually left the hospital with very little deficit. Over the years we have made a difference. Its always uncomfortable when people thank us for our service. We are just civil servants doing a job. RNs at the hospital are the true heroes. And the lineman!
Are there clowns and jokers in the fire service? Absolutely! In both paid and volunteer departments, there are always the "I fight what you fear" t shirt wearing bumper sticker jockeys. Lord knows we also have our share of politicians and ladder climbers. I have always tried to impress on the younger guys to just be a quite professional.

As far as being a "joke" over the last week my crew has extricated an elderly woman whose car was struck by a semi, responded to 1 commercial and 2 residential
carbon monoxide calls. Both residential calls presented CO in excess of 50 ppm in the home, and the gas company was called for assistance. Numerous other vehicle accidents, cardiac events, strokes, breathing problems, suicide attempts etc. A structure fire that involved the attic. Heavy heat and smoke upon entry, but we split crew to accomplish primary search. Structure is presently being worked on by restoration company.


No butt hurt here sir. Firemen usually have pretty tough skin. Have to. My apologies for the physical agility comment.

The smaller the fire department the louder their handheld has to be turned up while in public.

Also the small departments increase chances of each fireman having an obscure relative that was a “tunnel rat” in Vietnam.

I got on our local VFD when I was 16 and was there about four years. They let a buddy and I join as “junior firefighters”. We battled field fires, looked for lost people and helped on what medical runs we could with a fire thrown in here and there.
We washed trucks, serviced trucks, helped with fundraisers and generally had a ball.
The older guys were glad to have us, the mentorship was good and it kept us from getting into more trouble than we would have without the fire service to channel some of that youthful energy.
After I got out of the service, I got onto the paid department in our hometown.
Twenty-five years later, here I set, a lieutenant in charge of my own station and own engine company. It’s hard to believe time has passed this quickly but it’s been a good run and I will probably be here for many years to come if my health holds and I’m still alive. I wouldn’t change a thing and have really enjoyed my career minus the bad stuff.
God bless all who take on the mantle of this profession whether they be paid or volunteer. They all have something to contribute and they all have generally sacrificed something over the years.
It would be a bad place to be if you had an emergency and no one came. Thank the Lord for those who will come.

the local VFD that my boys joined in high school has been the best thing they have ever done. they got outstanding training, exposure to situations that 99% of people would never see, made lifelong friends who they know they can count on for their lives and get to have a lot of fun while giving back to their community. yes there is political BS involved. same as any organization. american legion, vfw, moose, boy scouts, elks, etc all have that schit going on. but the good far outweighs the bad. if it wasn't for the VFD's in this area, our taxes would be a lot higher and our level of service would be much less.

and as for the ass-hole saying to count the structure fires, it ain't structure fires that take up the vast majority or their time. lets see your wise ass be the first to roll up on a scene where there was a car wrapped around a pole with live wires arcing and kids trapped inside screaming. or how about rolling up on a scene and seeing one of your best friends legs sticking out from under the car that just crushed him to death? all stuff myt sons have experienced in their 24 y/o lives. or how about some more mundane schit like CO detectors, false alarms, flooded basements, and traffic control along with endless fundraisers and trips to schools and scout troops? all done at the drop of a hat 24x7x365 with no pay while ass-holes make fun of the guys with the LED's on their trucks and radios on their hips. these folks are proud of what they do and not afraid to show it.

and ya, they fugg up occasionally. try doing what they do perfectly all the time.

Amen...

Yeah....and when your house is on fire, you'd be the first to call for help.......and you won't care if they are volunteers or paid. What a dumb statement.

I accidentally set my field on fire. Maybe more than once. Sure glad someone was around to help a fella out.

I was visiting a friend in Texas a year or so ago. Place was a total schit hole. Can't remember the name of the place but it wasn't far from Dallas. Southeast of there.

Anyway, we saw a decent fire as we were pulling out of his subdivision and after hauling ass around two blocks so we could access the property, I ran up to the house and pounded on the door. Guy answers and I tell him that all his cord wood is blazing right next to his garage and asked where the hose was. My buddy was on the phone with 911 and giving the address.

He tells me where the hose was and luckily for him, he had about 150yds of garden hose attached to this fugking reel. I sprinted out to the street while telling him to turn it on. Then I ran back to the house with hose in hand (that's what she said).

No nozzle so I had to do the thumb over the dick hole technique. Charged in and holy fugking schit it was hot but I was able to get a lot of water onto the structure and hit the main fire pretty well. Homeowners standing there yelling "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" I ask him if there's another hose and his eyes light up and he runs away. Turns out there was and it was on the backside of this now considerably large and hot fire.

The wife is standing there in the driveway (a big driveway) and my buddy tells her to get their vehicles out into the street.

She somewhat accomplishes that while the fire is getting hit by both sides. The smoke got too thick once the fire was mostly under control and I handed the hose off to my buddy while I walked to the street and hacked for a while. In between coughs I would blurt out "OH MY GOD!" and my friend would bust up laughing and have to walk out of the smoke.

Went around back and told the homeowner that I hope he had a log splitter because all his BBQ wood is gone, gone, gone. He was on the verge of tears and I just patted him on the back and told him to relax, no harm no foul.

About this time the fire department rolled up and three guys in full bunker gear walk past (oxygen and masks included) and I made my smart ass comments about heroes, thank you for your service, blah, blah, blah. One of the dick head cops immediately approached the homeowner and asked what happened. I guess he couldn't see the Smokey Joe smoldering on top of what was the fire. I assumed the guy put it out there the previous evening thinking it was fully extinguished. And the heat of the day brought it back to speed.

This was all around noon on a weekday.

There was a big post about the "anonymous heroes" on the local Facebooks that night. As we got uproariously drunk we kept calling each other a "hero" for the rest of the evening. And morning.

That's only one of my many hero stories.

Suffice to say, nobody gives a fugk, nor do I expect them to.

Hero!

LOL

no key to the city??

😎😃

Youre not a hero unless you help roll the hoses up.

Director of our EMA told me that chit. 🤣