Shoutout to the volly’s

[u/DarthJellyFish]

Just a shoutout to you guys that volunteer. I work for a full time city department in the Pacific Northwest. My uncle is an HVAC guy in a one stoplight town in southern Utah. He started volunteering about 8 years ago. I came down to see him and family this week. Checked out the rigs and got to talk about how they do things. You volunteers have to do a lot with a little and it’s truly impressive. Nothing but respect.

The pic is of their reserve rig. Such a cool old truck. The frontline unit is a little newer ;)

[u/[deleted]]

I love my community enough to do it for free

[u/Unstablemedic49 → u/[deleted]]

You’re all set not having a pension from the county/state for putting your time in and serving your community?

You’re all set with not being covered medically if you get hurt on the job?

You’re all set not being covered for any mental health or substance abuse?

You’re all set not being covered for cancer automatically no matter what?

You’re all set with your family not having to worry about funeral or burial costs and getting 100% LODD benefits?

Are you all set not having any vacation time, accruing sick time, personal time off?

Are you all set with not being paid double/triple time for working holidays?

Are you set with not having a detail rate for 3rd party work?

Are you all set with no having education incentives?

Are you all set for not having stipends for certifications/degrees you worked your ass off for?

I love my community too, but they also love me back and have made sure their FFs are taking care of. This is what a lot of volunteers don’t understand is the benefits part that comes with being a paid professional firefighter.

[u/YourAlterEg0 → u/Unstablemedic49]

I'm a stipend paid volly, it's 25 bucks for a 3 hour callout. I'm in rural Alaska. We have 12 volunteers on the books. We run everything from smells and bells and stubbed toes, to stabbings, boat fires, ammonia leaks, and plane crashes.

Yes. It's not about money.

Yes. I have a job and insurance.

Yes. I don't abuse substances, and I'm a millennial with unmedicated adhd and who knows what other problems, raw dogging life. So yeah, mental health is very low on my priority list.

No, but the state I work in has laws to cover that no matter professional or volunteer.

Yes. That's what benevolence funds and my regular job insurance are for.

Yes. I'm a volunteer. I show up on my schedule, and rely on my fellow volunteers to cover, just like they do, or any other group work enviornment.

Yes. Because it's not about the money.

Yes. Because it's not about the money.

Yes, because we do all our training and certifications in house. We are in the process of building a strong firefighters association to pay for continuing education.

My certifications and the ability to do my job are the payoff.

Because, and I cannot stress this enough, it's not about the money

[u/Unstablemedic49 → u/YourAlterEg0]

FYI your states presumption law doesn’t include colon or testicular cancer which are the number 1 type cancers FFs get. It also doesn’t include annual free screening, you have to be a FF for at least 16 years and had a medical examination prior to joining a registered volunteer fire dept with the state fire marshal offices and annual medical exams for at least 7 years consecutively to prove cancer wasn’t preexisting to be covered by this.

Also the LODD death benefits are $237,000 max. In comparison ours is around $10 million tax free plus family health insurance for life.

Idk how long you’ve been a volunteer for but I would seriously consider looking into this. Especially if you guys don’t have money for the PFAS free turnout gear. Every time you wear turnout gear, the PFAS is going into your body, especially the testicles and colon.