How much do volunteer firefighters have to work?

How many hours do volunteer firefighters work a month?

• I am a college student who has always wanted to volunteer at the fire department, however I do not really have the time to be working alot of hours. So I am wondering how many hours a typical volunteer would work per month?

• Answer:

  Just to become a volunteer fireman will take you anywhere from 24 to 200+ hrs. You have to have a certain level of training to be able to go on runs, as per OSHA requires. To be able to go into fires or assist in medical runs or help on vehicle accidents all requires more training. It is not like it used to be in the old days, where we just let people on and gave them a little quick class then put them on a truck. Nowadays you must have training so that you don't put yourself or other members in harms way. If you talk to your local department they more than likely have some sort of training program that will be able to work with you and around your schedule. Volunteer departments are in need of able bodies to help out the communities, and are willing in most cases to help you to be able to help them out. As per the hours per month, all departments have different ways they use their manpower hours. So, the best answer I can give you there, is to go and talk to your local department. Many bigger volunteer departments will even give you a place to live while you are at school, in return for devoting some of your time to them. I am an assistant chief in a rural community and we are always in need of new people to serve their community. I have seen many people come and go over the years, but they all had one thing in common, helping people and the community. Once you get in and start helping, you will find you will magically find more time to help people out. It can become almost addicting, the fulfillment, you get from helping someone that is at that moment in time truly in need of help. Whether it be fighting fire only to retrieve a couple of old family photos, cutting a severly injured person out of a mangled wreck, or simply holding a person that has suffered a loss it is truly an experience that will help guide you through the rest of your life.