Volunteer firefighting?

Question

What is it like to be a volunteer firefighter?

What kind of training processes do you have to go through?

What does it feel like to be right next to a blaze and know that you are helping to salvage what you can of someone's home or business?

Answer 1

My husband is a volunteer firefighter. The basic training he went through is the same for a professional firefighter. He's also volunteered for additional training, such as air tank training, haz mat and group leadership.

Most of his calls are NOT related to a big blaze -- it can be an oil spill, a small trash fire, or a false alarm. You have to be treat all those many non-fires as urgently as you do that dreamy "big blaze", which doesn't come very often. You also need to be ready to help with fund-raising activities and post-call cleanup activities.