Volunteer firefighters - What exactly do they do?

Question

My question is about volunteer firefighters. Do they actually put on the gear and go into the fire? Could you just volunteer for one day a week? Do you need a truck? I'd just like to know a little bit about it from somebody who's done it for a while.

Answer 1

They do everything that paid firefighters do, except live at the firehouse and get paid for their time. They have most of the same equipment (they don't always have the most sophisticated or very specialized items, nor a huge ladder truck) and have to have the same training in order to use it. They often train right beside professionals, especially for specialized training (like dealing with haz mat).

Indeed, they put on gear and go into the fire. My husband has done it many a time.

Answer 2

on call to fight fires. thank god for them.

Answer 3

They sit around drinki9ng tea a lot. They also play a lot of pool and snooker. They could hit a 50 or 60 break no sweat.