Any Firefighters??

[Riverkilt]

Retired volunteer if that's approriate. But not a firefighter per se.

I didn't discover the fire service until I was 50. A tad old to pass the physical.

So volunteered five years with the Phoenix, AZ Fire Department as a therapist on their Alternative Response crisis wagons, also called the Citizen's Assistance Program. Usually just called the AR program. Our rigs were AR -5, AR -18 etc. depending on the fire house we were at.

We were stationed in the firehouse and had a 9 passenger van painted in the Fire Dept colors and logos. The van was loaded with all sorts of back up gear like burn out boxes, water, blankets, care bears, information handouts for various assistance agencies. A volunteer EMT drove the van. We were on the radio, GPS et.al. Ate and slept at the firehouse. Wore t-shirts and sweatshirts issued by the PFD with our names on them.

We rolled on all residential fires, helped families find housing with the Red Cross, passed on the burn out boxes, called insurance agents, etc. all the stuff the family was too freaked to do and the firefighters too busy to do.

At apartment fires we helped count noses and be sure everyone was accounted for.

We also rolled on all codes, suicides, and child drownings. Our job was to keep the family out of the way of the firefighters and give them a ride to the hospital, get their ministers and family members notified. Fire dept just doesn't want the family standing on the front lawn as the ambo screams off the hospital with their loved one.

Sometimes we were a mini-utility truck for engine companies or police on a homicide scene, passing out water or holding a blanket up between the paramedics working a patient and the prying television cameras.

Since there was often only one or two units on duty in the entire city it wasn't unusual to run all day and all night from one call to another. I used to schedule two days to volunteer. One on the rig and the other to be home to catch up on sleep before going back to work.

And, we did all sorts of support things to free fire companies to be ready to roll. Things like giving drunks a ride to detox, homeless folks a ride to the shelter, support to victims of domestic violence and rape. We got a lot of heavy training from the fire dept and police dept. Very professional. Therapists had to have a master's degree.

It was the juiciest work I've ever done. A great program that is still going strong. When I looked into the program the director said it was the "pulse of the city." He was right.

A unique program that's spread to other cities in the Phoenix Metro Area.

Here's a link if anyone's interested http://phoenix.gov/FIRE/capprogram.html#CAP

But, no hose work, no turn outs.

Ron

[cgrinder]

Well just a reminder to all of you. I'm the founder of the Scottish Firefighters Association. The equivalent of the Emerald Society but specifically for Scottish and Firefighters. I would like to extend you all an invitation to join. Go look at the website, leave a feedback on here or there whichever is more convenient, and I hope to see some of you join up.

[Riverkilt]

Thanks for that Emerald Society tip Chris. Even Phoenix FD has one and I never knew! The Emerald Societies seem to be independently based in larger cities and there are a LOT of various websites (thanks Google). A lot of them offer cool t-shirts etc. A lot of new accessories to consider.

Still no clue if retired support volunteers are eligible, guessing its a deal for fire eaters only.

Ron

[cgrinder]

I'm not sure about the Emerald Society as far as the Volunteer thing, but I accept any Professional Firefighter and I consider that to be anyone who fights fire paid or volunteer. So, if you get a wild hair come on over!!

[Riverkilt]

But didn't fight fires, just was support on the fire ground and helped the burned out folks pick up the pieces.

Good luck with your effort though...long overdue.

Ron

[macgreggor]

But didn't fight fires, just was support on the fire ground and helped the burned out folks pick up the pieces.

Good luck with your effort though...long overdue.

Ron

Ron,
It sounds to this ignorant old hoof trimmer, like you did the difficult part of firefighting. The human wreakage always seem to be the REALLY hard stuff to clean up.

Thanks!

macG (greg)

[cormacmacguardhe]

I did about two years in northern California with the CDF (California Division of Forestry) fought forest fires briefly. Always have had the highest regard for fire fighters, truly altruistic civil servants. Ready to face deadly situations to save others.