[VINMAN]

Been a vol firefighter for 30 yrs. Well as of Monday actually...

Belong to two depts. Was dept chief in one. Currently chief in the other. Also an officer on our state USAR/FEMA team.
Been a fire services instructor for a number of years. Mainly teach advanced stuff, vehicle extrication, technical rescue, ( confined space, high angle rescue, building collapse, etc....

The volunteer service is rough now. Its no longer Mayberry, where everyone lives and works in town. Getting tougher to get members to commit. It takes a lot of time. Especially the initial fire academy training. Plus the people coming in now are a whole new breed. The whole entitlement generation. You have to earn your keep in a firehouse. They cant understand that. You also have the thin skin syndrome. That wont cut it. A firehouse is probably the most brutal, un-politically correct place you can imagine. Nothing is sacred. ( of course there are lines that dont get crossed...) We explain that, first thing when someone wants to join. We also explain that if you are getting your balls busted relentlessly, that means your are liked. When nobody breaks your chops, that's not a good thing.


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