[MRM]

Volunteer firefighters get paid for their time on the job and most departments have some full time professional staff to manage the departments. I gather Vinman is one of the full time professionals.

Early in my career I did some arson/fraud insurance litigation. I was even a member of the International Association of Arson Investigators for a while. I looked into joining our local volunteer fire department because I thought it would be interesting and might advance my career. My observation, as an outsider looking in, was much the same as Vinman's post. It takes a lot of training, it's dangerous (hence the need for lots of training) it's a lot of work, and it takes a big time commitment. It was too much of a commitment to me, so I didn't pursue it farther.

But at about the same time a guy across the street who had kids in our kids' grades, did join. He ended up working more and more hours until he transitioned out of his original job to full time with the fire department. He's now one of the professional staff who runs the volunteers. He enjoys the work and has had a good career, but I think anyone who wants to volunteer part time should be prepared for a full time commitment.