Becoming a volunteer firefighter is an excellent way to pay forward into the community. It takes hard work, training and commitment. The first step is to contact your area fire department to see if they have a volunteer program. For instance, Shasta County Fire works with Cal Fire to train and certify volunteer firefighters.
I have found the opportunity to be difficult at times, as well as a source of many wonderful opportunities to serve and learn in the community.
On medical emergency calls, volunteer firefighters help assess patients until the ambulance arrives and assist the professional EMTs when needed. On the scene of traffic accidents, they can be called on to help with patient assessment, extraction from vehicles, cleanup, fire suppression and any other tasks that are immediately needed.
Working on wildland fire operations may require volunteers to help create a fire line with tools, put out hose lines, or continue to assess the area for hot spots that could turn into an active fire again. Hiking into the wilderness is one of the fun parts of being on this type of assignment but can also be physically demanding.
Wendy Dickens, MSW, is Executive Director of First 5 Shasta and a volunteer firefighter. She believes in the importance of starting fire prevention awareness early, and teaching young children the basics.
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