Why Join the Volunteer Fire/EMS Service?

• • Have you ever heard a siren or seen a fire engine and wondered what was happening?
  • Have you ever wanted to give back to the community in an exciting and challenging way?
  • Are you looking for new lifelong friendships, challenges, and rewards?
  • Are you looking for an experience that’s bigger than yourself?

Virginia is rich with the history of the birth of our Nation, and the volunteer fire service is part of that deep history. America is built on the volunteer spirit of neighbors helping neighbors and communities creating their fire departments out of need and the fact that no one else is coming.

Today the spirit of the volunteer fire service is not that different. No matter what a person’s reasons may be for joining a fire department, neighbor helping neighbor is a true and constant foundation. It is that same foundation that leads people from all walks of life to join movements and service organizations that are focused on responding to the immediate needs of people, especially those in dire and dangerous circumstances.

People join volunteer fire departments for different reasons. Some volunteer for the excitement and challenges of the job. Others volunteer to give back to their community. Others also volunteer to find a sense of worth inside themselves, to do something that they believe matters. The rewards for each are bigger than one can imagine.

Firefighting and EMS are challenging and it begins the first time you ask yourself “Can I do this?” The training is some of the most diverse education you will ever receive because the nature of the work is also diverse. Imagine going to an auto accident one day, then to a structure fire the next, and then to a water rescue on another day. The training and education you will receive are based on the fact that they will be needed at any time, any day, in any sort of weather.

But what if you want to serve but are not sure you can be one of those who respond to emergencies? There are many ways, just as important, to serve. Volunteer fire departments do not simply exist by waiting to respond to the calls of their community. They rely on strong skills in leadership, business, marketing, finances, public education, and community relations. Your strengths and experience in any of these areas are just as important as being able to extinguish a fire or operate rescue equipment.

The benefits of joining a volunteer fire department are innumerable. You are supplied with everything you will need on your first day, whether it uniforms, and personal protective equipment, or the scheduling of your first training. Along with that training you also benefit from insurance, service awards, fitness incentives, and much more. None of these can top the irreplaceable benefits that come from serving your community. You will be part of a diverse, inclusive group unlike no other that are the only ones in your community to respond to calls for help or to help manage and support a volunteer fire department. No certificate or t-shirt can replace the feeling of saving a family’s personal objects from fire, transporting an injured child to the hospital, or launching the fundraising campaign for a new fire truck.

Joining your local volunteer fire department connects you to the same unselfish service and devotion to neighbors that your community is built upon. In a time where diversity and inclusivity are used by groups to promote awareness, nothing can be more diverse than joining a volunteer fire department and finding your place, a place where you can make a difference, a difference that is ready to respond to your neighbors at any minute. There is a place in the fire department for everyone.