PLACER COUNTY SEEKS VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS

Thursday, November 1, 2012

PLACER COUNTY SEEKS VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS

PLACER COUNTY CONTINUES TO SEEK VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS

Placer County fire agencies continue to seek volunteer firefighters in communities throughout the unincorporated county. Volunteers play a key role in staffing of fire stations, responding to fires and participating in calls by local residents for emergency medical assistance.

While the Placer County Fire Department was fortunate in receiving a Federal grant that will allow Station 182 in Ophir to remain open, the grant does not obviate the need for volunteer staffing in the North Auburn/Ophir area.

Depending on qualifications and the needs of a particular station, volunteers may be used either to staff stations or assist in operating fire engines or other fire apparatus. Qualified volunteers are issued personal protective equipment and a pager in order to be able to respond to calls either from home or from work. By law, volunteer firefighters must meet the same requirements in training and expectations of behavior as paid firefighters. While the volunteers are typically not paid, depending on which agency they work for they can be compensated for attending training and responding to calls.

Volunteers must complete the application process and graduate from a volunteer firefighter academy before being issued safety equipment and allowed to respond. In the unincorporated County, volunteers are needed at the Dry Creek, Paige, Sheridan, Thermalands, Fowler, Ophir, and Dutch Flat stations.

While some will use volunteer experience as a stepping stone to paid permanent employment in the fire services, others participate only to serve their communities. Regardless of motivation, all volunteers must meet performance standards, attend required training, obtain and retain necessary certificates, and meet physical requirements.

By meeting additional standards and obtaining requisite skills, volunteers can rise through the rank of firefighter, engineer or captain and, with additional training and experience, qualify for accreditation in:

•             Fire Attack
•             Hazardous materials response
•             Technical rescue
•             Emergency medical services
•             Emergency vehicle operation

For information on the requirements to becoming a volunteer firefighter, please contact CAL FIRE/Placer County Fire, at 530-889-0111. The next academy is expected to be held in early 2013. However, before being enrolled in an academy, applicants must successfully complete the applicant process which can take up to several months. Those interested are encouraged to begin the process as soon as possible.

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CFN - California Fire News 2012

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Thursday, November 1, 2012