- Volunteer fire department
"See also the
Firefighter article and its respective sections regarding VFDs in other countries."A volunteer fire department (VFD) is an organization of
firefighter s who have joined forces to perform fire suppression and other relatedemergency services for a local jurisdiction. According to the [http://www.nvfc.org National Volunteer Fire Council] , 73 percent of firefighters in theUnited States are members of VFDs.The first organized force of firefighters was organized in
Rome , named the Corps of Vigiles.The term "volunteer" contrasts with career firefighters who are full-time firefighters, working organized shifts, usually based in a centrally located firehouse. Some volunteer departments may operate as part of a combination system, where paid firefighters also provide emergency services. In this way, a station can be regularly staffed for rapid response with apparatus, and the volunteers provide supplementary staffing and/or staffed apparatus before, during, and after an incident, or while the career staff are out of service doing training.
The term "volunteer" may also be used in reference to a group of part-time or on-call firefighters who may have other occupations when not engaged in occasional firefighting. Although they may have "volunteered" to become members, and to respond to the
call for help , they are compensated as employees during the time they are responding to or attending an emergency scene, and possibly even for training drills. An on-call firefighter would probably be expected to volunteer time for other non-emergency duties as well (training, fundraising, equipment maintenance, etc).In the
United Kingdom there are almost no separate volunteer fire departments, but part-time members of fire brigades who man smaller, often rural, stations are known as retained firefighters.Financial support
A VFD may be financially supported by taxes raised in a city, town, county, fire district, or other governmental entity, as well as corporate and other private donations, federal grants, and other assistance from auxiliary members, or firefighters' associations.
With these funds the VFD acquires and operates the firefighting apparatus, equips and trains the firefighters, maintains the firehouse, and possibly also covers insurance, worker's compensation, and other post-injury or retirement benefits. A VFD (or its governing entity) may also contract with other nearby departments to cover each other in a
mutual aid orautomatic aid pact as a means for assisting each other with equipment and manpower, when necessary.Expanded duties
Depending upon the location and availability of other services, a VFD may be responsible for controlling
structure fire s as well as forest fires. Because it may be the only emergency services department for some distance, a rural VFD may also be fortunate to includeFirst responder s,Emergency medical technician s, Hazardous Materials response, and other specially qualified rescue personnel. Law enforcement officers may also be trained in these related duties and overlap with the VFD. The VFD may also have duties as the localfire inspector s,arson investigator s, and asfire safety and prevention education, in addition to being the localcivil defense ordisaster relief liaison.Emergency response
A VFD is normally reached the same way as other emergency services, such as by calling
9-1-1 . A central dispatcher then calls out the VFD, often through equipment such aspager s,radio s, or loud signals (e.g., afire siren ). Average response times may be longer than with full-time services because the members must come from different distances to the station or to the incident. However, there is a possibility that more firefighters may arrive at an incident with a volunteer department, as compared to paid departments. Such departments often have a fixed number of firefighters on staff at any given point in time, which sometimes equals the minimal numbers recommended.Some volunteer fire departments allow the use of emergency lights and sirens by its members. In some states, this is a red light and siren that gives the responding member the same privileges as other emergency vehicles.cite web|url=http://lrc.ky.gov/krs/189-00/920.pdf|title=Kentucky State Law 189.920|date=
2008-08-10 | In other jurisdictions, this may be a blue or green light without a siren, that only requests the right of way, and does not give the responding member any privileges to break traditional traffic laws.cite web|url=http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=062500050HCh%2E+12+Art%2E+II&ActID=1815&ChapAct=625%26nbsp%3BILCS%26nbsp%3B5%2F&ChapterID=49&ChapterName=VEHICLES&SectionID=59744&SeqStart=121100000&SeqEnd=122900000&ActName=Illinois+Vehicle+Code%2E|title=(625 ILCS 5/) Illinois Vehicle Code|date=2008-08-10 | The use of such equipment varies from fire district to fire district based off of need for fast response, distance that members live from the fire station, and the size and amount of other traffic in the fire district. Some departments restrict or prohibit use of such emergency lights, even when allowed by state law, due to the increased risk of traffic accidents involving volunteers responding in emergency mode.References
External links
* [http://www.volunteerfd.org/ Volunteer Firefighter Resource - VolunteerFD.com]
* [http://www.nvfc.org/ National Volunteer Fire Council]
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