Have you ever considered becoming a volunteer firefighter? Riverview Fire and Rescue is currently recruiting.
The department is made up of full-time career firefighters and has a roster of 28 volunteer members.
Geoff Fisher, deputy chief of operations, said they currently have 16 active volunteers and five going through training.
“We would like to fill as many of those lockers as we can,” Fisher told our newsroom in a recent interview.
Fisher said the roles of full-time and volunteer firefighters are pretty similar, noting that much of the training is the same.
The one key difference is that career members are also trained as primary care paramedics and respond to medical calls in addition to other emergencies.
“As far as the other emergencies, like fires, vehicle collisions, rescues, swift water, emergencies, things like that, volunteers are responsible for those emergencies to their level of training,” said Fisher.
Fisher said you do not need any previous experience to be a volunteer firefighter. They do require a high school diploma, a driver’s licence, a criminal record check, and for you to live within nine minutes of the fire station.
“We will start you off and provide you with everything you need right from day one, and work you through the levels of training and anything else, any of the specialty disciplines that a person may wish to take,” he said.
“There are certain things we require that you meet after a certain time, but there are other disciplines like swift water or whatever that a volunteer may opt out of.”
Volunteers also do not have to be available for all calls, he said. The department asks that they attend 40 per cent of pages — that works out to about 140 or 150 calls a year.
Fisher said volunteer firefighters get involved with the department for a wide variety of reasons.
“Some people may be doing it because they want to pursue this as a career at some point, and it’s a good way to get their foot in the door without, you know, going and spending upwards of $20,000 to take a formal program at a school,” he said.
“Other people just want to get to know people, give back to their community, help out.”
Applications are being accepted until 4 p.m. on Sept. 9. You can learn more on the town’s website.
