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We're always happy to welcome new prospective firefighters. The information below can help you decide if you would like to consider joining us at Station 51 as a member of the Carterville Volunteer Fire Department (CVFD).
Prerequisites
The Application Process
Prospective members must first fill out an application. You can e-mail the Fire Chief ( chief at station51 dot org) to obtain a written application, or you can complete an on-line application right here on our web site. Once the application is submitted, the you'll need to attend any three regular meetings (meetings are generally held on the first Tuesday and third Thursday of each month-- we'll contact you with specifics) before your application is finally acted upon. The "three meeting" requirement allows you to get to know us, allows us to get to know you. It also demonstrates your genuine interest in becoming an active member of our department. At the third meeting, current members will vote on whether to grant you probationary membership. If the Fire Chief concurs, only a simple majority of "yes" votes is required. The probation period is six months, beginning on the day the vote was cast. As a Probationary Member, you'll have all the voting rights and other privileges afforded to regular members. However, probationary members may be removed with, or without cause during the probation period. Conversion from Probationary Member to Regular Member is automatic at the end of the probationary period.
(FYI: Permits to operate emergency lights and siren on personal vehicles are provided at the sole discretion of the Fire Chief and are almost never issued to probationary members.)
Member Responsibilities
After acceptance, your duties and responsibilities are basically the same as a Regular Member. We will, of course, take your current level of training and experience into account and will not expect you to perform activities for which you have not been properly trained. You will be issued firefighter's protective clothing (turnouts), and a pager and/or portable radio. You will be expected to respond to the fire station (when available) any time our station is paged to respond to a call for service. Responding to the incident in your personal vehicle is almost always prohibited (Requires prior approval of the Incident Commander). Station 51 does not subscribe to the "Blue Aurora" method (massive numbers of personal vehicles clogging the scene-- all with blinking blue lights). When you arrive at the station, you'll receive further instructions. Don't worry, one of the "old hands" will be there to help you and look out for your safety. After the call is over, you'll be expected to stay a few minutes and take part in a team effort to clean things up and make everything ready for the next call. In addition to responding to calls, you'll be expected to attend most of our regular meetings. At these meetings, we'll conduct business, have a training class, or possibly both - depending on time constraints. Training occurs often, including special training sessions scheduled in addition to the regular meeting times. The last, and possibly least attractive, activity you'll be asked to help with is routine housekeeping. Each member is placed in a rotation schedule for these routine chores. The housekeeping duties are divided so that no one is asked to do more than their fair share. Housekeeping consists of things like sweeping the floor, taking out the trash, ... that kind of thing. Plan on being asked to put in an average of an hour once every two weeks or so on these tasks.
Member Benefits
If you feel you would like to become a member of our organization, click here to go to the on-line application form. |
