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Expectations of Solvay Firefighters
Our department provides fire suppression, basic life support emergency medical first response, and rescue services to the Village of Solvay, Town of Geddes, and surrounding communities. In order for us to maintain a higher standard of care, performance, effiency, and professionalism, our firefighters are required to meet set requirements to remain active and in good standing with the operational side of our department. They are all outlined below.
Overview
Training
After joining our team, probationary firefighters with no prior fire experience will be enrolled into either a Exterior or Interior firefighting operations class, based on their medical and physical capabilities. Either class is required to be obtained within the first year of joining.
All firefighters and EMTs must also participate in an additional six (6) trainings/drills every half calendar year.
Training allows us to fulfill our mission and provide better service to our community in their time of need. Our department has regularly scheduled drill every Monday evening at 1830 hours (6:30 PM). Day drills are also offered throughout each month to accomadate firefighters schedules who may work evening/night shifts. In addition to the evening and day drills, we also strive to train throughout the week at the company level, practicing and polishing up on the basic fundamentals of firemanship.
There are also training opportunities outside of our department that our firefighters regularly seek out and attend. These include state fire classes offered throughout the county and at state facilities including the fire academy in Montour Falls, NY. As well as EMT classes put on by local ambulance companies. We also send firefighters to trainings at annual conferences and classes put on by firefighter training groups in and out of state.
All classes and materials are purchased and paid for by our department.
Alarm Attendance
Our department is 100% volunteer and we acknowledge the fact that our firefighters will not always be available to respond to alarms, especially since emergency calls can happen at any time of the day. We also realize our firefighters will not make it to every alarm since we typically answer over 1500 calls per year. However, we still need our volunteers to answer the call when they are available.
We provide our volunteers with two options to fulfill their time requirements to remain in good standing with the department. First is answering/responding to 3% of the alarms every half year. The second is by completing 15 stand by hours per month.
Stand-by hours means you are at one of the two stations, ready to respond to any potential alarm that may occur. While at the station firefighters are able to use any of the facilities including the day room (TV, Xbox, computer), fitness center, or complete tasks around the station. Your hours are logged in a book in the dispatch office which the individual firefighter is responsible for filling out.
In additon to the above expectations, our firefighters must attend two (2) out of six department meetings every half year.
Although these expectations may seem daunting to look at or think about. Almost all of our volunteers exceed these on a yearly basis with some firefighters responding to over 50% of the alarms and participating in most drills throughout the year.
Plus, volunteering here you'll have the opportunity to participate in several other public outreach events and stand-bys (i.e. Lakeview Amphitheater, State Fair)
Additional Information
