Volunteers picking and choosing calls

[rescue5271]

we had a report of a rubbish fire at 0120hrs today only 6 members turned up,while on my way to the station I could see flames and a large glow in the night sky looked like a good going house fire. as we rocked up turns out to be a very high bonfire in the middle of houses and going well... so yes pagers also make problems where members pick what they want to go to.......

[Camo]

Really i have no problems with a VOLUNTEER choosing which calls they attend.  Yes its a real pain in the donkey but this is not a paid job!

If we choose not to get out of bed or miss spending time with our families for just once or a couple of times then whats wrong with that!  Yes some people are dedicated and will attend anything to protect their community (me included) but sometimes other things are more important and until we are paid firefighters i dont see a problem!

And even a certain retained fire service where the firefighters are paid have people pick and choose calls!

[Manuel]

are not most call pickers people who want to go to an intresting job, not a boring one? that is how i see them. and quit with the "we are only volunteers" :x

[PF_]

yeah Im sick of hearing that line too, people always say it.

The certain retained paid members have to be careful as the have to pick and choose at least 50% of the calls.

[Camo]

So your saying no matter what a particular VOLUNTEER is up to they should respond to whatever call is on the pager. 

Ok lets put this is perspective.

A mother of three kids is parked outside the school waiting for her kids to finish school and her pager goes off for a Domestic Fire, Cat up tree, MVA doesnt really matter.
Should she

A) Zoom off to the station and help her community and leave her kids to walk 10kms home or wait around till she gets back.
B) Pick her kids up and take them home.

2)
A father is enjoying a few hours with his kids at home after not seeing them for a few weeks and the pager goes off.
Should he....
a) Zoom off to the station
b) stay home with his kids

and there is so many other situations where CFS has to take a back seat!

and really if someone is at home doing nothing and they choose not to respond well so be it but i would think most volunteers would attend the station as why would they be in the CFS?

[Manuel]

A) Zoom off to the station and help her community and leave her kids to walk 10kms home or wait around till she gets back.
B) Pick her kids up and take them home.

Kids need excercise these days, and it depends how old they are. if they are young, it is not a matter of picking and choosing calls, it is simple, she cant go, so she doesnt. but if they are older, it is simple, she can go so she should.

2)
A father is enjoying a few hours with his kids at home after not seeing them for a few weeks and the pager goes off.
Should he....
a) Zoom off to the station
b) stay home with his kids

well again, it is a matter of you can or you cant, not a maybe.

and really if someone is at home doing nothing and they choose not to respond well so be it but i would think most volunteers would attend the station as why would they be in the CFS?

well it does not happen, people pick and choose calls because they intrest them.

it is simple, if you can go, GO, and if you cant dont.

[PF_]

Camo,. you just gave two bone choices where it is obvious a person cant go to a call out, although ask my mum she went to a call out when she had to pick me up from school. :lol:

But you cant just give two obvious they cant go posts and use that as your argument. 

John Slob is sitting at home watching the footy, his pager goes off, he reads it says investiage smoke, he luaghs puts it back and orders a beer.

John Slob is watching the footy 20mins later, his pager goes off it says going commercial fire, John Slob jumps up and runs to the station.  Thats right John SLob is in running distance to the station but he went against a smoke investigation.

Oh and guess what, that smoke investigation was for a commercial fire.  Onya Johnny...

[Manuel]

serves him right :-D

[PF_]

it does and you know whats funnier.

John Slob was told to go home because he had drunk a beer!  CFS has a zero booze policy. 

Onya Johnny...

[LFB06]

Camo--change your name to John Slob

[RescueHazmat]

I believe the alcohol policy is zero (0.0) for driving (which also complies with Truck and emergency vehicle driving requirements), and what would be considered a .05 policy with crew... As i'm guessing there are not BAC machines in stations, I would assume it would be up to the individuals / OIC to know which crew are able to attend.


Clear trend of persons in this thread who obviously don't have dependants.. It is not as easy as "go to everything" !

[Toast]

No one is saying "Go to everything", just that if you join a volunteer emergency service, you sign up to be there when the pagers go off. Yeah sometimes you CANT be there, but looking at the pager and saying "I don't feel like it" is bollocks.

There have been times when we've had a couple of jobs in a night. Private Alarms? Yeah maybe 4-6 'regulars' show up. Then an RCR with confirmed entrapments? Domestic/Commercial Fire? Wow! 15-20 people!

It sucks.

[CFS_Firey]

If people are unavailable to go to a call, why should they be any more available 5 minutes after when the MORE CREW REQUIRED page comes in?  Clearly they WERE available, and chose not to go....

[RescueHazmat]

If people are unavailable to go to a call, why should they be any more available 5 minutes after when the MORE CREW REQUIRED page comes in?  Clearly they WERE available, and chose not to go.

Wrong.

Say it's 1430, on a tuesday afternoon... What ever response is sent out, to which ever brigade...

Previously an employer tells his CFS Volunteering employee, " I don't mind if you attend calls, but please only leave work if they require extra or additional crew "..

The member was not available when the first page goes out..

BUT

Is after the second...

[CFS_Firey]

Of course, but if John Slob will only go to the smoke sighting when more crew are requested, Johnny is doing his brigade a dis-service is he not?

[Toast]

If people are unavailable to go to a call, why should they be any more available 5 minutes after when the MORE CREW REQUIRED page comes in?  Clearly they WERE available, and chose not to go.

Wrong.

Say it's 1430, on a tuesday afternoon... What ever response is sent out, to which ever brigade...

Previously an employer tells his CFS Volunteering employee, " I don't mind if you attend calls, but please only leave work if they require extra or additional crew "..

The member was not available when the first page goes out..

BUT

Is after the second...

But surely you know the rough times that your brigade can and can't crew. For us? 0730 - 0930, lucky to get three or four people. Plus, what is stopping the person who is employed, responding to the station, and then if there are enough crew, returning to work? Surely we are meant to have a truck out the door as soon as possible.

[RescueHazmat]

Many reasons I can think of.. - If he/she is one of 4 people left at the station after the truck roles, he/she could have stayed at work where he is both employed and paid to be..


Is it *really* that hard to understand?  People work. So they organise with work to attend if extra crew is required (truck a few mins late is better than no truck).. But having a job the next day is better than not having a job the next day...

[bittenyakka]

Call Picking such as the John slob example isn't great but it happens especially when you have a frequent fixed alarm.

But the reason you have a brigade of 20+ people is so everyone goes to a few of the incidents. I don't know how it works in brigades that are busy but that is how my station works.

Another consideration is the time of the day.
And the personal considerations such as do you have problems with RCR
Lastly certain members can only come to fires during work hours if  the BA operators might be needed.

[Toast]

And when you have a brigade of 40+ and its the same 10 people regularly...

No issue with people not coming to RCR's etc.

[bittenyakka]

Ok it shouldn't be the same people every time. But I don't see a way to fix this.  :?

I think it comes down to some people being more dedicated than others. and that happens in every organisation.

[medevac]

heres my view;

if your AVAILABLE, then respond regardless of incident type (key word = available)....


mind you it does scheiße me that you get maybe 3-4 for an alrm, where as soon as the pager says "RCR" or "domestic"  etc, then every man and his dog turns out... and ive had people admit that to my face "nah, i couldnt be bothered coming just for an alarm.

[probie_boy]

alright,


I have said this before - not every member of the CFS gets a boner when the pager goes off.

Sometimes, I just don't feel like going to a callout. No one for a second question my commitment to the service, as I put in a lot of additional time to my brigade and the service. I have only done it once (for a rubbish fire) but there are days when im at home or wherever where i occasionally think "hope the pager doesn't go off".

You lot can say what you want about this, because i dont care. this is my view on things and if you disagree, good on you.

[Camo]

I think it was said best in the tv show "FireFlies"

"You are a volunteer until you answer the pager then you become part of a team" something along those lines anyway.

Im with everyone here...i get annoyed by crew picking and choosing calls BUT i feel as a volunteer its your right to not come to a callout if you choose not too.

Yes the examples i used were weighted towards my side of the arguement but what kind of debater would i be if i helped the other side win?

Yes the community is affected if someone doesnt turn up but its that volunteers choice whether they want to respond and i will always support that.

[CFS_Firey]

Yes Camo, its definitely the volunteers' choice whether they come or not, I think that freedom should never be removed...  It'd just be nice if some people decided to come more often ;)

[SA Firey]

Solution=Bring back the TONE ONLY PAGER :wink:

That'll *#o*X them