Junior Fire and Emergency Services Programs - …

1 Junior fire and EmergencyServices Programs Please Read CarefullyThe information contained in this publication is intended for educational purposesonly. VFIS specifically disclaims any liability for any act or omission by any person inconnection with the use or implementation of any information contained in this does not make any representation or warranty, expressed or implied, withrespect to the results obtained by the use, adherence or implementation of any mater-ial contained in this manual. The implementation of the content is not a guaranteethat you will achieve a certain desired result. 1998 VFIS (Revised 2007) All Rights ReservedNo part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems - without written permission of Emergency Services ProgramiiVFIS ContentsIntroduction.

2 11. Types of Programs ..32. Important Issues and Concerns ..133. Key Program Elements ..17 Conclusions .. fire and Emergency Services ProgramIiiiVFIS We would like to acknowledge and thank thefollowing Junior Emergency Service Programorganizations for their contributions to thispublication. Without their assistance andinput this project could not have been to:Adams fire Explorer Post # 137 Adams, New YorkAnchorage fire DepartmentExplorer Post # 264 Anchorage, AlaskaAngel Lake fire Explorer Post # 24 Seattle, WashingtonBoynton Beach fire RescueExplorer Post # 2397 Boca Raton, FloridaBrighton Junior fire DepartmentBrighton, MichiganBusnell Basin fire Explorer Post # 291 Pittsford, New YorkCenterport fire Department Cadet ProgramCenterport, New YorkCounty fire District #11 fire Cadet ProgramBattle Ground, WashingtonCranbury First Aid SquadCadet CorpsCranbury, New YorkElberfeld Volunteer fire DepartmentCadet Firefighter ProgramElberfeld.

3 IndianaEmergency Service SquadExplorer Post # 85 Westborough, MassachusettsExplorer Post # 905 Seminole, FloridaExplorer Troop # 911 Dannemor, New YorkFern Creek fire DepartmentExplorer Post # 710 Louisville, KentuckyFire Rescue Explorer Post # 209 Peachtree City, GeorgiaGamewell fire DepartmentStudent FirefightersLenoir, North CarolinaGreece Lake Shore fire DepartmentExplorer Post # 708 Rochester, NYHarmony Township Volunteer FireDepartmentExplorer Post # 706 Ambridge, PennsylvaniaHilton fire DepartmentExplorer Post # 911 Hilton, New YorkKing of Prussia Volunteer fire CompanyKing of Prussia, PennsylvaniaLafayette Ambulance and Rescue SquadKing of Prussia, PennsylvaniaMarion Junior fire CompanyMarion, PennsylvaniaMontgomery County, MarylandHigh School Cadet ProgramNorth Greece fire DepartmentExplorer Post # 702 Rochester, New YorkNye County Office of Emergency ServicesJunior ProgramTonopah, NevadaPleasant Valley Volunteer fire DepartmentExplorer Post # 14 Fort Mill, South CarolinaRaceland fire DepartmentExplorer Post # 204 Raceland, KentuckyReservoir fire DepartmentJunior DivisionExplorer Post #721 Brandon, MississippiShrewsbury fire DepartmentExplorer Post # 85 Shrewsbury.

4 MassachusettsSparky s PalsWest Elmira, New YorkSpringdale fire DepartmentExplorer Post # 211 Springdale, OhioWest Reading fire CompanyJunior BrigadeWest Reading, PennsylvaniaWinsted fire DepartmentExplorer Post # 911 Winsted, ConnecticutJunior Emergency Services ProgramivVFIS In January 1994, a major earthquakestruck the Los Angeles metropolitan areaand killed more than 50 people. LorenzoTrujillo, 20, was one of a group ofExplorers from Hollywood responding toa collapsed parking garage. When hearrived, Trujillo heard cries from a mantrapped under two layers of stayed with him for eight hours,talking with the man in Spanish, keepinghim calm until he could be preparedness is one of anumber of designated national themesfor Scouting and Explorer Posts.

5 AcrossAmerica, Scout groups have staged theirown mock disasters to practice rescueskills. A Texas Scouting event included amock airplane crash simulated byExplorers in conjunction with the CivilAir Patrol: Scouts rescued "victims" andadministered first aid. These programshelp Scouts learn to handle life-threaten-ing situations and make sound decisionsunder pressure.**From " Emergency Scout Program: EmergencyPreparedness ," Boy's Life, May service organizationsacross the United States large and smalldepartments; career, volunteer and com-bination departments; in large urbancenters, booming suburban cities, pleas-ant small cities and quiet rural communi-ties are affiliated with youth programsthat focus on fire protection and emer-gency medical service, interests andactivities.

6 While no comprehensiveaccounting of the number of these pro-grams exists, a reasonable guess wouldplace the count well into the Programs are as varied as thecommunities and Emergency serviceorganizations that support them, offeringcountless permutations, organizationalstructures, numbers and ages of mem-bers, styles of operation, focal points,and philosophies. Some are affiliatedwith the Exploring program supported bythe Boy Scouts of America (which isopen to young men and women, ages 14through 20), but many are independentorganizations developed locally to meetarea-specific needs, interests, and cir-cumstances. They serve numerous pur-poses, with a key objective being todevelop a sense of community serviceamong youthful members.

7 By participat-ing in a youth program, young peoplegain confidence, develop mechanicalskills and aptitude, and gain a greaterawareness of personal and fire vital purpose, particularly amongprograms affiliated with volunteer-depen-dent organizations, is to provide an ever-evolving supply of interested, involved,trained and experienced young peoplewho might become adult Emergency ser-vice providers when they outgrow theyouth program. Many volunteer emer-gency service organizations, particularlythose in areas where populations arestagnant or declining, sponsor youth pro-grams for the express purpose ofenhancing recruitment among young citi-zens.

8 In "The Future of the fire Service,"an article published in Firehouse maga-zine in April 1989, author RobertWilliams observes that one youth unit,organized in 1987 and operated throughthe Perrysburg Township (Ohio)Volunteer fire Department, was estab-lished specifically with that intent inmind. He quotes a member of the localtownships volunteer fire department say-ing, "In our area, we're just not gettingvolunteers anymore. We started a FireExplorer Post in the hope of gettingyoungsters interested in becoming volun-teers at a later age. Junior fire and Emergency Services Program11 VFIS IntroductionEvidently the plan works.

9 The majorityof fire department youth programsappear, from a quick review of member-ship data, to consistently contribute tothe sponsoring fire departments futuremembership rolls, in addition to theongoing contributions made by theyouth groups year in and year is an honored, albeit haz-ardous, occupation involving a wide vari-ety of important responsibilities. For allkinds of emergencies, people call thefire department. They expect and consis-tently receive quick response and quickaction. Those who are firefighters sharea desire for community service and adedication to fellow citizens. They alsomust be willing to accept personal stressand danger, learn scores of differentkinds of knowledge and skills, whileundergoing the hardships and hazards ofoperating under Emergency , they must be capable of balancingthe joy of saving a life with the frustra-tion and sorrow of being unable to of York, Pennsylvania, hasreceived information from hundreds offire departments youth Programs , manyof them providing extraordinary detailabout the group and its origins, pur-poses, activities, philosophies, and successes.

10 Departments that are inter-ested in initiating these Programs , haveoften asked VFIS for information aboutyouth Programs . Because VFIS strives to supportAmerica's Emergency Services not onlythrough insurance Programs , but inmeeting other varied needs as well, ithas culled from its extensive files anoverview of what these Programs are,how they function and what seems towork. We hope this booklet will helpdepartments that might be consideringinitiating a new youth program to decidewhether a program is right for them,what kind of program will best meettheir needs, how to organize a programand how to keep it on track through the pages that follow, we will reviewin detail the various approaches takenby youth Programs affiliated with emer-gency service organizations acrossAmerica.