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how does anyone think about your juniors  the juniors on my department are out going guys and girls i think it blows that they are being strickened to what they can do

I am a junior at our station. I agree with you. I wouldn't mind going through EMT-B classes, but you have to be 18. And once we start taking classes, why don't the officers let us use or freshly learned knowledge? Rather than forgetting it, then praying that you can test out when you are 18.

I started in my department several years ago in their Cadet program (also called junior or explorer in some locals). For the most part, I was treated like everyone else. We held a basic ff class in which I attended and passed. Luckily for me, the final test ( the live burn) came after I turned 18 so I did get to actually finish the class.

But the training before that, even though we were mostly restricted to classroom work and very little hands on, I still feel like I learned several valuable lessons. Some about firefighting, some about EMS, and some about maturity.

I personally love the cadets in our department and its great that we have them there wanting to learn, and I'd take more cadets any day that they wanted to join up. Its the younger people that we need to really get interested in whats going on in firefighting. Teach them the right way to do things, and then they can build from there with the new technolgies and ideas. Maybe even teach the guys who have been there a thing or two about new things. Heck, I remember a while back we were doing an outdoor search and rescue and one of our cadets asked if the thermal camera might help out at all. It did.

Plus, they give us people to roll hose for us :D

 You have to realize that all of the the restrictions are there for a reason.  First, to protect you until you actually have enough training and experience.  Second, to protect the FD from litigation.

in my dept...as far as ems goes, once you ahve your emt, you are treated just like any of the sr emts. about the only restriction is if there are bad calls...depending on who you are, you might or might not go.

as far as fire goes...on actual calls, we are restricted to external firefighting only. as juniors we arent allowed to pack up. and if they dont feel your ready to get on a hose you stick with the tanker (and learn the ropes of water supply) or the engine and learn how to run that....

WE HAVE AN AWESOME EXPLORER PROGRAM. THE RULES ARE STRICT, BUT, WE HAVE GOTTEN SEVERAL FIREFGHTERS OUT OF IT. JUST REMEMBER THAT THERE IS A REASON FOR EVERY RULE. ALOT OF THEM SEEM STUPID, BUT SERVE A PURPOSE. FOLLOW THE RULES OF YOUR DEPT. AND YOU WILL HAVE A GREAT CAREER SHOULD YOU CHOOSE.

im 14 im basically a junior firefighter but im allowed 2 do everything except interior unless its overhaul then im allowed i personally as a jr. think its the greatest program ever cuse it helps u figure out if ur made for it or not.

USMCFF413 says ...

I think junior ffs are very irresponsible. I have seen alot of immature "kids" just playing fireman. They are disrespectful to others and not to mention firefighters. They do not listen after they are told to do something. We have already "let go" several junior firefighters due to their poor atitude and talking back to other firefighters. We had one kid cuss out a LT because he didn't want to help out around the station. I trully believe that this is a job for 18 years old and plus. It takes a strong person, not just physically but mentally capable of doing this job. Maturity is highly needed for this job.

i would just like to say that the case you have said is more than likely only in your department because in my department, if juniors are at the station they do exactly as tol and help out wherever they can, if it be cleaning the apparatus or just organizing the watch office, they answer the phones when noone is at the station, they help out at the breakfastes and the carnival and do many other thing.

USMCFF413 says ...

I think junior ffs are very irresponsible. I have seen alot of immature "kids" just playing fireman. They are disrespectful to others and not to mention firefighters. They do not listen after they are told to do something. We have already "let go" several junior firefighters due to their poor atitude and talking back to other firefighters. We had one kid cuss out a LT because he didn't want to help out around the station. I trully believe that this is a job for 18 years old and plus. It takes a strong person, not just physically but mentally capable of doing this job. Maturity is highly needed for this job.

Just because your 18 or older does not make you mature. The post I'm with we are held to high standards. We are expected to act like adults. Most of the people that join my post go on to become firefighters, emt/paramedics, or police officers. We learn a lot of valuable information. Your jrs probably act that way because they don't know any better. Not all jrs are like your.

USMCFF413 says ...

I think junior ffs are very irresponsible. I have seen alot of immature "kids" just playing fireman. They are disrespectful to others and not to mention firefighters. They do not listen after they are told to do something. We have already "let go" several junior firefighters due to their poor atitude and talking back to other firefighters. We had one kid cuss out a LT because he didn't want to help out around the station. I trully believe that this is a job for 18 years old and plus. It takes a strong person, not just physically but mentally capable of doing this job. Maturity is highly needed for this job.

 

i joined my fire department when i was 14 years old.  i went to training and learned from the other guys.  by being young and doubted by others it made me want to work harder to prove myself. Now i am still only 21 but there are several older members of our department that come to me for advice, including the line officers. if you want to have a good group of guys that are ready and willing to do anything they are asked in a few years, juniors are the way to go.  there are 6 or 7 guys that are about my age that all started out as juniors and now we are all the go to guys that the line officers will come to for anything from interior fire fighting to truck operator to rope rescue to confined space and so on.  and now all of us young guys that so many people have doubted are the only ones in my department who are willing to take time away from families and work to go to training or roll out of bed at 2 in the morning for the most ridiculus calls, so the next time you are going to doubt a junior, think about who may be prepared to save you in a few years or who is going to teach you something that they learned at a fire school that  you were "to busy" to go to

Not every Junior FF is bad. I realize that everyone is different and some are more mature than others. If you noticed this was a topic about what i think about my Junior FF's on my department. I was not attacking anyone on here. I was simply stating the junior FF's on my dept. And to be honest, The juniors on my department are terrible "little kids".  I would never fight fire with them nor would I let them work on scene. Only if you knew these kids i'm talking about. There is only one junior that I have had pleasure of working with who showed me that he is responsible and very capable of doing this line of work. I will go on any run with this kid.

Not all kids are bad and not all of them are good. I guess it kinda has to do with the way they are taught and raised. Most of the kids that are junior FFs have parents that are Firefighters on the department. And I can see where some of them get it from. And I will not fight fire with them either as adults. It takes a certain person to do this job. You have to have the physical and mental capabilities to do this job. You already know this. My department has the ones who are not ready or capable to take on this job. Let me give you an example... We have this one junior who went on a grass fire at a camp and once we put the fire out, this individual thought it would be great to start smoking. It hasn't rained in 3 weeks and the grass is tall and dead. Not only are you not supposed to smoke but he was giving a bad example after we put the fire out that probably started the same way.