Work Environment
Volunteer firefighters often outnumber career firefighters in a combination fire departments. This makes for a very complicated work environment, as full-time fire personnel typically are unionized employees under contract and volunteers rarely are. Friction is often caused in this environment as the career staff is typically at a station more than the volunteers. This causes the career staff to try and change station SOP's, apparatus equipment locations, furniture placement etc., the volunteers will not always agree. Another source of friction is often the fact that career staff is in another chain of command. The volunteers cannot be reprimanded by career staff and vice-versa. The career staff meets a certain minimum training level and typically completing an academy while volunteers typically have lower minimum requirements. However, in many case, volunteers have been in a department than a the career staff, but are less trained. The argument over training vs experience is brought up in this case. Other issues can stem from inequities or resentment caused by bargained for benefits career firefighters receive under contract including training wages, shorter gear rotations, clothing allowances, and overtime pay. Sometimes starting volunteer firefighters are perceived as using their volunteer positions as stepping stones to full-time career positions.
Read more about this topic: Combination Fire Department
Famous quotes containing the words work and/or environment:
“Know that it is good to work. Work with love and think of liking it when you do it.”
—Brenda Ueland (1891–1985)
“People between twenty and forty are not sympathetic. The child has the capacity to do but it can’t know. It only knows when it is no longer able to do—after forty. Between twenty and forty the will of the child to do gets stronger, more dangerous, but it has not begun to learn to know yet. Since his capacity to do is forced into channels of evil through environment and pressures, man is strong before he is moral. The world’s anguish is caused by people between twenty and forty.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)