Michigan Votes Forum

As a fire chief of a part paid fire dept, I fully support this bill. Like many other fire chiefs, I have had to deal with the recruitment and retention of firefighters to serve our community. Like many others, it gets harder and harder to find qualified people to fill our needs. Lack of jobs, lack of housing and lack of time are the usual reasons given for NOT joining the local fire dept.

We do have a potential talent pool out there that can help us IF the law were to be changed allowing 16 & 17 year olds to take the Firefighter I & II classes while still in high school, still at home and having the time. They could then help their local fire dept for the discipline, experience and skills until life takes them somewhere else.

But wait!!! What if we allowed our 16 & 17 year olds who attend vocational schools to take Firefighter I & II training AND basic EMT classes (if they wish to) and facilitate those completing classes to take the necessary exams for certification. Would we not then have a bunch of GRADUATES, with certificates looking to work locally or at a new college town? Or a bunch of graduates who could walk into a career fire dept already trained for the job?

admin:

Introduced in the Senate on January 21, 2010

Click here to view bill details.

 "The bill would have a minimal impact on local unit revenue and expenditures, and only to the extent that the cost of expanding training classes would increase costs and/or revenue." 

The analysis of this bill implies that the school board is the one that must engage the certified person(s), yet it is at no cost.  What about the cost of hiring? The cost of time spent by the superintendent and staff determining if the individual has a criminal history?  The firnge benefits for this individual?  Bargaining unit issues?  Many districts have non-certificated employee unions?  Who is responsible for housing these classes? What do local school board know about qualifications of certified fire fighters?.  Do we hire the local chief's brother based on his/her recommendation?  What about liability issues?  How does local school district's insurance carrier feel about this additional exposure?

This is scary when all the unanswered question are view...you better watch out on this one. 

I think the cost analysis of this legislation is very shallow.  Better do more homework on this one.  Will the Visiting Nurses and Home Care Givers be next in line.  Boy Scouts have many "Explorer" opportunities.  Are public schools going to be expected to support all of these?

 do you honestly believe that taking course in high school will prepare anyone to "walk into a career fire dept already trained for the job"?  Are you insane?  Think about it this way: it's 2:45am on Saturday morning and YOUR house is on fire.  You've called 911 and the FD appears - it's a handfull of kids.   Good luck with that.  Or, think about it like this:  you're 18 years old and just joined the US Army.  You took some "courses" in high school about mechanics and joined the Army as a mechanic.  Now they're sending you to Afghanistan to be the NCO in charge of maintenance of a tank battalion - because you had some "courses".    Where do I sign up?    This is a very stupid idea and it's really disgusting that our Senate wastes time on crap like this - like they have nothing else to do.    One more thing, most Fire Departments in Michigan are VOLUNTEER-paid-on-call.  Has your 17 year old joined ANY volunteer organization yet?  Better yet, do you really think that any Fire Chief needs to be a babysitter for a bunch of kids?

Seriously?!  Do you honestly think they would send untrained "kids" out on their own?  And your Army question doens't even deserve a response it is so outrageous a scenario.  This is a good first step in introducing firefighting to our youth.  Good grief, timberwolf55.  Get a grip.

 This is for the individual(s), and you know who you are, (Timberwolf55) which is not informed........

It's a very good idea, I'm a career Firefighter, and I've been doing this for over 20+ years. Our department use to have an Explorer program for this purpose. We didn't get paid any money, it was strictly volunteering your time. These kids arranged from 15 - 19 years old. This gave them an edge in learning our (my) trade. If they go to a college which offers some Fire Science Courses, they get to take the Firefighter 1 & 2 Certification, which in some cases some departments are looking for those individuals, because of the cost factor of running a Fire Academy.

On our Department if you have FF 1 & 2, you are in a classroom for about two weeks, yes you get to go to fires, but not during a working fire. After the fire is our, they get to go in and do some overhauling, wetting down the room(s), pulling ceiling(s), cutting holes in floors. Basically the same thing we (I) do, except the fire is out. Now after the two weeks, then they are put on the floor, on a 24 hour shift.

I think the best way you can find out about these things, come and work in our environment.

Some people, OK a lot of people don't know what we do on the JOB.

To name a few (we do more then sit down in "Lay z boys")

Have have HAZ-MAt training over 200 hrs. I'm sorry Hazardous Materials

Have training for "Weapons of Mass Destruction"

Water rescue training (Summer and Winter)

Confine Space training

Smoke reading Classes

Drivers Training

The list goes on and on.

So you see, they (kids) will get a lot of training, and this hopefully will keep them safe.

See you should be glad to have someone watching your back while you are sleep. Just think if we weren't there, you wouldn't be either.

So, give some respect, to our Career. We clean up other peoples mistakes. and it sounds like you made a lot of messes in your life.

So, Step Off, and you know what that means.

WOW, what else are we going to throw on the schools.  Where is the money coming from? How many of the senators want to teach in high school after they are thrown out of office(non-certified teachers)?  The way civics is taught today in schools is appalling.  I guess those are the kids that become state senators.   I always thought that each community that has a volunteer fire dept. would do their own advertising,recruiting and teaching.  Why do we attach multiple items to a bill in order to get it to be approved.