The Volunteer Firefighter Alliance is one of the nation’s greatest organizations and it helps all over the country to support our brave and talented fire men and women. Each fire service has its challenges when it comes to budgeting and that is why they cannot simply hire huge volumes of staff. In fact there are some fire services which perhaps only need 20 firefighters, but once every now and again a situation will arise whereby they need 30 or more. In these situations they are able to rely on the VFA to come and support with their efforts and to help manage a crisis.
If you wish to join this great organization, here are the skills which you will need.
Physical Condition
There is absolutely no way that you can be admitted to work for this organization if you are not in good physical condition. The role of a firefighter is physical demanding and there are tasks which you will have to do that require solid physical condition. In reality if you are unfit then you actually pose a threat to operations, which is why you have to be in good shape.
Prepared For Everything
When you work in this particular industry you have to be prepared to drop everything at a moment’s notice and put yourself into what could potentially be a dangerous situation. You will be given a beeper which will indicate that your support is required and when it goes off you need to drop everything and get on your toes.
Brave
Although most firefighters will say that they are just doing their duty, there is most certainly an element of bravery which you will need in order to do this job. You may have to put yourself into very dangerous situations in order to help someone, and that does require a foundation of bravery.
Caring
Whilst firefighters get paid for this, you will not, the clue after all is in the title of ‘Volunteer’. This is why you have to care if you wish to do this job, you have to care about the lives of others and you have to be passionate about helping people. Only those who have a civic duty and a good heart can perform this kind of role.
Details Orientated
When firefighters go out to a situation they have a very strict process which they will follow depending on what that situation looks like. In order to do a good job and support the firefighters, you have to ensure that you understand each and every detail which should be followed. If you move away from what these details are, you are going to end up creating a more dangerous situation than you should. For these reason it is important that you are attentive and that you pay close attention to the details which you are told during your training.
This is a fantastic organization and these are the skills you’ll need to do well in this position.