Recruit volunteer firefighters

Volunteer firefighters answer fires, crashes, rescues and, in many departments, medical calls. It is the role that asks the most of people, so the people who apply need to know exactly what they are signing up for.

Who to reach

• People who want a fire service career. Volunteering gives them training, call experience and references from officers. Say so plainly, and name members who went on to paid jobs.
• People who live or work close to the station. A volunteer who can get to the station in a few minutes is worth more than one who lives far away. Recruit at the businesses, schools and churches near each station.
• People who already serve. Veterans, EMTs, nurses, mechanics and heavy-equipment operators bring skills that transfer.
• Family and friends of your members. Ask every member to bring one person to a training night.

What to tell them

• The training: what is required before someone can go on calls, how long it takes, and when it meets. Evenings and weekends? Paid for by the department?
• The time: how many hours a month, how many trainings, and whether there are shifts or a minimum number of calls.
• The requirements: age, driver's license, background check, physical and fitness test, and how close to the station they need to live.
• What it is really like: the calls you go on, the crew, the training nights. Photos and short videos of your own members do this best.

The volunteer recruiter guide has a question for each of these, so your listing answers them before anyone has to ask.

Turn interest into applications

• Invite people to a training night or an open house before they apply, so they meet the crew.
• Make applying easy: a short online form, linked from your website and your FireDepartment.net page. The free volunteer application sends each one to your recruiter.
• Call every applicant back within a few days. Interest fades fast.
• Tell people they can also start in a support role or on medical calls if firefighting isn't right for them yet.

Send them here

Our page for applicants explains what volunteering as a firefighter involves: volunteer as a firefighter. Link to it, or to your own department page in the directory.

More ideas: how to recruit more volunteers.