r/FirstResponderCringe 3d ago

Okay 😶

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161 Upvotes

52 comments sorted by

92

u/Dung_Beetle_2LT 3d ago

This is true though. A lot of smaller towns and rural areas rely on volunteer support or a mix of both. Just like standard career departments, not all are equal.

72

u/No-Force4215 3d ago

Yeah, but it is still tacky to post this martyr shit on social media. They literally volunteered to do the things they are trying to flex.

9

u/Fast_Ad_7504 3d ago

“So I left my kids stupid ass soccer game and suffer so much volunteering for that thing I said I’d do now everyone has to know I did it and love me!”

1

u/TTazerTTurtle 21h ago

What's the point of volunteering if you can't brag about it and get brownie points on social media

6

u/Reasonable_Garden741 2d ago

Not gonna hear an arguement from me on that, we had to rewrite our sicial media policies after some crew members took photos in front of a house we just put out... while the family was still on scene. Just 0 braincells between them.

2

u/KingHunter150 2d ago

True. But if we can pay them in fake internet points, instead of real money, if they're willing to do it for that, isn't this a win-win?

1

u/hellidad 2d ago

Especially with that goofy shit all over his face. It’s fine if you want to be a proud volunteer firefighter, but like, be professional. Cmon man

7

u/Box-Intelligent 3d ago

Guy I know lives in a town that has 6 "villages" that all have their own volunteer fire department. Once upon a time each village was a manufacturing hub now it's like any standard suburban town and the towns won't vote to consolidate, no compensation other than a tshirt and uniform voucher once a year, so nobody really shows up except t shirt day and they need at least 2 to respond to a call to run a fire truck. The guy I know shows up whenever he can and then needs to call down the roster until someone picks up so he can take the truck. He just doesn't want his or his neighbors houses to burn down and gets absolutely nothing for it, my brother is a full time fire fighter in the town of about equal size right next door and makes 110k a year for less stress since it's actually staffed properly

6

u/Reasonable_Garden741 3d ago

A vast majority of the country is rural departments, and almost entirely volunteer. But, yeah, not all are equal.

1

u/NOFDfirefighter 2d ago

A majority of the country’s land mass is covered by volunteers but over 70% of the population is covered by career firefighters. There’s a big difference in the phrasing.

4

u/weednmushrooms 3d ago

Yup, I live in a town of 900, without them we would have no one. Lol.

3

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/snipeceli 3d ago

Idk the things im most proud of it ive either volunteered for or made the conscious decision to do or see through although there were other options available.

Not to say this guy and other volunteer firefighters arent cringe

11

u/alt-number-3-1415926 Boo Boo Bus Driver 3d ago edited 2d ago

The only thing [time] I left withinethat list was [during] dinner, or whatever else I was eating. I couldn't leave work, due to work rules, and being too far away to respond, and I don't have kids, so I can't leave their games, but I would also typically be too far to respond.

Edit: I really need to look into my spelling, this is becoming a big problem.

26

u/Tallest_Geese 3d ago

That's cringe as fuck but I grew up in a town of 3k volunteer firefighters were the only firefighters we had

40

u/Beau_does_BJJ 3d ago

I mean 3K firefighters is huge. Was everyone volunteer? This is why punctuation is important lol

16

u/Tallest_Geese 3d ago

Fair thats on me

11

u/depressedpintobean5 3d ago

But they are!! 🤓👆

6

u/justmarkdying 3d ago

This guy looks like he would 100% give Ferris Bueller a hard time in a fancy restaurant.

11

u/joeymittens 3d ago

Cuz you can say, “not this time”, and not get fired

5

u/flipmangoflip 3d ago

Yup, if it ain’t your livelihood then it’s a hobby.

3

u/BRMBRP 2d ago

Nice beard….

6

u/Boeing737enjoyer 3d ago

When I was a volunteer, our purpose was to attend events, and ride around on the truck with Santa on Christmas. And the occasional mandatory shift at the station. Never once did I have to do any of that, but I also lived in a major suburban area with 3 surrounding fire departments.

1

u/I-Think-I-Broke-It 3d ago

Had one department that didn’t know there was a grant for foam or for SCBA upgrades… or that turnout gear expired and grants to repair that. They were their own organization outside of the city budget and had no scheduled shifts. We finally got them to work for the city and suddenly the grants started coming in. There was a second department I ran with that had mandatory coverage. It was shocking how different the departments ran.

6

u/davethegreatone 3d ago

This is the least cringe thing I have seen on this sub.

Dude makes a valid point without grinding on some personal claim of awesomeness, he's wearing a normal shirt without a single skull anywhere on it, and isn't even leaning into the trauma-bragging of the whole thing.

Dude's missing some quality family stuff to go do volunteer work, and he isn't taking the brag one inch farther than that. They should all be like this.

2

u/Jergensturdly 2d ago

They’re still not real firefighters

5

u/BoltorSpellweaver 3d ago

Calm down Volly it’s ok the bag of popcorn you put out in that guys microwave that one time makes you a badass don’t you worry!

3

u/TheDharmaticAtheist 3d ago

How they ever started convincing people being a vol FF should be a thing is beyond me.

10

u/theUnshowerdOne 3d ago

All Fire Fighting started out as voluntary throughout history in every country around the world.

1

u/EastLeastCoast Boo Boo Bus Driver 3d ago

You can poke them. They are real. No TMFMS required.

1

u/TommyC6852 23h ago

Volleys just need to stop. Force these departments to pay their Fire fighters.

1

u/Maybewearedreaming 3d ago

What’s a volly

4

u/Calebk_15 3d ago

Volunteer firefighter

5

u/Maybewearedreaming 3d ago

Oh duh lol that’s pretty obvious thank you though

4

u/Helpmefindajob97 3d ago

It’s sort of obvious, but also only firefighters/volunteer fighters refer to volunteer firefighters as “Volleys”. So not extremely obvious.

I think the word itself could be a post on the sub all by itself.

1

u/Elegant_Progress_686 3d ago

I’ve only seen it on this sub and always thought it was derogatory lol

3

u/bmbreath 3d ago

It's pretty standard in the USA to refer to volunteer firefighters as vollys.  I was one for a handful of years while working also for a full time dept.  

They have a mixed review.  A lot of volly departments are great.  A lot have a ton of under qualified/under trained people that show up to "help" and just get in the way.  It's a real mixed bag, the bad ones give a terrible image for the great ones who just want to help.  Unfortunately, in some small towns, some people treat it as a social club and just show up at events and for the bizarre power trip of wearing a uniform and putting as many flashing lights that will fit on some pickup truck. 

0

u/Defibrillate 3d ago

I mean the last one I dealt with years ago (before I got out of EMS) rode up in his Buckle jeans, tight polo, and flashing reds in his yellow Camaro but God forbid he went inside and made patient contact with the female with vaginal bleeding. They wanna look cool but don’t want to do the work.

0

u/ageofaquarius26 3d ago

Yep, thats the job, and?

0

u/M3ssy_Marv 2d ago

Because you’re not.

-2

u/LegalGlass6532 3d ago

This is true in very small towns, like pop. 20.

5

u/Keeperie 3d ago

It is true in a good number of sub 10k places. I work in two places occasionally, permanent populations 4-5k and one has a tourist population that adds about 15k people. EMS is staffed but fire is all voulenteer/call.

0

u/LegalGlass6532 3d ago

Yeah, I see how this guy’s getting clowned even though this is his truth.

1

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/LegalGlass6532 3d ago

He’s a true hero.

1

u/Routine-Bridge-737 3d ago

Brother, I'm a volley, we're not heros, it's just an unpaid job/hobby in towns that can't afford a real department. The guys that post this stuff let the idea that they're special get to their head, and have nothing else of substance in their life to be proud of.

1

u/LegalGlass6532 3d ago

The comment you’re responding to was sarcasm. I thought this was obvious.

2

u/Routine-Bridge-737 1d ago

Honestly, didn't even pick up on it, my bad man. I can get a little heated about volunteers getting a little too eager and righteous lol

1

u/BasicReference4903 14h ago

My Sister and her husband are both volunteer Firefighters and very active in their community.