After serving the Clancy community for over 16 years, I recently submitted my resignation to the Clancy Volunteer Fire Department. As I explained to Chief Greg Robson, the truth was I no longer felt I was capable of carrying out the duties required of a volunteer firefighter. Age gets us all, none of us gets younger. Within that truth, though, there were many other considerations that make up a whole truth.
My initial desire when I joined the department was to make a small effort to thank a community that had been so welcoming to an outsider (from California, no less!). What I discovered is that being a volunteer firefighter involved much more than just showing up and spraying water around. There were many aspects of the operation of a volunteer organization, and I pledged to not only learn how to be a good firefighter, but also what it takes to be a good volunteer. Both of those endeavors proved to be among the most exhilarating and rewarding experiences in my life.
Regardless of where they work, firefighters face similar issues: the commitments of time that are required, the recent trend in the loss of regional and national resources to assist on incidents, and of course, routinely and professionally facing extreme dangers. Putting out fires requires a team effort. The trucks and personnel must get to a scene and have the tools and training necessary to handle the incident. On the scene, work is divided up by incident command: Some firefighters will run the water pumps on the truck, some will hold the hose and spray water, some will do salvage work.
