Volunteer firefighter recruitment needs an overhaul!
17:22, 20 August 2009
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My husband and I have moved to the Pacific Northwest in the USA, and are currently living in a suburb of the Portland, Oregon. Our goal in the next two weeks is to find a community in the Portland-Salem area that has volunteer firefighters and where we would like to live.We have seen an ad on TV encouraging people in Oregon to volunteer as firefighters.
We have seen banners hung on fire stations asking for volunteers.
Clearly, volunteer firefighters are needed in Oregon, including in the greater Portland/Salem area.
But, sadly, the Internet has been almost useless in providing the information my husband needs to be a volunteer firefighter:
- Few fire stations have web sites.
- Those fire stations that have web sites either never mention volunteers, or are vague about their involvement of such.
- We have found just one fire station in a 70-mile radius with a web site that had detailed information about their volunteer involvement, including a listing of requirements and a downloadable form for potential volunteers.
- Although volunteer firefighters are needed, as noted by the TV commercial and banners we've seen, the web site for volunteer firefighters list just one firehouse looking for volunteers.
If fire stations truly need and want volunteer firefighters, they have to use the Internet to communicate that need -- no excuses!
Here is a very basic tutorial for nonprofits -- and fire stations! -- needing to create, or recreate, a web site. An account on Facebook or MySpace or Blogger is NOT a substitute for a web site! And fire stations: keep in mind that some people may be deciding whether or not to move to a community depending on the volunteer firefighter community. Ask yourself: how encouraging and welcoming are you of not only potential recruits already living in the area, but those considering moving to your area?
One final note: my husband is still volunteering with his home town fire station back in Germany; he's in charge of the web site! He just updated it this morning regarding a recent call. He enjoys being an online volunteer with his home town station, but he would really like to do the onsite stuff too!
