By Jondi Gumz
Cal Fire CZU Chief Nate Armstrong, who is new in that post, welcomes volunteers.
The Fire Academy lineup, which will go through 330 hours of instruction.
“We always need more volunteers!” he told the Times via email. “To be totally honest, they’re getting to be harder and harder to keep just due to life’s demands but we always appreciate the help with recruiting however we can.
Santa Cruz County Fire Battalion Chief Jed Wilson explains who can volunteer, where, and everything in between.
How many volunteers do you have now? How does that compare with pre-pandemic?
Volunteers work a water tender.
We have a roster of 75 volunteer firefighters within the county. These numbers have been consistent year to year, we are always looking for new volunteers and are striving for a goal of around 100 volunteers.
What is the motivation for your volunteers?
The motivation of the volunteer covers a wide spectrum. Many are there to give back to the community which they are a part of, live in, while others are using it as a building block for a career in the Fire Service.
Sometimes after visiting a training, some find that it’s not the opportunity for them, but there are many other opportunities offered within the communities to volunteer.
These included, but are not limited to Fire Wise Programs, Fire Safe Counsels and Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT).
How much training is required?
The medical portion is 40 hours of instruction, and the Fire Academy is currently around 330 hours of instruction.
When does that training take place?
For the Fire Academy it takes place on weekends and on Wednesday evenings. Once completed with the Academy, volunteer trainings are held two weekday evenings and a Saturday every month.
Is there a form that people use to sign up?
Information on becoming a volunteer can be found on our website, www.santacruzcountyfire.com/, the process can be found within the volunteer opportunities section. We recommend that if someone is interested in becoming a volunteer that they visit their local county fire station and attend a training to get a feel for the opportunity.
Is there a deadline to sign up?
Volunteers’ recruitment is a year-round process, with an Academy being held annually around January through April.
This Academy is conducted jointly with a majority of the other fire agencies within Santa Cruz County.
This provides the volunteers an opportunity for a wider range of instruction and working with agencies they will work with on future incidents.
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Top Photo: Volunteers in training.