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Burnout starts when a volunteer firefighter ends up responding to 600 calls a year, said Bernie Paul, district chief for the South Yreka Fire District and president of the Fire Chief’s Association. Volunteers like Stanshaw are responding to about 1,000 calls per year. Since joining the YFD in 2021, he has responded to more than 2,200 calls.
A California couple whose gender-reveal pyrotechnic show sparked a massive blaze that killed a firefighter have both pleaded guilty — with the dad getting one year behind bars for involuntary manslaughter.
A former firefighter who has been jailed twice for wildland arson was arraigned last week on charges related to detonation of explosive devices along California roads.
A semi-truck hauling bottled water caught on fire within Death Valley National Park on January 10.
Responders on scene believe that the trailer brakes overheated as the truck was descending CA-190 eastbound from Towne Pass around 8:00 pm.
Responsibility for the 2013 Silver Fire, which blackened more than 20,000 acres and injured multiple people, was admitted by a transient who has been in county custody for the past six years. Superior Court Judge Jorge Hernandez took Stephen Patrick Medlock’s plea, imposing the 16-year sentence with credit for time served.
The country’s national fire department registry shows that more than 80% of fire departments are staffed mostly or entirely by volunteers. But for the last three decades, the number of volunteer firefighters has declined. It hit a record low in 2020. In Wisconsin, officials are now helping high school students complete basic fire training, hoping that it will get them interested. Wisconsin Public Radio’s Hope Kirwan talked with one of the teens.
Calaveras County consists of 10 volunteer fire departments:
The CCFCA fire agencies are located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, 188 miles east of San Francisco and 135 miles west of Lake Tahoe in California. Found midway on State Highway 49, between Sacramento and Yosemite, Calaveras County links the two towns of the California Gold Country. With an average of 6,000 fire and emergency service calls a year, our 11 fire districts serve a rural area of 45,578 people. We provide fire protection and rescue service to 1,020 square miles of rural area. Our 11 volunteer agencies respond to structure fires, wild land fires, medical emergencies, water rescue, technical rope rescue, hazardous materials spills, public service assistance calls and other emergencies. The Calaveras County Fire Agencies protects an area that is 66% rural wild land, 21% residential, and 3% commercial, including Calaveras Big Trees State Park, a preserve of Giant Sequoia trees, located in the county several miles east of the town of Arnold.
Below is a list of the selection criteria each department requires in order to consider an application for volunteer firefighter. Read the criteria and make sure that you qualify, then click the Apply button to complete your application online.
Although local governments and departments establish different selection criteria, many departments require that volunteers:
Time requirements vary by department. Time commitment will depend on several factors, such as the number of calls the department receives, training requirements, shift versus on-call structure, and community activities in which the department requires volunteers to participate.
Volunteer departments prefer that volunteers have the ability to respond to calls 24 hours a day, although most departments still accept volunteers who are unable to leave work or other obligations to respond to a call.
Typically, departments pay for training and firefighting equipment. Volunteer firefighting is an unpaid position; however, some departments may provide stipends or reimburse volunteers for certain expenses.
