Originally
posted by
Sir Bloodstone:
Kudos to ppl who work for free 24/7/365. I just don't think that's the case. They actually receive no benefit or ANY type? Then kudos.
I wouldn't do it, personally, because the types of fluffty ppl that generally call me out on a holiday or at 2 am are exactly the types of ppl I wouldn't want to associate myself with in any way.
Seriously. There are tens of thousands of people in America who respond to Fire and EMS calls 24/7/365 for FREE on their own time.
Then, there's the hundreds of hours of training and continuing ed that gets you in and keeps you in an ambulance or fire truck. The Department normally pays for the training, but again, it has to be done on a person's personal time.
For Volunteers, they normally respond from their homes although larger volunteer departments actually have people at the station.
Even EMTs and Paramedics that do it for a living don't make great money on average unless they work ungodly hours. It varies from state to state, but I would say a national average wage for an EMT or Paramedic is about $14/hr. In a state like WV, it's more like $10 or $11 an hour.
Pretty low pay to go play in piss, fluff, puke and blood at 3am Christmas Morning, eh?