Becoming a Volunteer

  1. Career
    Recruitment

  1. Volunteer
    Recruitment

  1. Passport

  1. Programs

Who are we looking for?

Do you have principles and values needed to accomplish our mission? Are you up for a challenge?  Do you work well as a member of a team?  Do you have a desire to learn?  Do you have the time to commit to a long-term association with a fire or rescue agency?  If so, this is an opportunity that you should consider.

The minimum age to volunteer in most agencies in Chesterfield County is 18.  Two rescue squads will accept members under 18 beginning at a minimum age of 16 (which is also the state minimum age to become a firefighter or emergency medical technician).

What is a volunteer?

Volunteering means working without pay.   You don’t get paid as a volunteer, but there is a cost associated with volunteering.  In return for your service, we provide you with training, equipment, and uniforms. These things add up to a considerable sum of money; money that comes from taxpayers. With that comes expectations. 

What we expect

We expect that you will be an active participant with your fire company or rescue squad, providing service as part of a response team of firefighters, EMT’s, paramedics, and other healthcare professionals. 

We expect you to use the knowledge and skill acquired in training, to achieve the certifications, to be part of the team. 

We expect you, on-duty as well as off-duty to conduct yourself in a manner that will not cause a negative reflection on you, your company/squad, Chesterfield Fire and EMS, or the fire service industry in general.

The fire service is a highly respected institution. It didn’t get that way by accident, or overnight.  It took years of service, dating back to Benjamin Franklin, for the public to trust us like no other profession in the world! 

Display your vehicle decals, license plates, and wear the tee shirt – be proud, but be responsible.

Be Safe

Who doesn’t want to be safe?  You can tell people to be safe, or have a safe day, but what actions do you put to those words?  Chesterfield Fire and EMS has worked hard to cultivate a “Culture of Safety.” Everything we do is in conjunction with proven industry safety practices and standards.  We will risk a lot to save a life.  We will risk little to save little, and we will risk nothing to save nothing. 

Our goal is for you to go home from your shift in as good a shape, or better than when you started.

Our Department Safety Officer has the last word on any and all operations we engage in.  To assist with this are safety officers assigned to each shift who respond when needed and ensure safe practices are in place.  They are assisted by the officers and members of the department both career and volunteer.  All of us play a role in keeping each other safe at all times.

  1. Operational Volunteers
  2. Non-Operational Volunteers

Operational Volunteers

These are our firefighters, EMT’s, and Emergency Operations Support members who respond to incident scenes on apparatus with a volunteer fire company or rescue squad.     

Firefighters

Front-line operational members who are cross-trained and certified to perform both firefighting and emergency medical services duties.

EMS

Front-line operational members who are trained and certified to perform emergency medical service duties according to their level of EMS certification.

Emergency Operations Support

Front line operational members who are not yet trained or certified to perform firefighting or patient care tasks.  They may fulfill various support functions at incident scenes.

Requirements

  • Meet minimum health and performance standards
  • Pass criminal background check
  • Pass a drug screen
  • Read, write and speak English