Volunteer firefighter vs. the job that pays the bills.

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Permalink Reply by dwn164 on August 2, 2009 at 10:44am

what state are you from. In PA if you respond to a call before work, the employer cannot fire you, but you won't get paid. But if you get a note from the officer in charge with all pertaing info needed. You shouldn't get anything against you. attendence wise. But these days anything is possible.

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Permalink Reply by Holly on August 3, 2009 at 12:19am

Thanx for the advice.

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Permalink Reply by Bob on August 2, 2009 at 3:27pm

A couple of things I would suggest. My department has a work excuse that we provide to members who have missed any work time due to a call. It is on our letterhead has the date and time of call and what time the member was released from the call. It is usually signed by a Chief with contact information should any questions arise.

The other thing is you may want to research - Pennsylvania Law Prohibit Employment Termination of Volunteer Firefighters For Time Lost - Act of 1977, P.L. 249, No. 83. This law as I read it gives you legal recourse if you are terminated from your job as result of time lost due to a call. This is just something to keep in mind.

When I was Chief of our Department on more than occassion I spoke with local employers on the value of allowing members to respond to calls during work hours. It worked well for our department so I would suggest seeing if your Chief would speak with the employer if the problem persists.

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Permalink Reply by Bob on August 2, 2009 at 11:16pm

I just wanted to note that we never had issues with employers as long as the excuse was sent. My policy as Chief was when we returned to the station those that were working,whether they had left from work or the call came in before their scheduled work time, were released as soon as possible.

We don't get paid for what we do we do it for the love of our respective communities. I would think if the supervisor would take a moment to listen to you explain the mechanics of a volunteer department maybe they would better understand why you were late.

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Permalink Reply by Holly on August 3, 2009 at 12:21am

Thanx for the info. I spoke to my Chief today and he did give me a work excuse. He said that if I needed him to there would be no problem with him calling.

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Permalink Reply by Asst. 29 on August 22, 2009 at 12:34pm

We do the same as Bob's company with the work excusse as well as releasing them as soon as possible and it seems to work for our guys with no complaints from their employers. You must just remember that not everyone understands what and why we do what we do. and the more you preach to them the worse it sometimes gets. the only way they might have a change of heart is that they would happen to need the fire service to rescue a loved one or save their house. then their tune sometimes changes.

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