To Report An Emergency: Dial 9-1-1
South Thurston Fire & EMS
Proudly Serving Tenino, Gibson Valley, Skookumchuck, and Violet Prairie
BECOME A VOLUNTEER
South Thurston Fire & EMS is currently taking applications for motivated individuals to become volunteer Firefighters and EMTs. All training is paid for and you will receive national and state certifications.
Expectations of a candidate
The fire service is a physically demanding field and volunteers are required to be in good physical health. You will be required to attend regular training and assist with public events.
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All volunteers participate in a shift program that requires a minimum of 36 hours of shift per month at the station. Volunteers are eligible for a stipend for each shift once certain requirements are met.
Benefits
All volunteers are eligible for certain benefits. Some of those include:
- WA Board of Volunteer Firefighters pension and death benefits
- Shift and transport stipend (after requirements are met)
- Paid training
TRAINING
Training expectations have increased over the years. At South Thurston Fire & EMS we strive to make sure that everyone is up the national standards so that we can provide the best service possible. To accomplish this, there is some mandatory training that everyone must go through which include:
IFSAC Firefighter I
HazMat Operations level
Emergency Medical Technician – Basic
Emergency Vehicle Driver Training
Wildland Firefighter II
Most of these certifications can be transferred to other departments, which means lateral volunteers from other departments won’t have to do the training over again.
Volunteers also have access to a variety of other training which may also be paid for by the department.
The possibilities are endless. There are always training opportunities available to our volunteers and we encourage everyone to participate in as much training as they can. Being a firefighter or EMT is not like riding a bike, your skills must continuously be practiced and improved upon.