So You Want To Be a Responder ...
That's wonderful! Being a Responder with RCVFD can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. You have a chance to protect the lives and properties in your community and work with a dedicated group of highly trained volunteers. But it is also a serious commitment, and you should know what you are signing up for.
We are all "on-call" 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our calls these days are mostly medical, and all of our responders maintain a current BLS-level CPR certification; most of us are EMRs or EMTs. As a responder, you will be expected to interact effectively and respectfully with everyone regardless of the situation. You will find yourself working closely with Larimer County Sheriff Deputies and other law enforcement, ambulance crews from UC Health and Thompson Valley EMS, and LifeLine Air Ambulance flight crews. During vehicle-related incidents and structure fires, we integrate directly with Poudre Fire Authority and Loveland Fire. During wildland fires, you may find yourself shoulder-to-shoulder with Larimer County Emergency Services firefighters from Phantom Canyon, or any of our mutual aid partners.
Life safety is the number one priority on every incident, and provide all the PPE necessary to help you stay as safe as possible, but what we do is still demanding and dangerous. You must be prepared to hike for miles with a heavy pack, and then dig fire line for hours before hiking back again. There are certain activities that we engage in where a mis-step can cause serious injury or loss of life, and it will take time for you to be ready to fully join our team.
As an all-volunteer emergency response agency, our resources are limited. None of our responders get paid for their time, and so every drop of energy we put into you as a recruit is designed to make you as effective a responder as you can possibly be. If you don't live nearby, or for some other reason cannot reasonably expect to respond to incidents regularly and in a timely fashion, then this isn't for you. All of our training sessions and board meetings are open to the public, and you are always welcome to attend. But once you commit to being a recruit, the goal is to have you responding to incidents by our side for many years to come.
Still Here?
If, instead of scaring you off, everything above makes you say, "yes that is exactly what I'm looking for," then start by attending our next training session. Our New Recruit Liaison will chat with you and get you started. You'll be given a Mentor and lots of information and help along the way, and many chances to figure out how best to fit in our organization. You don't have to be willing to fight fire to be an effective responder, nor do you have to pursue an advanced EMS certification. Your Mentor will help you figure all that out, and will guide you through the whole process.
We have regular trainings twice a month, every month except December:
- General / Firefighter training is the 2nd Wednesday of every month, 19:00 at Station 1.
- Medical training is the 4th Wednesday of every month, 19:00 at Station 1.
See you on Wednesday. We can't wait to meet you.