Volunteer EMT-B's

[fortsmithman]

With my service we are paid volunteers here's the breakdown

Emergency Vehicle Operator 12.50/hr

Emergency Medical Responder (equal to a us emt- 15.00/hr

Emergency Medical Technician 17.00/hr

That's paid when we go on an actual run.

by the way our EMT's are called primary care paramedics in other parts of canada except alberta.

So does this make my service vollie or paid. I would like to know from other vollies if you are paid for going on runs or do you get no pay.

[akroeze]

What is your call volume? Could someone make a decent living doing JUST EMS work?

[WolfmanHarris]

Are you paid a different rate for the time you're on call but not responding?

If not and the call volume is low, I'd say it's a volunteer service on the right track to be a P/T Professional service. (Just with regards to pay)

[fortsmithman]

Last year our call volume was 250 calls

[firedoc5]

dkay72027, I applaud =D> the posts that you have written. Well thought out, not emotionally fed (that I can tell), and you really lay out how you feel. And I have appreciated those who perform the duties that you do, and be serious about it.

There are many here that has had bad experiences, including myself, with First Responders and Volly EMT's who, I guess tries to dazzle with BS. But I've had excellent experiences also. If we had a call in a certain area we knew that when we got there things would have been handled well. And in some other area's we'd dread even getting within a mile of certain one's. So like in any profession, there's good and bad.

That's when you get into the realm of a real "whacker". The best way I can explain a true whacker is someone who newly joins an organization, get a little orientation and training under his belt, and is given a patch. Then he goes out, buys an $800 light bar to put on his truck that is worth $500, get's all kinds of decal lettering put on made of reflecticite, and buys a scanner that can monitor 400 channels a minutes. These are the guys that give First Responders and Volunteer EMT's a bad name. There's other little things that some do which can be added onto here by others. (not meaning to hi-jack)

I'm by no means saying they all do this, but the one's that do, drives us absolutely NUTS!

Even though there are those out there that have little or nothing good to say to First Responders, you are still a part of the system.

However, as EMS has advanced in the past ten or twelve years, the level of First Responders may eventually be phased out. In some areas it may have already happened. First Responders may be required to become EMT's. And there are more and more Volunteer Fire Depts. that are requiring all there personnel to become EMT's and ERT's.

I am glad that we do have First Responders like you and I hope you can keep doing what you are doing. But there are changes coming.