Training & Meetings

Our department meets on every Thursday of each month from 7pm to 10pm except on weeks of major U.S. holidays.  Our meetings are for either training or business.  Business meetings are held on the 1st Thursday of even numbered months.  All other Thursday meetings are scheduled for training which occurs either at the station or elsewhere in the district, a surrounding fire district or at the Surry Community College campus in Dobson or Yadkinville.  All department hosted or approved training credits toward the minimum 36 training hours annually required by our department and the NC State Firefighters Association.  Training is also allowed on individual time outside of formal meeting nights including approved web based training and training at other fire departments that you may attend.  We also pay for members (who request to participate) to travel to weekend seminars for training.  We cover the cost of hotel stays and seminar fees along with allowing our SUV to be utilized for travel.  Most of the training we offer is non-certification training but is still designed to enhance your skills as a firefighter.  With that said, we do encourage and assist our members who are interested in certification training as a firefighter, rescuer or EMT.  Surry Community College is the local delivery agency in our area and offers NCOSFM and NCOEMS compliant certification training classes including for NC Firefighter, NC EMT, NC Technical Rescuer and other certifications.  Members who receive certifications are often eligible for or stand out (in a good way) for paid positions with fire departments whether a small one like ours or a larger city department.  In fact, many of our members are paid firefighters or EMTs who started out as a volunteer but then made it their career!  If certification training is not for you, our department makes it very easy to obtain the regular 36 hours of training required.  Many new or prospective applicants worry about the training aspect of being in a volunteer fire department however, it is way easier than you think.  One of the biggest questions from prospective members is “What are the requirements?”  The great news is that there are very few other than this small requirement in training hours.  So if you are thinking about it or on the fence about joining, wait no more and do not think you do not have time for it.  The reality is that it is not that demanding on time!