When I had my fire a couple of years ago, three volunteer fire companies responded, maybe 15 responders total, at 3am in the snow, and they were good at what they did. I couldn't have asked for better. Neighboring Troy, with a professional department, has trouble with staffing because of budget cuts. Throwing money at the problem isn't a solution, in part because there's no money to throw at the problem.

I also work as part of a volunteer amateur radio group. We face the same issues with attracting and keeping volunteers. It's tough, and it's frustrating. I've been reading along looking for ideas.

I would beg to differ http://www.rnli.org.uk/

Volunteers, your neighbors, your community, that's what people have traditionally relied upon. Professional responders do not come into being until cities need them, in part because the areas stop being the type of communities that allow neighbors to rely on each other.

I can think of an occassion when a bunch of volunteers poured out of their homes, assembled, and defeated what they thought was a hostile action undertaken by the most powerful army in the world, on April 19, 1775.

Although remember they did have the support of the French army ;-)

John, with all due respect, I must strongly disagree with your position. My fire company, the Independent Hose Co# 1 was founded in 1818, with roots that go even further back in history and is the oldest continuously operating volunteer company still operating in the state of Maryland. I belive 190 years of continuous volunteer service demonstrates the commitment and ability to rely upon volunteers for professional fire/rescue service.

Pete

Not in 1775. In April 1775, the British got their butts kicked by the citizens of Massachusetts.

French assistance only came after 1776, when the French upon Jefferson's urging provided the U.S. forces with some supplies, like guns and ammo. The French did not send any forces until after Burgoyne's losses near Saratoga, which ended with his surrender in October of 1777. At first, the French forces were really only maritime or naval. I don't think French land forces became involved until 1780, when Rochambeau cames iwth 6,000 troops. The French forces were very helpful at Yorktown keeping Cornwalis trapped, esp. with the French fleet, and also because one of the true experts in siege warfare was at Yorktown, Rochambeau. I think any help or backup in any fight is welcome.

However, IMO, the Brits had lost the war long before Yorktown. When Clinton abandoned Philadelphia in about mid-1778 and retreated to New York, it was simply a matter of time.

True - I don't think there was ever much political support for the war, in fact it was seen as a convenient way of removing some unpopular politicians back home - things don't change much !

It is however a requirement for any Brits living in America to point out the French role in the creation of the USA (it's in the small print in the back of the passport)

Interestingly the later French involvement was seen as a good thing by some of the British, it allowed them to seize French territory in India which seemed at the time a lot more valuable than some troublesome colony.

I've generally only volunteered for something when friends of mine were already involved. College students, if you have them, are always great targets.

One short-cut is to approach existing groups. Churches, civic organizations, neighborhood associations, clubs (rotary, masons, ham radio, bee-keepers, etc.), even scout troups. If you can get one gung-ho committed person, they can likely bring you 10 others.

One of the worst aspects of dealing with volunteers is that they don't all pop out of the same mold. You need to be ready to find ways to use whatever you get. (Or have a way to make it clear why you can't use them.)

A great book to read is Robert B. Cialdini's Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

I also do not agree with this statement, based on more than 35 years experience with the Southern Arizona Rescue Association (SARA), a volunteer SAR group in Tucson, AZ. I moved to SoCal in 1985 and I am not completely current, but they have recently erected a $750,000 permanent facility for equipment and training, and respond to over 100 operations a year, so I suspect they are doing just fine.

We work at our wage jobs for money, but also for satisfaction and good social vibes. Volunteering can only provide job satisfaction and social vibes, but this can be a very powerful motivator. In my opinion, it means creating an organization that acknowledges an individual's accomplishments, creates a positive environment, and operates through true teamwork.

Situations like this are hard to find, paid or unpaid.

SAR in Pima County operated under the Sheriff, who had two deputies assigned full time to that function (when I was current). They could call on volunteers to staff operations, and could also call on military and the state for helo support. In my experience, it was a very good hybrid combination.

SARA started out from very inept, humble beginnings and developed competence as it slowly accumulated a core of trained, motivated volunteers. Hand in hand there was a growing need for the group's services, as young baby boomers hit the trail and the population of Tucson increased.

One common volunteer was the college age individual, young and active, with a flexible schedule. Many of these people moved away after graduation, but some stayed. We trained a lot of people, many of whom never participated meaningfully in subsequent operations. Maybe one in ten trainees "repaid" their training investment.

Many, but of course not all, employers granted volunteers the flexibility to participate. I actually found an obscure clause in the HR regs for the Department of Interior that allowed up to 40 hours administrative leave for DOI employees to participate in SAR and similar volunteer organizations. I was also able to change my schedule, when in the office, to four 10 hour days, Tuesday through Friday, leaving the weekends and the following Monday free for SAR. This usually covered most of our operations.

One strength of a volunteer organization is the variety of professional backgrounds that individuals bring to the table. We had working civil engineers, who also rock climbed. As sophisticated search models came into use in the 1980s, we had a mathematics professor who was able to apply, modify, and develop them to our them to our situations. I, an archaeologist, did a lot of field work with a dendrochronologist (tree rings) and a biochemist. And of course, we also had a smattering of physicians, RNs, and EMTs.

Unpaid does not mean untrained or inexpert.

I saw a lot of groups who did not enjoy the advantages we experienced. Political infighting and glory hounding are the death of good volunteerism.

Above all, some one in the organization has to dedicate a lot of time and effort to move and develop the group. It doesn't always happen, but when it does, your group has a true saint.

The mountain rescue here in BC are volunteers (http://www.northshorerescue.com/) - I think their main problem is turning down new applicants rather than finding them.

The neighboring region had a recent tragedy. There the police (RCMP=state troopers) are responsible for rescues but aren't experts. A pilot reported an SOS in the snow, the police followed their procedure, which was to check for missing person reports. Since nobody was missing they ignored the SOS.
When a second SOS was seen a few days later a volunteer search was mounted and found one survivor - a lost cross country skier, unfortunately his wife had died of exposure.

In the UK the marine rescue services (RNLI) are all volunteer crewed and funded. This is because they date from before there was much government but they are very defensive of their independent status. It lets them use the best equipment, procedures and people free from political interference.