Published: August 08, 2008 03:57 pm            

Volunteers needed

Volunteer fire department asking for help

Commerce is a city that knows how to give of its time and talent. But right now, the volunteers need some ... well, volunteers.

The Commerce Volunteer Fire Department is looking for people who can be counted on to help protect lives and property in both the city and the county.

According to VFD Chief Tommy Hall, there are currently 18 active members in the volunteers. There can be as many as 25. There wasn’t always a shortage, though.

“When I joined 10 years ago, I was No. 25 and there was a waiting list,” Hall said.

Volunteers go to structure fires, grass fire and automobile accidents, according to Hall.

“That’s inside the city as well as in the county,” he said.

The county area covered by the volunteers is roughly 200 square miles, and all the men in the department have regular jobs.

“If you have a job where your close to Commerce and your employer allows you time off for it, that’s appreciated,” Hall said. “But if they don’t, that’s not going to be held against you. We understand — you have to have your livelihood.”

But being a volunteer can be especially hard, according to Hall, because the firefighters can be out all night battling a fire and then have to go to work the next day. Hall said he has done it many times himself.

“When the old Manatee building burned, I went out at midnight and watched the sun come up,” he said. “Then I turned around and went right in to work.”

The VFD does provide training for the volunteers.

“We would like to have some guys with some experience if they have it,” Hall said. “If they don’t, it’s just a little bit longer process of getting the help that we need to get them trained up.”

That training includes sending volunteers to one of the area fire fighting schools.

Hall said the volunteers provide a needed service to the city.

“On any given day there are four paid firefighters at the station,” he said. “Everybody that you see, with the exception of those four, is volunteer. It’s kind of hard to take care of everything that needs to be taken care of on a large incident with just four people.”

One of the problems is that many people in Commerce don’t even realize there is a volunteer fire department since there is also a paid department.

“That’s mainly because we work close with the paid guys,” Hall said. “We all train together and we do our jobs together.”

The only requirements for being a volunteer firefighter are to pass a background check, be at least 18 years old and physically able to do the job. To become a volunteer, pick up an application at the Commerce Fire Department. The VFD meets at the fire department at 6:30 p.m. the second and fourth Tuesday of every month.

        

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