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Who is Allowed to Join the Fire Department?
Any person satisfying the requirements is allowed to apply for membership. The Pine Island Fire Department is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate with regards to sex, race, religion or any other protected class. The Department does, however, reserve the right to select firefighters based on their ability to satisfy the needs of the Department. The goal of the Pine Island Fire Department and Selection Committee is to appoint qualified, committed and available individuals to the fire department roster.

What Are the Requirements for Joining the Pine Island Volunteer Fire Department?
The requirements for application for probationary membership with the Department are fairly simple. These requirements are as follows:
• Completed application for employment.
• Must be 18 years of age.
• High school diploma (or equivalent).
• Must be able to read and write the English language effectively.
• Valid Minnesota drivers license.
• Ability to respond to the fire station within accepted Department time standards.
• Ability to attend all required meetings, training and emergency calls within accepted Department standards.
• Ability to complete all required training.
Once these requirements are met an applicant will also be required to pass a Department administered physical exam and drug test. Upon successful completion of the physical exam and drug test and a satisfactory background check, the applicant may be placed on the list of perspective firefighters.

What Are the Training Requirements for a Probationary Firefighter?
All firefighters are required to complete the following training during the probationary period. Pine Island firefighters are trained in a wide range of technical skills. Some of these include fire suppression, hazardous materials incidents, confined space rescue, water and ice rescue, vehicle extrication, disaster response and fire prevention education. Training is done at the fire station or off-site classes are arranged through Riverland Technical College by the training Officer with expenses paid by the Pine Island Fire Department. If you have prior fire/rescue training and experience, it may count towards fire department training requirements. Proof of training must be approved by the Firefighter Selection Board.

• MN Firefighter I(Certified) 127 hrs.
• MN First Responder 40 hrs.
• HazMat(Operations Level) 30 hrs.
• Confined Space 4 hrs.
• Bloodborne Pathogens 4 hrs.
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TOTAL 205 hours

In addition to the above training, probationary members are required to attend a minimum number of regular Department training sessions (unless excused to attend other required training).

Benefits
The process to join is a tenuous road but well worth it for those who feel a strong sense of community and public service. The term volunteer is somewhat of a misnomer with a better term being paid-on-call. All members receive an hourly pay rate of $8 per hour for training and emergency call activity.

Pension
The Minnesota State Legislature established the ability to organize volunteer relief associations and provided funding. A gross premiums insurance tax is collected by the state and redistributed to all fire departments that have a relief association.

Each department manages its own fund and pays a benefit established under state law. Currently, members of the Pine Island Fire Department, after 20 years of service receive a pension equal to $1800 per year of active service and can collect at age 50. Early vesting of 10 years with a reduced benefit is available.

This program was established to assist departments in recruiting and retaining volunteer firefighters and has worked extremely well. As a result of this program, Minnesota has more volunteers per capita than most states.

Meetings are held the first Thursday night of the month during the year with the exception of holidays. They typically run from 7:00pm to 10:00pm with some exceptions. At these meetings Department business is discussed including financial and operational issues along with other topics of interest to the general membership. If necessary, the membership will be required to vote on some issues, which may be discussed. Typical issues, which might require a vote, include large expenditures of funds (purchases) and approval of policies and procedures. All members are required to attend.

The Wednesday before the first Thursday of each month is the Board of Trustees meeting. At this meeting the Department's Relief Association Board of Trustees and other officers discuss on-going activities and prepare for the month's other meetings. Only members of the Board of Trustees and officers of the Department are required to attend this meeting.

One day per week is the Work Crew meeting. At this meeting, maintenance of Department apparatus and equipment is performed. Maintaining fire equipment in a safe and operational condition is a time consuming activity and can also be expensive. To save on expenses the Department attempts to perform as much maintenance as possible by themselves. The Department is very fortunate to have a number of trained and qualified individuals who can help perform this maintenance. All members are required to attend work crew.
The second Thursday and the last Tuesday of the month are for training. At this meeting regularly scheduled training drills are conducted. Training drills are typically a combination of classroom and hands-on activities used to refresh old skills or introduce new ones. All members are required to attend a minimum of 24 hours of training drills every year.
In addition to regularly scheduled meetings, members must complete any required outside training. This commitment is largest during the probationary period when a new member must complete their required initial training. Following the probationary period outside training is more discretionary and is controlled by the member's desire to learn new skills and advance within the Department.
Finally, all members must attend a minimum number of calls to maintain active status within the Fire Departments Relief Association. Current Department rules state a member should attend a minimum number of all calls and 24 hours per year of training. Typically a member may not be available for calls twenty-four hours a day and the actual commitment becomes calls for a designated 12-hour availability period. While there is no minimum commitment of calls. It should be noted that many members- those that both live and work within the community- achieve attendance percentages far in excess of the minimum. Attendance percentages in excess of 75% are not uncommon and are greatly appreciated.
Given all of the above, one can estimate the hourly commitment per week for both new (probationary) and experienced (probationary period completed) members. The numbers breakdown as follows:

*Calls assumes 50% of 235 calls per year averaging 1.5 hours per call. While there is no required minimum 50% is a desirable goal.
As can be seen from the above, the average number of hours committed per week adds up to a significant investment in time and energy on the part of a member. While some may contribute less at times, everyone is encouraged to participate to the fullest extent their other responsibilities and commitments allow. The Department understands, however, that circumstances change and allowances and adjustments can be made to accommodate unique and special situations. Also remember that these are averages and there will be periods of time when the time commitment should be significantly larger or somewhat reduced.

Patrick Pike, Fire Chief
Pine Island Volunteer Fire Department
315 Main Street
Pine Island, MN 55963
Phone: 507-356-8905
Cell: 507-208-2618
Email: patlpike@aol.com

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