Although the volunteer program will require a financial investment, the agency expects to get an added value of up to $40,000 every quarter, depending on how many volunteers sign up, Childress said.<\/p>\n
The department plans on having multiple volunteer levels, although details could change. Non-emergency volunteers wouldn\u2019t respond to calls but could help with web design, inventory or other department needs.<\/p>\n
Incident response volunteers would have multiple roles. For example, they could be fully certified firefighter\/emergency medical responders or part of a network of scouts around the district. The scouts would help the department make informed decisions about resource deployment by reporting incident characteristics before crews arrive.<\/p>\n
Volunteers will likely need a high school degree, a Colorado driver\u2019s license and a background check that doesn\u2019t exclude volunteers with minor past offenses. All volunteers would receive CPR training and access to certifications that could set them on a career path in fire services, Childress said. Trainings will likely start next spring.<\/p>\n
Harwig said Childress was a great addition, in part because of his teaching style. Childress said one asset he has as a teacher is his ability to speak \u201cdumb redneck,\u201d which came from growing up with truck drivers in the rural South, he said. It helps him break down technical language for any learner.<\/p>\n
His teaching philosophy, which he described using the phrase \u201chighfalutin\u2019 philosophical standpoint,\u201d focuses on learners\u2019 existing strengths and promoting group dialogues.<\/p>\n
Finding volunteers could be challenging: recruitment is down across the nation. Nationally, 70% of firefighters are volunteers, and their numbers have been going down steadily for years, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.<\/p>\n
Childress \u2013 sporting two full sleeves of tattoos and a Los Pinos T-shirt \u2013 explained that, in his experience, the trend comes down to motivation. \u201cThe spirit of volunteerism is not dead,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said volunteers lose motivation if they feel unnecessary or if the incidents they respond to align with their expectations. If someone does lose motivation, Childress helps them focus on small victories, like supporting a child who\u2019s in pain after breaking his or her arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou stack these small moments together and say, you are making a difference,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Childress came to Los Pinos because he wanted to pick up \u201csomething heavy\u201d and to help tackle the obstacles facing the agency.<\/p>\n
For now, Childress is settling into his second week on the job. \u201cRight now, most of what I\u2019m trying to do is just learn.\u201d<\/p>\n