The Fortuna Volunteer Fire Department is gearing up for its annual Eel River Valley Fire Academy. The academy is looking to recruit members for all the volunteer fire departments in Humboldt County.
“Every single department in Humboldt County is looking for volunteers,” said Rus Brown, the Fire Chief in Fortuna. “It doesn’t matter whether you live in Westhaven or Rio Dell or Scotia or Fortuna, I guarantee you go talk to your local fire department and they are looking for volunteers and we certainly are as well.”
This is the 17th year of the Eel River Valley Fire Academy. It’s an eight-week program to prepare you to become a volunteer firefighter at your local department.
The academy starts March 1 and training days are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. There is a break for Easter. The training includes firefighter safety, self-contained breathing apparatus, and learning from the National Fire Protection Association curriculum. In Northern California, the more rural the area is the more they depend on volunteer firefighters.
“If there wasn’t those volunteers, there’s not somebody coming to backfill that,” Brown said. “Certainly you have Cal Fire that are here, but mostly for wildland fire response and mostly during the summertime. So without the volunteer department, you wouldn’t have anybody showing up.”
The Fortuna Volunteer Fire Department has three paid positions and 70 volunteers. Departments need so many volunteers because volunteers have full-time jobs and aren’t always available for duty. If you’re thinking of joining, don’t hesitate.
“Your fire department should look like your community you serve,” Brown said. “If you’re thinking that, man, maybe I don’t fit in. Yes, you do. We’re probably 50/50 female to male now. If you’re thinking I don’t fit that mold of what I see on TV as a firefighter or what I think as a firefighter, that’s wrong. Come on down. We want our academy to be as diverse as it possibly can be and we want to serve all of our populations in our communities.”
There is no charge to sign up for the academy to become a firefighter volunteer in your area. You can call your local fire department to learn more about the academy or check out the Fortuna Volunteer Firefighter website.
