Join the department
You don't have to be a hero. You have to show up.
Every firefighter in Cedar Hollow is a volunteer with a job, a family and a pager. Most of them had never been inside a fire station before they walked into this one.
Plain terms
What it takes
Live in the district
You respond from home or work, so you need to be in or near the Town of Cedar Hollow or Hollow or Ridge Township. Ask us if you're on the edge.
Eighteen or older
With a valid driver's license and a clean enough record to be trusted in people's homes. Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds can join the junior program and train alongside the department.
Training
Firefighter I certification through the state fire academy, taught locally over a series of evenings and weekends. The department pays for it. You bring the hours.
Time
A training night every other Tuesday, calls when you can make them, and a few community events a year. Nobody makes every call. Everybody makes the ones they can.
Fitness
A physical and the ability to do the work in gear. You will get stronger doing it.
Temperament
Calm when it's loud. Willing to learn from people who have done it for forty years. Able to laugh at the station and keep your mouth shut about what you saw at the call.
What you get
More than you'd guess
Turnout gear, a helmet, an air pack and a pager, all issued, all yours to use. State certification that is recognized well beyond the Hollow. Vehicle extrication, water supply, wildland, hazardous materials awareness: skills most people never get the chance to learn. A seat on a rig that is still doing what thirty-one neighbors set out to do in 1952.
And the part nobody can quite explain until you've had it: twenty-six people who will come when you call, for the rest of your life.
The road in
From first call to first call
Call, or send the form.
The chief calls you back and answers your questions. If you're not sure, say so; most people aren't.
Come to a training night.
Stand in the bay, meet the crew, climb on the rigs. No commitment.
Apply.
An application, a background check, a physical, a driving record. The department walks you through it.
Probation and gear.
You're issued turnout gear and a pager and start training with the department while you wait for the next class.
Firefighter I.
The certification course, evenings and weekends over several months, with the department beside you.
Your first call.
The tones go off, you drive to the station, and you're on the rig. Everyone remembers theirs.
The National Volunteer Fire Council's Make Me A Firefighter site answers the general questions, and lists departments near you.
Not sure yet?
Come to a training night
The easiest way to find out is to stand in the bay on a training night, meet the crew, climb on a rig, and ask every question you have. Every other Tuesday at 7. No paperwork, no commitment. Call the station at 555-0147, or send the form below.
Apply
Tell us who you are
This goes to the chief. Someone will call you, usually within the week.