From: bguest@ateam.ems.cdc.com (Brandon Guest)
Newsgroups: misc.emerg-services
Subject: Re: Multiple Memberships
Date: 11 Dec 92 14:33:00 GMT
Article-I.D.: nntp_ser.31050
Organization: Empros Systems International, a division of Control Data


We have also had to deal with the 'multiple membership' problem and I
think that the individual and two departments involved are both better
off because of it.  Our situation is as follows:

A member of our department lives in our city and works in the other.
The two cities border one another and he is never more than 3 minutes
from either station and is within a mile of both when at the closer
location.  Our department responds to about 100 calls per year and
the other about 900 (about 200 out of his station).  He is an officer
(lieutenant) at our station and a firefighter at the other.  He is
also usually out on the first rig at both.  Membership on both 
departments has had a positive benefit for everyone.  We get an 
officer with more experience than he could ever get at our department,
they get a daytime responder and and a faster response time at night
(he works nights and is usually the first guy at the station).  If
we had drawn the line about dual membership, we probably would have
lost him (he was on our department first.  The only problem we had
to deal with is mutual aid (we use each other a lot).  In the case of
mutual aid, the rule is that the department he goes out with first
is the one that he belongs to for that incident (it is possible for
his department to have the call first but he still responds initially
for us).

As a matter of fact, this relationship has worked out so well, that
I have also been recruited for membership on the other department
(similar situation, I have 16 years in my department but actually
live and work in the other city.  Due to the peculiar location of
our station, I am within a mile of our station and within two miles
of the other.  I choose to stay with my original department for 
'other' reasons- I am also an officer and do not want to start
'back up the ladder' at this time (maybe soon though)).

I have found that most of the criticism on dual membership comes from
'old farts' who hold long standing grudges between the departments.
They are also jealous of the better pay and pensions that the
member usually gets at the other department (I remember once when the
neighboring department had an open house and a number of our members
attended.  One of our members came back to our next meeting and had
a fit because he had found out that I had joined this other department.
He ranted and raved about this and that until I got there.  When asked
why I had joined I was dumbfounded and didn't know what he was talking
about.  Finally, I asked him why he thought I had joined and he 
responded that he had seen my gear hanging in their station.  The 
other department keeps a set of 'Guest' turnouts for members caught
out of station and for visitors.  Enough said.

Finally, I mentioned that dual membership is on the increase around 
here.  This has mainly come from two factors:

1) Increased training requirements have made it more difficult to 
get entry level firefighters.  This puts a bonus on picking up
already trained personnel.

2) Increased pay and pensions have made the extra membership very
attractive to the point that some firefighters can almost make a 
living off it (especially if they can pick up some additional 
responsibilities- e.g. training officer, hazmat coordinator, etc.)
I know of at least two other individuals who have dual membership
and in this case they are officers on both departments and one is
even a chief).

Brandon
-- 
H. Brandon Guest                | bguest@ems.cdc.com
Empros Systems International    | (A division of Something)
2300 Berkshire Lane North       | Voice (612) 553-4529
Plymouth, MN 55441-3694         | Fax   (612) 553-4018
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