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Date:         Thu, 27 Aug 1992 17:28:06 -0500
From:         AIRBORNE THE FIREMAN IS BACK <CDUNBAR@UNTVAX.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: 18 year olds

Kevin,
   I started firefighting when I was 16 and got my certification in 1.5 years.
I know of only one other firefighter in my department who was close to my age,
but I was the youngest.
   I was up there with all of the older firefighters doing what they did and
more, sometimes better, sometimes worse.  I gained experience quickly and was
able to gain everyone's respect.  Now, as far as your situation, I am glad you
are pushing the "AGE 21 AND ABOVE" barrier on your EMS squad.  You will find
that many 18, 19, and 20 year olds (I am currently 20) are looking for some
kind of activity to participate in which would be adventureous or fulfilling to
them which they can not normally find in the college atmosphere.  Most of these
younger students are engineers, computer science majors (like me), or even
Math majors (bless their hearts... *smile*) who have the ability to learn and
learn well the techniques of life saving, fire fighting, and all of the duties
and skills associated with each of those fields.
   Now, some opponent might concede, "Okay, they are college students, and I
can respect the fact that they are willing to learn and to perform whatever
duties are required of them, but the next thing I see will be an 18 year old
EMT crack under pressure and be a danger to someone else."
   Well, this could happen, but, not being an EMT myself, doesn't it happen to
many of different ages?  Some might think that 18 - 20 year olds aren't as
mature or as responsible as 21 year olds.....  I have one thing to say to that:
BULL!  I have not heard a more prejudistic age discriminatory remark such as
the one I have just mentioned.  Maturity is NOT based on age, it is based on
the person himself or herself and how they deal with situations and people.
   As far as how you can implement 18 through 20 year olds into your
department, you might need to make some compromises to satisify the "Anyone
under 21 can't do s**t" bracket, such as raising the requirements for
candidate members (i.e. training, GRADES, standing at school).  Heck, I might
even raise the requirements anyways because: 1) You are dealing with a higher
volume of people in that age group which might have a small percentage ACTUALLY
qualified (your department should have a definition on what qualifications
should be met by applicants), and 2) You want people who are academically
stable and have GPA's over 2.5 or so (Army ROTC scholarships require a min. of
a 2.5 to maintain the scholarship) and be in good standing;  you don't want to
be contacted by the Dean because Jimmy Dontknownothing has been running calls
and not studying for Biology....

Well, just some opinions....  Hope you take them as they are =)  I like working
with older people and I enjoy their input and their experience;  you can learn
a lot from a veteran.

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Chris Dunbar          Bitnet:  CDUNBAR@untvax
University of North Texas Internet: CDUNBAR@vaxb.acs.unt.edu
Junior    Computer Science Major
Cypress Creek Volunteer Fire Department         Argyle Volunteer Fire Department
            Houston, Texas                                    Argyle, Texas
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