The Auxiliary Fire/Rescue Squad was established under the Office
of Civil Defense. The Office of Emergency Management has replaced
the Office of Civil Defense without addressing many volunteers' needs.
This will allow for the establishment of a Volunteer Fire/Rescue Company
within the Bloomfield Fire Department, transferring all personnel
and equipment to the Fire Department.
The Bloomfield Fire Department shall consist of a Career Department
augmented by volunteer personnel. The number of personnel in each
is determined by the Bloomfield Township Mayor and Council.
Volunteer Company. The Volunteer Company shall augment the services
that the Career Department currently provides for the townspeople
of Bloomfield. The Volunteer Company shall consist of one fire/rescue
company. The Company shall be supervised by a Captain and the number
of Lieutenants, as determined by the Fire Chief, to efficiently manage
the Volunteer Company. The Captain and Lieutenants shall be appointed
from the Volunteer Company, with the Fire Chief's approval, and shall
report directly to the Fire Chief.
Persons appointed to active membership in the Volunteer Fire/Rescue
Company of the Bloomfield Fire Department shall have successfully
passed the physical examination, psychological examination by a physician
and criminal background check and be recommended by the Fire Chief
for appointment to the Volunteer Company by the Township.
Annual renewal of appointment to the position of active member in
the Volunteer Fire/Rescue Company is by the Fire Chief. It requires
a minimum 50% attendance in drills and 25% attendance of all incidents
of a working fire.
Those members who choose not to make the attendance requirements
of the volunteer firefighter may choose to be an auxiliary firefighter.
Auxiliary firefighters do not have the same fire-ground role as a
volunteer firefighter. The auxiliary firefighters are more of a support
function limited to outside the fire structure. Those roles are less
stressful and less demanding.
All persons newly appointed to the Volunteer Company who do not meet
the criteria for Firefighter I or better shall be classified and subject
to the restrictions of probationary firefighter.
A probationary firefighter is restricted from entering a structural
fire building for the purpose of any firefighting activity until such
time that the Fireground Commander has declared the fire under control
and determined that it is safe for probationary firefighters to enter
for observation purposes.
All probationary firefighters must attend Firefighter I training
classes as provided by the Fire Department or a county academy, at
the discretion of the Chief of the Fire Department. Successful completion
of the required course, along with recommendation by the Captain of
the Volunteer Company, is required to advance to Firefighter I. Probationary
firefighters shall also attend a minimum of 75% of scheduled drills
during the first year.
The Captain shall be responsible for maintaining the proper operation
and performance of the Volunteer Company, in a manner that is consistent
with the Bloomfield Fire Department's policies, rules and regulations,
Department orders and SOPs.
The Captain shall report to the Incident Commander at emergencies.
The Captain shall then direct the Volunteer Company as required by
the Incident Commander.
The Lieutenant shall report to the Incident Commander at emergencies.
The Lieutenant shall then direct the Volunteer Company as required
by the Incident Commander.
The Chief of the Fire Department shall be the executive head of the
Fire Department, charged with policy-making, planning, management
and administration of the Department and all personnel, including
all volunteer firefighters and officers, therein.
The Captain shall be responsible for the operation of the Volunteer
Fire Rescue Company (and shall report to the Fire Chief or the Battalion
Chief on duty depending on the nature of the situation).
Attendance lists are taken by the Captain, or their designee, of
the Volunteer Company and are submitted to the Department Training/Safety
Officer at the completion of the drill.
At all incidents or live training exercises, there shall be present
the Fire Department Training/Safety Officer. This person is a member
of the Career Department. Should the Fire Department Training/Safety
Officer not be present, the Captain of the Volunteer Company shall
appoint one, should the Volunteer Captain be the Incident Commander.
It is the responsibility of the Safety Officer to pay special attention
to any activities that jeopardize the well-being of civilians or firefighters.
Whenever possible, the Safety Officer shall not be involved in any
tasks that would prevent the Safety Officer from acting effectively.
The content of the drills and training exercises may be recommended
by the Captain of the Volunteer Company to the Department Training/Safety
Officer for review and requires approval of the Fire Chief.
A schedule of the monthly drills should be prepared by the Training/Safety
Officerof the Department and approved by the Fire Chief.