Millersburg Fire Co. 1 Junior Firefighter Program

A junior firefighter shall be classified as any member under age eighteen (18) (and in accordance with state law) or still enrolled in High School, or should still be enrolled in High School, who is legally eligible to be a member of the Millersburg Fire Co. No. 1, Inc.

Junior firefighters must follow the requirements set forth by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that deal with minors. Junior firefighters must also follow all the rules, regulations and responsibilities set forth by the by-laws, SOPs and SOGs of this fire company.

Firefighting is a very dangerous activity and should be taken seriously. Strict laws set forth by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and rules set forth by the Millersburg Fire Company are designed to protect and educate you. The Millersburg Fire Company strives to keep safety a high priority so that everyone comes home. While performing as a firefighter can be very rewarding and fun, while on an emergency scene or during training, "goofing off" is not tolerated.

If you are ever in doubt of what you are allowed to do or have questions about the legality of a task you are requested to perform, ASK a senior member or officer. If you feel that you are being requested to perform an activity you know to be illegal, it is YOUR responsibility to report the member that requested you to perform the illegal activity to an officer.

The Millersburg Fire Company Junior Program will be under the direct guidance of the fire chief. Three senior members will be appointed to serve as Junior Advisors and will oversee the day-to-day operation of the Junior Program.

While a junior member, you must complete an orientation consisting of apparatus test, knowledge of company by-laws and Standard Operating Procedures and command structure.

As a Junior member you must maintain your grades at a C level or better in order to be an active junior member. If you cannot keep your grades at a C level or better, you will be suspended until such time that you raise your grade level to a C or better.

As a junior member, you are not permitted to use a blue light.

As a junior member under the age of 18, you are not permitted to use tobacco products on fire company property, fire scenes or any other fire company activity. If you are found in violation of this policy the following disciplinary action(s) will be taken: First Offense – Written warning Second Offense – Two week suspension and parental notification Third Offense – 30 day suspension with the possibility of expulsion The following are rules for junior members to follow while on station:

1. Junior members must show proper respect for all senior members. 2. Junior members will be required to spend at least one half hour doing various work around the station or studying of apparatus or the Essentials of Firefighting book before being allowed to watch TV or relax. 3. Junior members will not be allowed to spend time at the station if no senior member is present. 4. Junior members must sign-in and sign-out every time they enter or exit the building. 5. A senior member will oversee the junior member(s) while studying apparatus or working on station. 7. Junior members may not be at the station if they have schoolwork to be completed. 8. If a junior member misses school due to illness, that junior member may not come to the station. 9. All injuries, regardless of severity, must be reported immediately. 10. Junior members are required to attend as many company training sessions as possible. 11. Junior members are not allowed to be on station after 2130 on weekdays and 2300 on weekends, days preceding a school vacation occurring during the school year and summer vacation. The only exception is if a call came in prior to those hours or if you are needed for educational purposes. 12. Junior members must participate in any training or work detail if on station. If a junior member refuses, that junior member will be sent home.

The following are rules for junior members to follow while on an emergency call:

1. Junior Firefighters must don full protective bunker gear before boarding any piece of fire apparatus. 2. Junior Firefighters shall wear full protective bunker gear to all calls unless otherwise instructed by a line officer 3. Junior members may not respond to calls in personally owned vehicles unless they come upon the scene. 4. Junior members must follow all laws set forth by the Commonwealth of PA. 5. Junior members may not ride the first due apparatus unless specifically requested by the Officer in charge (O.I.C.) 6. Junior members may not ride to mutual aid calls unless specifically requested by the O.I.C. 7. Junior members will surrender their seat on a piece of apparatus to any senior member unless directed otherwise by the O.I.C. or senior member approaching the piece of apparatus. 8. Junior members may not speak to the media and shall direct any media to an officer. 9. At no time will a junior member stand up on any apparatus while responding on a call. 10. Responding to calls is prohibited between 2200 and 0700 Sunday through Thursday. 11. Responding to calls is prohibited between 0100 and 0600 Fridays and Saturdays and on days preceding a school vacation occurring during the school year, except the last day of such vacation period. There is no night limit during summer vacation. 12. At no time will a junior member respond to a call from school. 13. If a junior member is discovered to be skipping school to respond to any call, that junior member will be suspended for a time to be determined by the fire chief. 14. Junior members will be issued orange helmets so they are easily identified on the fireground.

State Law concerning minors involved in firefighting:

Section 7.3. Minor Volunteer Fire Company, Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Volunteer Rescue Squads and Volunteer Forest Fire Crew Member Activities.- (a) Minors who are members of a volunteer fire company and volunteer forest fire crew may participate in training and firefighting activities as follows: (1) Drivers of trucks, ambulances or other official fire vehicles must be eighteen years of age. (2) Minors sixteen and seventeen years of age who have successfully completed a course of training equal to the standards for basic fire-fighting established by the Department of Education and the Department of Environmental Resources [now the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources], may engage in fire-fighting activities provided that such minors are under the direct supervision and control of the fire chief, an experienced line officer or a designated forest fire warden. (3) No person under eighteen years of age shall be permitted to (i) operate an aerial ladder, aerial platform or hydraulic jack, (ii) use rubber electrical gloves, insulated wire gloves, insulated wire cutters, life nets or acetylene cutting units, (iii) operated the pumps of any fire vehicle while at the scene of a fire, or (iv) enter a burning structure. (b) The activities of minors under sixteen years of age shall be limited to: (1) Training. (2) First Aid. (3) Clean-up service at the scene of a fire, outside the structure, after the fire has been declared by the fire official in charge to be under control. (4) Coffee wagon and food services. (c) In no case, however, shall minors under sixteen years of age be permitted to: (1) Operate high-pressure hose lines, except during training activities; (2) Ascend ladders, except during training activities; or (3) Enter a burning structure. (d) All other activities by minors who are members of a volunteer fire company or a volunteer forest fire crewman shall be permissible unless specifically prohibited by [the Child Labor Law]. (e) No rule or regulation of any State agency concerning minor volunteer firemen shall be adopted or promulgated except by amendment to [the Child Labor Law]. (f) All other existing provisions of [the Child Labor Law] and the regulations promulgated thereunder affecting the employment of minors shall be applicable in all cases, including the requirements for employment certificates and the limitations on hours of employment: Provided, That a minor sixteen or seventeen years of age who is a member of a volunteer fire company who answers a fire call while lawfully employed and continues in such service until excused by the one acting as chief of that fire company shall not be considered in violation of this act for any part of the period so occupied: And further provided, That a minor who is fourteen or fifteen years of age, who is a member of a volunteer fire company and who performs the training or fire- fighting activities permitted for such minor under the provisions of [the Child Labor Law] between the hours of seven o'clock in the evening and ten o'clock in the evening before a day of school with written parental consent shall not be considered in violation of [the Child Labor Law]. (g) Any minor who is a member of a volunteer ambulance corps or rescue squad may participate in training and any other activity as provided by regulations adopted by the Department of Labor and Industry but in any case, driver of all ambulances or other official ambulance corps or rescue squad vehicles must be eighteen years of age. (1915, P.L.286, No.177, § 7.3)