I went to two different volunteer fire department’s monthly meetings this past week. I wanted to check out the meetings of the ones “that have the more active volunteer programs” to see which I’d prefer to join. Here is my story.

The Falls Church Volunteer Meeting

I got to this one about 15 minutes early. A few people were there already. Some guy asked me if I talked to the coordinator of recruitment for the volunteer program. Since I hadn’t, he walked me and another guy down to an office where we filled out applications and got information about the program. About 10 new people showed up that night. They answered our questions and gave us realistic expecations for the volunteer program. They got all of this done before the 8pm meeting started.

At least 60 people showed up. The meeting was run based on Robert’s Rules of Order. It was done very orderly and professionally. The content of the meeting bored me a bit because I didn’t know what was being talked about half the time. But if I had been there before, I’m sure I would’ve known something about something.

Near the end of the meeting, they called off each new person’s name and address. They had you introduce yourself to the group and say a bit about yourself. That’s called your “first reading”. Everyone looked like they cared about what you said and it seemed like a decent, yet slightly weird, group of people who don’t like to see places burn.

The Cherrydale Volunteer Meeting

I got to this meeting about 15 minutes early as well. As I was parking, some guy was outside hanging around a car talking on his cellphone. I figured he was going to the meeting but was too timid to go inside on his own. I went inside the fire station and used their bathroom.

When I came out, Mr. Timid was in the hallway waiting and looking at the pictures they have on the walls. I guess Mr. Timid was too apprehensive to walk into the main meeting room.

I, on the other hand, am like the Wizard of Oz. But instead of giving people whatever they want (brain, heart, courage, and home), I only give out courage to cowardly lions. And when I have spare plastic buckets of courage, I use them on myself.

I opened the door and there were 5 older people sitting around a table. They told me they were having a regular meeting and the volunteer meeting would start in a few minutes. The time was about 7:50. The volunteer meeting is scheduled to start at 8pm. I growled at them and closed the door on my way out.

I sat down on a chair in the hallway and Mr. Timid came over and started talking to me. While we made meaningless small talk, two other guys came up. They were volunteers who had been there before and were actual members. They made boring small talk with each other such as “hey the light bulb blew out in this here hallway” and “what kind of batteries does that there flashlight of yours take”. A third member came and took a seat. He also inquired about the light bulb.

The volunteer meeting didn’t start until 8:15 (15 minutes after it was supposed to start). The 5 of us sat down and the 5 older people were already seated in front of the room. I guess they were the treasurer, secretary, president, and whatever else. I say I guess because we were given no introductions or anything of the sort. They started the meeting like we all knew what was going on.

The assumed president talked about a few fire department things. He was sitting in front of the rectangular, wood table so his back was to the crowd. The odd part was that he didn’t turn around while he was speaking to us. I felt like that showed the lack of respect he has for the meeting and for the volunteers themselves. My boredom fuse ignited.

The secretary read thank you letters and a letter from some guy who used to volunteer there and became an army medic. My boredom was reaching a very dangerous level. Then she read information about a guy that died a few months ago. It was the same information that I heard at the meeting the night before where all of the friendly people were. My bored-o-meter went CRAZY!!!

Guess what I did…

I figured based on the lack of membership, the disregard of the new folks, and the disrespectful actions of the president, the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department wasn’t the place for me. I walked out of the meeting 5 minutes after it started 15 minutes late. If I stayed any longer, it would’ve been a misappropriation of my life.

I may check out a few volunteer fire-fighting programs in Fairfax County but I’ve decided (for now) to go with the Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department program.

What would you have done at that second meeting if you were in my shoes?

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