What is a Volunteer Firefighter?
Since the beginning of our community there have been those willing to go out in the night and rescue those who are in need. Although people and society are different today, the Volunteer Fire service remains a viable force in Pacific Grove. Why is that? Volunteers are those individuals who have unselfishly served the citizens and visitors of Pacific Grove since 1887. The Pacific Grove Fire Department is a combination - Volunteer/Paid Department. There are 35 Volunteers, 15 paid firefighters, 3 Chief Officers,
1 Administrative Secretary, and a Fire Clerk. It was a goal of former Fire Chief Glass' to revise the By-laws of the Volunteer Department to allow the City to hire directly from our Volunteer Department as a promotional opportunity.

The Department began as a Volunteer Department and over the years has grown into a combination department. Fire Facts published by the Office of the State Fire Marshal indicates there are approximately 35,000 volunteer firefighters in the State of California. 477 fire departments in California are totally volunteer and another 277 fire departments are mostly volunteer, like Pacific Grove. The 1993 Fire Service Census confirmed one out
of every four emergency personnel in California is a volunteer.

The Nature of the Volunteer
In today's world most of us spend our so called leisure time,
(or time not working for a paycheck) on our hobbies or with our families. The volunteer does both of these along with probably what he or she considers the important job of their life, being a part of a volunteer fire department. Many studies have been
done on motivational factors for volunteer firefighters.

The number one motivating factor overall is Helping One's Community with number two being Making a Real Contribution. The jobs many of us do every day do not always allow us the satisfaction of seeing direct results of our labor. Being a member of a volunteer fire department allows a person to see immediate and substantial outcomes to their efforts when responding on calls. Companionship and friendship along with raising one's self-esteem were other reasons given by several studies for volunteering. Ranking last on the list were such items as being
in control, prestige, excitement, and job opportunities. Most fire service volunteers believe the reward is generally received in their emergency response activities at the fire department.

The socialization within a volunteer fire department provides its members with a strong sense of community solidarity and identity. Teamwork, personal investment, and self-sacrifice are the basis of the social framework of the volunteer fire department. Each member knows they may someday put their
life in the hands of a department brother or sister. Espirit de
corps and brotherhood lies within every firefighter whether expressed verbally or not.