Become a Member of the Merrimack Fire Department as an On-Call Volunteer

One of the most important emergency services operating in Merrimack is the Fire and Emergency Medical Service. Called upon at any time, the fire and Emergency Medical service answers thousands of emergency calls ranging from serious industrial accidents, vehicle accidents, Wildland fires to house fires.

However just like each of the other emergency services operating today there is a shortage of personnel which can have a bad effect if the number of emergencies rises unexpectedly to a point where the career on-duty staff becomes stretched beyond their staffing requirements, which sometimes happens.

When this happens the fire service calls upon their volunteers who are on-call and who often hold down full time jobs of their own or indeed are self employed business people.

In many occasions the on-call fire and emergency medical service is called upon to help deal with emergencies during natural disasters where the on-call responders may be away from their families for extended periods of time.

How To Become a Volunteer with the Fire and Emergency Medical Service

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer fire fighter or Emergency Medical Technician then you must be physically fit. This is very important and something, which is thoroughly investigated before any offer of a position, is made. In addition, you must be some if not all of the following:

  • Live within the Town of Merrimack
  • Be over 18 years of age
  • Be honest and trustworthy
  • Have good eye sight and hearing
  • be able to attend training programs and activities as and when required
  • Be committed to providing your local community with a high standard of volunteer service

Of course, these volunteer positions are not just open to men and indeed many women have taken the reins as volunteers.

What the Role Contains

As a volunteer firefighter and/or Emergency Medical Technician, the focus of your role will be to provide additional support for the full time career firefighters who are trained in the various disciplines as emergency responders. As a volunteer, you required to achieve State of New Hampshire and National Certification in firefighting and emergency medical care. The Merrimack Fire Department had multiple volunteer options and they are:

 On-Call Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician

Required Certified Firefighter 1 (State of NH) and Certified Emergency Medical Technician EMT-B (National Registry)

Recommended additional training: Certified Firefighter 2

 

On Call Firefighter

Required Training: Certified Firefighter 1 (State of NH)

Recommended additional training: Certified Firefighter 2

 

On-Call Emergency Medical Technician

Required Training: Emergency Medical Technician EMT-Basic, (National Registry)

 

Applying to Become a Volunteer Fire Fighter

Your first course of action should be to contact the Merrimack Fire Department by stopping by and requesting an employment application for the On-Call Division. Other forms that are required are attached to this document and a .pdf format that can be downloaded.

You should also be aware that there would be a written examination (Basic Knowledge) given on a scheduled weekday evenings for all applicants.  For those applicants wishing to be a part of the On-Call Firefighter group will be required to complete a Physical Ability Test given by the Merrimack Fire Department on a scheduled weekend.

Download Forms:

Physical Ability Test