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Volunteers urge residents to join Woodstock's all‑volunteer fire department
Summary
Volunteers and an agency representative at a recruitment session described the personal rewards of serving with the Woodstock Fire Department, stressed that no prior experience is required, and said the department will provide training and support.
Participant 1, a meeting participant, said volunteering for the Woodstock Fire Department starts with a commitment to the community and a readiness to respond: "You have to have a certain heart for the fire service because you're not doing it for yourself," they said.
The session brought several volunteers and a department representative who described why they serve and why the department needs new members. An agency representative from the Woodstock Fire Department said the department is entirely volunteer-run and framed firefighting as "something tangible" that allows people to give back and see immediate results.
Participant 2, a meeting participant who said they are a high school senior, described the excitement of emergency response: "Favorite thing about being a firefighter is definitely gotta be riding fire trucks. Coolest thing ever." Participant 3 added that the adrenaline is followed by a deep sense of reward when responders help someone in crisis.
Recruitment details were spelled out plainly: Participant 4 said people do not need prior firefighting experience to join and that the department will "teach you everything you need to learn and gain the skill sets." Participant 5 urged residents to consider the many roles volunteers can play, saying, "There's so many things that can be done and we need help."
Several speakers framed volunteering as a second career or post‑retirement vocation. Participant 6 said retiring from paid work did not mean retiring from life: joining the fire department "made me a more responsible, caring person" and represented a continued dedication to community service.
The session emphasized both the challenges and the rewards of volunteer service. Speakers noted that emergency calls often arrive on someone's worst day and that volunteers aim to make those moments better. The agency representative closed by saying new recruits will gain valuable experience: "You're gonna get the experience of a lifetime."
No formal actions, votes, or policy decisions were recorded in the transcript; the remarks focused on recruitment, training, and personal accounts of service.
