Enlisting in Civil Defence

PetrovthePrat

I have some questions about joining CD. or rejoining in my case. I've sent off an email from the CD website and am waiting to hear back from them. Would it be worth my while to just ring my county CD Officer? I'm just a few weeks shy of 28,am I going to be a little older then my unit mates? And what can I expect during the recruiting phase? Cheers in advance.

Depending on your location in the country, it could either be staightforward or a long wait.

If you're not in Dublin, just turn up at your local meeting. Details of that can be got by ringing your local Civil Defence Officer (number should be on the CD website)

If you're in Dublin, expect to be put on a waiting list. And to be asked what service you want to join.

PetrovthePrat

Thanks Seaslacker. I'm in Kildare,so I'll ring the CD Officer tomorrow,have her number from the site. Here's hoping,looking forward to volunteering,the office job is driving me nuts,cabin fever or something!

B2deF

I have been on the Dublin waiting list for over 6 months now not heard anything from them.

If I were you B2deF, I'd consider hopping over a county border. Kildare, Ashbourne, Wicklow CDs are all good units, and might be easier to get into.

PetrovthePrat

Good to hear positive reports about Kildare. I phoned today,had to leave a voicemail. Can you tell me any more about what they do? Is it AFS or Rescue? I appreciate you taking the time to answer Seaslaker.

Fuinseog

PetrovthePrat wrote: »

I have some questions about joining CD. or rejoining in my case. I've sent off an email from the CD website and am waiting to hear back from them. Would it be worth my while to just ring my county CD Officer? I'm just a few weeks shy of 28,am I going to be a little older then my unit mates? And what can I expect during the recruiting phase? Cheers in advance.

mates of mine tried to join in different parts of the country and were simply ignored. even ringing up the local CDO did not seem to work.

a few years ago they were crying out for volunteers, now with the recession they have too many people joining (its something to do and it does not cost anything) and can affor to be very choosy.

soem units have a more mature make up while others seem to be comprised chiefly of teenagers.

Fuinseog

PetrovthePrat wrote: »

Good to hear positive reports about Kildare. I phoned today,had to leave a voicemail. Can you tell me any more about what they do? Is it AFS or Rescue? I appreciate you taking the time to answer Seaslaker.

i know people in kildare and they train thursdays at 730. i recommend just turning up rather than ringing.

kildare is based in naas and athy, chiefly AFS, but also catering, first aid (athy) and a boat unit. I do not know if this is true or not but country units are supposed to see more action than dublin ones.

Fuinseog

B2deF wrote: »

I have been on the Dublin waiting list for over 6 months now not heard anything from them.

sad but true, damned recession!

civdef

To echo what's been said, it's easy to ignore a phone call, difficult to ignore someone standing in front of you.

Find out locally when and where training is and just turn up. Also gives you a chance to see what the unit is like.

PetrovthePrat

Thanks for the replys. I've joined my local unit, and am enjoying it very much. We get to rotate between AFS, Casualty and Search. Glad I went, would recommend it highly so far.

Ziycon

B2deF wrote: »

I have been on the Dublin waiting list for over 6 months now not heard anything from them.

I was on the waiting list for 8 months as there was such a back log of people wanting to join, just stick it out, it'll pay off in the end.;)

Tango November.

I have been in the Red Cross for a 18 months and enjoyed it. I am strongly thinking of joining th CD . My local unitis recuriting this month, I waould like to know hat peple think about CD.



tn..

Godofhellfire

I've been in the CD for nearly 3 years and it really does depend on what unit and what county you join in. I would advise to find out what time the unit you want to join meets up and just drop in. It'll give you an idea of what kind of people are there i.e. very young or an older crowd. Don't be afraid to ask questions like what do you do on a night to night basis, what is the plan for training new recruits in the first few months or ask to have a look around and see what equipment they have. If you want to join the AFS I would defiantly ask to have a look around and note what equipment they have as some of it if god awful and is in desperate need of updated/repair/replacement. Some of it is very good though.

Overall though I really enjoy and turn up every week for training and duties. I've done a lot and have turned up at a load of call out for floods/snow etc.
I would defiantly recommend it.

I'm in the AFS by the way

Fuinseog

B2deF wrote: »

I have been on the Dublin waiting list for over 6 months now not heard anything from them.

and nor shall you unless you ring them up on weekly basis and they will get sick of you at some stage and let you join.

if you do get into a unit, you will be ignored by CD folk from other Dublin units. Dublin CD, perhaps because of its size is renowned for its 'rivalry' and lack of cooperation with each other.

irelandspurs

Do you have to be irish to join the civil defence or can i join being from the uk?

civdef

No problem with EU nationals joining, non-EU nationals need to have residency.