Volunteer Membership

Volunteering requires no experience, and no certifications or licensures. Firefighting is one of the few occupations remaining where you can learn from the ground up in-house and the training you receive here directly translates into valuable professional certifications. Volunteer firefighters make up the backbone of the American fire service. Without volunteers, fire protection in the United States would be nearly impossible. At Silk Hope, we are proud to be 100% volunteer. Since our founding in 1965, we have maintained a heritage of service and commitment to our community that saves lives and improves the quality of life for the people we serve

Silk Hope VFD maintains a commitment to professional development.  As a volunteer, you are entitled to attend Firefighter and EMT certification courses at no cost. We will also reimburse any travel expenses incurred while attending classes. These courses are state recognized professional certifications that are used by career fire and EMS agencies throughout North Carolina. Average pay for these fields now is over $43,000 per year making your service not just an investment into your community but, into your future as well.

At Silk Hope, we value the investment that our volunteers make in service to our community.  For each call a volunteer runs, they earn $10.00 which is paid out as a stipend twice a year in July and December.

Your service to the community entitles you to a retirement pension through the North Carolina Firemen's Association after the age of 55 and 20 years of service regardless of department membership.

At Silk Hope the term, Brotherhood, actually means something and, we use the term liberally. Here you're family and that means that we take care of our own. Our committment to you when you join that family? To help you grow into the person and the firefighter you want to become. Because any chain is only as strong as its weakest link and any family is only what it's bonds make it.