1. Applicants for appointment as volunteer firefighter shall make written application on blanks furnished by the department.

2. The applications shall be forwarded to the department membership committee which shall:

a.    Interview the candidates

b.    Assign them to a company based upon their residence

c.    Present the application at the next regular department meeting. 

3. After the application is read at the Department meeting it shall be placed on the company bulletin boards where it shall remain until the succeeding regular monthly meeting at which time, if it is properly processed in accordance with the Department By-Laws, it shall be voted upon, unless the application is withdrawn by the proposer.

4. Filling Vacancies:

a. When a vacancy is to be filled, the applicants shall be considered in chronological order of acceptance of their application.

b. If a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote is not reached the application shall be considered as rejected and the applicant dropped from the membership.

5. All applicants shall meet the requirements of the following subsections before being granted junior or recruit membership.

a. A legal resident of the operating area of the department; or, if not a resident of the Town of Cheshire, reside within a two (2) mile radius of Company 2.

b. At least sixteen (16) years of age for junior firefighter, or at least eighteen (18) years of age and completed high school or it’s equivalent for recruit firefighter

c. No person is eligible for appointment while away at school as a boarding student. 

d. Physically able to perform the duties of a volunteer firefighter without qualifications to his/her physical fitness.  A certificate from the department physician to this effect is required prior to taking the agility test. 

e. A clearance from  N.C.I.C. (Background Check)

f. Must pass an agility test approved by the Fire Officer’s Board before becoming a junior or recruit member.  The agility test will be administered monthly by a chief officer.

1. Junior membership requires parental consent and an overall "C" average.  A junior firefighter shall not respond to fires after 10:00 p.m. on school nights.  He/she should respond to an appropriate firehouse and participate only as a passenger in a vehicle.  He/she shall not get a blue light permit until he/she becomes a recruit member.  He/she will be governed by the junior by-laws.

2. Junior members shall apply for recruit membership at the next respective department meeting upon completion of high school and age eighteen (18).

1. Recruit membership in the department shall be limited to forty (40) members. 

2. Each recruit member shall be eligible for regular membership at the sixth regular monthly meeting after being accepted as such, providing all of the requirements of Article III, Section 1, of the department by-laws have been met.  After July 1, 1998, each recruit member shall be eligible for regular membership at the sixth regular monthly meeting after being accepted as such, providing the member is certified by the State of Connecticut as Firefighter I and Hazardous Materials First Responder Operational within a two (2) year period.  At the end of this two (2) year period a recruit member who has not become certified as State of Connecticut Firefighter I and Hazardous Materials First Responder Operational shall forfeit his/her membership and return all equipment belonging to the department.  When a vacancy is to be filled, the recruit members shall be considered in chronological order of original acceptance as recruit members.  If a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote is not reached, he/she shall retain his/her recruit status.

3. Recruit members are ineligible to vote.