Update: Growing Pains

VolunteerFD.org has grown to over 7650 volunteer fire department members, and has over 11,000 people visit on a monthly basis. We also have over 1500 submissions in our members section and launched our “Cruisin for Soltuions” (http://cruise.volunteerfd.org) program recently.

With growth comes growing pains. This week we felt a big one when the site went down twice. We outgrew our current set up and hosting provider. This meant that I had to take the site down yesterday and relocate the servers to our new provider. Luckily, the new provider has more bandwidth then we’ll ever need, but it does come at a cost. (For the tech geeks out there, we went from a T-1 Colo to a dual DS-3 colo, with OC-3 capacity.) In layman’s terms, it means the connectivity is almost 100 times better, and you should be able to get to the site quicker.

In updating/moving the site, I also found that many members might not be aware of exactly how much information is available at VolunteerFD.org. The member’s section contains over 1500 submissions from departments throughout the country. Each section is set up similarly, and can be searched based upon multiple criteria. (Or none. You can leave the search blank, hit submit and it will give you all the results)

The different sections can be reached at:

The submissions have been phenomenal. Each section contains multiple entire lesson plans, bylaws, sogs, and more. If you are a member, and you want to submit or update your submissions for the above sections, visit http://www.volunteerfd.org/profile.php If you are not a member, you can join at http://www.volunteerfd.org/join.php

Other important sections:

The message board is located at http://www.volunteerfd.org/phorum/ I have been impressed with the discussions on the boards, and have found it a great place to share information and meet other departments. There is a forum called “Site Comments/Updates/Ideas” at http://www.volunteerfd.org/phorum/list.php?f=8 This area is where I post any updates, and love to hear what you have to say. Many additions to the site have come from your ideas.

There is a chat room at http://www.volunteerfd.org/chat Every Sunday at 1800 est the NVFA meets in the chat room. If you would like rooms added, let me know.

The members pages area has been updated and has grown and has been segmented into alphabetical listings. (http://www.volunteerfd.org/memberspages.php) If you department is not listed, and you would like it listed, contact me at jason@volunteerfd.org All I ask is a link back to http://www.volunteerfd.org There is a banner you can use at http://www.volunteerfd.org/images/vfdbanner.gif

Each member is given a mail account at VolunteerFD.org. This can be accessed via the web at http://mail.volunteerfd.org It can also be accessed via POP3, IMAP, and SMTP at mail.volunteerfd.org. You should log into your mail account by using your entire email address, i.e. userid@volunteerfd.org

If you are looking for supplies, or other sites, check out our Resources (http://www.volunteerfd.org/resources.php) or Shop (http://www.volunteerfd.org/shop.php) sections. Visiting our advertisers helps to pay for the site, and keeps the content coming.

Speaking of advertisers, one of my ‘favorite’ sections is the advertising information at http://www.volunteerfd.org/adinfo.php Our advertising is sold out for this year, but I need advertisers for next year. Be sure to tell your suppliers that they should support VolunteerFD.org by advertising.

My other ‘favorite’ section is of course our Cruise. (http://cruise.volunteerfd.org ) I know I’m looking forward to it, and so are many others. Sign up while there is still space.

That’s your tour of VolunteerFD.org. If you have ideas, comments, or questions, email me at Jason@volunteerfd.org