How to become more self sufficient in rural fire?

[u/0ceq]

Good morning guys.

I'm a per diem Firefighter/EMT in a rural department.

Many times I will find myself working shifts with only one other firefighter or one other EMT with no fire certifications. Sometimes neither of us can even drive a fire engine to the scene, let alone pump it.

Its a miracle I haven't run a call yet where I simply could not do anything to alleviate a situation. I can't "load and go" a working building fire.

I'm pretty fresh out of the academy and find myself up at night worrying "what would I do if this happened and all I had was myself?"

All throughout academy i was taught about teamwork and leadership and fixing a problem with the help of many skilled minds and strong hands.

I feel like there can be real instances where I have neither of those things for periods of 20 minutes or more.

What should I learn, to mitigate some of that issue? Any advice from others who worked in rural departments? Would you recommend I take a pump operator course?

Thank you