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Originally Posted by towny
Nice one Jerrek.
Volunteering for the emergency services is a little different over here - you can volunteer for the police (completely unpaid) or the fire service (you have a day job but get called on as a 'retained' firefighter, which does attract pay), but as Charlie says, the nearest we have to a volunteer ambulance service is St John Ambulance. Organisers of major public events use them to provide on-site first aid cover, but they don't do any of the big rushing through the streets lifesaving stuff AFAIK.
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St John's ambulance are frequently "out & about" at peak times doing a lot of fetching and carying work to releive the stress on the main ambulance services in the UK. Their vehicles do have blue lights, so if there was a need, I'm quite sure the drivers. if authorised to drive at that level, would do a blue light run. However I don't think the St Johns would be the primary response to an incident.
As an aside, being a passenger in a police response vehicle doing a blue light run across Surrey, in the rush hour, was one of he most jaw dropping experiences I've ever had. Roller Coaster rides and the like aren't a patch on it. You just never know what the reaction of the next driver you encounter will be, except it is going to be unpredictable
Voluntary work with the emergency services can be extremely rewarding, demanding, and a bit of an eye opener. If you have the time and are prepared for the commitment, I can recommend it.