When the siren wails...
It was 11:45 on a Monday morning and the pagers rang out. There was a dwelling fire with smoke showing from the roof and we were called out to the neighboring borough for mutual aid.
…we didn't get out the door.
It is no secret that the shortage of volunteer firefighters has become a very serious topic among small towns in rural areas. Most of the volunteers that are involved have grown up in the fire service so it's almost bred into them since childhood. Unfortunately though with changing times, these volunteers aren't as involved anymore. Families, jobs, and other commitments have the population of volunteer firefighters declining each and every year.
Volunteer fire companies save municipalities and taxpayers $139.8 billion annually
70% of America's firefighters are volunteers and 85% of the nation's departments are all or mostly volunteer
The number of volunteers has declined 15% and the amount of calls have increased 300% (mostly medical).
Recruiting men and women to join has been a struggle for quite some time as well. Smaller departments do not have the call volume to keep younger people interested and those with families aren't able to commit to the training requirements.
According to an article published by the National Volunteer Fire Council, NVFC Chair Kevin D. Quinn has stated, "This should be a wake-up call for everyone serves in, is protected by, or cares about the volunteer fire service. We know many volunteer fire departments are struggling to maintain adequate staffing. However, the scale of the loss of volunteer firefighters estimated is really disturbing and something that we need to work on as a community and a nation to address."
The federal government is making efforts to aid local fire departments by providing grant monies, student loan forgiveness for volunteer fire and EMS personnel, and modifying the tax code but make no mistake - these things are farther into the future than those active today would like to see.
Vincent P. McNally was quoted in the New York Times saying that "too much is being asked of volunteer firefighters." Volunteers have training, fighting fires, and fundraising as part of their requirements so he may be on to something. The days of the firefighters just going to fires is long gone for most departments as Ladies Auxiliaries are being phased out as well because there is no one to replace them.
If you or someone you know may be interested in helping out your local fire department, please do not hesitate to stop in while the bay doors are open and find out how. Fire departments not only need firefighters; they need people to help sell tickets or serve tables or donate a basket to a Chinese auction. Not every opportunity requires risking your life to save someone else's.
