"It takes a very special person to volunteer his time," (Stephens et al 14) however, the number of these special people who volunteer as firefighters is declining and fire departments are doing all they can to retain current volunteer firefighters and gain new ones. Over the years, the number of volunteer firefighters within the United States has been declining. Not only is it becoming difficult to persuade people in joining fire departments, but it is also becoming more difficult to retain the volunteers that are currently in the service. The decline in volunteer firefighters leads to many problems. Such problems include the increasing amount of time it takes one fire department to respond to an accident, as well as unwelcome remarks from the communities in which we serve. To counteract this issue, volunteer fire departments are beginning to contrive new ways of holding on to their current members as well as gain new ones. Some of the new things fire companies have been offering include incentive programs, live-in programs for college students and amenities such as lounges and game rooms. The way they try to advertise the need for volunteers has been changing lately as well. I am a volunteer at four fire departments, three in Berks County, PA and one in Delaware County, PA, where I currently reside during the academic year at Widener University. I am experiencing how fire departments are trying to obtain new members by participating in a live-in program. From my personal experience as a volunteer firefighter, I see this occurring quite often; from a volunteer leaving a department, or a fire department adding something new to the station to attract more volunteers it happens quite often lately.
Whether one is in Pennsylvania or perhaps anywhere in the country, if someone was to apply at a local volunteer firehouse around 20 years ago, chances are they would have been placed on a waiting list. For example, in Adamsburg, PA in the 1980's, there were so many people wanting to join the fire department that there was actually a waiting list to be accepted. (Hampson). Another example is from Centerport, NY; during the 1960's, they also had a waiting list. In fact, there were so many people on that list that one could have been waiting for at least two years to become a member (Winzelberg). However, that is not the case any longer. There are no longer waiting lists to join fire departments and if one was to be a member at Adamsburg presently, you would most likely find yourself waiting quite some time for volunteers to show up to go to the emergency or a piece of apparatus to show up at your door if you were a homeowner in that area (Hampson). According to Rick Hampson, "The volunteer fire company, an institution that dates to Ben Franklin, is slowly going the way of the horse-drawn pumper." Nevertheless, there has to be some sort of explanation for the decline of volunteer firefighters.
It has been published across the country that the number of volunteer firefighters have been declining. In northeast Pennsylvania alone, the number of volunteers has dropped from about 300,000 to 72,000 over the past 30 years and across the country, the number has dropped more than 10% over the past 20 years (Hampson). After 9/11 the number of volunteers has increased, but not by a large margin, according to Donald Gackenheimer, the executive director of the Suffolk County Fire Academy in Yaphank, he stated that he has seen an increase in people in their 20's at the fire academy (Winzelberg). This decrease leads to the longer response times and makes fire officials worry about the number of firefighters available, especially for calls during the daytime hours (Miller). The volunteer fire service does not seem to attract the patrons as much as it used to.
For the decline in volunteer firefighters, we turn to society, which is much like the way the wind blows, always changing, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. However, for the volunteer fire service, it is changing for the worse. Whether it is because having longer commutes or supervisors that will not let you leave for a fire call, or even households where both the husband and wife work or sports for kids that run year-round, those are all factors that can be considered as contributors for the decline in volunteers (Hampson). In my own opinion, I feel that currently the economy has a lot to do with the downfall of volunteers. Some people just do not have the extra money to spend on gas to drive to the firehouse and back home on a daily basis.
This lack of money leads to working more hours, which in turn means less time for hobbies and especially working for the community as a firefighter and not receiving any type of payment for it. As stated in the article "Give Them What They Are Paying For," "In today's world, it seems there is nothing more precious or valuable than someone's time. Volunteers are not just giving of their time. They are choosing to spend their 'free time' volunteering rather than doing something with their family, pursuing a hobby, or making money at their primary job or even part-time job." (Stephens et al 14). Less time is just one aspect of a changing society, and although the changing society is not the only reason, I feel that it is one of the largest contributors to the decline.
Another contributing factor is the tougher Federal training now required to be a firefighter (Miller). According to Robert Stebbins in his article, "Serious Leisure," volunteer firefighting is a "serious leisure" (Stebbins 54) due to the complexity and challenges within this hobby as well as the amount of training required. (Stebbins 54). The basic firefighting class is over 100 hours of training and many people these days do not have that amount of time available to do something that they are not being paid to do. "Twenty to 30 years ago, volunteer fire departments were more social in nature. Training was not a hardcore requirement," (Nedder 14). However, that is not the case anymore, for instance, throughout my four years as a firefighter, I have probably spent roughly 500 hours participating in different training at least, and that is just the beginning. One phrase I always hear from more experienced firefighters is "firefighters train for life." In a nutshell, this means that as a firefighter we must constantly train to learn new techniques to stay safe; the day we stop training is the day we die. In a study conducted by Kenneth Richards, fire chief of the Old Mystic Fire Department, Richards stated, "Too many good men and women are leaving the volunteer fire service because they feel it is no longer worth the time required to train." Unfortunately, there is no way around intensive training as a firefighter. This is because training is now monitored by many agencies such as insurance groups, as well as local, state and federal government agencies (Stephens et al 16). Members of the community do not realize what changes the fire service goes through, and how those changes affect the fire departments.
Often, fire departments take some criticism from the communities they serve depending on the speed of the fire department when responding to incidents or even how the fire companies spend their money that was often provided by the community's tax dollars. Due to the decreased number of volunteers, this leads to slower responses to emergencies and the lack of manpower at emergency scenes. Both of which the community frowns upon, and also requires more departments be called upon to handle one incident. The community does not understand what the fire company goes through and how understaffed the department is. Twenty to 30 years ago, the community's viewpoint on the firefighters was that they do the best they can; however, that is not the case anymore (Nedder 14). Today many people are moving from cities to the rural areas and then these people expect the same service as they received while living in the city from the fire department (Nedder 14). Unless the volunteer department has some paid staff or live-ins the chances of this happening all the time is rare.
The community also wonders why we spend so much money on things that are unnecessary for fire protection, such as televisions and pool tables etc. "People complain that the volunteers just want to have a nice place to drink a few beers, play pool and watch football games in their comfortable firehouse lounges," (Winzelberg). However, the communities just do not understand that these are the things fire companies must spend money on to attract members and to have members spend more time at the department.
To counteract these issues, volunteer fire departments are beginning to contrive new ways of retaining their current members as well as gain new ones. Some of the new things fire companies have been offering include incentive programs, live-in programs for college students and amenities such as lounges and game rooms. The way they try to advertise the need for volunteers has been changing lately as well. "Some departments have tried TV and billboard advertising." (Nedder 14). That is just one of the new ways to reach potential volunteers, however it still seems that most volunteers join when they are asked by a friend or family member (Nedders 14). Throughout my life, I've always wanted to join my local fire department, but I was nervous about it at first, until I found out that a friend of mine has already joined which made my decision a lot easier.
To begin, some fire departments develop ways to provide financial incentives for the volunteers (Winzelberg). These incentive programs include anything from retirement funds, to being paid on a per call basis. In Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, volunteers even get free admission to county-owned swimming pools and ice skating rinks along with scholarships from the local community college (Zapf). From my experience in Berks County, PA, many departments near my home are providing pay per call incentives. In fact, a department that I am a firefighter at, Wyomissing Fire Department implemented such an incentive plan. However, there are certain requirements that must be met first, such as attending so many training nights at the station, or responding to a specific number of emergencies.
Even state and federal government officials also are aware of the declining number of volunteers and support plans such as these. "Towns and cities should consider pension plans and other financial incentives to attract recruits to the rapidly dwindling ranks of volunteer firefighters, a state legislator suggested last week," (Herbst). That quote was the first line of an article in the Connecticut New York Times in 1989 and shows that the state officials support these plans. Now 10 years later, the volunteer fire service is still suffering, even worse than in 1989.
In Pennsylvania, Governor Ed Rendell is doing his part by the tax cut that awarded volunteers a $100 income tax cut. Even in Tennessee, a law was adopted to prevent volunteers from losing their pay or vacation time for leaving work to respond to emergencies. This was an addition to a law that already stated that volunteers could not lose their jobs due to being absent or late to work which was created in 2003 (Phillips). Last but not least, on the federal level, a $1,000 income tax credit was proposed as well as a proposal to help fight the high fuel prices (Zapf). Fire departments are also starting to provide much greater incentives for volunteers who are also in college.
To help fight college expenses, as well as gain more volunteers, live-in programs have been developing within many fire departments that are close to college campuses. This solution to help fight the declining numbers of volunteers, not only helps the fire company but also the students. For the fire company, it ensures that there will be someone at the station most of the day, or at least especially at night. This is important because then this decreases response time as well as increases the number of personnel at nighttime emergencies. For the student, it provides a place to live off campus free of charge, which can save a lot of money, as well as providing the student with many other experiences. Therefore, everyone benefits from these programs. Some fire departments even provide more than just a place to live. For instance, Eden Fire Department in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, provides college reimbursement as well as the potential for career fire service employment (www.edenfire.com). "Without the Live-In program as one of the staffing options available, the EVFD would be forced to explore a much more costly option for providing fire protection – fulltime career staffing." (Eden Fire) Many departments would be in that same situation if it were not for their live-in programs as well. Through my personal experience, living at the firehouse is like having a second family sixty miles from home, the relationships that are built in the fire service are truly one of a kind. I have also met many helpful people including a math teacher as well as a chemistry teacher, both of which are members of the fire company. Not only did I build new relationships, but I also took on a new challenge, balancing schoolwork with the fire company and I am saving around ten thousand dollars per school year. But of course, when a fire company wants people to hangout or live at the station, they must spend some money on different amenities to attract the members
Typically, if volunteers have something to do while at their fire company, they will spend more time in the station. From my experience, if there is nothing to do at the fire department, people are less likely to be willing to spend time hanging around. Many departments have been adding different kinds of amenities for its members such as game rooms and television rooms, kitchens, places to sleep and wireless internet access, especially if the fire department has a live-in program. However, in order to make these larger purchases, the fire departments must have the money available, however there have been new Federal government grants developed to help fund these purchases. One popular grant is the SAFER grant (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) which aids in providing money for retention and recruitment. The goal of this grant is to increase the number of trained personnel available and increase the number of personnel spending time at the station to reduce response times and increase manpower at incidents (FEMA). For Lima Fire Company, where I presently live, they plan to utilize the SAFER grant to purchase new beds and furniture as well as upgrade the internet in order to attract new live-ins. Two other grants available to fire departments are the SCG, which is the Station Construction Grant, and the FP&S, or Fire Protection and Safety grant (FEMA).
The fire departments cannot do everything themselves and protect the community at the same time, so this is where the community comes in to play. Every member with the department is a big help and with the proper training and dedication could be a very valuable asset to the department. Even if one cannot join the department for themselves, passing on the word and encouraging other men and women to join can also be very helpful. Not only does it benefit the fire company and the community, but that individual as well. Firefighters train for life, not just the fire service.
On the other hand, if you are an individual considering joining your local volunteer fire department, it would be an excellent decision. "There are plenty of reasons to volunteer as a firefighter--camaraderie, the rush of answering a call, or the quieter satisfaction of public service. There is also need; while 72 percent of U.S. firefighters are volunteers; their numbers have declined 8 percent since 1984." (Georgelas). Being a volunteer firefighter can improve one's character as well as build new relationships that will last a lifetime. It is like becoming a part of a big family. If you are truly interested and want to find out more, or learn how to get started, give 1-800-FIRELINE a call.
In conclusion, the volunteer firefighting service is suffering and as stated by Rick Hampson, it is going the way of the horse-drawn pumper (Hampson). However, this statement does not need to remain true. Certainly due to the declining number of volunteers, this creates many problems for the fire company which cannot be fixed overnight. These problems could include the slower response times, to the need for more fire departments as well as receiving complaints from unhappy residents. Some fire companies have the money for volunteer incentive programs, live-in programs and different amenities for their personnel to utilize, however some do not. In my opinion, whatever the case is, fire departments could always do more to recruit and retain volunteers. Fire departments need to get out and set up recruitment drives, make themselves visible to the community, show others what being a volunteer is all about, and try to raise money for the department. Gaining support from the community is a necessity in the fire service and can go a long way. No matter what the situation is of the local fire department, chances are they could always use more help, and any help they can get is a big help. Spread the word to friends and family, and perhaps even join yourself.




Works Cited
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