Departments fire up efforts to recruit, retain firefighters
As the firetruck raced to the scene, it was manned by the only two volunteer firefighters who were available. When it came time to fight the fire, one held the hose while the other one worked the truck.
For the village and similarly sized towns across the country, this level of response is all too common.
"People just don't have the time to volunteer," said
Of
Becoming a volunteer firefighter is not simply a matter of showing up at the door and asking to join. Aside from being on call, volunteers are required to take hours of classes to be certified and retain peak training.
"The time commitment ... the training and all that can really add up,"
Like Thiele, Gambrill said he cannot recall the last time he had a full roster of volunteers. After his numbers dipped as low as 19 volunteers three years ago, Gambrill said they have leveled off at 24 to 27. The full roster would be 30.
"We're holding our own, but we would always like to have some more people," Gambrill said.
A recurring theme is heard from fire chiefs about recruiting volunteers: the inconsistent hours, lack of pay and inability to spend more time with their families has made volunteer firefightering less appealing for potential recruits.
The problem is worsened on weekdays when people are at work, as well as on nice weekends when volunteers are spending time at home.
With that, officials have to step up their recruitment efforts, even if they know they will not have much more to offer than a small stipend or life insurance policy.
The major suggestions have been for a grass-roots effort to meet personally with local residents to bring awareness to the issue and find those who may not even know about the volunteer positions.
"People in the community expect when they call 911 that the fire department to show up," said
Local leaders need to specify to residents just how they can assist, Yancey said. Even if someone is not able or willing to fight fires, he said they can volunteerat such tasks as clerical work.
Some of those efforts have been undertaken by
"Who doesn't like to get in and get their hands dirty and tear things up?" Thiele said.
Other departments look to youth to find their recruits.
While the cadets do not get to go on calls,
"We try to build those up to where, when those kids turn 18, they may want to become firefighters," Hackl said. "It may not be here, but they'll be a firefighter somewhere."
Hackl said
Other departments have fared better.
"I wish I had the magic answer, but I do not," White said. "We've been incredibly fortunate in that regard, and I don't want to jinx it."
The department has put a special focus on making it less a responsibility for the volunteers who provide their time. White said it is common to have big cookouts and gatherings for the volunteers and their families as a token of thanks.
"Our department, it's not an organization; we run it as a family," White said. "We want to keep all our families involved in the community."
It has not always been the case for the department. Lawrence said they have struggled during times of economic hardship when recruits had to focus on their personal lives.
The lack of volunteers has been helped with the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, an organization that allows for increased collaboration among agencies to respond to emergencies.
Fifteen fire departments and fire districts in
The system has been a big help as officials continue their efforts to find new volunteers, but Gambrill said even the best recruiting efforts may not be enough.
"Some people are wired to do this; some people are not," Gambrill said. "If a person is not inclined to do this, they're not going to stay here very long."
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