Carbon County fire departments are made up solely of volunteers.

Over the years, there has been a significant decline in the number of volunteers choosing to put their lives on the line for their communities.In 1977, there were approximately 300,000 volunteer firefighters across Pennsylvania.Today, there are approximately 50,000, and the majority of volunteer firefighters are in their 50s and 60s.John McArdle, president of the two associations and Nesquehoning Hose Company fire chief, said that the aging group, as well as low retention rates of younger individuals, makes it difficult for the companies to always provide the best coverage possible."No longer can we just take someone off the street and put them into a fire," he said, noting that he always asks why more people don't volunteer. "We need people to fight fires, work breakfasts, cut the grass, do repairs, clean the floors etc. Unfortunately, the numbers are dwindling and forcing mergers and consolidations."To try to spark interest in the importance of volunteer firefighters, the Carbon County Fire Chiefs Association and the Carbon County Firemen's Association teamed up with Blue Ridge Cable's TV-13 and Via Media to create a public service announcement for recruitment and retention of members.McArdle said Kim Bell, vice president of Local Origination Programming and general manager of TV-13; Angela Nardini of Via Media; and David Watson, creative services editor for TV-13, jumped on board and provided four public service announcements that ran for free for three months on area television networks.Recently, the two associations honored Bell, Watson and Nardini for their help and dedication to area fire companies."We recognize how important the fire departments are," Bell said. "We thank you for all of your help, all of your support and for being there. It is so important to have volunteers, so when I was approached about this project it just seemed like something we had to do and I was happy to offer our sources.""Volunteers are very far and few between, and hopefully what services were offered help the local fire departments," Nardini said. "I have tremendous respect for what you people do and how you put yourself in harm's way for a great cause."Watson commended the creative department, not just himself, in making the public service announcements.