You smell smoke. Upon investigation you find your kitchen engulfed in flames. You dial 911 and pray for an immediate response. Your local volunteer fire company's siren goes off, dispatches are sent to firefighters. Minutes can mean the difference between losing your kitchen and losing your whole house.

Now imagine there's no one to respond to the call.Kunkletown Volunteer Fire Company is almost at that point.Currently the Kunkletown fire company is at an all-time low of just six volunteer firefighters. It has now become a safety issue for them to respond to any calls. The fire company alerted the Eldred Township supervisors of the situation. The supervisors requested a meeting with the surrounding fire companies to discuss possible solutions.The supervisors met this week with members of several local volunteer fire companies' fire chiefs and Gary Hoffman, director of communications of the Monroe County Control Center.As of Monday night, Polk Township, Blue Ridge Hook and Ladder and West End volunteer fire companies agreed to a temporary modification with backup fire response.A dual response plan with the four fire companies has been in place between the hours of 6 a.m.-6 p.m. for the past few years. That is now amended to 24 hours, seven days a week for the coverage of Eldred until further notice. The township has been broken up into three sections to correspond to areas where the other fire companies will be dispatched.The plan will be in effect until March 4 and will be re-evaluated at a meeting with the four fire chiefs and the supervisors."The township is responsible for providing fire protection for the residents, and since our volunteerism is down right now, we've taken this initiative to get the other fire companies involved," said supervisor/secretary Sharon Solt.Same story everywhere"This is not just a problem for us. It's everywhere," Solt said.She thinks one of the reasons might be that the state requires 166 hours of classes for volunteer firefighters to become certified."A lot of people just don't have that kind of time," she said.Hoffman agrees."This problem is global. It is strongly dependent upon the time of day and available manpower at any given time. This issue is not only in Monroe County, but throughout the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, whenever it involves the response of 'volunteers,'" Hoffman said.According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the volunteer rate was at 25 percent at the end of September, the lowest since the government began issuing a report on volunteerism in 2002.One legislative report says Pennsylvania has around 2,300 volunteer fire departments, making up to 96 percent of the fire coverage in the state. In the 1970s there were nearly 300,000 volunteers. Today these volunteer fire departments are staffed by an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 volunteers.Reasons for declineWhile there may be many reasons for the drop in volunteers, the two most often cited are in-house fighting and fundraising. It costs a lot of money to run a fire company, from expensive updated equipment, a place to house it, insurance, training, helmets, coats and boots.Government grants and loans help, but loans have to be repaid, and fundraising is a huge part of a firefighter's duties, which leads to people dropping out of their local fire company or just not even thinking of joining.Changes in work schedules, the rise of two-income families, a drop in self-employed occupations, an aging population, increased demands on volunteers' time, especially during the weekdays, are to blame for the decline in volunteer firefighters, according to Pennsylvania Legislature and Federal Emergency Management Agency reports.And it seems harder to get young people interested in joining, so the volunteers are maturing and waning.Ray Miller, a member of Kunkletown's fire company since 1981, is currently the fire company president and safety officer. He says they have six firefighters right now, compared with 10 firefighters a year ago.Miller says they have a lot of trouble getting volunteers, especially young people. The 166 hours of training needed is one reason he thinks it's hard to get volunteers."You have to give up a lot of your weekends and weekday time," he says.He says, "Financially, we're good. But it's hard to get volunteer firefighters and for fundraisers."The fire company holds a breakfast the first Sunday of every month, a 250 Club twice a year, an annual carnival in June and has a stand at the West End Fair.When asked why people should consider volunteering for their local fire company, Miller says, "To help the community. It can fill up your free time and keeps you occupied."If you're interested in volunteering for Kunkletown Volunteer Fire Company, call 610-381-2674 or attend its monthly meeting, the first Thursday every month at 7 p.m."And we're there most every Thursday night," adds Miller.