Franklin Township Supervisors were told Tuesday that a serious shortage of volunteer fire police exists.

Francis Kresge, captain of the fire police, said although about 10 names are on the roster for fire police, only about five respond to emergencies."We need help," he said.During February, there were 15 emergency calls. Kresge responded to all of them, Frank Strouse answered eight of the calls and Phil Nuncio went to seven of the emergency sites. One fire police member made one of the calls.The supervisors swore in Steven Warnkin as a new member of the fire police.Kresge said anyone interested in joining the fire police should visit the Franklin Township Fire Department any Monday night after 6 p.m. when training is conducted.Fire police assist with traffic and crowd control at virtually any type of emergency situation, including crashes, fires and rescue calls.On a related note, the fire police were given permission to assist the Lehighton Fire Police for the second annual Lehighton Officers Down 5K walk/run to be held onApril 9 in Lehighton.