In a recent news article in the Times News, Chris Reber pointed out the difficulty volunteer fire companies are having in attracting and retaining new members.

It is not only a problem in our five-county area, but it is showing up around the state. The number of volunteers has decreased about 500 percent in the past 40 years. Pennsylvania had about 300,000 volunteers in the 1970s; today, the number is closer to 50,000.If you are thinking that this is not your problem, think again. The fewer volunteers who respond to a fire or emergency at your property, the less safe you should feel.The history of the volunteer firefighter is a story of glory, going back 281 years to 1736 when Benjamin Franklin came up with the idea of neighbor helping neighbor. Franklin envisioned a brigade of volunteers after visiting Boston, his hometown. He wanted to encourage Philadelphians to do the same thing.It was not an easy sell at first, but through Franklin's persistence and personality, a group of 30 men came together to form the Union Fire Co. on Dec. 7, 1736.One of the problems is that the model has not changed much since Franklin's day. Although many volunteer companies get small contributions from their home municipalities, much of the money needed to run the fire operations come through fundraising.A major piece of firefighting equipment can be very costly. Even a helmet can cost around $600.In bigger communities, such as Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, there are paid fire departments. Most smaller communities in Carbon, Schuylkill, Northampton, Lehigh and Monroe counties rely on volunteers. In just a few, such as Wilson Borough in Northampton County, there is a combination of paid and volunteer firefighters.Volunteers save taxpayers millions of dollars annually. Regrettably, we sometimes take their efforts for granted or even dismiss them as glorified social clubs.As any committed firefighter will tell you, being a volunteer is like a second job. Not only do they answer calls to help their neighbors in need, but they must train, attend weekly meetings and undergo physical testing. They are also expected to help raise money to keep their volunteer companies afloat.All-volunteer departments account for about two-thirds of the more than 30,000 fire departments in the U.S. Another 20 percent are considered mostly volunteer, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Volunteer departments protect about one-third of the U.S. population, mostly in communities of 20,000 residents or fewer.The state is coming around to understanding how dire the volunteer shortage is and has begun to implement some measures to entice new membership and retain more experienced members.Sen. Randy Vulakovich, R-Allegheny, chair of the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, wants the General Assembly to take another look at a group of recommendations made after a 2004 report from the Senate Resolution 60 Commission.Proposals from that report, which were never enacted, include: a retirement program and health benefits, tuition credit for volunteer fire and EMS personnel, a regional or county fire/EMS service consultant to assist agencies. It also recommended business tax credits to reimburse companies where responding volunteers work.Many companies are lenient in allowing volunteers to leave work to fight fires and respond to emergencies, but not all companies are so willing, so that is where a state law would help, volunteers believe.These proposals are under consideration in Harrisburg: educational loan forgiveness for volunteers, firefighter training in high schools and tax credits to businesses that excuse employees when they need to train or respond to emergencies.There are even calls to pay volunteers a per-call stipend and give them a property-tax credit. This becomes problematic, however, for volunteers who are not property owners. And, then, of course, there is the pushback from municipalities which are strapped for revenues.One trend to address the dwindling number of volunteers is merger. Across Pennsylvania there are a handful of examples where two or more fire companies are pooling their resources. A merger of three fire companies even crossed county lines recently when McAdoo Fire Company and Keystone Fire Company No. 1, both of McAdoo, Schuylkill County, and Tresckow Fire Company in Carbon County, became McAdoo Fire Inc.In 2018, the Dillsburg and Franklintown fire departments will merge to become the Northern York County Emergency Services. Fire companies in Adams, Cumberland and Dauphin counties also merged recently, too.By Bruce Frassinelli |

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