Nesquehoning Hose Company Fire Chief John McArdle summed it up pretty clearly when talking about the lack of volunteer emergency responders plaguing the state.

“We’re in crisis mode with volunteerism,” he said Wednesday night to Nesquehoning Borough Council, where he also sits as the borough’s emergency management coordinator.

He said that through discussions with the County Fire Chief’s Association, of which he is president; and County Fireman’s Association, it looks like the groups are going to put a panel together to see what can be done to stop this downward spiral.

McArdle’s comments came in response to a state report that was released late last month that showed that volunteer firefighters have dropped from 300,000 in the 1970s, when the report first started, to around 38,000 today.

“It’s ridiculous,” he said of the lack of volunteers.

McArdle told council that there are two fire companies in the county that are considering disbanding but didn’t specify which ones.

The SR6 report is a 95-page report that states “Fire and EMS are in a crisis — right now. Simply put, EMS is woefully lacking in funding — and the number of volunteer firefighters has fallen dramatically over the decades.”

According to an Associated Press article published last month, the report’s 27 recommendations include simplifying regionalization, boosting state aid, setting standards for firefighter training and requiring sprinklers in new home construction.

“Resources, funds and legislative change must be committed to improve the infrastructure for public safety performance,” according to the report that was commissioned last year by the Legislature. “Moreover, we must try to find a flexible system that will work within this dynamic and challenging environment called Pennsylvania.”

More than 90 percent of the state’s nearly 2,500 fire companies are volunteer organizations.

Earlier this month, Wilkes-Barre Fire Chief Jay Delaney, who is also president of the Pennsylvania Career Fire Chiefs Association, issued a challenge to take the recommendations and move forward with them.

Members of the commission that issued the report also said the next step is to push lawmakers to adopt its recommendations.

McArdle invited any members of borough council who would be interested in sitting on the panel to do so.

“We’ve got to start moving on this quickly,” he said.

Nesquehoning has three volunteer fire companies — Nesquehoning Hose, Hauto and New Columbus. Its ambulance corps, which was down to five volunteers, also disbanded after 70 years of service this past Sunday.