Towamensing supervisors have decided to enlist the help of three neighboring municipalities for fire responses in the township, a result of declining volunteer turnout.

According to supervisor Penny Kleintop, the new protocol splits Towamensing into three districts. When an emergency is reported to the Carbon Communications Center in Nesquehoning, fire companies in Franklin Township, Polk Township or Aquashicola will be immediately contacted, depending on where the situation is located. Towamensing Volunteer Fire Company will also receive a call.

“Our duty as supervisors is to make sure that our residents are protected in the event of an emergency,” Kleintop said. “That’s all we care about.”

Before the cooperative was finalized in late July, firefighters from Franklin, Polk or Aquashicola would be asked to help on site only if Towamensing responders made the call after assessing the scene themselves.

“All of that wastes time,” Kleintop said.

“Franklin, Polk and Aquashicola are very strong fire companies,” she added. “They have the volunteers. They have a lot of experience.”

Kleintop also noted that the township plans to offer monetary compensation to the three companies lending assistance, although what that compensation will look like has yet to be determined.

Bill George, Aquashicola fire chief, said when Towamensing supervisors approached him and asked for assistance, he agreed, hoping the additional aid might allow the township’s fire company to “get built back up and get back on their feet.”

“We are not looking to take over their domain or their area,” George said. “That’s far from what we want to do.”

The well-being of Towamensing Fire Company has an effect on companies throughout the area, Polk Fire Chief Billy Tippett said.

“They’re a company that we would rely on (in an emergency),” Tippett said.

But members of the Towamensing Volunteer Fire Company said they have some concerns about the newly adopted procedure.

“As the fire chief, this is my jurisdiction,” said Ryan Bowman, who took over as the township’s fire chief earlier this summer.

“We don’t know them,” he said. “We don’t have enough interaction with them to say that we feel comfortable with this.”

Part of the new procedure is the shifting of on-scene leadership. Meaning, when firefighters are dispatched in Towamensing, members from the assisting companies — be it Franklin, Aquashicola or Polk — will lead response efforts.

“We’re not in charge of ourselves at all anymore,” Ryan Snyder, first assistant to Bowman and former fire chief, said.

Volunteer shortage, struggle

There are 27 volunteers on the Towamensing Fire Company roster, Bowman said. The company fields 85 to 100 calls a year.

On a good day, he said, five members might respond to one of those calls, but the average team consists of just two.

“It’s tight,” Bowman said.

And the firefighters Towamensing does have are stretched thin. Zach Schoenberger, 18, who has been with the company for about four years, works during the day. That does not stop him from spending up to 40 hours a week in the firehouse, responding to calls or performing maintenance on the engines.

When asked how he finds the time to volunteer and work, Schoenberger answered, “late nights.”

The shrinking pool of volunteer firefighters in Towamensing reflects a broader statewide trend, according to a Pennsylvania Legislature study released last November.

In the 1970s, the report estimates, Pennsylvania had about 300,000 volunteer firefighters. Today, that number is closer to 38,000.

“It’s just a steady decline,” Tippett said.

Two sides of the same coin

For Towamensing supervisors, the new protocol is a necessary step in ensuring the safety of township residents, Kleintop said.

“We want our fire company to be successful,” she said. “They need the help. They need the support.”

But for Bowman, who feels Towamensing fire company members were left “in the black” when the new protocol was being drafted, it is a “kick in the teeth.”

“Morale internally here is low, because there’s not enough of us,” he said. “But to throw this on top of us as well, it just kind of — what has been left has been stomped in the ground.”

If you are interested in learning how you can help Towamensing Volunteer Fire Company, or for more information about joining its ranks, get in touch with Bowman at 484-629-5454.