“According to the National Volunteer Fire Council, nearly 70 percent of the firefighters in the country are volunteers. Their numbers declined by over 18 percent in the past three decades while the call volume has nearly tripled.” (“North Country fire departments near flashover“)

A large portion of firefighters are aging out of the profession into retirement, and there are no younger recruits in the ranks waiting to take over. Factors affecting the numbers are dwindling budgets, a plummeting population and an increase in state mandates. Often a single fire call can take up an entire day or a good portion of it which takes volunteer firefighters away from their paying jobs and it’s often something they can’t afford…

State regulations are believed to be a factor in the decrease in volunteers from a recruitment and logistics standpoint. The training takes up so much time that many don’t bother to sign up and organizing the training for those that do sign up is difficult considering the hundreds of schedules that need to be worked around and again it takes the time away from volunteers’ paying jobs.

“The mandatory Firefighter I training is now at 100 hours and runs over three months, up from 80 a few years ago, while Firefighter II, the session that trains recruits in areas like arson awareness and other procedural and administrative fields, clocks in at 30 hours.”  (“North Country fire departments near flashover“)

However lowering the mandatory training hours to get more volunteers could result in a catch-22 situation because it’s important that firefighters receive appropriate training to safely do their jobs as fire-fighting techniques evolve. Just one recent problem that firefighters must learn to combat are new fires that burn faster and hotter due to the rise in lightweight, synthetic and oil-based construction materials.

“North Country departments have two additional strikes against them: Sparsely-populated areas make consolidation tricky and a paralyzed tax base makes it difficult to hire paid staffers.” (“North Country fire departments near flashover“)

Lowered public interest in volunteering at a fire station is also attributed to the “misconception that recruits need prior experience (they don’t) and a perceived detachment from civic engagement.” 

“To combat the situation, several local departments [participated] in RecruitNY, a statewide effort [the final weekend in April] by the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) to recruit new blood by throwing open their department doors to showcase equipment, vehicles and otherwise engage the public and igniting an interest in civic involvement.” (“North Country fire departments near flashover“)

Fire departments want to “dispel the notion that all department-related positions see staffers on the frontlines of emergency situations, a viewpoint that has traditionally held recruiting efforts back.” There are many other jobs from maintenance to administrative positions that are vital for a well-run fire station.

Would you volunteer? Or know anyone who would? Spread the word to help our North Country Fire Departments.

Find out how to contact your local Essex County Fire Department here: firedepartment.net/directory/new-york/essex-county.

Related articles

• Becoming a ‘Rookie’: What it takes to be a firefighter (wpbf.com)
• Recruiting Volunteer Firefighters (wbng.com)
• Fire departments look to add volunteers (wbng.com)
• Hot topic (economist.com)
• Fire Department Coin Drop Raises Funds (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)