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SPECIAL REPORT
News, Major Incidents, Hot Topics |
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Decline in Volunteering hurts
Fire Departments around the Country
By Jessica Fleming – The St. Paul
Recruitment
is a problem for some departments, but a more common complaint is that it's
hard to keep people once they've joined
Increased training requirements, more duties, squeezed family
lives and less-flexible employers have all contributed to a decrease in the
number of people willing to drop everything and pick up a hose, local fire
chiefs say. Recruitment is a problem for some departments, but a more common
complaint is that it's hard to keep people once they've joined. "We've lost an average of nine firefighters a year for the
past few years," Eagan Fire Chief Mike Scott said. Other departments in the metro report similar problems. Fire chiefs say some of the losses are due to retirements, but
the economy is also taking its toll. Firefighters leave because they have to work longer hours at
their regular jobs as employers downsize; others have lost their jobs and are
moving out of the cities where they serve. And some who find themselves
unemployed are retiring from firefighting and collecting their firefighter
pensions to survive, said Dave Ganfield, secretary
of the Minnesota State Volunteer Firefighter Association. The metro area fits into a national trend, said Kimberly Quiros, director of communications for the National
Volunteer Fire Council. "In the past 20 years, the number of volunteer firefighters
has declined around 8 percent," Quiros said. Volunteers make up 72 percent of the nation's firefighting
forces, she said. Quiros also blamed the decrease on increased
commute times — a firefighter has to be able to show up at a fire scene
within a few minutes — and the growing demand on people's time. More
households have both parents working full-time, she notes. And what little
free time parents have is spent with their children. 'It's a big issue' "I've lost close to 20 percent of my staff in the past
year," Streich said. "It's a big
issue....Though people are committed to the fire department, they're more
committed to their families and their jobs, and when they have to leave, they
leave." Most metro "volunteer" departments are actually paid
on-call. Firefighters are paid either hourly during a call response or on a
per-call basis. Hourly rates are usually around $13 an hour. Per-call rates
range from a few dollars to $20. "People who are in this, they don't do it for the
money," Streich said. More demand, less supply Equipping and training a new recruit can cost about $7,000, said
Firefighters go through an average of about 100 hours of initial
training before they can fight their first fire. Then come about another 100
hours to learn how to be first responders, deal with hazardous materials calls
and perform other varied duties. "There's a lot more demand on a volunteer fire department
now," Scott said. "My dad was a firefighter starting in 1971, and
then you were a firefighter. Now you have rescue, hazmat, decontamination,
first aid — all kinds of things." After the initial training, even the most veteran firefighters
at many stations train for two to four hours a week. "It's a huge commitment to be a paid on-call
firefighter," Inver Grove Heights Fire Chief Judy Thill
said. Unusual measures A few recently have changed to a part-time model, where
firefighters are paid hourly to man firehouses in shifts. Maplewood Fire Chief Steve Lukin said
some volunteers were resistant to the idea at first, but those who stayed
with the department have been happy. "They love the freedom," Lukin
said. "They like the fact that they can control their hours and when
they can be with their families. They don't live by the pager anymore like
they used to." Lukin said too few people work odd shifts in
their regular jobs anymore, which was making covering daytime calls difficult.
This way, firefighters are always at the ready for a call. Firefighters, who sign up for 36 hours a month, are paid $12 to
$16 an hour, depending on their experience and position. Lukin
said he can now hire from outside the city, which also helps. The program, which began in 2008 at "I wish I could expand it to two stations," he said. Some departments that are still paid on-call are resorting to
cable television ads and Facebook pages to bring in
new recruits. Others are using non-firefighting volunteers to handle less
dangerous tasks in-house so firefighters can spend more time with their
families. Aiming to retain Apple Valley Fire Chief Nealon
Thompson said his department hasn't had to hire a new firefighter since
January 2009. He attributes that success to paying close attention to morale
and clearly laying out expectations before he hires someone. Area chiefs said giving a new recruit a clear picture of the
amount of time and effort required is crucial to retention. Most hold
informational meetings that interested residents must attend before they can
even apply. Lakeville's department also gets spouses involved. "Your family plays a huge role in your being part of the
department," Lakeville Fire Chief Mike Meyer said. "They're the
ones that let you drop everything to respond to a call." Even if it's getting harder to find committed firefighters,
cities are unlikely to change their models anytime soon. The National
Volunteer Fire Council estimates that volunteer firefighters save communities
in the Besides, the chiefs say their volunteers love what they do. "They
like helping their neighbors," Thompson said. |