Volunteers needed, a phrase that can be seen outside many a fire station in the United States.
At this point for many volunteer fire departments this is more of a plea than a request.
The country needs volunteer firefighters because 48 percent of the population is served by volunteers fire departments, and 83 percent of fire departments are volunteer or mostly volunteer outfits, according to the N.F.P.A. 2017 U.S. Fire Department Profile.
This need is greater in New Jersey than in some other states due to almost 80 percent of New Jersey’s fire departments being exclusively volunteer outfits. Which is high when compared with similar high population density states like Massachusetts where 44 percent of fire departments are career staffed, according to statistics from the U.S. Fire Administration.
N.F.P.A. research also states the U.S. is at a 30 year low for volunteer firefighters with 682,600. In 2017 there were 134,200 less volunteer firefighters than in 1987.
While volunteer firefighter ranks decrease, conversely the number of emergency calls for fire departments have almost tripled in 30 years. Furthermore, Data from the N.F.P.A. shows fire department calls have, except for four years, increased every year since 1986.
There were 11,890,000 fire calls in 1986 versus the 35,320,000 fire calls in 2016.
Volunteer fire departments who cannot recruit adequate manpower for operations at all hours of the day either turn to automatic mutual aid which pulls resources from surrounding municipalities or must become a hybrid fire department. Meaning the municipality hiring firefighters to cover certain shifts.
Municipalities turning to hybrid solutions will see their yearly budget significantly increase due to salary, benefits, pension contributions and other expenses. Of course this means the municipal residents will see an increase in their taxes also.
Last September Princeton, NJ made the decision to hire six firefighters for the first time in their more than 200 year history, reported NJ.com. It will cost the the borough $800 thousand yearly.
Merging volunteer fire departments and companies is a more drastic measure some states such as Pennsylvania have taken to concentrate manpower. In addition, the Republican controlled Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a bill of incentives to encourage recruitment for fire and EMS agencies, reported The Patriot-News.
The volunteer fire service has to not just survive, but thrive for the benefit of our communities, neighboring towns and country as a whole.
See you at the big one.
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