Date: Fri 06-Sep-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

fire-companies-volunteers

Full Text:

Fire Companies Feel The Strain Of Rapid Growth And Fewer Volunteers

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

At any time of the day or night, in mild weather or in the snow, sleet and

rain, Newtown's volunteer firefighters may be called to the scene of an

emergency. They may even be forced to save a life while endangering their own

- and no one pays them a dime.

Many of them say they do it because of their passion for fighting fires and

helping others. In recent years, however, being a volunteer firefighter has

become increasingly more demanding, and Newtown's five fire departments are

now feeling the strain more than ever.

It's not so much that membership is down, though it is has seen a slight drop

off, the problem lies in the number of firefighters responding to calls,

especially during the day.

"We're all hurting," explained Hook & Ladder Volunteer Fire Company Chief

Steve Murphy. "We've got 48 members, but at any given time, we're not going to

have 48 members respond to a scene, we're getting 10 or 12."

In recent years, Newtown has had a policy of dispatching at least two

departments to calls to ensure enough firefighters respond.

The problem isn't just in Newtown. About 90 percent of all emergency services

in the United States are made up volunteers. Over the past 10 years, the

numbers within these emergency services have reportedly dwindled.

Many believe the reason for the difficulty in being a volunteer fireman in

today's world is simply a lack of time, and it is being felt in almost every

volunteer organization.

Residents need not fear that no one will answer the call, according to

Newtown's five chiefs, but membership must remain consistent in order for the

town's volunteer fire service to remain strong.

Despite the town's rapid growth, with more than 200 homes going up each year,

Board of Fire Commissioners Chairman Kevin Cragin said most of the volunteer

firefighters are old-time Newtowners. "We're seeing less and less of the new

people."

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire Company Chief Bill Halstead believes many of the new

residents may have moved to Newtown from cities like Norwalk and Stamford,

where paid fire department are employed.

"They may be used to having a paid fire company and probably assume it will

always be there," he said.

Mr Cragin said anyone who claims he or she can't volunteer due to time

constraints is just making excuses.

"I don't buy the `I don't have time' routine. All these guys are busy with

their jobs and have bills to pay," he explained. "I hear people at meetings

saying they just moved to town and how much they love it. If you love it so

much, contribute time to it."

Joe Farrell, chief of the Hawleyville Volunteer Fire Company, believes

volunteerism has changed.

"The complexion of volunteer organizations is changing due to people coming in

and out of town," he explained. "You're getting people who live in town for a

couple of years and then move on. There's a lack of stability."

Recruiting high school students was effective, according to United Fire

Company of Botsford Chief Steve Belair, who's seen his department's membership

go up and down in recent years. However, many of the high school volunteers

then go on to college.

"We need to recruit more 25-and 30-year-olds," he explained.

At the Bostford Volunteer Fire Company, the department responded to low

membership in 1984 by changing its by-laws, creating two types of members,

according to Chief Mark White.

"We spread the workload across the department by having some members only go

to calls and training and others going to monthly meetings and taking care of

the management of the department," he said.

According to an article in the August edition of the Fire Engineering

magazine, a group of New Jersey fire companies conducted a study and

identified four factors that contribute to a decline in volunteerism.

They included:

Many residents are not aware that their emergency services may be volunteer.

For those who do know their emergency services are volunteer, many do not know

that help is needed.

It is difficult to access information about one's emergency services.

Today's youth is not as volunteer-minded as in the past.

In recent years, the town has proposed offering the volunteer firefighters

some sort of a pension plan and insurance coverage, but taxpayers were never

keen on the idea. Tax breaks for firefighters who have served a significant

number of years has also been discussed but never acted upon. In fact, a

simple request for free dump permits and pool passes hasn't received much of a

response either.

As Mr Murphy points out, towns with both a police department and a paid fire

department usually dole out about the same amount of money for each in the

budget. With Newtown's police budget this year in the neighborhood of $1.5

million and the fire budget only at $300,000-plus, Mr Murphy estimates the

town is saving about a million dollars by having a volunteer service.

Mr Cragin remembers a time 30 years ago when both the police and volunteer

fire departments of Newtown had budgets of around $100,000.

Becoming a firefighter doesn't happen over night. The requirements are huge,

according to Mr Murphy. Every member must go through Firefighter One, a

140-hour training course that prepares the prospective firefighter for what he

or she will have to face at the scene of an emergency. And in recent years,

the state has required more and more mandatory training for things like

blood-born pathogens and hazardous materials.

"It's more than just spraying water," Mr Farrell explained.

Nevertheless, as many of them will tell you, in addition to keeping the tax

dollar down, being a volunteer firefighter is a rewarding experience for those

who get involved.

"Besides helping out your town, you can get other satisfaction out of it.

There's a real camaraderie among the men and women," Mr Cragin explained.

"It's very demanding, but there's a lot of fun, as well as the serious side,"

concluded Mr Halstead.