Published: August 18, 2008 12:19 pm            

Volunteer Deficits

A young family has just built their dream country home.

They pay taxes to a rural fire district that is well-equipped and staffed with dedicated volunteers who train regularly.

Then disaster strikes. Sparks from a neighbor’s burning brush pile blow onto the family’s property and threaten the brand-new home. The fire department is called.

But, with dwindling rosters and busy schedules outside the fire department, will enough firefighters get to the scene with enough equipment to save the home?

It’s a question of increasing concern throughout rural America. The Associated Press reports the number of volunteer fire and rescue personnel dropped 8 percent between 1984 and 2006. That’s nearly 74,000 fewer firefighters and emergency medical personnel.

If the number of calls had correspondingly decreased, the situation might not be as acute. But that’s not the case, according to the AP.

The news service reports the number of emergency calls to paid and volunteer departments doubled during that 22-year period.

Area fire chiefs are aware of the problem. Chief Kenny Schwerman of Shumway Fire Protection District said he can’t even keep a full roster anymore.

“We can have up to 30 firefighters, but we have 19,” Schwerman said.

What’s even worse, Schwerman said, is not all of those 19 are available at all times.

“At any given time, we’re not going to get those 19 people,” he said. “Seventy-five percent of those 19 are day-shift workers. The law protects them from getting in trouble for being late to work (after a fire call), but the law doesn’t let them leave work for a call.

“It is a growing problem,” the chief said, adding cultural and economic reasons seem to be cutting into the pool of available firefighters.

“When these districts were established, more people lived on farms,” Schwerman said. “But you don’t have the family farm base anymore. People are traveling farther away from home to work, so they are not in this area to take fire calls.”

The chief added the rising cost of living also is cutting into his volunteer pool.

“People aren’t as apt to volunteer because they have to struggle to make ends meet,” he said.

Schwerman isn’t the only chief concerned about the future of rural fire departments. Chief John Gillmore of Edgewood/Bi-County Fire Protection District said he has the same numbers problem Schwerman has.

“We can have 30 (firefighters), but we only have 20 and 75 percent of them are day-shift workers,” Gillmore said.

Gillmore said mutual aid has become even more important in recent years, particularly since area departments adopted the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS).

“It’s like normal mutual aid, but more organized with more resources,” Gillmore said.

Chief Joe Holomy of Effingham Fire Department said MABAS has been a boon to rural departments. He said membership in the system enables departments to access hazardous materials and technical rescue resources that otherwise might not be available.

“The resources are endless,” Holomy said. “It’s much more than providing an engine or tanker for your neighbor. It taps you into an endless supply of resources from across the board.”

But Holomy said MABAS doesn’t relieve rural fire districts of basic responsibilities, meaning there still must be some form of protection for residents of a particular district.

Longtime fire officials say it’s becoming harder to recruit new help.

“It’s getting harder all the time,” said Larry Syfert, a former firefighter who is now president of Stewardson Fire Protection District board. “The younger generation doesn’t want to volunteer for anything.”

Chief Doug Englejohn of St. Elmo Fire Protection District said it’s been several years since he’s had a full roster.

“People just don’t work in the area, and everybody is busier,” Englejohn said, adding training requirements are more stringent than they once were.

“When I got on in 1980, we’d meet once or twice a month for training,” he said. “Now we have training four or five nights a month.”

While some chiefs say they don’t do much overt recruiting, Schwerman said he’s employed several strategies to build up the Shumway roster, including loosening the residency requirement, holding a monthly dinner before training and allowing firefighters to use the high-speed Internet access at the fire station.

Schwerman said his department also provides flu vaccines for firefighters, as well as a retirement stipend of up to $200 per year for more than five years of service.

Bill Grimes can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 131 or bill.grimes@effinghamdailynews.com.