“The Disappearing Volunteer Firefighter”

The New York Times published “The Disappearing Volunteer Firefighter,” in 2014. The article focuses on the decreasing amount of firefighters in the volunteer service. The authors, Andrew Brown and Ian Urbina, cite the increasing need for fundraising, working two-income households, increased costs of equipment and increased amount of training as some of the biggest reasons for the volunteer decline. The authors also point out the changing environment of the fire service with the amount of traditional fire calls dropping, and other emergencies like medical assists taking over the call log. Some states are responding by creating stipends and assentives to help volunteers continue to serve.

The article uses a lot of primary sources from Pennsylvania. The authors interviewed the Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioner, Edward A. Mann, as well as Professor Vincent P. McNally with St. Joseph’s University. Both gentlemen are involved with volunteer fire departments. Mann is a fire chief and McNally is a firefighter. I feel both men are reliable sources, especially since McNally has studied the volunteer shortage. I trust the information provided in the article and I truly see how the changing volunteer environment is affecting the fire service within my department and surrounding departments.

I can probably give first-hand examples of all the reasons for a lack of volunteers that the article cites. As the Opioid Epidemic continues to grow, the number of overdoses my fire company is called to also increases. I think it takes a toll on volunteer firefighters and emergency services crews alike. Crews get tired of responding to the same address for the same problem multiple times in a month, sometimes multiple times a week. This could easily be a reason volunteers leave the fire service. I have also seen members leave because they could not respond to fire calls due to their spouse working throughout the day, leaving no one to watch their children during an emergency.

I can use this article to further examine reasons volunteers are in short supply. I think I will also see if I can track down Vincent McNally’s study as a further resource. I can also see if Edward Mann gave any other statements on the shortage. I also will follow up with the incentives the article mentions that some states use. I think I will mainly use this article indirectly in my research as it looks like it can lead me to more detailed information.

Brown, Andrew, and Ian Urbina. “The Disappearing Volunteer Firefighter.” New York Times, 17 Aug. 2014, p. 3. Global Issues in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A378718615/GPS?u=rich43584&sid=GPS&xid=c4c41c31.

***** I looked up Vincent McNally and found his obituary. He passed away April of 2017. *****

“NVFC Unveils Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment Campaign”

Fire Engineering had a short article titled, “NVFC Unveils Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment Campaign.” NVFC is the National Volunteer Fire Council and the recruitment campaign is dubbed, “Make Me a Volunteer Firefighter.” Part of the movement involves a website where volunteer fire departments can list their opportunities for volunteers. The website would help connect the interested public with local departments.

The article provided a link to the above video. After watching the video, I want to include it in my main research, as well as the link to the portal. I think both medias will add an element of action to my website visitors and could help connect potential volunteers with departments. The video also provides some statistics on the volunteer fire shortage. I think I will explore the National Volunteer Fire Council more in depth by checking out their website and any of their publications to get a better grasp on my research and find more information. Provided is a link to their recruitment portal: https://makemeafirefighter.org/

National Volunteer Fire Council. “NVFC Unveils Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment Campaign.” Fire Engineering, vol. 168, issue 8, Aug. 2015, pp. 38-39. Academic Search Complete,search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=a9h&AN=109152656&site=ehost-live&scope=site&custid=s8356098

“Firefighter Retention and Recruitment Ideas You Can Use”

Walter A. Morris wrote, “Firefighter Retention and Recruitment Ideas You can Use”, an article appearing in FDIC East Preview section of the Fire Engineering Journal. The article acts as a preview to Morris’ presentation of the same title, presented at the FDIC East Conference. Since FDIC, Fire Department Instructor’s Conference, is well known for their regional and international conference’s, I trust the articles information. Walter A. Morris’ credentials are also shown on the article and explains Morris’ background. Morris holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Safety and a Master’s in Fire Protection Management. Morris is further qualified as he is a Professor for the Fire Protection Technology Program at Rockland Community College, serves as the Supervisor of Training for Rockland County New York Fire Training Center, and is the chief at his local volunteer fire department.

Morris describes in his article the multiple ways Rockland County, New York combated the volunteer shortage in both the fire and EMS, (Emergency Medical Services), organizations. He describes the step-by-step process that the agencies and departments took to both recruit and retain members.

The agencies in Rockland County recognized the common shortage problem and came together to form a committee. The committee partnered with county businesses and governments to spread awareness of and promote the volunteer organizations. One of the first tasks the committee completed was a financial survey that justified the need for volunteer versus paid departments. Part of proving financial soundness included lowering fire insurance premiums of business and homeowners after having each county fire department complete an Insurance Service Office survey.

After proving the financial worth of volunteer departments, the committee focused in on promotion of volunteers. The committee raised money and partnership by having a breakfast for the major businesses in the area. Donations were received on the spot after the importance of volunteers and funding were explained. The Rockland Small Business Association and the committee now work closely together to unify communities and work together towards a common goal.

Direct recruitment then began with the creation of a Fire and EMS Youth Academy for high school students. The program was successful in helping introduce teens to volunteer opportunities and many went on to join their local explorer programs. The focus of the committee then turned to the media with the goal of creating a positive working relationship. Newspapers, T.V Stations, and radio stations all got involved by highlighting and reporting volunteer activities.

Rockland County also focused in on retention efforts. The committee noticed two major problems affecting retention of volunteers: affordable housing and weak departmental leadership. Governments and agencies within Rockland county responded to the need for affordable housing for volunteers, particularly houses close to stations. Different approaches have been taken to tackle the housing problem including fire department owned housing complexes and tax incentives for volunteers. As far as the weak leadership within departments, the committee created a training program for fire officer teams. It was recognized that officers need to act as mentors to new members, and several departments were not providing the mentoring needed for retention. By implementing better mentoring practices in officer teams, retention rates of volunteers increased.

I really love this article because Morris shows how cooperation throughout not just a single community, but throughout an entire county can achieve great success. He offers sound advice based on the success of Rockland County, New York. Obviously not all of the actions presented are going to work for every department, but they offer a starting point. I will definitely use his article in my final web page, because I see underlying basics in the methods that were used. Since I am attending FDIC International in April, I can use Morris’ ideas and compare them to the other recruitment workshops, if they are not filled by the time I am able to register.

Morris, Walter A. “Firefighter Recruitment and Retention Ideas You Can Use.” Fire Engineering, vol. 157, no. 10, Oct. 2004, pp. 121–126. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=a9h&AN=14688890&site=ehost-live&scope=site&custid=s8356098.

“Using Educational Incentives to Retain Volunteer Firefighters”

Fire Engineering published an article by Thomas J. Garrity titled, “Using Educational Incentives to Retain Volunteer Firefighters”. Garrity focuses on Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and the combined efforts of the Montgomery County Local Emergency Planning Committee, (LEPC), Montgomery County Hazardous Materials Response Team, (HMRT), the Montgomery County Fire Academy, and the Montgomery County Community College.

The Montgomery County LEPC approved an initiative to help with recruiting efforts of the Montgomery County HMRT. The initiative reimburses new volunteers of the HMRT for the required 3 credit Hazardous Materials college course offered at the Montgomery County Fire Academy through Montgomery County Community College. The fire academy then provides members with the hands-on training, and test proctoring needed for the complete Hazardous Materials Technician Certification needed to serve on the response team. Upon certification and agreeing to serve on the HMRT, volunteers will be reimbursed their college tuition by the LEPC.

Garrity points out the significance of this agreement by mentioning the change the Pennsylvania Department of Education recently made affecting firefighter training. Community colleges are no longer receiving reimbursement for firefighter training, forcing the colleges to charge extra fees to make up for the loss of funding. Firefighters already have a difficult time juggling time between work, family and volunteering, the increased costs in specific training makes volunteering that much harder.

I was not specifically aware of Montgomery County’s HMRT incentives before finding this article and I did not know Pennsylvania Department of Education reimbursed firefighter training at community colleges. In my home county of York, Pennsylvania an incentive that York County Fire School has is offering memberships to county departments. The membership to the fire school allows department members to attend classes for free or at a reduced cost. My department supplements the membership to our members by covering any remaining costs, as well as costs of required class materials, and any extra fees upon successful completion of the class. As a result, several of our members have become certified as Firefighter I. I believe paying for education and training for firefighters not only helps retain new recruits, but improves the overall quality and safety of the fire department. Fire fighting is constantly changing and it is important to stay up to date on the latest tips, tricks, and methods of the field. As I go through my program here at EKU, I hope to bring back what I learn to my department in order to continually improve how we fight fires and view them.

I can use this article to provide an example of an incentive being put to action to recruit new volunteers. I think I want to further investigate why the Pennsylvania Department of Education ceased reimbursing firefighter training at community colleges. I think I also want to explore the overall costs of one volunteer firefighter. So the costs of a set of bunker gear, SCBA, training and anything else I find in my research, and then compare these costs to paid firefighters.

Garrity, Thomas J. “Using Educational Incentives to Retain Volunteer Firefighters.” Fire Engineering, vol. 165, no. 10, Oct.2012, p. 12. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=a9h&AN=82366114&site=ehost-live&scope=site&custid=s8356098

“Report: Pa. Volunteer Firefighter Shortage is a ‘”Public Safety Crisis”‘

Michelle Bond wrote, “Report: Pa. Volunteer Firefighter Shortage is a “‘Public Safety Crisis”‘, and published the article on November of 2018. Bond’s article is on Fire Rescue 1 and focuses on a report published by the Pennsylvania SR6 Commission. SR6 included state Senators, state Representatives and community members involved in emergency organizations. The report is included on the article’s page. SR6 focused on evaluating Pennsylvania and its emergency service needs.

Bond included a quote from State Senator Randy Vulakovich in which he reports the state being in a public safety crisis. This does not come as a shock if you account for the drop in volunteers Pennsylvania has experienced. Bond states, “About 300,000 people volunteered as firefighters in Pennsylvania in the 1970s, and that number has dwindled to fewer than 38,000”. The drop is especially serious when, “More than 90 percent of the state’s roughly 2,400 fire companies are volunteer,” as Bond reports.

Pennsylvania’s lack of volunteers becomes drastic with the call volume of departments increasing through the rise of medical assist calls, hazardous materials calls and false alarms. One may begin to question transitioning volunteer departments to paid departments, however Pennsylvania communities save $10 billion dollars by having volunteer departments. I believe the SR6 Report is extreamely important for our state and it already has led to the passing of a bill for EMS agencies. The report has a ton of recommendations.

Several recommendations highlighted in the article relates to education. The committee would like to offer high school and college credit, free college housing, college loan forgiveness, as well as funding basic fire and EMT training. These education incentives in my opinion would largely influence high school and recent graduates into volunteering. From previous research, this age group is largely interested in the fire service, they just require guidance and help in the process. Education incentives would produce more volunteers, but would also provide means of faster training for volunteers. The report also recommended incentives to employers who who allow employees who are emergency service volunteers time off for scheduled training.

I am really excited to see where SR6 goes and to see what is in store for the future. It will be a long process to pass the bills through the House and Senate, but I hope the incentives do some good. A lot of the ideas in the report are controversial, but doing something may be better than doing nothing, and I like how what I have read is a lot of thinking outside the box. I hope to somehow include the report in my website as a viewable file, but that will take some technology magic on my part as well as a quick scan through of the copyright laws on the report.

Bond, Michelle. “Report: Pa. Volunteer Firefighter Shortage Is A “Public Safety Crisis.” Fire Rescue 1, 29, Nov. 2018, http://www.firerescue1.com/legislation-funding/articles/393007018-Report-Pa-volunteer-firefighter-shortage-is-a-public-safety-crisis/, 27, Feb. 2018

“Tackling the Pa. Volunteer Firefighter Shortage”

On February 20th, 2019, Fire Rescue 1 staff published an article, “Tackling the Pa. Volunteer Firefighter Shortage”. The article mentions the SR6 report, but mainly focuses in on a news series done by the Centre Daily Times that explores volunteers in Centre County. The article cites burnout of volunteers from extensive training requirements and fundraising as an issue departments face. Departments are also unaware of how to recruit younger members and prevent them from burning out. Below are the three short videos published by the Centre Daily Times. Each video focuses on a central theme. The challenges facing volunteer departments, what it takes to volunteer, and why firefighters volunteer.

I believe all three videos and the article highlighting them work hand in hand to highlight the shortage of volunteers in Pennsylvania. I will use these videos on my page to help give a first-hand account of the three main topics. These videos can serve as stepping stones into my own content to get the public more interested in learning more. The last video even ties in to my research survey, as I ask what influenced the respondent’s decision in volunteering.

Staff, Fire Rescue 1. “Tackling the Pa. Volunteer Firefighter Shortage”. Fire Rescue 1. 20, Feb. 2019, http://www.firerescue1.com/volunteer/articles/393523018-Tackling-the-Pa-volunteer-firefighter-shortage/. 27, Feb. 2019.

“ACFD Girl’s Summer Camp”

“ACFD Girl’s Summer Camp”, is a podcast episode done by Disaster Dads. The episode highlight’s Camp HEAT, a summer camp for high school females. The camp is run by Arlington County Fire Department and serves as a recruitment tool. The goal is to gain more female firefighters in the department.

Camp Heat has been running for five years, (as of 2018 when the podcast was aired). Twenty-five girls have the opportunity to attend the camp held at Mary Mount University. The camp is completely free to participants. While attending the camp, girl’s learn how to operate hose lines, become certified in CPR and first-aid, as well as learning skills like teamwork. Camper’s also get to see presentation on bombs, hazardous materials and rescues. Camper’s put their new found skills to test through team oriented activities like Quad Soccer. Quad Soccer is soccer played using hose lines to move the ball in teams of four.

Camp is truly a unique opportunity, as current female firefighters become mentors to campers as they grow up and near time to apply for the fire academy. Girl’s gain the chance to experience fire house camaraderie and typical station life. Camper’s view many aspects of the fire service from firefighting to emergency medical responses and rescues.

I got really excited as I listened to this podcast as Camp Heat incorporates so many ideas that I have discussed before, (if not on previous posts than with family and friends). Youth and females hold a lot of answers to the shortage problem. High schooler’s and females discount their abilities to help, and this camp breaks those barriers. The camp proves to campers that they have the ability. I really want to bring a version of this camp to York County and start giving high school students a chance to see how they can make a difference in the volunteer fire service.

I mentioned the idea of bringing a camp like this to York County to my dad. He said I should talk to the Fire Chief’s Association. Instead of running an actual camp, I think I would have something like an open house. High School students could come to either a fire station or the county fire school and learn about opportunities in the volunteer fire service. We could train them in CPR and first-aid and give them a chance to learn basic skills firefighters use. Interested youth would get the chance to see the benefits of becoming a junior firefighter and could connect with firefighters from their local departments. Not only would fire departments get a chance for recruitment, they also get the chance to engage with the community.

“ACFD Girl’s Summer Camp”. Disaster Dads, season 1, episode 41, from Disaster Dads, 10, Apr. 2018, https://www.disasterdads.com/podcast?offset=1500351540624&reversePaginate=true

“Recruitment and Retention Strategic Plan of the Fireman’s Association of the Sate of Pennsylvania September 2013”

While researching how to become a Pennsylvania Volunteer Firefighter, I stumbled across the Pennsylvania Fireman’s Association website dedicated to recruiting more volunteer Firefighters and EMS providers. Within their website I found a 2013 report on recruitment and retention efforts titled, “Recruitment and Retention Strategic Plan of the Fireman’s Association of the State of Pennsylvania September 2013”. As I read the report, I got excited again as it has a lot of ideas and suggestions that I have been thinking about.

The report breaks down an effective plan into four areas: recruitment and retention are local problems, recruitment is marketing, understand desired benefits to give incentives, and effective leadership. These areas repeat what previous sources have said. The association’s committee that put together the report was extremely thorough in citing case studies and multiple research studies to justify their suggestions. Their suggestions and plans sound like common sense as I was reading through the report. However, I still see where fire departments are not reaching the plan and are failing.

I think one of the main reasons fire departments are unsuccessful in recruitment is the fact that a lot of departments just do not actively recruit or engage in the public. Community members rarely reach out, you have to reach out to them. However, you have to continually be involved and not just be involved once or twice a year. Make your presence known and be a positive influence. I hope to review this report in further detail and see how I can potentially use it to help recruit new members. i also hope to use this resource in my vodcast as a resource to my topic.

Fireman’s Association of the State of Pennsylvania. “Recruitment and Retention Strategic Plan of the Fireman’s Association of the State of Pennsylvania”. Be a PA Firefighter FASP Recruitment Retention, Fireman’s Association of the State of Pennsylvania, Sept. 2013, http://becomeapafirefighter.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/FASP-RR-Strategic-Plan-Final.pdf

Dr. Candice M. McDonald’s Dissertation and FDIC Workshop

I attended Dr. McDonald’s workshop Busting Through Recruitment and Retention Challenges: Developing Your Game Plan at the Fire Department Instructor’s Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her workshop is based on her dissertation,Retention of Internal Stakeholders in the U.S Volunteer Fire Service. After her workshop and hearing all of her findings, I read her dissertation. Since both the workshop and dissertation overlap, I will evaluate and commentate on both in one post.

Dr. McDonald found that the cost of turnovers for one firefighter in volunteer departments was approximately $27,000. Factors affecting retention include sleep deprivation, mental health, and issues specific to women in fire service. Females experience extra pressure from hazing, negative attitudes from male counterparts, and fear of appearing weak. Appearing weak in front of male counterparts is a huge factor in the injuries females experience on the fire ground. Often, women are scared to speak up or ask for help, for fear of being ridiculed or judged. Sleep deprivation is caused by lack of sleep from running on calls in addition to normal work and daytime activities. Not only does the activity cause loss of sleep, but added stress as well. Mental health affects volunteers from repeat exposure of traumatic scenes and stresses mentioned before. These two factors can act as a weight, causing a degrade in mental health quality.

In order to recruit, retention must be addressed. As retention is addressed, recruitment follows suit. Ways to increase retention include work-life balance and non-wage benefits. Several volunteers feel pressured to respond to every call, often dropping important life events to attend. This adds stress and guilt to not just volunteers, but their families. A way to combat this is to use a duty roster. A duty roster would allow the officers of the department to see who is available and how many for sure will respond to an incident. If certain time periods are full, the officers can prepare based on the information and operating procedures they have. The volunteers often feel less stress, as they know the station is covered and they don’t feel as guilty when not responding to a call due to personal events. Non-wage benefits could be as simple as offering gym services, guest speakers, free tuition to fire classes and family events. By offering benefits, volunteers feel welcomed, valued and a part of a team.

A key point from the workshop was to improve leadership and health of volunteer departments. Improving the health of volunteers by providing free physicals and exercise equipment allows morale and support of the firefighter’s family to increase. Similar programs have detected health issues in firemen and have improved retention rate of volunteers. Improving leadership by having mentors and clear expectations in place for new recruits increased retention and allowed for a clear sense of why volunteers leave.

Both Dr. McDonalds’ workshop and dissertation provided new insight and a different take on the firefighter shortage. She focuses on the health and safety of current volunteers and specifics in leadership. She is a volunteer firefighter in Ohio and earned her doctorate in Business Administration.

McDonald, Candice. “Busting Through Recruitment and Retention Challenges: Developing Your Game Plan.” Fire Department Instructors Conference-International, PennWell Corporation, Indianapolis Convention Center, Indianapolis, IN. Conference Workshop.

—“Retention of Internal Stakeholder’s In the U.S. Volunteer Fire Service.” Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies, Walden University, 2016, scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3180/, PDF