Volunteer Firefighters Aren't Getting Any Younger
From the Atlantic City Press Published: Monday, March 10, 2008By MICHELLE LEE Staff Writer, 609-272-7256
Volunteer fire companies are the backbone of fire protection in southern New Jersey, where there are few paid full-time firefighters. When volunteer firefighters grow older, many departments find they still play an important role in the firehouse, serving as mentors and even filling in as first responders when younger firefighters are scarce.
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In Cumberland County, county Fire Marshal Robert Hoffman Jr. said most of the 33 fire departments have a shortage of young firefighters because there isn't a large candidate pool; many young people move away or work outside of their hometowns, and those who stay are often too busy working multiple jobs or raising a family. Hoffman said most of the volunteers are in their late 40s and 50s.
As a result, Hoffman said many volunteer companies have to share services during the daytime to get enough firefighters to respond to emergencies, and they sometimes depend on older volunteers to lend a hand. Among the 20 volunteer firefighters in Port Norris, where Hoffman is the deputy chief, there are still six or seven firefighters older than 60 who respond to emergencies. "We're all holding our own, but we can use more help," Hoffman said. He noted a new full-time course started at Cumberland County Technical Education Center to try to lure more young people into fire fighting.
The situation is slightly better in Atlantic County, where the average volunteer firefighter is in the mid-30s, said county Fire Marshal Harold "Whitey" Swartz. Some of the 40 volunteer fire departments in the county, however, still find it hard to get new firefighters, Swartz said, and there are many seasoned veterans who continue to help out in less-demanding roles, such as maintaining and operating fire trucks and water pumps.
The older volunteers in their 50s and 60s also fill in the gap left behind by working professionals who are less free to respond to daytime emergencies. "The day is gone when you're allowed to leave your job and go to a fire. Years ago ... if you worked in your town, the businesses in town would excuse them for a fire," Swartz said. "Now, that's a rarity."
The age divide can be seen across the country. The majority of the firefighters are volunteers, about 823,950 of the estimated 1.14 million in the United States, according to 2006 data from the U.S. Fire Administration. Most of them are in the late teens to 30s, with 26 percent in their 40s, 15 percent in their 50s, and 5 percent more than 60 years old.
Farmington Fire Chief Jim Garth described the life of a volunteer firefighter as a cycle where people join the company, stay about 25 years and then gradually reduce their duties when they retire or move away. Garth, 63, still goes out on emergency calls, and he said other older volunteers help with important, non-fire tasks, such as keeping track of the department's finances and training sessions.
In Linwood, Chief Demetrios Foster said many young adults can't afford to live in the community and the department, which has three paid firefighters and 27 volunteers, relied on older members until 2006 and 2007, when they recruited several new members in their 30s and 40s. "Right now, we have a good mix between older and younger," Foster said. "Everyone's trying to work together to serve the city the best way they possibly can."
Brad Ruggeri, deputy chief of the East Vineland fire company in Buena Vista, also said their department hit a recruiting dry spell and relied on older volunteers from 2001 to 2006. Ruggeri said the company started pulling in members from outside communities and turned to the Boy Scouts and high school students.
Not all fire departments have volunteer shortages.
Chief Walter Belles of the Rio Grande fire department in Cape May County said the department has 40 members between ages 18 to 83. The age differences provide a key teaching opportunity, with long-time volunteers teaching young ones tricks they cannot learn in school; Belles, 47, said his mentor taught him how to take apart and reassemble fire trucks.
Fire Chief Robert "Butch" Stewart, 61, of the Absecon Fire Department, which has 50 members, said the generational mix is important.
"It gives a wide range of knowledge ... and believe it or not, that's what the younger guys look forward to, the guys sitting around the campfire telling stories," Stewart said. "We don't get much fires, but when we do it's major. When you didn't have that wide range of experience it would be difficult." Stewart said his company has been fortunate; they have 10 new volunteers and a waiting list of three more people.
Fred Green Sr., 85, is the oldest Absecon volunteer and he still responds to emergencies. Green, a retired Atlantic County Highway Department worker, joined the fire department in 1948 and he said public service ran in the family; his father was in the Atlantic City Beach Patrol and four other relatives were Atlantic City firefighters.
Green said he's lost track of the number of fires he fought. But he continues to answer the fire calls, attend weekly meetings and monthly drills. When asked why he continues to help out, Green said it is because he is in good shape and he's healthy. Stewart said Green is usually the first person to show up and he provides help with less physically demanding work, such as handing other firefighters tools.
Still, Green said it is just a matter of time before he will retire. "I enjoy myself all the years I've been there," Green said. "It's going to make it tough for me to retire, when you hear the whistle go."
