Fire companies are ready to train the next generation of first responders.
The only issue: First, they need the volunteers.
In the new year, several volunteer fire companies, including Lower Windsor Township-based Craley Fire Co. and West Manchester Township, are launching new initiatives and incentives to increase the volunteering base.
“Volunteer fire services are dwindling,” said West Manchester Township Fire Chief Clifton Laughman. “West Manchester is not immune to that.”
Relying on volunteers: That’s a big deal because most Pennsylvanians rely on volunteer firefighters to respond to blazes. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, 96.8% of all firefighters statewide are volunteers.
But while the public has increasingly come to rely on volunteer emergency responders, their ranks are dwindling.
National Volunteer Fire Council data shows that the number of volunteer firefighters has fallen in recent decades, reaching a low of 676,900 in 2020. More than a third of those volunteers are now more than 50 years old, reflecting the lived experience across many York County volunteer departments.
Room for growth: Last year, the West Manchester Township Fire Department answered 1,200 calls. With 62 staff members in total, the company’s roster is on the rise but always has room for growth, Laughman said.
With any emergency service, Laughman said he realizes it’s a huge commitment. It’s easy for new recruits to become burned out under the responsibility of saving lives.
Looking to the future: Craley Fire Co. in Lower Windsor Township currently has 25 members. With many older members reaching retirement age, there’s the biological reality that, at a certain point, even the most physically fit among them will become unable to answer calls.
That led the fire company’s president, Brandon Ness, on his own search for new recruits.
“We need to get young, new volunteers because they will be the future,” he said. “We’d like to try to get some more younger members in there like myself, to start learning and carry on the tradition of our fire department.”