Volunteer fire departments struggle amid lack of membership
Perry Township VFD Chief AJ Boni (right) said there need to be incentives to attract volunteers to area fire departments. (Photo by Mark Hofmann)
In this file photo, members of the Crucible Volunteer Fire Department throw candy to the crowd along the annual King Coal parade route in Carmichaels. The fire department closed its doors earlier this year. (Photo by Holly Tonini)
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There are few years of Laura Shipley-Demchak’s life when the Crucible Volunteer Fire Department was not a constant.
She recalls that her grandfather was involved in the construction of the Greene County department’s initial building.
She moved into the community herself at the age of 6, in 1960.
“My dad became a firefighter. My brother became a firefighter. My mother became the department’s first woman firefighter,” Shipley-Demchak said.
Through the years, she’s collected countless memories of carnivals, bingo and fish fries. She saw the department in good times and bad.
She knew the department had been struggling with membership, but was still surprised to see in the newspaper earlier this year that the Crucible Fire Department had closed its doors.
Former Chief John Vrona told the Observer-Reporter on April 7 that they were ceasing operations after the fish fry that day. Vrona pointed to low volunteer numbers and a lack of training as major factors in the decision.
At that time, the department had six members, none of whom was qualified to serve as chief or assistant chief, according to Vrona.
“We didn’t know what we had when that fire department was running good,” Shipley-Demchak said. “You really don’t know what that little fire department meant to you.”
The problem of declining membership is an issue for volunteer fire departments throughout Pennsylvania. Nick Babko, the chief of the East Bethlehem Volunteer Fire Company in Washington County, fears they could also go the way of Crucible someday if something does not change.
“Our biggest problem is no one wants to volunteer anymore. We have advertised on Facebook, flyers in the mail, open houses. We started a junior program. We haven’t had any applications,” Babko said. “We have no future of volunteers who want to come and join us.”
According to Babko, they are down to 28 volunteers. They used to have 45. Many have been there for decades.
“They have 30, 40 years. Me? I’m working on 50 years … We’re going to be at the age where we can’t do it,” Babko said. “Our youngest member is around 44.”
Ultimately, much of the problem comes down to the usual suspects: Time and money.
A.J. Boni, chief of the Perry Township Volunteer Fire Department in Fayette County, said the number of hours new volunteers need to put into training can be daunting.
“Training has become very demanding,” Boni said. “When you look at the requirements for training, that really stretches a 24-hour clock. Let alone running emergencies on top of that.”
Boni, 55, said he had to take about 15 to 20 hours of training when he was 16. New volunteers have closer to 200 hours of fire training.
“That’s good and bad. You need the training … No one wants anyone to get hurt. We want everyone to get home safe,” Boni said.
Boni added that it becomes difficult for people to juggle a full-time job, family and obligations to the fire department. Especially for no pay.
Babko agreed, saying that there needs to be incentives to attract new volunteers, whether that takes the form of a tax break or help with retirement.
“You’re working, then you’re coming home and going to class until 10 p.m. at night. Some people just can’t do that. They have to make a living. There is no incentive for anybody to join. Before it was pride and helping your community. Now it’s not,” Babko said.
Both Boni and Babko expressed that elected officials should be doing more work with smaller, volunteer departments. Boni, who is also a Perry Township supervisor, said communities will have to invest in their local departments to keep them running.
“You’ll hear everyone say how much volunteer fire departments save the commonwealth. Those days are coming to an end, also. There needs to be line item budgets. A lot of township supervisors may not agree with me, but a lot will agree,” Boni said.
If a fire department ultimately has to shutter as Crucible’s did, much can go by the wayside, Boni says.
“You lose the main hub of a lot of things. A lot of stuff happens in the firehouses … They bring a lot of people together,” Boni said.
In addition to the sense of community, a sense of security is also lost.
Crucible covers about 1.3 square miles in northern Cumberland Township and is home to about 673 people, according to 2020 census figures.
Given the Crucible department’s low membership, the Carmichaels and Cumberland Fire Department and Rices Landing Fire Department were already being automatically dispatched to calls in the area. Now those agencies are Crucible’s main providers of fire safety.
While the two departments are only a few miles from Crucible, they do not necessarily provide the same peace of mind that having a fire department in your own backyard does.
“I prayed to God my house never catches on fire or I never have to make that 911 call. Are they going to have the manpower to come out during the day?” Shipley-Demchak said.
Boni’s pitch to volunteer is simple: It is helping your community.
“If you want to help your community, start at the firehouse,” Boni said. “You don’t have to just want to fight fires.”
He added that people can volunteer to help with other needs, such as training, fundraising or grant writing.
“There is always a hole for someone,” Boni said.
Babko echoed that sentiment, saying that having volunteers take care of the administrative functions of the department can take a burden off of the firefighters.
“Go to your local fire department and see what they have to offer. Go there and find out what it’s like. Maybe people have a misinterpretation of a volunteer fireman. Not everyone is a firefighter. Not everyone wants to run into a burning building,” Babko said.
For Shipley-Demchak, seeing the fire department that has been a large part of her life since the age of 6 close has been difficult.
“Those memories are what keep me going in my life,” Shipley-Demchak said. “You never know what you have until it’s gone.”