Volunteer fire departments need your support
In the midst of this Lenten season, many in our area abstain from meat on Fridays.
A number of groups offer fish fries as a way for Catholics to adhere to that religious obligation, though many others enjoy attending them. Among the many groups that prepare and sell fish sandwiches, pierogies, cole slaw and more, are area fire departments.
They do so to continue to protect our communities.
Congressman Mike Kelly, who represents counties stretching from Butler to Erie, said that Pennsylvania has the third-most volunteer fire departments in the United States with about 1,800. Of those, 97% operate with only volunteers, he noted.
The volunteer departments save communities across the state about $10 billion annually, said Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioner Tom Cook.
Those savings are significant, but so are the costs that volunteer departments incur.
Rices Landing Volunteer Fire Department member Brennan Kozich said the money raised over Ash Wednesday and the six Fridays of Lent is “essential” to their continued operation.
Said Kozich, “It costs a lot of money to fuel the trucks and have maintenance on them, and make sure the firefighters have the equipment they need to do our job.”
Outfitting a single firefighter with the proper equipment costs more than $28,000, according to statistics provided by the Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus. That doesn’t take into account the cost of fire trucks, ambulances and other necessities to operate an all-volunteer company.
Tom Hastings, the president and assistant chief at Nemacolin Fire department, recently told a reporter that other fundraisers help their department operate, but none as much as their yearly fish fry.
Without the financial support those provide, “we don’t have the doors open,” he said.
Our volunteer firefighters are there during the worst of times. They risk their lives to save homes and businesses, to triage injuries, or help at vehicle accidents.
Most of us don’t think about those things until we need them, and yet those volunteers consistently and quietly support us behind the scenes.
With three weeks left in the Lenten season, each one of us should consider publicly supporting them as a thanks for all they do.