(5/1) What a difference ten years makes. When this paper first started to cover Volunteer Fire Company award banquets, the noise was so loud one struggled to follow the conversations held amongst community members sharing your table. However, these days there are more echoes then voices in the award halls. Nowhere is the drop in community support so apparent as it is Adams County, where even the once impressively strong Fairfield Fire Company is struggling and had fewer members attend its recent awards banquet.

The urgent need for volunteers for Adams County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Companies has been a hot topic within local municipalities and fire departments for a few years. The need is growing stronger with every passing day.

Bill Jacobs, Fairfield Fire Chief, noted the decline in the number of volunteers since he began with the department in 1996. "Within the past twenty years, the number of volunteers has dropped by over half. Twenty years ago, Fairfield was averaging 15-18 volunteer firefighters on call at any one time. More than enough to not only serve the local community, but to assist other communities if called upon. Today however, there are only a total of ten people in the operation side of the Fairfield Fire Department; this number is dwindling," said Jacobs.

"The main problem that many people don’t realize is that the volunteer fire departments in Pennsylvania are not government agencies, nor, like their Frederick County counterparts, do they receive much in the way of County support. Other than ambulance staffing during the day, which is paid for by the fire department, the staff that makes up the volunteer fire departments is not paid," stated Jacobs. The fire tax, which has only recently been implemented, will only reimburse Fairfield Fire & EMS for 50% of any EMS wages.

Fairfield Fire & EMS covers Fairfield Borough, Carroll Valley Borough, Hamiltonban Township, Liberty Township and Highland Township, encompassing a total of 50 square miles. If volunteer numbers don’t increase, Jacobs suspects many Adams County fire departments, which are separate entities, will have to increase the number of paid staff. This will result in the local fire tax being increased significantly, which is currently at a minimal 0.25-mills.

Jacobs noted that it would cost approximately two million dollars every year just to staff the Fairfield Fire Department, potentially bumping the fire tax up to 4.25-mills - a 17-fold tax increase for local residents. This cost does not include operational, equipment and workers compensation costs for paid fire and EMS services.

Over the last few years all across Adams County a number of fire companies and ambulance squads have already made the decision to merge. This has allowed response times to emergencies to increase as available volunteers have dwindled. Within the past five years a number of the remaining fire companies have been actively discussing mergers and the tempo is growing quickly. However, the end result of creating a merger, as Jacobs noted, really doesn’t save a significant amount of money because adjacent fire company facilities will still need to remain open. Fairfield for example, works closely with the Fountaindale Fire Company to assist each other on calls.

Moreover, southwest Adams County has been described for some time as a bedroom community and currently has the highest percentage of people over the age of 55. It also has the highest percentage of the population traveling two hours outside the area for their job. This results in a limited pool of volunteers to draw from in this area of Adams County. Add in the fact that both Fountaindale and Fairfield fire companies already have some of the same emergency responders, meaning the group of volunteers is even smaller.

As Jacobs recalled, local volunteer fire departments used to be a place for social gatherings of family and friends. It was the center of the social scene at one time when volunteers were abundant, but unfortunately this is no longer the case, not in Adams County at least.

While the most pressing need is to fill the ranks of firefighters, fore police and EMS crews, there is a job for anybody and everybody who is interested in volunteering at their local fire departments; no matter how old or young you are. Volunteers are needed for administrative work, paperwork, maintenance, cleaning, fundraising, electronics, even website maintenance. Firefighters and EMTs are crucial for the survival of the volunteer departments but so are the individuals who can donate baked goods for fundraisers, serve and cook food for bingos and last chance drawings, tickets sellers, station maintenance volunteers, etc. All the tasks are important and necessary to the survival of local fire departments!

Jacobs pointed out that while it’s imperative that we continually strive to increase the number of volunteers, the long-term viability of Adams County volunteer fire companies depends on our local youth. The Fairfield Fire Department currently has eight active junior members, and Fountaindale has five active junior members. As a junior member there are numerous opportunities to obtain certified fire and EMS training classes, as well as helping at various department functions. All junior members are encouraged to attend monthly department meetings, station work details and fundraisers. Additionally, Adams and Franklin Counties now offer Junior Firefighter Cadet Academies where a junior member spends a week in the summer learning fire and EMS skills, team building exercises, discipline and respect.

Fairfield Fire & EMS has sent their volunteer firefighters to Maryland to complete their training and to take the Firefighter 1 Class. In Maryland, it doesn’t cost to train firefighters and their classes are offered on a more regular basis than those that are offered locally in Adams County. Unlike in Pennsylvania, anyone 16-18 in Maryland can participate in training to include the Firefighter 1 Class. It is even offered in some high schools.

As discussed by both Adams County and Frederick County fire fighter department members, Pennsylvania differs greatly from Maryland in the kind of county support given to fire departments. In Pennsylvania emergency services are provided by local townships/municipalities. The County’s only responsibility is to run the 911 Center. Adams County lacks the benefit of a strong State Fire Marshal’s Office as well as a strong state-level fire & emergency services training program. While there are some government grants in place that local fire departments can apply for to assist with equipment costs, the grants only cover a fraction of the true expenses.

Unlike fire departments in Adams County and across Pennsylvania, volunteer fire departments in Maryland, such as the Vigilant Hose Company in Emmitsburg, receive a broad range of support from their county government. But as noted by Vigilant Hose member Wayne Powell, needed incentives to grow and maintain a volunteer force in Adams County and across Pennsylvania are lacking on many levels, many of which are driven almost entirely by public policy decisions or lack thereof.

Frederick County in particular provides a range of support activities and incentives to help assure the delivery of emergency services including Fire, Rescue and Emergency Medical Services, by volunteer personnel at the local level plus Emergency Management functions to assure family, community and business preparedness in the event of major emergencies and disasters.

In support of Frederick County's volunteer companies, County government provides salaried personnel who supplement volunteer staffing and also oversee a mix of technical and specialized services ranging from training, centralized emergency communications, radios, central purchasing, insurance, standardized self-contained breathing apparatus, quality assurance services, inspections of vehicles, fire prevention & life safety inspections of public assembly buildings including multi-family residential properties, fire scene investigations, and the promulgation of regulations as issued jointly by the Department of Fire/Rescue Services and the Division of Volunteer Fire/Rescue Services (DFRS).

DFRS helps coordinate fire and life safety advocacy among and across various county departments (health, public roads, budget, risk management, sheriff, planning & zoning, planning for future and replacement emergency services facilities, etc.), selected aspects of vehicle fleet maintenance, volunteer recruitment & retention initiatives (including LOSAP, the Length of Service Award Program that encourages volunteers to remain active and involved), IT support, record-keeping, support to incident command needs, recalls of defective equipment, hazardous materials team response plus where and when needed provides basic life support emergency medical technicians and advanced life support paramedics.

Pennsylvania's system of towns and townships makes it extremely challenging to use economies of scale as well as comprehensive system approaches to the delivery of public services. Again, Commonwealths like Pennsylvania are governed differently than states like Maryland.

However, as frustrated as they are, Adams County volunteer fire companies are not throwing in the towel yet on recruiting local volunteers. This year the Fairfield Fire Company will hold its EMS Day on May 20. Current members are hopeful the event will be a success and will draw in potential volunteers. The open house is completely open to the public and offers an opportunity for members of the community to learn about the local fire departments, meet the volunteers and local law enforcement. Additionally, those members of the community who are already trained are also encouraged to use their skills and talents as volunteers. On special view this year will be a picture of the new fire engine, coming to the department this summer. As a result of Fairfield’s hard work and planning, this piece of equipment is completely paid for and will be replacing their 1996 rescue engine.

The decline of volunteers is a problem not exclusive to Fairfield and Fountaindale. It is one faced by all small fire companies across Adams County and the nation. "It is time for our community to realize that they need to step up and help. We’re the modern day minutemen. We drop what we’re doing to go and help people. This is the type of commitment firemen have in the community," said Jacobs.

"Having a sense of volunteerism for the community in which you live in is something that is in your blood. It’s so rewarding to do this and have pride in what we’re doing for the community," noted Jacobs. It takes a family, and in this case fire departments are in desperate need of more "family members" to step up and help.

We encourage all our readers to mark their calendars and drop by Fairfield Fire Department’s EMS Day on May 20 to talk to your local volunteer fire and EMS personnel and learn more about what you can do to help your community.

If we don’t support them, we’ll lose them.