Getting enough volunteers to man fire stations across Trumbull County is a daily struggle fire officials can agree on. Exactly why departments are seeing fewer and fewer volunteers sign on to help for free is a question that they cannot seem to answer, though.
Some blame it on increased training and educational requirements. Some blame it on a lack of interest.
But probably the most critical problem facing the volunteer fire service is, simply, lack of time, according to the National Volunteer Fire Council.
As the number of single-parent households and two-income families continue to rise, the problem likely will get worse and could force many volunteer departments to close, consolidate or just change the way they do business.
Fire departments in Hartford and Brookfield are proof of that locally.
The two are in discussions about combining fire departments - a dialogue prompted by the large volume of calls Brookfield handled last year for its northern neighbor. Brookfield's two stations are staffed 24 hours a day by a mix of full-time and part-time personnel that also are trained as Emergency Medical Technicians or paramedics.
Hartford has no ambulance service and relies on Brookfield for emergency medical service transports, which comprise the majority of that township's fire calls. Brookfield has 32 paid firefighters and a roster of 12 to 15 volunteers compared to Hartford's pool of 11 volunteers.
Since Hartford has trouble getting volunteers to respond to fire calls during the day, Brookfield firefighters end up responding to those calls as well as the medical transports it already handles.
Problems with daytime response is not unique to Hartford. Members of most departments interviewed said the daytime hours are the hardest to fill, and the problem is magnified for townships that don't have paid staffing and must rely on mutual aid agreements with their neighbors.
Bristol Township started offering 24-7 EMS coverage about five years ago. The department has two part-time people on duty all the time who are either EMTs or paramedics that can respond to fire or medical calls.
Chief Roger French said the department was forced into a paid staffing arrangement because the township was paying other departments for EMS-related calls, especially during the day when volunteers were scarce.
Now, Bloomfield, Mesopotamia and West Farmington contract with Bristol for EMT service, but with only two people on duty at any given time, the department still has to call other departments if there is a fire.
French said the township has had a volunteer fire department since the mid-1940s and had an active roster of 25 volunteers 10 years ago. Now, there are about 12, and French said the response depends on work schedules and family obligations.
''The era of volunteering is coming to an end. Not just in the fire service, but in general. Young people don't have the time and the old-timers are dying off,'' French said.
Cortland fire Chief Bill Novakovich said the department has a handful of volunteers, which is about the same as five years ago. He said the volunteers are called out if there are multiple calls or if there is a large structure fire.
''Their schedule plays a big role because so many of the volunteers have jobs outside the fire service,'' he said.
Bazetta fire Lt. Brian Taylor said the township used to have volunteer firefighters, but they started getting paid per call within the past decade. Budget woes have led to layoffs in the department, leaving Bazetta with nine full-time firefighters and no part-timers.
Taylor said the volunteers have filtered away over the years, and the department could use them since the layoffs, but the union contract won't allow volunteers to be used when there are paid firefighters on furlough.
Add into that, a bill signed into law in January 2007 that beefs up the education and training requirements for firefighters, whether they are volunteer or paid, and the challenge to find qualified firefighters becomes even more difficult.
Previously, firefighters were certified for life once they completed all their training and education. The new law requires firefighters to take 18 hours of continuing education per year in order to keep their certification, which must be renewed every three years.
Taylor said the new requirements coupled with family and work obligations means less volunteers stepping up and less availability for the ones that do.
Tom Bumgardner, vice president of the Station 47 Fireman's Association in Warren Township, said the association is a private fire company paid per month by trustees. The money, approximately $3,000, comes from the general fund and pays for fire prevention programs, training and education for volunteers.
He said the department started its paid EMS service in 1996, with personnel available for medical or fire calls from 8 a.m. until midnight. Starting in September, the department will offer service until 4 a.m. and will have to rely on neighboring departments for the remaining four hours.
Bumgardner said the volunteers are supposed to respond to fire calls first and the paid staff is supposed to respond only after a second tone is sounded. He said the first tone goes unanswered most of the time, leaving the paid staff to respond.
''Nobody's banging down the door to volunteer anymore. Most people in the fire service have two, three, four jobs,'' he said.
And it's the multiple-job nature of the fire service that causes response problems as well.
Southington Fire Chief Tom Strock said the department started in 1949 and it's always been volunteer-based. He said there are about 40 volunteers and the number has fluctuated by six people over the past several years, with a high of 48 and a low of 30.
He said the daytime hours pose a staffing problem for the volunteers who work outside the fire service in professional fields such as teachers, lawyers or accountants. However, Strock said the overnight shifts are a problem with volunteers who work other fire service jobs because most departments work on a 24-hour schedule.
House Bill 203, which took effect in March 2001, has made it easier for firefighters with regular day jobs to respond because the legislation makes it illegal for employers to fire or discipline employees who volunteer in the fire service if they miss work or are late because they were dispatched to an emergency.
Strock said eventually, the department will have to become a paid service because of the volume of calls it receives. He said the department made 432 runs last year and at 500, a volunteer department is stretched to its limit.
However, Southington is one of a handful of northwest townships looking into forming a fire district and Strock said he sees his department getting caught up in that before it is forced into a paid structure like Bristol was five years ago.
Fowler started paid-per-call EMS service in March for a six-month trial period. Chief Fred Yungbluth said two part-time firefighter/EMTs or firefighter/paramedics are on duty from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., which is typically the hardest time to get volunteer response.
He said the department went to a paid structure because most of the firefighters have a second job and it was difficult to get volunteers when they could get paid at a different department for doing the same work.
One department that seems to be an anomaly when it comes to volunteer firefighters is Howland. Chief George Brown said he has 27 volunteers, adding 18 in the past year thanks to a successful recruitment drive.
He said volunteers must complete the 36-hour basic firefighter course, but most have completed the 130-hour EMT course as well. He said volunteers must be 18, undergo a physical exam and make it through a screening process conducted by the Howland Volunteer Fire Department, Inc.
Brown said the volunteer organization is contracted by the trustees, with the money used for training, education and workers compensation. He said some volunteers are content to stay that way depending on their day jobs, but most want to be career firefighters and the volunteer program is used as a recruitment tool.
He said he believes the lack of volunteer firefighters has less to do with the required training and education and more to do with the time commitment.
''I think it's more of a change in our culture. Children are involved with more activities, most families have both parents working, and there are a lot of single parents with multiple jobs. That doesn't leave much time for volunteering. But those who do it, really love the job. It's in their blood,'' Brown said.
