JOHNSTON — Trying to get enough firefighters to respond to fire and emergency calls has become a challenge for several northern Trumbull county fire departments that rely mainly on volunteers and some paid part-time staff.

More than 25 township and fire officials from Greene, Gustavus, Johnston, Kinsman and Vernon gathered Wednesday in Johnston to discuss ways to attract emergency medical service / paramedic personnel and firefighters, or consider the idea of forming a large fire district to cover the five townships.

“The main concern, more than ever, has been trying to get volunteers. It is no longer the old days when there were always enough volunteers,” Johnston Trustee Dominic Marchese said.

“None of the chiefs know if they are going to have enough people on a call. This is an issue we have to deal with.”

Marchese said Southington fire department is looking at having paid part-time firefighters and Mecca, Greene and Bristol fire officials have been discussing a joint fire district.

Marchese said if the five townships want, there could be a joint district covered by one levy for the townships that would replace all the individual fire / EMS levies.

Fire chiefs who attended said that while they do have volunteer rosters, they have times when they do not have enough volunteers responding to a call and need to rely on help from other departments.

Burghill-Vernon fire Chief George Snyder, who also is a fire safety instructor at Trumbull Career & Technical Center, said he has been able to get future firefighters who complete the course and go on to obtain fire credentials and fire certification.

He said they must be 18 years old.

“Volunteering is a dying issue. When I started in fire service in 1989 there were 50 people on our roster and people on waiting lists to get on … It is not that way anymore,” Snyder said.

LESS INTEREST

Years ago there would be 200 to 300 people signing up to take tests to be a firefighter and now it might only be two or three, Snyder said,

He said he has spoken to Brookfield fire officials who pay for staff, but still have trouble finding people to cover when only two or three work per shift.

“There are places that pay up to $20 per hour and they still face challenges of getting people to work … We are all doing the best we can with what we have and the dwindling numbers,” Snyder said.

Fire officials noted about 85 percent of calls are EMS and the other 15 percent fire for most fire departments.

Johnston Trustee Dan Denman said whether the call is for a heart attack or a fire with someone trapped, there still are times when not enough people are available to respond.

Townships compete, he said, with other jobs that pay more.

“Finding employees has become very hard whether for the public sector or the private sector,” he said.

Fire officials said another reason people do not become a firefighter or emergency medical technician is the increased number of hours to join the ranks and the cost to continue for recertification or to send someone to medical school.

Assistant fire Chief in Kinsman, Travis Sapp, said the interest from younger generations to be in public safety has changed.

“You no longer see the younger faces. There has been a culture shift. It is harder to get people interested in firefighting or volunteering. They may think, ‘why go do something your not paid for?'” Sapp said.