In search of volunteers
Brilliant fire department among those seeing drop in membersBy DAVE GOSSETT, Staff writer
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BRILLIANT - Brian Harvey was 14 years old when he joined the village junior firefighters.
Harvey wanted to join because his mother, grandfather and two uncles already were part of the 45-member department. At that time there was a waiting list to join the volunteer fire department in Brilliant.
Harvey, now president of the Brilliant Volunteer Fire Department Association, recently joined other volunteers in asking area residents to consider joining the department ranks that now number 22 members.
"The Brilliant Fire Department was officially organized in 1923," Harvey explained. "We know a department existed prior to that date but as of 1923 we can determine there were four calls for the year. In 1987 we had 43 members, 23 of them were Emergency Medical Technicians and we saw 350 calls into our department. In 2008 we had 22 members, 13 of them were EMTs and we had 500 calls."
He noted the department so far this year has had 87 calls.
"We do what we can. But we aren't always available. Many of us have jobs that don't allow us to leave. And our top three medical responders each have more than 40 years of service. They also have their own health issues," Harvey said.
"The number of emergency calls are going up and the number of volunteers are decreasing. It's a problem that is facing many of our departments in Jefferson County," said Harvey.
An informal canvass of the community by the volunteers found some interest in joining the department.
"We had two adults who expressed an interest as well as three potential junior members who talked about joining the department. That is what is so important. We need the adult volunteers now but we also need the younger volunteers for the future," noted Harvey.
"Joining a volunteer fire department these days is much different than it was years ago. It is much more than just putting water on a fire, and the requirements to be a volunteer firefighter are much more stringent. Today's firefighters are required to take continuing education classes as part of their training," explained Harvey.
"When I was a kid my uncles and grandfather were involved here. I basically grew up here. Joining the fire department was always something I wanted to do," recalled Harvey.
"We don't have volunteers sitting around the fire station on a full-time basis. This is a difficult time for us. We have never had to conduct a membership drive before. But we are taking steps to resolve the issue," said Harvey.
In addition to the recruitment drive, Harvey said the department also is considering establishing a paid daylight shift crew.
"We are looking at paying two people for a Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., shift. We have been frugal and careful with our money and we may start the paid shift in April," noted Harvey.
Malcom Fellows is one of the longest-serving department veterans with 48 years of service with the Brilliant VFD.
I'm very much concerned about our future. The younger people are going away to college and they get a job and don't come back here. And we have lost members who have been forced to seek a job elsewhere. A lot of the smaller departments in the county have the same issue. Members are getting older or moving away for jobs and there are fewer younger members to fill the vacancies," noted Fellows.
"I'm one of the fortunate members who is able to carry a pager at work. Our members who work in the steel mill or the power plant can't carry their pagers or respond to a call while they are at work. We are very fortunate to have assistance agreements with our surrounding fire departments," Harvey said. "Our membership is down and our calls are up. We are doing the best we can but we need new members."
That's also the case in Tiltonsville, where Fire Chief Doug Dugan recently sent out a membership drive flyer with all village water bills.
"We would like to be at around 30 volunteers. We are now at 20 members, and probably 10 to 12 people do most of the work. Our numbers are down as well. The younger people are moving out of the area and there is no longer a strong sense of community like we had in past years," observed Dugan.
"We try to talk to the younger people living in the village and we are also considering a partially paid department with a couple of people scheduled at our fire station during the day shift. We are also working with the National Volunteer Fire Council and trying to establish a Fire Corps Program for support members. Those members wouldn't go out on calls but would help us with the administrative work, fundraising events and our fire prevention work," explained Dugan.
"I joined the Glen Robbins volunteer department when I was 12 years old, about the same time my dad did. That department had to shut down several years ago because of a lack of members. That could be the case for other departments in the area where the numbers keep going down," commented Dugan.
"We average around 500 calls a year and we could sure use some fresh bodies to train. Our department's average age this year is approximately 42 years old, working and with a family. Some of our members work more than one job and all of those issues affect our response time on occasion. It has come to the point where we are utilizing our mutual aid departments more and more to help cover incidents with us and for us," Dugan noted.
"Today's fire service is not your dad's or grandpa's fire service or even like it was when I started. We respond to many different types of incidents than we did in the past - we train for many different scenarios that may occur. And we handle so many more things these days that we never had to in the past," he added.
"Anyone interested should submit an application. We do a background check on all new applicants and then require a new member to attend either a basic firefighting class or basic EMT class during their first year," said Dugan.
"If anyone thinks they can help in any way, contact your local fire or EMS department. You never know how you can help or what you can do until unless you ask," stated Dugan.
One department that has seen recent success in a grassroots effort to attract new members is the Smithfield Volunteer Fire Department.
"I have been very blessed. We have gone from 10 members to 28 members in one year through our publicity efforts and just walking around the village asking people if they would consider joining the department," said Doug Wilson, Smithfield fire chief.
"Volunteers are hard to find. It took us awhile to build our ranks back up, but now we have a combination of new members and veterans. I am upset that Brilliant is having some trouble getting volunteers because that is a first-class department," said Wilson.
Bergholz Fire Chief John Marsh said he also counts his blessings for his volunteer members.
"We have 25 members right now which is good for a department our size. We are always open to new member applications, but at this point we are in pretty good shape," said Marsh.
(Gossett can be contacted at dgossett@heraldstaronline.com.)
