Delaware fire departments grappling with volunteer shortages

Finding Firefighters – Volunteer shortages hitting state’s departments hard

Printed – March 19, 2023 – Delaware State News Sunday Edition

SEAFORD — A member of the fire service since 1981, Jack Wilson clearly believes in the value of its volunteers.

“I think the biggest benefit is to the community and if you want to be a part of a community and find something that allows for supporting it, there’s no more noble job than being a volunteer firefighter and/or EMT and being able to provide that to your community at no cost,” the Seaford Fire Department chief said.

Any takers?

Not enough in Seaford, Mr. Wilson said.

“We have a very low number of volunteer firefighters and our recruitment and retention numbers are not very good either,” he said. “We are trying to draw new people in but not having enough success.

“It directly affects the overall response to our communities that help people and do things around the firehouse.”

From the administrative side, Mr. Wilson said, “We don’t have a lot of people signing up or people committed to work on certain committees, such as safety or banquet, or assist in regular functions that have to happen around the firehouse all the time."

“There’s several committees that we have, fire prevention and things like that, that need to be taken care of, and it just doesn’t happen.”

On the fire side, the shortage issues “are especially critical,” Mr. Wilson said.

“We really have no volunteer EMTs, so it’s all covered by our career services that we have today.”

The crucial time of Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. is the most challenging, Mr. Wilson said.

“That’s when most of our fire calls come in the city of Seaford or towns or communities around us,” he said. “We average probably two to three volunteers to show up during the daytime for any sort of call.”

So. Mr. Wilson said, responses mostly fall on the department’s career employees (17 full-time EMT/firefighters) to man the fire apparatus.

And then there’s the fire call load that went from 941 in 2022 to 1,023 in 2022. EMS calls rose another 250 calls or so in the same span.

When it comes to enticing new firefighters, Mr. Wilson said the department hasn’t able to recruit from a growing number of minority communities within the city.

“We tried to reach out to the schools, which were very helpful when we tried to do stuff there,” he said.

“In the last four or five years, we’ve given out 55 different applications all from our junior membership to active membership, and only received very minimal numbers back.”

When new members do join, Mr. Wilson estimates that somewhere between 40% to 50% will leave the department within three years.

Other commitments, Mr. Wilson believes, often trump offering time to the fire department.

“Our active volunteers right now have busy outside lives. They’re working two or three jobs or they’re doing sports, they’re doing all that stuff that keeps them from it,” he said.

“So if we can schedule more stuff around their schedules, and they can come in and still receive the same credits to be a volunteer, then it helps them out.”

For now, Mr. Wilson said, “We have talked about it quite often and we do not have an active strategy for pulling in members to our department."

“We’ve discussed everything from paying stipends to providing certain things like gift cards or something like that. Then there’s discussion on providing dinners for members who are on for training sessions or duty nights.”

The way Mr. Wilson sees it, “The fire service is a very dynamic place. We pay for all your equipment stuff and your training."

“And you do have opportunities once you get that because a lot of departments are hiring firefighter EMTs and all the fire departments around us and the edges are hiring people. There’s a good opportunity to get a really good career out of this and make something special out of it.”

A bright spot

Delaware Fire School Training Administrator Jeff Brown drew some comfort from a basic firefighter training on March 11. The session drew 120 or more would-be firefighters ages 15 to 70-something , the biggest class since 2018, he said. More ample-sized classes are needed to overcome the dropping number of firefighters statewide, he said.

“I wish I knew why it was such a high number because if I did, we would do more of it,” he said.

Among the trainees was Ala Crossan, a probationary member of the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company — the same department to which her brother and grandfather belong. Her brother, Jacob Klingler, is a lieutenant; her grandfather, Hayden Klingler, is chief. Her mother, Tiffany Klingler, had been a firefighter too, before she passed.

“It, like, runs in the family,” Ms. Crossan said.

She grew up hearing radio chatter around the house. “It was really cool,” she said.

When her grandfather went out on calls, he would tell his family: “I’ll be back. Make sure dinner’s still hot for me.”

Asked if there was any other reason she became a firefighter, Ms. Crossan said, “I wanted to do it to make my mom proud.”

Bruno Esmeraldo, a trainee in the New Castle County Fire Academy, the Dover State Fire School’s accelerated certificate program, said he had friends in Oklahoma who were firefighters while he was studying there for his undergraduate degree.

“I thought it was cool. (But) at the time I couldn’t do it,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed helping people.”

His chance to join the ranks came when he was back in Newark. Outside Aetna Hose, Hook and Ladder Company’s Station 9, he saw a sign asking volunteers to join. “And now we’re here,” he said.

Firefighter training has been going well, he said, in spite of the rumors he’d heard about instructors being tough on trainees. “I’ve enjoyed every single moment of it,” Mr. Esmeraldo said.

Mr. Brown said a recent crew leader training session drew 48 students “which was one of the larger ones we’ve had” in at least a couple years.

With an eye to the future, Mr. Brown will manage an accelerated Firefighter I and II and Emergency Medical Technical Certification classes.

The inaugural Summer Academy format will run 168 hours from June 5 to July 7. EMT students will complete 150 hours from July 10 to Aug. 8. Sessions run Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“I think it’s exciting because maybe school-aged folks that are on summer break can come in and complete their basic training, which usually takes anywhere from two, maybe three years, to complete,” Mr. Brown said.

“With this, they can get their core fire and rescue classes competed in a month.”

For more information, call the Delaware Fire School at 302-739-4773, or email Mr. Brown at [email protected]  or [email protected] .

Delaware State News Staff writer Craig Anderson and Matt McDonald contributed to this story.

Source:  Delaware State News – Sunday Edition – March 19, 2023

Additional information regarding fire company Recruitment and Retention Initiatives can be reviewed via the following websites:

1. ANSWERING THE CALL: PART 1 - Fire crew more active, fewer members - Local departments struggling to find balance - https://irvfc.com/gallery/detail/47277

2. ANSWERING THE CALL: PART 2 - Cape Region fire departments seek members - As population increases, demand rises for volunteers - https://irvfc.com/gallery/detail/47332?ss=1

3. Recruitment & Retention Initiatives at Indian River - https://irvfc.com/gallery/detail/44353?ss=1