According to Ian Fickert, vice president of Fairmount Fire Company and chairman of the company’s Community Relations Committee, the company has been low on recruits for the past year. Right now, the company has about 25 firefighters.
Fickert said that one of the biggest reasons that people do not want to join is the lack of time to devote to volunteering. Deputy Chief Jacob Slavens added that many people know how dangerous being a firefighter can be, and the thought hinders them from wanting to volunteer as a firefighter.
Unfortunately, the lack of people wanting to join takes a toll on the low number of people who are involved and are responding to so many calls, especially in a physically demanding position. They have a small crew, so it is usually the same people who have to take action when calls come in.
"I feel the biggest impact is that the current firefighters are getting tired of being the only ones making all of the calls, special events, and drills to the point they are getting burned out,” said Slavens.
While firefighters are unpaid in the traditional sense, there are benefits involved with joining Fairmount. According to Fickert,
Lansdale Borough provides the fire company with money so that firefighters can get a stipend of $20 per call or community event after responding to a certain number of calls or participating in a given number of events. The fire company also pays for any training and equipment that firefighters may need.
In order to combat the issue, the fire company has been taking action to help formulate ideas as well as get information out into the community.
The Community Relations Committee "is always working on new ideas to try to recruit members,” said Fickert. "We go out to
First Fridays in Lansdale every month. We do
Lansdale Day. We do a lot of different events throughout the year.
"Also, the state of Pennsylvania is working on something to help all volunteer fire companies with recruitment issues,” said Slavens.
While it is understandable to be hesitant about joining, Fairmount invites those who are interested to contact them and go see what is involved with being a firefighter.
"If someone is on the fence about joining, I normally ask them to come out to one of our training nights to see what we actually do, and we answer any questions that they may have or they might be concerned about,” said Slavens.
