Neighboring fire companies collaborate
While the departments have always done mutual aid, now they are both responding to the same emergencies, instead of calling upon each other for backup. Forest Second Assistant Chief
Now, Central Assistant Chief
Before, White said one department would bring their truck, now there will be at least two trucks at each call. Currently, there are 15 active members for
White said the response during the day and night aren't comparable because more are able to respond in the evening. Manzione figured 15 members might only respond during the day.
Between the two departments, last year the volunteers responded to 460 calls. The calls vary from alarms to lift assists to fires and accidents. Anytime someone calls 911, White said it counts as an incident.
Average age is 45
The average age of a firefighter in
While there are volunteers whose sole job is to go inside and fight fires, Manzione said there is so much more to an emergency and being involved in the department. On the scene, there are volunteers who retrieve equipment off of the trucks or others watching the accountability tags to know who is going in and who's coming out; or, there are volunteers who refill air cylinders, get water for the firefighters and others who take pictures and some who communicate with the media. Then, back at the firehouse there are those who help with fundraising and administrative work. The reality is, Manzione said, "there's so much help needed."
Hopefully cut response time
By dispatching two departments simultaneously, the hope is to cut the response time in half, White said. Manzione noted how there are some days where there's only enough volunteers to man one truck; but now, there will be at least two trucks and enough manpower to manage.
The basis of this new collaboration, Manzione said is that the volunteers are trained to do a job and now they will do the job better because of the additional help.
Last year, between the two departments the volunteers trained over 4,000 hours. Every week the departments have their own in-house training, in addition to learning at the
White said all of the training is necessary, because there can never be enough training "for something that can kill you." With there being "fire behavior," the firefighters must be smarter than the fire since it can change in seconds and kill those responding. An additional aspect for all of the training, is because there aren't calls every day; instead the volunteers may go weeks without a call and so, the training offsets on the job training.
Huge commitment
Over the years, volunteers have dwindled and part of that, White said is because volunteering is a huge commitment, especially when people work all day. Manzione said it takes a special person to help their community without seeking compensation in return.
Over time the departments have had different recruitment efforts, such as
Years ago,
Camaraderie
The camaraderie and sense of a brotherhood is something each volunteer said exists strongly.
With the many communities in the area, White said Central didn't accept second home owners years ago, but now those weekend residents make up the department's largest crews on the weekends. Those who volunteer on the weekend, will then in turn give a break to those who serve during the week.
Because there is so much to be done, White said if some people volunteer just to do administrative work that would relieve those who are currently doing dual jobs. The need, he called "constant" and that there is more to being involved than "fighting the fire."
What if...
If people don't start to volunteer, White said a lot of changes will happen that many won't like, such as municipalities paying a staff, which means tax payers paying to operate a firehouse that will include insurance and pensions. If that were to happen, Manzione said it would "cripple this township."
Looking to the future, White figured within five years firefighters will start to be paid, because there won't be anyone else to do the job. While that's not a definite, if things don't start to change it will happen eventually, he said. The reality is that the volunteers save taxpayers money, but he doesn't believe people realize that.
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