DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — The fire service is being stretched thin, and the pandemic isn't helping local fire companies improve recruitment and retention. They're now sounding the alarm hoping to get the word out and attract new members.
In 2020, the pandemic sent most people home, but firefighters were an exception, responding to emergencies no matter what. However, as people refrained from venturing out, local fire companies took the heat seeing less people interested in joining the fire service.
Last year, the Linglestown Fire Company No.1 in Lower Paxton Township, only had five or six new members join. Firefighter recruitment numbers have been declining for the last several years, showing no signs of improvement, which worries Sean Harp, the assistant fire chief of Linglestown Fire Company.
Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioner, Bruce Trego, said back in the 70s, on average there were roughly 300,000 active firefighters. Today, he said there's about 38,000 who are currently active.
Harp said the fire service is aging, people are busier and they're no longer knocking on the doors of their local fire companies looking to help out.
Ideally, Harp said he'd like to see six to eight people on each shift. But, they usually have half of that.
“The emergencies are the same regardless of how many people you have on the firetruck, so if there’s jobs to be done and you only have three guys there to do it, they have to do the jobs of those three open seats," he said. "So, it makes it harder and slower for everybody to get the job done. We want to get there, give the help we can give, and we want to get you out of that situation as soon as we can.”
Harp said every station is different with how many people they need on a shift. At Linglestown, they have a lot of apparatus so, he said they do need more help.
They recently started a new program to help get people in the door who might not necessarily want to be a firefighter and go into burning buildings, yet, but they still want to help out. He explained that this program allows anyone to do exactly that, and slowly learn more about fighting fires. Then he said, they'd set them up with necessary training when they are ready.
“This big thing I tell everybody is don’t be afraid of it," he said. "If you don’t know what’s going on, come on down and talk to us. Every firefighter down here started somewhere, just like everybody out there that’s watching. There’s something for everybody to do and help out with."
If you're interested in volunteering or want to learn more, you can visit the township's website to learn about the three fire companies.
The Linglestown Fire Company also has some fundraisers coming up, including their homemade soup over an open fire. They say it will be a spooky good time!
The best way to keep up with their fundraisers and raffles is on social media.