By Chloé Morrison
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)
Copyright 2006 Chattanooga Publishing Company
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded a grant to the Walker County Emergency Services, which will help boost volunteer recruitment, said Walker County Fire and Rescue Chief Randy Camp.
The $134,100 Assistance to Firefighters Grant will fund a program that provides incentives for volunteers to stay with the fire unit, he said.
“What is going on in our country (is) the inadequate staffing of fire departments in our nation, along with volunteerism being on the decline,” Mr. Camp said.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, 70 percent of fire companies are staffed by volunteers, but Chief Camp said volunteers often feel as if they aren’t a part of the group.
The program will provide volunteers with mentors to help integrate them into the fire company. Both volunteers and mentors are provided with incentives and motivation to complete the program, Mr. Camp said.
For the program, the mentor is required to make contact with the volunteer on a weekly basis outside the fire department until the volunteer finishes recruitment school. During the meetings, the volunteers can feel free to ask questions they might not want to ask in class, Mr. Camp said.
After the volunteer’s recruitment class, the mentor continues monthly phone contact with him, Mr. Camp said. If the firefighter finishes recruitment school and works with the department for one year, the reward is $3,100. The mentor also receives a cash bonus of $750. If the volunteer drops out, neither receives money.
Mr. Camp said he hopes the program will help Walker County increase its staff from 168 members to 212.
“We are working on that number to give us an average of 12 volunteers per station,” he said.
Chief Camp said there has been a drop of 80,000 volunteer firefighters in the nation.
“Most departments have dropped from a four-man engine to a three-man,” he said. “There are a lot of things that affect the volunteer (numbers). One thing is the lack of support from businesses.”
Chief Camp, who was a volunteer and paid firefighter for 26 years, said businesses were more tolerant of volunteer firefighters coming in late or having to leave to go help fight a fire in the past. Now, he has heard of volunteers being fired if they are late. He also said some people have trouble finding the time to study and train, especially if they have a family to support and need an additional job.
The Assistance to Firefighter awards are also helping fire companies across the nation, Chief Camp said. The grants will ultimately provide about $85 million to roughly 4,500 fire-related organizations.
“The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program has been instrumental in building capacity and has provided needed resources for our nation’s firefighters,” said Under secretary for Preparedness George Foresman in a prepared statement. “From the purchase of equipment to first responder training, the (grant program) has had an immensely positive impact on fire related initiatives, which has directly resulted in saving lives and property in communities throughout the United States.”