By Kevin Weiss Staff Writer
The Woodward News
OKLAHOMA CITY — If an Oklahoma resident over 45 years old had an interest in becoming a volunteer firefighter, he or she would currently be denied based on a state law.
That law may soon change.
Legislation to eliminate the current age limit of 45 for new volunteer firefighters was approved this week by the Oklahoma Senate by a vote of 32-13. All it needs is Gov. Mary Fallin’s signature to become law.
House Bill 2005 sponsor Rep. Mike Sanders said the age limit was originally put in place by the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System to address a funding dilemma.
“The law was written to bar new volunteer firefighters above the age of 45 because the pension system could not afford them,” said Sanders, R-Kingfisher. “This information came from constituents inside my district who already had careers and pensions. They were looking to serve and didn’t need to be part of the pension system.”
Sanders’ legislation would allow people over the age of 45 to become new volunteers, but not be eligible for the pension system.
“If those older Oklahomans over the age of 45 want to serve their community and help their neighbors, by gosh, we should do everything we can to help them,” Sanders said. “We should not be barring potential volunteers who have the ability to save lives and property simply because of a pension issue.”
According to Woodward Fire Chief Steve Day, the new legislation will prove beneficial for his department and other fire departments in smaller communities that need volunteers to function.
“There are a lot of auxiliary-type roles that we could put those firefighters in,” Day said. “A lot of times, smaller communities struggle getting enough volunteers in their departments to man them and properly operate.”
Out of the approximately 120 firefighters in Woodward County, only 24 of those are paid positions, Day said.
While fire departments in Woodward County rely so heavily on volunteers, Day added that it has gotten more difficult to recruit them over the past few years.
“Volunteerism has just changed in years past,” he said. “Not as many people have the time that they need to contribute to the cause. For people that are able to contribute, this should open up doors for those individuals and the departments.”
Another aspect of the legislation that is particularly appealing for Day is a clause that would give fire chiefs final say on the deployment of new volunteers over the age of 45.
“You’re not going to put somebody in a position that’s at a point that they still can help, but may be at an age where physically you’re not going to put them inside a burning building or in front of a dangerous type situation,” the fire chief said. “There’s times that you need additional personnel to help move food around the area, move fuel around to different trucks and other ways they can be used; if (fire) chiefs use them wisely, it’ll be a good thing.”
While Sanders noted being a firefighter is still a “young man’s game,” fire departments across the state need all the help they can get no matter a volunteer’s age,” he said.
“Volunteer firefighters provide a vital service to rural communities,” the state representative added. “There is a state and national trend of dwindling volunteers and this legislation is just one tool we can put into the toolbox to solve the problem.”
___
(c)2015 The Woodward News (Woodward, Okla.)
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC