By John Hinton
The Winston-Salem Journal
VIENNA, N.C. — Brendon Donaldson realized the dangers of being a volunteer firefighter when he searched a house in late November after a fire.
As he scoured a bedroom for possible victims, he stumbled over some boxes and fell, hitting a bed. The bed flipped and landed on top of him, Donaldson said.
“It was night and I didn’t know what had happened,” he said. “At first, I thought maybe that the roof had collapsed on me.”
Donaldson managed to free himself and got out of the house safely. The blaze, a grease fire that started in the kitchen, caused about $80,000 in damage to the house in the Vienna community. No one was injured.
Donaldson said such dangers are part of his work as a volunteer for the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department.
Donaldson and other firefighters will talk about their jobs at the 36th Piedmont Fire Expo, which continues today at the Joel Coliseum Annex and the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds. About 600 people attended the expo Friday — a fundraiser for the Forsyth County Fire and Rescue Association.
Most volunteer fire departments in Forsyth County face challenges recruiting and keeping volunteer firefighters as well as finding enough money to buy equipment.
“We all have our ups and downs,” said David Smith, the assistant chief for the Mineral Springs Volunteer Fire Department. "(Being a firefighter) is not for everybody.”
Recruiting is a challenge because not as many young men and women are interested in becoming volunteer firefighters as in previous years, Smith said.
But many departments have been able to land recruits, said Smith and Chad Lea, another volunteer firefighter with the Vienna fire department.
The number of volunteer firefighters in Forsyth rose from 582 to 598 — or 3 percent — from 2009 to 2010, according to the N.C. State Firemen’s Association.
But recruiting is only the beginning.
“Recruiting is the easy part,” Lea said, adding that retaining firefighters is difficult.
Many recruits head off to college or accept full-time firefighter jobs after they complete their training, Lea said. Some fail to finish the extensive training required to become a certified firefighter and emergency-medical technician.
Most departments employ some full-time firefighters to fill the gap. The Forsyth County Fire Department sends four of its firefighters to help local departments fight fires at homes and businesses.
Another hurdle is finding money to buyequipment, said Robert Bodenhamer, a volunteer firefighter for the Piney Grove Fire-Rescue Department.
Forsyth County’s 24 volunteer fire departments receive revenue from fire tax districts in the county, where residents pay a tax for fire protection.
But the departments’ budgets are being squeezed amid a sluggish local economy, said Beth Crumpler, the owner of Cornerstone Specialty Equipment of Clemmons. Her company maintains the departments’ firetrucks.
Rural fire chiefs typically spend money on legally mandated repairs on their firetrucks and other equipment and little else, Crumpler said.
Still, Donaldson and Lea said they enjoy being firefighters.
“Fighting fires is not like pushing a pencil,” Lea said. “When you fight a fire and put it out, you are actually accomplishing something. It is work.”
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