By Tim Flach
The State
LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — Michael Hammer calls being a volunteer firefighter a passion.
“It’s the ability to help others,” said Hammer, who enjoys an avocation others consider demanding. “I’ll be in it until I can’t do it anymore.”
Hammer, who lives in the Red Bank area, is among the dwindling ranks of volunteers once the backbone of fire protection across the county.
There are 35 volunteers today, down from 145 five years ago and 220 in 2010, officials say.
The decline stems largely from extra training designed to keep firefighters safer that many recruits find too rigorous and time-consuming, volunteer coordinator Glenn Hollis of Red Bank said.
Volunteers also must work regular shifts monthly at 26 stations to assure faster response to fires and vehicle accidents, instead of being on call while at home or work.
Those requirements are harder to accept as family and job responsibilities increasingly “are pulling at their time,” Hollis said.
Hammer, 32, juggles his family, job and school with being a volunteer firefighter. “If it’s something you have a passion for, you’ll make time for it,” he said.
Dozens of inquiries about becoming a volunteer are common but commitments are becoming rarer, Hollis said.
Less interest also is common at nonprofit groups, said Councilwoman Debbie Summers of Springdale, who works at Harvest Hope Food Bank.
“It’s hard to get volunteers everywhere nowadays,” she said.
The decline in volunteers has led to the hiring of more full-time county firefighters, with 192 on board today compared to 150 in 2010, officials said.
There are about 1,400 fires yearly in the 758-square-mile county, with about 250 of those involving homes, stores and offices, officials said.
No count is kept of how often volunteers assist in putting out blazes.
County firefighters serve most of the area, with municipalities handling the job in Batesburg-Leesville, Cayce, Irmo and West Columbia.
Batesburg-Leesville’s force is largely volunteer, a set-up that Fire Chief Jay Hendrix describes as “neighbors taking care of neighbors.”
There are 30 volunteers there to assist four full-time firefighters.
But interest is waning, Hendrix said. “It’s more challenging,” he said. “We are struggling with recruitment and retention.”
County officials continue to seek volunteers through several promotional campaigns, saying the help is invaluable. The current 35 volunteers provide coverage equaling nearly two full-time counterparts, officials said.
“We keep looking to get them,” Fire Chief Brad Cox said. “We haven’t found the secret yet.”
There is no maximum set on adding volunteer firefighters.
“I’ll take as many as I can get,” Cox said.
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