By Sam Allen
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)
HARRISBURG, Pa. — There is one question Ross fire marshal John Reubi hears most often when he tries to recruit volunteer firefighters.
“What’s in it for me?”
When Mr. Reubi joined the Keating Volunteer Fire Company in 1963, that question was rarely asked.
Now, 45 years later, he does not have a convincing answer.
The number of volunteer firefighters in Pennsylvania has plummeted in past decades — from 300,000 in 1974 to 72,000 in 2005 — and lawmakers at the federal and state level have pinpointed a lack of tangible incentive as a key factor in the decline.
U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-McCandless, co-sponsored the SERVE Act, a bill that would provide an annual $1,000 tax credit to active volunteer firefighters and emergency workers who serve for at least one year. The bill is in committee, and although two similar bills have failed in past years, Mr. Altmire is hopeful.
“This is a difficult year with the budget,” Mr. Altmire said. “But I can’t think of another group that deserves this more.”
Mr. Altmire said the incentive would help fire companies recruit and retain volunteers, and he believes it would show appreciation for firefighters who “sometimes feel taken for granted.”
Fire chiefs in the area agree, but many say that an incentive program is only a first step in an effort that faces many obstacles.
“I don’t think it’s a quick fix,” said state Rep. State Rep. Tim Solobay, D-Canonsburg, who is also the Canonsburg volunteer fire chief and has supported similar bills in the state Legislature. “I think it’s something we’re going to need to build on.”
It is most common for fire departments to seek financial assistance from their local governments, but, because the recruiting situation is so drastic, many state governments are considering tax credits. In Delaware, volunteer firefighters already receive an annual $400 tax credit, and there is a similar $200 tax credit in Maryland.
On July 11, Gov. Ed Rendell signed a bill into law that will give Pennsylvania’s volunteer firefighters a $100 tax credit. There are two other bills under consideration in the state Senate intended to address the lack of incentive for volunteer firefighters. One would provide tuition assistance for college students who volunteer, and the second is a tax credit for businesses that employ volunteers.
A 2004 state Senate report estimated volunteer firefighters save Pennsylvania taxpayers $6 billion each year. But dwindling numbers have forced some departments to start paying a portion of their rosters, while still recruiting volunteers.
Scott Reese, the chief of the South Strabane Township Fire Department, said his company now pays seven firefighters and has 18 volunteers. Chief Reese, 48, has served since 1989, and he said at one point the department had 40 volunteers. Many of those firefighters left South Strabane for paid positions in Virginia.
Chief Reese said state and federal tax credits would help to “get recruits in the door.”
Other, smaller departments simply cannot afford to pay firefighters.
John Palcsey, an emergency coordinator and volunteer firefighter in Dravosburg, said the borough’s tax base couldn’t support a paid fire department. He has served with the department for 41 years, but he fears it soon will be extinct if the decline in volunteers persists.
Michael Palcsey, John’s son, is president of the Dravosburg department. He said the department — which now operates with 25 volunteers — would most likely consolidate with a department in West Mifflin if the situation worsens.
“We live in a materialistic society,” Michael Palcsey said. “People just don’t want to work for free anymore.”
Even a merger or consolidation would hurt small communities that look to their fire departments as an emblem and source of pride, he added.
“It’s a shame when you lose a company like that, because they really are the hub of the entire community,” Mr. Altmire said.
Many fire chiefs say time commitment is the biggest issue; volunteers have to spend 150 to 200 hours training before they can fight fires, and there is continued training after that. They also must help with fund raising, maintenance and building inspection. Fire chiefs also say it is increasingly difficult to find volunteers who can respond to daytime calls because so few people work night shifts.
Mr. Reubi said his department sometimes fields as few as four volunteers for daytime calls.
Departments try incentives
One issue the SERVE Act — which would benefit almost 824,000 volunteer firefighters in the country — may face is its definition of bona fide volunteers.
“That’s a legitimate concern; you have people who are members in name only,” Mr Altmire said. “But I think that’s a problem the chiefs can sort out. If you have someone who isn’t pulling their weight, the chief can say they don’t qualify [for the tax credit].”
The bill, introduced by Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-New York, received bipartisan sponsorship and has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.
“That’s very helpful, in this current climate, to have people agree on both sides,” Mr. Altmire said. “We all see the benefit these companies provide; the story sells itself.”
In the absence of tax credits, fire departments have tried newspaper ads, door-to-door enrollment, and community incentives to help boost recruitment. In Ross, volunteer firefighters swim free at the community pool.
Charles Belgie, a fire chief in Moon, said financial incentives are far more successful than other methods.
Chief Belgie, 78, remembers a time when his department did not need to recruit; there were more than 100 active volunteers and a waiting list for newcomers.
The department has 50 volunteers today and no need for a waiting list.
“This is a very urgent situation,” Chief Belgie said. “Everybody in the state is losing volunteers. It’s across the board.”
Mr. Solobay echoed that urgency.
“If we don’t do something to bolster those ranks, it’s going to come out of everyone’s pocket because municipalities are going to have to look at hiring,” Mr. Solobay said. He estimated that a switch to a paid fire department in a community of 10,000 people would amount to a municipal tax increase of $500 to $750 per individual.
Dave Finger, director of government relations at the National Volunteer Fire Council, said the SERVE Act could have a significant impact, but he is unsure if it will be passed in 2008.
“There’s always hope, but we’re also very realistic” Mr. Finger said. “It is an election year and Congress probably isn’t going to be doing a whole lot.
“But there’s no reason why it couldn’t pass in the near future.”
For now, companies are left to fend for themselves. Bill Pelikan, the president of the Skyview Volunteer Fire Department in West Mifflin, said his company has put “Members Needed” signs with the department’s phone number in front yards to attract more recruits. He said they’ve recruited a few new firefighters from those signs, but most callers hang up once they realize the position is unpaid.
Copyright 2008, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)