Members of the Barren Hill Fire Company kept watch over the ‘Winter Warm-up’ bonfire at the Highlands Mansion and Gardens historic site in Fort Washington on Jan. 25, 2025. (Credit: Highlands Mansion and Gardens)
In Pennsylvania, some municipalities have established local tax credits to give discounts for firefighters or other emergency responders, and some school districts have started offering the same
While wildfires sweeping across southern California have drawn national headlines this winter, fire companies closer to home are facing some of the same challenges as their west coast counterparts.
Local firefighters are looking for help from their communities so they can continue to do what they do best.
“Volunteering is of course down. We’re at an all-time low in the Commonwealth: we’re down from over 300,000 back in the ’80s, to probably just about 30,000 or 35,000 currently,” said Chris Schwartz, president of the Montgomery County Fire Chiefs Association, and of the Barren Hill Volunteer Fire Company in Lafayette Hill.
“Every volunteer department is struggling to find new volunteers, that are willing and able and have the time to be able to put in, to serve their communities. It’s not a regional thing, it’s not an individual fire company thing, it’s a volunteer system of fire service thing,” he said.
Tax credits help
In Pennsylvania, some municipalities have established local tax credits to give discounts for firefighters or other emergency responders, and some school districts have started offering the same, Schwartz said.
“There’s obviously a significant cost. If everything went to paid (firefighters), that would certainly be put back on the community members. Finding ways that are — I hate to say cheaper, but to reward them for their service, and the tax credits are a big one — they’re important,” he said.
“Even with recruitment, you may say ‘We got seven new people here,’ and that’s great, but nobody’s saying ‘I’m only doing this because I get a tax credit.’ There’s still a community need, and a community responsibility, and a community willingness for most of them,” he said.
Any help, from any age, would be appreciated by your local fire company.
“We can use any age. There’s no restrictions, and there’s a job for everybody. Whatever you’re willing to do, there’s a spot for you,” Schwartz said. “One of my newest members is 60-plus, and he’s putting on gear and going to fire school.”
“Most fire companies have a junior program, that allow as young as 14 or 16 years old to join. And then as long as you’re able, and willing, and you’re capable, there’s really no limit on the high end,” he said.
Bond among members
That tight bond between members of a fire company may be the least understood benefit of joining.
“The relationships that are built, that are lifelong, that’s probably the underlying thing that many people don’t realize. You really are joining a second family, in these volunteer companies, that are lifelong, that end up being lifelong friendships,” he said.
“It’s pretty amazing, the determination of some of the volunteers that are coming in, and seeing the family-type atmosphere that makes up a volunteer fire company,” Schwartz said.
Fire safety can also be a fulltime career, for those so inclined, with plenty of demand for several specialties.
“Firefighters, fire inspectors, sprinkler inspectors, sprinkler builders — there’s all kinds of facets within the industry. And you can be a volunteer firefighter forever,” Schwartz said.
Continuous learning
Be warned: Doing so is a major commitment, with regulations and requirements growing stricter each year.
“Our basic training class is north of 180 hours, just to receive the initial certification to enter a building fire. I joined in the late ’90s, and back then it was only 88 hours, so there’s a significant increase. And that’s just the basics,” he said.
“The majority of national certifications, which most folks are striving for, involve 24 to 60 hours per class to attain. So there’s a tremendous amount of training available, and a tremendous amount of certifications available. We never stop learning, just like any career. It’s not once and done, it’s a commitment,” said Schwartz.
Community members gathered for warmth, friends and food at the ‘Winter Warm-up’ bonfire at the Highlands Mansion and Gardens historic site in Fort Washington on Jan. 25, 2025. (Credit: Highlands Mansion and Gardens)How are local companies finding those new firefighters? That’s the question they’re all struggling with.
“We see a lot of turnover in our community. It’s not the folks that have lived here for 50 years anymore. It’s folks that are moving into a town, that may or may not realize a volunteer fire department is protecting them, and the number of hours, and the time that their neighbors are putting in,” he said.
Younger generations may be more interested in screen time than serving their community and volunteering for a fire company.
“When I was a young fireman, when I wasn’t working or in school I was down at the firehouse, working on trucks, and cleaning trucks, and learning the craft. This generation, it’s just different: It’s difficult to keep them encouraged, when there’s so much other stuff going on they could be involved in. We’re constantly competing with every other volunteer organization, to get people in the doors.”
Facilities can also be a question mark, as older stations need to be replaced or upgraded to meet new standards and attract younger members.
“That obviously turns into better staffing and quicker response times. That’s super beneficial — the unfortunate part is, none of it is free,” he said.
Big ticket items
Fire companies often hold fundraisers — think chicken barbecue or sandwich sales — to make ends meet, but those only go so far when big-ticket purchases are involved. For his company, a firetruck that cost roughly $500,000 when it was built in 1997, is now being replaced at roughly four times that cost.
“For our company, we’ve been running a fundraising campaign for a new ladder (firetruck) that we ordered in 2023, that has a price tag of $2 million on it. And we’ve raised just over $70,000,” Schwartz said.
“Our goal is $600,000, because we saved and planned for it. So it’s not like it’s $600,000 or bust. But to think, in 18 months, we’ve only been able to raise $70,000 toward a goal of $600,000, speaks volumes as to what we’re seeing. There’s just so many worthwhile organizations asking for money, that there’s not enough to go around.”
Delivery times are much longer, too. A truck that once took nine months to a year to deliver now takes much longer: “We ordered ours in June of 2023, and it’s not due until spring of 2026. Most manufacturers are out to two-and-a-half to three-plus years for delivery,” he said.
Each of those fire trucks is typically custom-built to meet the needs of a certain company, which can add features and flexibility, but also at a cost.
“You have to piece together every piece that makes up the truck, from the ground up. It’s not like going to the Ford dealer and saying, ‘I’ll take the black Ford pickup that’s on the lot.’ You literally have 10 or 15 options for each component of the truck, down to the lug nuts on the sides,” he said.
Gear costs more
Firetrucks are not the only expense that’s grown in recent years: the gear that firefighters wear “has shot through the roof,” per Schwartz.
“A set of personal protective equipment is probably close to $5,000 per person, when you factor in boots, helmets, all that stuff. And the regulations change on a regular basis: now that PPE is not supposed to be used outside of ten years, and that’s really regardless of use,” he said.
“If we go to 10 fires in a year, those 40 sets of gear don’t go to all 10. But the city of Philadelphia, that goes to hundreds of fires a year, their gear is exposed to contaminants and live fire more often. But we both have the same 10-year shelf life of gear. Even replacing five sets, we’re talking $25,000, which may be a sizable portion of our budget,” Schwartz said.
How are companies trying to meet their manpower and financial challenges? Some have merged or regionalized, while others have worked together to develop new joint response tactics and techniques.
“Years ago, you would call company A and company B for a fire, and because volunteering was so prevalent, you might get 50 firemen from those two companies. Now, because the volunteering is so limited, you may not have three trucks from each (company), so they’re pulling a single truck that’s more likely to be staffed,” he said.
“You’re still getting those same 50 firemen, but they’re coming from five or six companies now. You’re getting the components from different sources, and you have to train together in order to know what each other are doing,” Schwartz said.
Fairmount recruitment up
One area fire company has seen a sudden jump in recruitment: the Fairmount Fire Company of Lansdale has seen an increase this year, according to that company’s fire Chief Gavin Butler.
“We have recruited 15 new members: two junior, and five administrative members. I think seven or eight are still in the probationary period,” he said.
Fairmount Fire Company of Lansdale firefighters responded to a building fire at a wood working shop in Worcester Township on Jan. 29, 2025, one of nine separate calls the company responded to on that day. (Credit: Fairmount Fire Company of Lansdale/Facebook)Part of the reason for that jump could be the town’s volunteer stipend program, which was adopted in 2017, then expanded in 2019, and compensates firefighters based on the number of calls they respond to, if the firefighters meet certain qualifications to qualify for a list that the town approves each year.
“Since we’ve started our stipend program about ten years ago, we saw a trend of more firefighters responding per alarm and feel it’s been effective in that sense,” Butler said.
In a Facebook post in late January, the company outlined the benefits of joining: free training and certifications, personal protective gear provided, an opportunity to protect your community, plus “camaraderie and lifelong friendships.”
On just one day in January, according to Fairmount, their company responded to a morning fire call, three more in the afternoon, then a call to assist nearby Worcester Volunteer Fire Department on a call for a fire at a wood working shop that lasted more than five hours. During that fire, four other calls came in, two from neighboring Upper Gwynedd and one in North Wales, bringing the company up to a total of nine calls, 10 service hours, and 17 responding members in just the one day.
Junior members can join starting at age 16, and administrative members can help with behind-the-scenes record keeping or fundraising, while fire police can do traffic and crowd control at events; anyone interested can stop by that fire company’s station during their weekly training nights at 7 p.m. Thursdays to learn more.
“It’s a good year. In 2018 or ’19, we brought in some 18 new members, which were all firefighters or fire police. So it’s a really good year, probably our second-best. We’re definitely happy with that number,” Butler said.
Fairmount Fire Company of Lansdale firefighters responded to a building fire at a wood working shop in Worcester Township on Jan. 29, 2025, one of nine separate calls the company responded to on that day. (Credit: Fairmount Fire Company of Lansdale/Facebook)No help from weather
2024 added a challenge that may or may not occur again: an October with no rain, which Schwartz said was no help to firefighters.
“I’ve been chief of Barren Hill for 18 years, and I think that was the first time that we really saw the dryness, and the amount of brush fires that occurred. In my district alone we saw a significant bump in brush fires, which are bigger in size, requiring multiple companies” to respond.
“Hopefully, with some of the rain at the end of November into December, and once the snow starts melting, hopefully that will help to keep the ground moist,” Schwartz said.
Fire prevention month festivities in October, recruitment campaigns, and local events are all ways for fire companies to build ties with their community — that trip through town for Santa on a firetruck might require a full crew’s entire day to staff — and spur interest from those who might want to help out.
“My company’s going to a bonfire tonight, for a local organization. These kind of events are constantly putting us out in the community. So while fire prevention week is nice, and is a national thing, and we put the headlines out there for that month, there’s always something going on in the local volunteer company,” Schwartz said.
That bonfire event, the annual Winter Warm-up at the Highlands Mansion and Gardens historic site in Fort Washington, earned the company a social media shout-out. “Huge thanks to the awesome Barren Hill Fire Company for keeping us all safe and warm,” said mansion Executive Director Dana Dorsey in a Facebook post about the event.
Members of the Barren Hill Fire Company kept watch over the ‘Winter Warm-up’ bonfire at the Highlands Mansion and Gardens historic site in Fort Washington on Jan. 25, 2025. (Credit: Highlands Mansion and Gardens)The future?
What does a fire chief worry about the most?
“What’s the next generation that’s going to take over this volunteer fire service, is really my greatest concern. It’s easy to say, the big fire, but those are few and far between. The sustainability of the fire service — there’s a lot of heart in the fire service, a lot of dedicated people, that are out there giving their time, exponentially more than I think people realize,” said Schwartz.
“If we don’t continue to bring people into the organizations, that are willing to step up and be the next leaders, then the harsh reality is that number of 30,000 or 35,000 volunteers, are becoming a fully paid system. I don’t know if it’s in 10 years, or 20, I don’t know, but the willingness of those that are still around, is a tremendous opportunity for municipalities, and now is the time to figure out a way to sustain that.”
Many municipalities in Montgomery County already contribute to fire companies via tax millage, which can cover part of a department’s regular expenses, but won’t go nearly as far under a paid system. In Whitemarsh, Schwartz said, that township splits just over $1 million between two fire companies and a fire marshal “with minimal career staff,” and that same amount of revenue would only cover a handful of fulltime firefighters.
Members of the Barren Hill Fire Company get up close to the pallets about to be ignited for the ‘Winter Warm-up’ bonfire at the Highlands Mansion and Gardens historic site in Fort Washington on Jan. 25, 2025. (Credit: Highlands Mansion and Gardens)“There’s a multitude of ways to do it, but trucks don’t put out fires, trucks don’t rescue people. People rescue people, and people put out fires, and staffing is the number one problem. If the volunteers aren’t there, then there’s going to be a financial burden. The good news is that there are still dedicated volunteers, that are willing to serve their community.”
So every time you see Santa ride through your street on a firetruck, keep in mind the firefighters who make that happen: “I know I was out there for five hours, at 22 degrees, in the back of the truck. It’s quite the undertaking,” he said.
“Folks on your block are dropping what they’re doing, and responding to the station, to put a truck out on the road, to respond to somebody else’s emergency. There’s still heart out there, there’s still dedication out there, and recognizing that is key for the community.”
For more information on how to become a firefighter in your area, visit www.montcofirefighters.org
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