| On Friday, June 13th, 2008 a Press Conference was held at the Westwood Fire Company and was attended by many local political officials, following the recent approval of a Federal Grant to assist in the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters throughout Chester County.
A check from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Philadelphia Region III office was presented by Congressman Jim Gerlach's office representative Ed Schmid. Pennsylvania Senator John Rafferty was on hand for the presentation, in addition to Chester County Commissioner Carol Aichele, our Valley Township Supervisors and representatives from the Chester County Department of Emergency Services and the Chester County Fire Chief's Association.
Light refreshments were served as Assistant Chief Sly gathered all the dignitaries and officials together and announced what the grant funds would be used for.
Back in 2006, Assistant Chief Sly developed the project on a Countywide level to aid fire companies in the ongoing search for more volunteers. All of the 47 fire companies in Chester County participated in the program which was organized at the Chester County Fire Chief's Meetings. Data, statistics, call volume, budgetary information, and personnel rosters were obtained from each station to determine a needs assessment.
Look for an article in the Saturday edition of the Daily Local News and Coatesville Ledger regarding the grant and this presentation.
Additional information can be obtained from the official press release below:
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CHESTER COUNTY VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDS TO RECRUIT PERSONNEL
COATESVILLE, PA – Today, the United States Department of Homeland Security through the Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded a grant to assist Chester County volunteer firefighters recruit more help.
The grant, in the amount of $445,000, was awarded through the Westwood Fire Company to benefit each of the 47 fire companies Countywide. Westwood Assistant Chief John Sly developed the program and grant application back in 2006. After months of preparation obtaining statistical information about each fire company in the County, the application was submitted to FEMA's "SAFER" grant program last year. The SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) Grant program was created to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations in order to help them increase the number of trained, "front-line" firefighters available in their communities.
The grant will provide funding assistance to recruit new firefighters, and retain current volunteers with incentives. According to the statistics compiled for the grant application, there are currently 1,514 volunteer firefighters in Chester County. Fifteen years ago there were more than 1,800. Statewide, in the mid 1970's the estimated number was 300,000 firefighters, in the late 1990's the estimate was 70,000. Today, that number has dropped to between 50,000 and 60,000. Additionally, there are only 64 paid firefighters in Chester County, and no fire companies or departments are supplemented by full time personnel.
According to Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioner Ed Mann, volunteer firefighters save approximately 6 billion dollars a year to Pennsylvania taxpayers.
The hope is that this grant award will generate new interest in areas of the County were additional volunteers are desperately needed. The least amount of volunteers in one fire station in the County is 12, and the station with the most volunteer personnel has 58 volunteers. The problem is that all volunteers aren't available 24 hours a day.
Currently, the combined annual operating budgets of all fire companies in Chester County is more than $15,000,000, with only 28% of those funds coming from municipal taxes. "Most fire companies in this area rely heavily on donations and fundraisers to keep the doors open. Several municipalities are fortunate enough to be able to provide dedicated funding to their local fire companies, however many do not receive any tax based funding whatsoever," said Westwood Assistant Chief John Sly. "The biggest problem we face is not only finding enough dedicated volunteers to train and respond to emergencies, but ask them to also help raise funding to pay the bills. Each year, we have less people and more calls."
In 2006, there were 16,439 fire and rescue emergencies in Chester County, and there were 33,995 medical emergencies. Most Ambulance services have been forced to pay crews during business hours due to declining volunteerism and additional calls. Currently, only one Ambulance service in Chester County remains all volunteer, however all fire companies in the County are still serviced by volunteer firefighters. Several have a paid driver or firefighter on duty during the day, but volunteers make up the bulk of the staff.
Funds from the grant will go towards paying for media campaigns in local newspapers, billboard advertisements, and a website where citizens can locate their nearest fire department and obtain information about how they can help.
Funding is also being provided to make presentations in high schools throughout the County to help recruit younger troops.
In order to meet state and National standards, training is required for volunteer firefighters. A major problem that continues is that in order for someone to get the required training, they are giving up their evenings and weekends, or losing wages by taking off of work. The grant provides more than $300,000 in funds to pay for lost wage reimbursement for new recruits joining their local fire company. This incentive provides hope that more people will sign up.
"Retaining volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel is as challenging today as recruiting new members. This grant will help us to implement an innovative program that will ultimately benefit the citizens we serve through increased ranks of newer and experienced members," Craig Peterson, Chief of the Berwyn Fire Company said.
"Another major problem we face is that there is currently no County training facility here in Chester County. The continued progress of the proposed Public Safety Training Facility in East Fallowfield Township will provide great benefit to new recruits," said Sly.
Director Ed Atkins, Chester County Department of Emergency Services, said, "The SAFER Grant award will greatly increase the opportunity to advertise for volunteers. With the proposed Public Safety Training Facility plans continuing to progress, volunteers will have a central location in Chester County to obtain the critical training that is needed to protect their communities.
"It is always great news when firefighters can get the training they want, the professional certification they desire and are able to use Federal Grant Funds to reach their goals. It is also great to see that the fire companies are willing to work on a regional basis with one another," said State Fire Commissioner Ed Mann.
FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison said "The Assistance to Firefighters Grants program has been instrumental in building capacity and providing needed resources for our nation's firefighters. From the purchase of equipment to first responder training, the AFG program has helped improve response capabilities and saved lives and property in communities throughout the United States."
Sometimes administrative and "behind the scenes" help is needed just as much as the firefighters themselves. "Lots of people are under the impression that their local fire department is staffed 24 hours a day with paid personnel. That couldn't be further from the truth here in Chester County. We rely on volunteers to staff our apparatus on calls, but these are the same volunteers we rely on to help cook chicken at barbeque fundraisers, help out at carnivals, work at bingo games, and even pay the bills and balance our budgets. If we had a person living in the community who is an accountant, perhaps he could help us in an administrative role rather than actually fighting the fire. Every little bit helps," Sly said.
The main goal of this grant is to make the public aware of the services the firefighters provide to the citizens of Chester County, and spark interest in people who want to give back to the community.
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Thanks to Kim Pratt-Dietrich for the photos. |
