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Crime & Safety

Volunteer Firefighter Decline Causes Alarm

Fire companies in the greater Media Patch area are making a plea for volunteers.

They are the first line of defense in emergencies every single day, including fires, medical crises, hazmat situations and water rescues. They are on call waiting to save lives 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Volunteer firefighters are a critical part of Media and its surrounding communities, yet their numbers are dropping by the day.

"We’re in trouble. We’ve seen a 50 to 60 percent drop in the last 20 years," says Chief Ed Gibson of , which is an all-volunteer company.

Gibson has been with the company for more than three decades now, and has served as chief for 14. He has dedicated a good part of his life to volunteer firefighting in Media, as have many of his family members, including his grandfather, father and son. 

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"To me, this is a way to help the community, to help my neighbors, which is something our country has lost, but in volunteer firefighting, it’s still that way. It’s a great job," says Gibson.

Chief Chip Lillie couldn’t agree more.

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"It’s a great way to help the community and do something positive," says Lillie.

He has been with Middletown’s company for 35 years, and also is seeing a troublesome decrease in numbers.

Both Lillie and Gibson say it’s a problem across the board in Delaware County, across the state, and across the nation. They attribute the decline to a few distinct factors, including the economy, time demands and the increased mandatory training. 

"This economy is killing us. Families have two incomes, and they don’t have as much time for volunteering. There are more training demands with all the mandatory classes that you have to take. It takes 160 hours to earn a national firefighter certification," says Gibson.

If time is an issue, both chiefs point out, there are ways to work within volunteers’ hectic schedules.

"Training is ongoing and can be spread out over time if necessary. Someone can come in as a rookie, so to speak, spend time here, get the training and become more involved. We’re all always learning something new," says Lillie.

In addition, many of the volunteers go through Delaware State which has a fire school. Lillie and Gibson say while 160 hours may seem like a big time commitment to receive the national certification, the school’s training can be completed in three weekends.

Another thing to consider, says Gibson, is if someone doesn’t want to go through the firefighter training, the fire companies also need considerable help on the administrative side.

"Fire companies are becoming more like businesses with all the administrative paperwork and it’s like a full-time job. We need help. Even if people can’t be volunteer firefighters, we need help with administrative work so we’re not so swamped with that," Gibson says.

If you would like to become involved with a volunteer fire company in the greater Media Patch area, including Media and Middletown, visit their websites, or visit in person to fill out an application.

 

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