Fire Departments approach crisis in struggle to secure volunteers
Milton Township fire department personnel conduct a live training burn. Courtesy photo
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Elk Rapids Fire Dept. conducts a training rescue exercise on Elk Lake. Courtesy photo
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By Steve Yencich, Contributing Writer
When a school or service organization doesn’t have sufficient volunteers, things either don’t get done or are accomplished by volunteers working that much harder. But bad things happen when your local volunteer fire department is short-staffed. In an emergency, response times matter. Heart attacks, strokes, and structure fires all worsen when unaddressed, and the longer it takes for help to arrive, the more damage is done.
The problem is, six of the 18 members of the Elk Rapids Volunteer Fire Department are 60 years or older. Four of Milton Township Fire Department’s volunteers are 50-60+ years old. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to man fire and rescue crews in the coming years without finding replacements. It’s a problem that caused many a fire chief to lose sleep. Last year, while the number of runs increased by 68% in Milton Township, no new volunteers stepped forward to assist.
Serving the Village and Elk Rapids Township, the ER Fire Department has 18 volunteers and is led by second-year Fire Chief Ken Williamson. The department responded to 110 calls in 2019, down by 26 from the year before. The department last secured a new volunteer in 2018. “Our current volunteer staff is aging. We probably have an average age of well over 40, and the problem is only getting worse,” says Williamson. Jeremy Ball is Fire Chief for Milton Township Fire Department. The department is served by 15 volunteers, only one of which was recruited in 2018. “I’ve got a couple of volunteers who are in their mid-60s who help cover peak daytime demands. If either one of them leaves, we’re really going to be hurting,” said Ball. Volunteers in both departments are paid for their training time and time spent on emergency runs. The pay is not much, somewhere around $11.75 per hour, but few people do it for the money. They volunteer for a lot of reasons but giving back to the community always tops the list.
There are a variety of reasons for the lack of volunteers. Some may be generational, but others are unique to Elk Rapids. Demographic trends see more retirees and fewer young families moving here. This trend, combined with the increase in the number of short-term rental properties, has driven local housing costs beyond many first-time homebuyers’ ability to pay. Additionally, Elk Rapids lacks the single large employer it once had in Super Tool, the now repurposed factory on US 31. It provided jobs, and a steady supply of available volunteers, especially during the day when emergencies arise most frequently. Not so today, and that sometimes has local fire departments struggling to cover runs, which results in longer response times as mutual aid calls go out to neighboring departments.
For many years, volunteer firefighters have had to complete 240 hours of training before serving as volunteers. However, over the past decade, increasing numbers of new state training requirements have been imposed by legislation and the State Fire Marshall in Lansing. Both Milton and ER Fire Departments must provide 35 hours of training per year to all volunteers. Unfortunately, these well-intentioned requirements can and have had a chilling effect on volunteer recruitment. That point was reinforced by Jake Markey, a retiree from Cedarville, who served on the DeWitt, Michigan, and Cedarville volunteer fire departments for over 34 years. “People forget that you volunteer because you want to. The fact is, too many training mandates can overwhelm the desire to volunteer.” In the end, Markey says, “What good are training mandates if no one volunteers to serve?” Some believe that Lansing policymakers are attempting to force volunteer departments to go full time, but in many rural areas, the tax base makes such an option unaffordable. In uncertain economic times, volunteer departments seem to be the only option.
When asked what the department does to attract and retain volunteers, Ball and Williamson listed several internal programs, including the election of “Firefighter of the Year” recognition in social media, recognizing outstanding volunteers in newsletters, and staff meetings. Elk Rapids and Milton Fire Departments both offer a limited retirement stipend that is currently paying benefits of up to $1,000 per year to qualified retirees. It’s not much, but it’s hoped that these small things all add up. Both Ball and Williamson pointed to numerous examples of department outreach into the community with visits to schools, participation in parades, open houses, oversight of Harbor Days fireworks, and sponsorship of free carbon monoxide detectors, illuminated address signs, and other programs beneficial to area residents.
Upon recognizing the need, some communities have banded together with local service organizations to develop ways to recognize and thank first responder volunteers. Some provide a special luncheon or dinner banquet; others host special events at restaurants, theaters, or other local venues. A few communities sponsor scholarship programs for department volunteers or their family members. There are other approaches, but all totaled, increased community support of local departments can only help. The oldest volunteer in the Elk Rapids Fire Department is now 68 years old. Potentially 30% of both local departments could retire in the next few years, but there is one reality that simply cannot be ignored. Without exception, veteran firefighters will tell you, “When you’re in a smoke-filled room of a house you’ve never seen, the adrenaline’s pumping and your heart feels like it’s going to jump out of your chest as you hump a hose up to the second floor, it can get real scary fast. Firefighting is not an old man’s sport.”
When a school or service organization doesn’t have sufficient volunteers, things either don’t get done or are accomplished by volunteers working that much harder. But bad things happen when your local volunteer fire department is short-staffed. In an emergency, response times matter. Heart attacks, strokes, and structure fires all worsen when unaddressed, and the longer it takes for help to arrive, the more damage is done.
The problem is, six of the 18 members of the Elk Rapids Volunteer Fire Department are 60 years or older. Four of Milton Township Fire Department’s volunteers are 50-60+ years old. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to man fire and rescue crews in the coming years without finding replacements. It’s a problem that caused many a fire chief to lose sleep. Last year, while the number of runs increased by 68% in Milton Township, no new volunteers stepped forward to assist.
Serving the Village and Elk Rapids Township, the ER Fire Department has 18 volunteers and is led by second-year Fire Chief Ken Williamson. The department responded to 110 calls in 2019, down by 26 from the year before. The department last secured a new volunteer in 2018. “Our current volunteer staff is aging. We probably have an average age of well over 40, and the problem is only getting worse,” says Williamson. Jeremy Ball is Fire Chief for Milton Township Fire Department. The department is served by 15 volunteers, only one of which was recruited in 2018. “I’ve got a couple of volunteers who are in their mid-60s who help cover peak daytime demands. If either one of them leaves, we’re really going to be hurting,” said Ball. Volunteers in both departments are paid for their training time and time spent on emergency runs. The pay is not much, somewhere around $11.75 per hour, but few people do it for the money. They volunteer for a lot of reasons but giving back to the community always tops the list.
There are a variety of reasons for the lack of volunteers. Some may be generational, but others are unique to Elk Rapids. Demographic trends see more retirees and fewer young families moving here. This trend, combined with the increase in the number of short-term rental properties, has driven local housing costs beyond many first-time homebuyers’ ability to pay. Additionally, Elk Rapids lacks the single large employer it once had in Super Tool, the now repurposed factory on US 31. It provided jobs, and a steady supply of available volunteers, especially during the day when emergencies arise most frequently. Not so today, and that sometimes has local fire departments struggling to cover runs, which results in longer response times as mutual aid calls go out to neighboring departments.
For many years, volunteer firefighters have had to complete 240 hours of training before serving as volunteers. However, over the past decade, increasing numbers of new state training requirements have been imposed by legislation and the State Fire Marshall in Lansing. Both Milton and ER Fire Departments must provide 35 hours of training per year to all volunteers. Unfortunately, these well-intentioned requirements can and have had a chilling effect on volunteer recruitment. That point was reinforced by Jake Markey, a retiree from Cedarville, who served on the DeWitt, Michigan, and Cedarville volunteer fire departments for over 34 years. “People forget that you volunteer because you want to. The fact is, too many training mandates can overwhelm the desire to volunteer.” In the end, Markey says, “What good are training mandates if no one volunteers to serve?” Some believe that Lansing policymakers are attempting to force volunteer departments to go full time, but in many rural areas, the tax base makes such an option unaffordable. In uncertain economic times, volunteer departments seem to be the only option.
When asked what the department does to attract and retain volunteers, Ball and Williamson listed several internal programs, including the election of “Firefighter of the Year” recognition in social media, recognizing outstanding volunteers in newsletters, and staff meetings. Elk Rapids and Milton Fire Departments both offer a limited retirement stipend that is currently paying benefits of up to $1,000 per year to qualified retirees. It’s not much, but it’s hoped that these small things all add up. Both Ball and Williamson pointed to numerous examples of department outreach into the community with visits to schools, participation in parades, open houses, oversight of Harbor Days fireworks, and sponsorship of free carbon monoxide detectors, illuminated address signs, and other programs beneficial to area residents.
Upon recognizing the need, some communities have banded together with local service organizations to develop ways to recognize and thank first responder volunteers. Some provide a special luncheon or dinner banquet; others host special events at restaurants, theaters, or other local venues. A few communities sponsor scholarship programs for department volunteers or their family members. There are other approaches, but all totaled, increased community support of local departments can only help. The oldest volunteer in the Elk Rapids Fire Department is now 68 years old. Potentially 30% of both local departments could retire in the next few years, but there is one reality that simply cannot be ignored. Without exception, veteran firefighters will tell you, “When you’re in a smoke-filled room of a house you’ve never seen, the adrenaline’s pumping and your heart feels like it’s going to jump out of your chest as you hump a hose up to the second floor, it can get real scary fast. Firefighting is not an old man’s sport.”
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