Volunteering to Fight Fires Means Time, Commitment

VILLAS – Volunteering to fight fires probably requires a lot more time and energy than most people realize, which is one reason why the number of volunteer firefighters is down. 
To become a volunteer firefighter, the State of New Jersey mandates a person must be certified as Firefighter 1, which requires nearly 200 hours of training to obtain.
“The minimum to be an interior firefighter is Firefighter 1,” said Villas Volunteer Fire Chief Brian Harron.
The Cape May County Fire Academy offers Firefighter 1 and Firefighter 2, which Harron said is more management level firefighting.
Harron said the Villas Volunteer Fire Company has about 30 members, of which 22 or 23 are able to fight interior fires.
“State rules and the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) say you are liable if you send a firefighter in and they are not SCBA certified. If not, they are not allowed to be in the hot or warm zones,” said Cape May Fire Chief Alex Coulter.
Harron explained a hot zone as being an immediate danger of collapse or explosion. A warm zone is outside the hot area. To fight an interior fire, an individual has to be certified to use the self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).
Coulter, who oversees the career fire department, said he has just four volunteers he can call on to fight fires – two of them being retired career firefighters.
Many local communities have seen a drop in the number of volunteer firefighters because of required training – both initial training and continuous training.
Harron said it takes about 190 hours of training to complete Firefighter 1. After that, the fire company holds two drills and two other meetings each month; both meetings lasting about two hours. He said there is also the time required for extra training for responding to other hazards or emergencies, such as hazardous materials spills or freeing persons trapped in wrecked vehicles. He said the Villas Fire Company has a dive team that must be on standby for certain instances.
“The continuous training is very important,” Harron said. “Volunteers go through the same training as the career firefighters.”
Also, volunteers are needed to participate in community events, such as National Night Out, or attending the Law Enforcement Against Drugs (L.E.A.D.) graduation (L.E.A.D. replaced the D.A.R.E. program).
Harron became the Villas fire chief in 2015 at the age of 26. He said he is the fourth generation of his family to be a volunteer firefighter in Villas, following his father Rich Sr., and older brother Rich Jr., who was the previous chief.
He said both he and his brother became junior members at age 14. The fire academy also offers a course for junior firefighters, but none is currently scheduled.
Harron said family or friendship ties are what generally keep the fire company membership steady. Asked if his 1-year-old daughter would one day become a volunteer firefighter, Harron did not hesitate to answer. “Absolutely,” he said.
Dekon Fashaw, a lieutenant with the Cape May Police Department, is a battalion commander with the Town Bank Volunteer Fire Company. He said he started volunteering at the age of 18 or 19 with the West Cape May Volunteer Fire Company.
“My godfather was a fireman in West Cape May, along with Chuck McPherson, Glen Reeves, Bucky Hart – they all welcomed me with open arms,” Fashaw said.
“For the most part, generally, the people who stick it out and last are the ones who have family ties or very close friends in the company,” Harron said. “Occasionally, someone will just show up and become a dedicated member.”
Harron said some people don’t stay around because they don’t have the time for the training or to respond to fires.
“These days, people are working two or three jobs to support a family,” he said. “For the average person to volunteer, that’s a tough thing to do.”
According to Coulter, the Cape May Volunteer Fire Company has fewer qualified volunteers for a number of reasons.
He said the city has an aging year-round population, and many of their volunteers can no longer fight fires.
Coulter said the cost of real estate on barrier islands is another reason their numbers have dropped.
“It’s too high for many younger people to afford. Volunteers sometimes must live off the barrier islands, which means it takes longer to respond to get the fire trucks rolling and longer to arrive at the fire,” he said. 
Coulter said he often has to call in off-duty career firefighters when they get a fire call. He said younger people sometimes show up and take an interest in the volunteer fire company, but leave when they realize it might not lead to a paid position.
Harron said some people do use the volunteer fire companies as a stepping stone to get training and experience before applying for a paid firefighting position.
Coulter said volunteering to fight fires, just like career firefighting, is strenuous and stressful, causing some to drop out.
Harron said volunteers are required to have an annual physical exam including pulmonary function tests.
So why do they do it?
“I love helping out the community,” Harron said. “I was born and raised in Villas, so why not do something productive for the community?” 
Fashaw also believes in the community service element of firefighting, but he said there is also a kinship among volunteer firefighters.
“It’s a true brotherhood. The police are too, but (volunteer firefighters) don’t get paid,” he said.
Harron said the “brotherhood” element yields practical results.
“In the fire service, I can walk in the firehouse and, say ‘I am in need of an electrician,’ nine out of 10 times there is a guy who is an electrician who will help you out,” he said.
With many factors stacked against the volunteer companies, Coulter doesn’t think they will die out. He said last year the Cape May Fire Department responded to 929 fire calls and 1,181 calls for emergency medical services (EMS).
Harron said towns with paid fire departments have generally combined fire and EMS.
Coulter said he believes it would be too expensive for towns to have full-time departments if they have only 150 or 200 calls per year. Harron said Villas logged 265 fires with the state last year.
Lower Township has two other fire districts, each with its own fire company.
The township’s Chief Financial Officer Lauren Read, said each of the fire districts prepares a budget, which she keeps on file in her office. According to copies of the budgets Read provided, taxpayers fund the three fire companies through a fire tax.
Last year, about $2.3 million was raised by taxation to support the fire districts. Taxes amounted to between 79 and 89 percent of the fire companies’ budgets. The rest is raised by the volunteer fire companies.