Local Fire Company Puts Out The Call For Volunteer Firefighters
ARDMORE, Pa. (CBS) – A local fire company is putting out the call on social media for a few good men and women to join their ranks as firefighters.
The fire company is just one of seven in the Lower Merion fire department and it says there was a time you didn't have to ask for volunteers, they just showed up, but the numbers are dwindling.
The fire company is 125-years-old and some volunteers have been there since the 1960s, but as those volunteers retire, the other companies in the township need to replenish the ranks, so they are looking for a few good men and women.
Lower Merion Fire Department Recruitment Officer Harry Jarin says, "We stop what we're doing, go to the fire house, grab our gear and get to the scene."
Chief Tom Hayden adds, "It takes a special person to be able to juggle everything they have to do in their personal life and the firehouse."
Over the last 25 years, the number of emergency calls has doubled in the Lower Merion Fire Department, but volunteer numbers continue to drop.
"The volunteer fire service is in a crisis today. Companies are down at least one third to half to where they were when I started," says Chief Chas McGarvey.
"It's tough. I mean people's family dynamic, their work structure, it all changed within the last 30 years," says Merion Fire Company Assistant Chief Tim Van Winkle.
There are seven independent companies within the department and members respond to emergencies. The great majority of the members are volunteers.
"People may not even be aware that their local company is partially, mostly or 100 percent volunteer," says Jarin.
The Lower Merion Fire Department is changing that perception. Banners and signs are all over the township, urging people to answer the call and become a volunteer.
Over at the Gladwyne fire company there's even a cadet program for 14-year-olds.
Brady McHale says, "What makes these fire companies so amazing is you can walk into a fire company and see a 14-year-old who is just as interested as the 80-year-old who retired 25 years ago."
To start, no experience is necessary. Volunteers are fully and highly trained.
"When we make a rescue, put out a fire or save someone's house, that's what it is all about," says Jarin.
The chief recommends anyone interested to stop by one of the weekly training sessions.
For more information, visit: www.joinlmfd.org.
