Martin Township Fire Chief Earl Wykstra last week told the Township Board it’s not easy any more to get volunteer firefighters to serve their communities.
Three other area fire chiefs agree.
“We’ve never had to advertise in the media before, but now word of 
mouth is just not enough 
any more,” Wykstra said.
He made the comments during discussion about ways to offer incentives to new firefighters to become certified through fire academy training, a commitment that sometimes can be a hindrance to gaining new blood.
Wykstra said it’s essential to have newcomers properly trained, but sometimes they use the experience to land a job for a bigger department that pays better.
He said the Martin department offers a $500 stipend to newcomers after they pass their fire classes and each will get a new two-way radio. Yet fewer young men and women seem interested in becoming volunteer firefighters for their communities.
The chief said, “I am afraid about what could happen if there is a major fire during the daytime and most volunteers aren’t home because they’re at work.”
Wykstra said firefighting pays poorly, $24 per run in Martin, but the experience is rewarding, making and difference, and being part of a special brotherhood.
This in age when firefighting is held in high esteem by the public as a noble profession and that very visibile brotherhood shown on the popular weekly TV show, “Chicago Fire.”
Leighton Township Chief Tony Banas said he isn’t seeing trouble attracting volunteers, but the challenge is keeping them.
“I have not found this to be a problem,” he said. “In fact the last 10 or so whom we have hired that have absolutely no experience have been in their early 20s. A majority of our firefighters are in their 20s and 30s.
“Keeping them is a different story. Out of the 10, five are still on the department. One left for a career firefighting job and the others have left because of job or family changes.
“That’s a real problem with hiring people from 18 to 25 for a part-time position. A lot of the time they are not sure of what they want to do as a career or where they want to live.”
Wayland Fire Chief Joe Miller said, “Probably the reason we don’t get younger people right out of high school is because they move onto college. People we are seeing who applying for a firefighter positions are people established in the community and living in the community normally they’re in their 20s and 30s.”
Dorr Chief Gary Fordham said his department advertises for prospective volunteers on its web site, but, “It’s not because we’re looking. But we’ve been able to get a small batch (of newcomers.”
Fordham said more strict rules in training has made the process of getting new blood more difficult and time consuming. He said a new firefighter must go through seven months of training with classes at least two nights per week, meetings and events.
“It’s difficult because it’s a huge commitment,” he said. “We don’t have a huge need right now, but you always have to plan ahead. Some departments have them trained and then lose them to bigger and better jobs. Some drop out because it’s a bigger commitment than they understood.”
Dorr now has 19 firefighters and six officers. It pays each firefighter $20 per run and $20 per meeting.
“It’s not as laid back as it used to be,” he said of firefighting. “We have a lot of rules and mandatory training.”
All three “other chiefs” said they believe Martin is going through a tough time because of its loss of a pool to pick from and all departments have periods when it seems they are short-staffed.
PHOTOS: Tony Banas Earl Wykstra Gary Fordham Joe Miller
