Fire chiefs launch program to find volunteers for Youngsville
Who do you call when the frying pan catches fire? When you gash your leg trying to cut down an unwanted tree? When you can smell smoke or gas without being able to find the source? When a family member faints?
You may dial 911, but almost without fail the responders come in fire trucks. These days when we are close to home or always at home, we are learning who the essential parts of our community are – firefighters rank at the top of everyone’s list.
And in Youngsville, Wake Forest and every small town fire department an important part of the roster is made up of volunteers, community men and women who train and report for duty regularly and for emergencies all the time.
The North Carolina Association of Fire Chiefs and the International Association of Fire Chiefs just launched a critical two-year initiative designed to address a drastic decline in volunteer firefighters in 15 at-risk counties, including Franklin County. This campaign targets the Youngsville Fire Department specifically.
According to research from FEMA, 72 percent of North Carolina firefighters are volunteer firefighters, and the number of volunteers is declining at 11-12 percent annually, impacting life and emergency safety in Franklin County.
In Youngsville, Battalion Chief A.C. Rich says the help is welcome. (If the name is familiar, his father was the chief of the Stony Hill Fire Department for years and he followed in those footsteps beginning in 1996, retiring as chief when the Bay Leaf and Stony Hill departments merged in 2017 to form the Northern Wake Fire Department, and he still volunteers there. He retired from the Raleigh Fire Department in 2018 and soon joined the Youngsville Fire Department.)
“It’s every fire department, especially your volunteer fire departments,” Rich said this week about the need for new volunteers. Youngsville, like Wake Forest and many others, is a combination department with volunteers but forced to turn to paid firefighters to provide 24/7 staffing.
“It’s just getting harder and harder to get and keep volunteers.” Rich said in the past, with farms surrounding towns and local people working in the shops and businesses who could drop everything to respond, it was easier to get and keep volunteers. “Now, with the communities more and more diverse – and I’m one who really appreciates diversity – many people are not aware that the fire department is volunteer.”
Youngsville has been experiencing rapid growth, going from about 1,200 people in 2010 to 1,766 this year, and the growth extends to the area around the town, which is served by the fire department.
The town now has three fire stations. The chief, Tommie Lloyd, is a volunteer. The fire district is 62 square miles. The department has eight full-time firefighters, 26 part-time firefighters and 34 volunteers. Rich said some of them are older members and there are “different levels of capability” among the volunteers.
“Your local fire department can use your help,” Rich said. “The rewards are great. To me, it’s being able to help someone on what could be the worst day of their lives.”
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“Local volunteers provide the bedrock of North Carolina’s firefighter workforce,” said Chief Tracy Mosley, program manager at the state association. “We understand that the safety of our communities relies on fully staffed and trained departments, and based on the success of past campaigns, we’re eager to launch this next iteration to transform our state’s volunteer fire service landscape.”
The campaign is part of the Volunteer Workforce Solutions program designed to help North Carolina’s fire departments achieve a viable and sustainable volunteer firefighter workforce. The program is funded by a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant awarded to the NCAFC by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to enhance the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters.
North Carolina’s two-year recruitment and retention campaign targets 15 at-risk fire department groups across 12 counties in the east, west and Piedmont region of the state. These departments and counties include:
- Bladen County: Elizabethtown Fire Department
- Buncombe County: French Broad Volunteer Fire & Rescue and West Buncombe Volunteer Fire Department
- Cherokee County: Hiwassee Dam Volunteer Fire Department
- Duplin County: Chinquapin Volunteer Fire & Rescue
- Forsyth County: Lewisville Fire Department and Rural Hall Fire Department
- Franklin County: Youngsville Volunteer Fire Department
- Harnett County: Harnett County Chiefs Association
- Northampton County: Gaston Volunteer Fire Department
- Pitt County: Town of Winterville Fire Department
- Wake County: Wake County Fire Services
- Wilson County: Silver Lake Volunteer Fire Department
- Yadkin County: East Bend Volunteer Fire Department and Fall Creek Volunteer Fire Department
In order to equip the local fire departments, the campaign will entail:
- Locally Targeted Research: The fire departments will utilize geographic information systems (GIS) to provide in-depth views of their communities, measuring demographic, cultural and economic data to predict the best way to recruit a volunteer firefighter workforce. The GIS data offers insights such as what potential recruits do for fun, where they work and even the likely composition of their families. With this information, the NCAFC can host the appropriate community initiatives and speak to potential volunteers with meaningful, effective messages.
- Workshops: In addition, the campaign will offer several leadership workshops aimed at improving recruitment and retention to all departments statewide. Agencies across the country will share data and information learned in order to yield a greater impact on volunteer recruitment nationwide.
In 2018, the IAFC and NCAFC launched a similar recruitment campaign targeting 15 different North Carolina counties. The 168-percent success rate inspired a second two-year campaign to increase volunteer recruits in additional counties across the state.
Being a volunteer is a rewarding experience and one of the best ways someone can make a direct, tangible difference in his or her own community. Volunteer firefighters gain invaluable skills and experience while having a positive, lasting impact on the lives of their neighbors. Local fire departments need volunteers of all skill levels and abilities – from operational firefighters to administrative personnel – who are willing and able to respond to emergencies when needed.
To learn more about becoming a volunteer firefighter and joining a local volunteer fire department, please visit www.VolunteerFireNC.org.
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