Did you ever stop to think about what would happen if no one volunteered to put out fires or respond to medical emergencies in your community? The toll on lives and property would be unfathomable. Over 70% of the fire departments in the United States are manned by all-volunteer firefighters. In Texas, 77% of the fire service is volunteer fire department. This includes your community or one close by. Volunteer firefighters are this nation's first line of defense, and sometimes, your community's only line of defense in many types of emergencies

The commitment asked of volunteers of today is quite a bit more than in 1955 when the fire department was established and received its charter. Expectations of the volunteers of today are quite a bit higher than they were at the beginning of the 50s. Quite a bit of training has to be completed before a member is eligible and qualified to respond to emergency incidents.  The call volume has also increased from less than 100 per year to over 800, which averages more than two per day. After fulfilling your requirements of your employment and time spent meeting obligations in your personal life, just doesn’t leave much time to volunteer.

 The volunteer fire department and emergency services are a long-standing tradition in the United States that often encompasses family’s generation after generation. Unfortunately, it is also a tradition in danger of weakening. Many fire departments across the nation today are experiencing more difficulty with recruiting and retaining members than ever before. Fire departments can no longer count on the children of the current members to follow in their parent’s footsteps. Nor can they count on the continuous stream of community people discovering the volunteer fire department on their own and being eager to donate their time and energy to the local volunteer fire department. Adding to the problem, departments cannot rely on members staying active in the volunteer fire service for long periods of time. Ask any volunteer fire chief what are their biggest challenges, more than likely maintaining adequate staffing is at the top of their list. It may be no surprise, then, that the data shows a staggering decline in the number of volunteers in recent years. The National Fire Protection Association reports a 16.23% drop in volunteer firefighters nationwide. The reasons for the decline are varied. A few commonly acknowledged reasons include the lack of time, increased training requirements, and shifting demographics as younger people leave rural communities. Some of the less discussed but equally important obstacles are new recruits feeling that their expectations are not met once they join the fire department, or that the culture of the department creates barriers that cause new recruits to leave. To address the challenges and help the department overcome recruitment and retention obstacles, the San Leon volunteer fire department has launched the “Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment Campaign”. The campaign has two main focuses; raising awareness of the need for fire service volunteers among the public and successfully recruiting and retain volunteers. Every Tuesday and Thursday from 7 PM to 9 PM the department will have recruiters at the station available to answer any questions members of the community might have on becoming a volunteer and to get them started with the application process.  

Fires don't wait. Neither should you. Become a volunteer firefighter today.

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