Recent Fire in Brockway Underscores Need for Volunteers

BROCKWAY, Pa. (EYT) – A fire in Brockway recently reminded the community that more people need to step up and volunteer for the fire department.

Brockway is not alone. Recently, the Pennsylvania Senate released a report that called the state of volunteer fire departments a “public safety crisis.” Volunteer fire departments across the state are feeling that shortage.

“The report said we had 300,000 volunteers back in the 1970s,” said Brockway Assistant Chief Devin Trentini at the recent Brockway Borough Council Meeting. “Now, we have 38,000.”

A fire in Brockway. Brockway and other communities need more volunteers.

“The fire happened between first and second shifts,” Trentini said. “We were able to have four or six firefighters there. I got there from work as soon as I could. But I work 15 minutes away.”

The November 14 fire on Broad Street actually had former firefighters show up first. Chris “Smoke” Benson and Police Chief Terry Young arrived at the same time as Bob Wilson and Ben Castiglione. They entered the house and made sure no one was home. Multiple fire departments arrived to assist, which Benson said is normal.

“People ask, ‘Why did you need so many fire trucks?’” Benson said. “Well, those trucks are transporting personnel. Each department can send three or four guys, and they arrive on their trucks.”

Trentini said the fire needed on truck with two lines. That does not downplay the problem: it is recommended that fire departments have 15 firefighters for a single-family home fire. If other departments could not assist, Brockway would have had six people there.

“I don’t want to be all doom-and-gloom,” Trentini said. “But there are communities in the state where, one day, when you call for help, no one will come.”

Brockway and the surrounding areas work together for “mutual aid.” All the departments in the area are feeling the volunteer shortage.

“This was a normal call for us, and we had two 18-year-olds show up,” Trentini said. “Recruitment is tough. Volunteers are hard to come by and there are not enough people to go around.”

Both Benson and Trentini said that fighting fires is a younger person’s job, but that is not the whole issue. Trentini and others in his department work full-time jobs out of town. With family obligations, college, work, and distance, it is getting harder to fill the volunteer positions needed to keep a community protected.

And much of the time at the fire department is spent raising money to keep the trucks on the road.

“I had a chief at another fire department tell me that he doesn’t know when the last time was that he ran a drill,” Trentini said. “They make pancakes every month to pay the bills, but they haven’t run drills.”

“And in a situation where lack of training can mean death, that’s a big deal,” Benson added.

Trentini said that fire departments will have to work to balance training with fundraising, which could mean that the fire departments around the state may need to look at other ways of funding their operations. According to the senate report, volunteer departments save the communities in Pennsylvania $10 billion a year. In the 2018 budget, Brockway added a 1 mil increase to help support the fire department. Adding paid firefighters could increase that amount for departments all over the state.

“We have our Gun Calendar fundraiser until the end of the year,” Trentini said. “We have the Tri-County Gun Bash. We sell our donuts. There are positions in the fire department that don’t mean running into burning buildings. Volunteers can clean the fire hall or the equipment. They can do the fundraisers for us so the firefighters can train or fight fires. They can cook pancakes or sell donuts. There are other duties volunteers can do.”

Trentini said that Brockway and other departments “will keep plugging along,” but the future is not looking good.

“Where is the future generation of volunteer firefighters coming from?” Trentini asked. “Unfortunately, the majority of our members are aging, and we have fewer people coming in from the younger generation to replace those who are leaving.”