PORT TOWNSEND — Wanted: More firefighter volunteers.
“You may see the doors open and the trucks go out on a call where it appears we have everything under control,” said Quilcene Fire Chief Larry Karp.
“People always tell me the fire department is doing great, but they don’t realize we really need their help,” he added.
The Quilcene district is asking voters to approve a six-year emergency medical services levy on the April 26 special election ballot to retain three paid positions to augment volunteers.
In volunteer recruitment, age isn’t as much of an issue as physical fitness, Karp said. Of the 19 volunteers in Quilcene, 12 are older than 50. Of those, three are in their 70s.
“The only person I could get to cover the Coyle Peninsula is in his 70s,” Karp said.
“It’s much better to have someone in their 70s than no one at all.”
Time spent can be an issue as people don’t understand the commitment, according to East Jefferson Fire-Rescue Chief Gordon Pomeroy.
“People volunteer for the training and they are out within a year,” he said.
“They realize it isn’t for them because it’s so time consuming. By then, we have already spent the resources.”
It can take from $6,000 to $8,000 to train a new volunteer, which includes emergency medical technician training and a five-weekend fire school that is required of all volunteer or career firefighters.
Fire departments in neighboring Clallam County also are struggling with a dearth of volunteers.
Fueled by a federal grant, the departments are campaigning for recruits with lawn signs, fliers in store windows, newspaper and broadcast advertising and a billboard.
A class now in progress in Carlsborg drew 30 recruits for Clallam County Fire Districts 2 and 3 and the Port Angeles Fire Department.
It was the largest class ever jointly taught among the three agencies. But even if all graduate and volunteer, it won’t fix the problem, said Chief Sam Phillips of Fire District No. 2.
For instance, the volunteers that the class, which began in January and ends Thursday, would train for his department would fill only 10 of the 20 volunteer spots he has open.
In the Forks Fire Department, Chief Bill Paul said the need to recruit is constant and ongoing.
Years ago, the District 1 stations in Beaver and Forks had large numbers of volunteers, said Paul. Today, Beaver is down to six volunteers, and Forks has between 20 and 22.
Pomeroy’s department, the largest in Jefferson County, will recruit volunteers and administer a test June 4.
Potential volunteers must first fill out an application available at tinyurl.com/PDN-EJFR.
Potential volunteers must sit for an interview and pass an agility test before taking the written test.
If all tasks are completed successfully, they are accepted into the program.
It will be about a year before they are on active duty. Firefighter training takes place in the fall while emergency medical technician training begins in January.
Until then candidates are allowed to ride along, observe, and help out in peripheral ways, according to Bill Beezley, East Jefferson Fire-Rescue spokesman.
Some recruits may be retired and looking for new ways to serve the community, but departments are most interested in younger people who are looking to become career firefighters, Beezley said.
“Right now, I have one volunteer on Marrowstone Island,” Pomeroy said.
“When I got here seven years ago, I had six. The others aged out.”
Another consideration is the proximity of the volunteers.
“I’ve had volunteers who live in Federal Way or Gig Harbor who take several hours to answer a call,” said Port Ludlow Chief Brad Martin.
“If there’s a disaster and the bridge goes out, they can’t get here at all so I need to make do with who’s on duty at the time.
Martin has six volunteer positions, but only one volunteer is now active.
Fire districts assist each other on calls.
In East Jefferson County, that includes East Jefferson Fire-Rescue, Quilcene and Port Ludlow, as well as those in Discovery Bay, Brinnon and Indian Island.
In Clallam County, five districts operate.
No single department has enough personnel to deal with a large-scale event.
The minimum recommendation for any firefighting team is two people inside and two people outside. If only three people are on duty at a particular time, the department will need assistance.
This is also true on emergency calls, where three people should be attending to each patient.
A strong volunteer force would be most valuable in the event of an earthquake or tsunami, East Jefferson County fire chiefs said.
“In an emergency, we don’t know what will happen,” Karp said.
“Some people will be able to come in while others will concentrate on attending to their neighborhood and their families.”
Pomeroy said the departments have never failed to respond to a call but a large-scale disaster could overwhelm their capabilities.
People might need to bring the injured into the firehall “which will become a mini-MASH unit,” he said.
The Quilcene Fire District levy, if approved, would take over funding of three positions filled in January once a $396,000 federal grant that has funded them expires.
Among the duties of the recently hired firefighters — Lieutenant/EMT Mark McCrehin and Lieutenant/EMT Kevin Winn, both of Quilcene, and Firefighter/Paramedic Jess Godsalve of Poulsbo — is the training of volunteers, Deputy Chief Don Svetich has said.
The proposed property tax levy would begin in 2017 and collect 50 cents per $1,000 assessed property value for an annual revenue of about $165,000, or $100 assessed for property valued at $200,000.
No matter how adept fire departments may appear, the community needs to know how severe the need for extra personnel is, the chiefs said.
“We are victims of our own success,” Martin said.
“We respond to a call successfully and people think we have everything we need.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
Assistant Managing Editor Mark Swanson contributed to this story.
