Robert DiOrio still remembers his first night as a member of the Claymont Fire Company, back in 1983.
"I got a set of gear and I was on the truck that day,” he recalled.
In the quarter century since then, things have changed.
"Now you have to prove yourself," he said. “You need a lot of training and then even then, you have to earn the trust of the other guys on the crew.”
The reality of volunteer fire service in northern New Castle County is changing, and its leaders – many who grew up in their father’s fire halls – are working to adapt.
Central to the changing landscape is an increasing reliance on career firefighters – paid personnel that fill a void left by dwindling volunteers. Warren Jones, president of the Delaware Volunteer Fireman’s Association says the number of volunteer firefighters is down 15 percent.
“Volunteerism is down nationally,” he said. “Ten years ago it was probably at one million volunteer firefighters. Now it’s probably about 850,000 and we’re down probably the same percentage here in Delaware.”
Jones estimates that the state’s 61 companies have a total of 6,000 volunteers.
Harold McGinnes, chief at the Brandywine Hundred Fire Company in Bellefonte, recalls the good old days.
“Until the mid-1980s you could be up here in this [conference] room and the siren could go off and you couldn’t run down there and get a place on a truck,” he reminisced. “There were people running you over to get out on a run. It’s not like that anymore.”
As easy as it is for some old-timers to chalk that trend up to a shift in priorities in younger generations – or even downright laziness – McGinnes doesn't. A deeper look reveals there’s much more at play.
He points to societal changes, from an increase in people working two or three jobs to an increase in recreational opportunities for young people. And, the fire house is slowly losing the familial ties that once defined it.
“Guys don’t bring their sons and daughters like my father brought me here. The tradition of the fire service has changed,” he said.
But at the Hockessin Fire Company, the first thing 28-year-old Chris Biggers mentions is his family connections. His father and grandfather both were in the volunteer fire service.
“Most people here do come from some kind of generational background,” he said. “There are a lot of fathers and sons, husbands and wives and brothers and sisters. We’ve got entire families that are members.”
The difference in perspective between McGinnes and Biggers is telling, and underscores something significant – each company has its own reality, and its own set of challenges.
Changing communities in Claymont, Hockessin
In Claymont, DiOrio traces some of the fire company’s struggles to the closing of Claymont High School in 1990.
“We used to have a fire brigade at Claymont High School" he said. "Getting rid of [the high school] took away the community’s base. It was the downfall of community identity here, and I think the fire company is feeling that.”
Meanwhile, a major issue in Hockessin is that the village has become engulfed by sprawling subdivisions of expensive McMansions.
“No doubt it’s one of our biggest problems recruiting people,” said Asst. Chief Randy Broadwater. “The kind of people who typically volunteer just can’t afford to live in Hockessin.”
Junior firefighter James Farley is a prime example. Farley followed in his father’s footsteps as a volunteer, but soon will be going off to college. If he wants to return to Hockessin after school, where exactly would he live?
Sprawl is a double-edged sword: not only are volunteers forced to live farther away from the fire house, but at the same time, crews have greater distances to travel to respond to calls.
Firefighter Rich Roat, who doubles as Hockessin’s spokesman, is the owner of a Yorklyn graphic design firm. He’s fortunate he can afford a home on nearby Sharpless Road.
“I learned very quickly that my house was on the same elevation as the siren, and every time the siren went off I started thinking about what that meant and I started saying to myself, if you don’t get up and do something, why should you assume somebody else is going to respond,” he said.
But Roat acknowledges he’s the exception to the rule.
Increasing oversight
Another factor Roat says, is the laborious training requirements. Training requirements have greatly increased over the years – a necessary evil many say, but one that is a deterrent to prospective recruits.
“The backbone here are guys who have been in the fire hall their whole lives,” he said. “You’re just not going to get many to come in cold turkey and do 320 hours worth of training to get up to speed.”
According to Jones, the most basic training calls for three consecutive weekends of mostly classroom work at the Delaware State Fire School in Dover. Then comes structural training, followed by HAZMAT training, he said.
And that’s just to get started: it takes the better part of two years to become fully assimilated.
Eric Hailey, a captain at the Claymont Fire Company, says the state-required training is a huge commitment for newcomers.
“People just don’t have the time anymore, especially now that training standards are up,” he said. "It wasn’t unusual to be on the fire truck within a week of walking in the door. Now there are so many requirements – a lot of which have been born out of tragedy.”
Despite the burden, DiOrio says the additional requirements are a positive.
“A lot more people are watching us now – and that’s a good thing,” he said. “The training is more formal and more organized. The emphasis on safety has tripled.”
Not your father’s fire house
There has also been increased scrutiny of fire company finances. With most fire houses having at least one paid crew, at least one ambulance crew, and millions of dollars in equipment, a greater emphasis has been placed on bookkeeping in recent years.
Aside from grant money, fire services' two biggest revenue sources are collections from ambulance billing and the money it raises during community fund drives.
“For years, the fire service wasn’t run like a business,” said Brandywine Hundred President Rich Perillo. “Now it can’t be run any other way. It’s just not your father’s fire house. The equipment didn’t cost the millions it costs now. There weren’t any paid personnel. It’s all changed.”
That means in addition to front line fire fighters, the fire service is also looking for qualified administrative-minded people to help with the back-office functions of departments that would otherwise be accomplished by bureaucrats in a publicly-funded department.
“We do over $1 million per year business,” Roat said of Hockessin. “If New Castle County were to decide its going to a paid department, you’re looking at huge costs to taxpayers. The people of this state get a really good deal.”
Stepping up recruitment
The good deal taxpayers are getting is not lost on County Executive Chris Coons. It’s why, upon taking office in 2005, he established the Emergency Services Corps, an AmeriCorps program that seeks to increase the number of young people exposed to fire and paramedics services.
The program places recruitment coordinators in fire companies for a year. They are trained and paid a stipend to lead recruitment efforts there. While they receive basic firefighter training, they do not respond to calls, according to program coordinator Jill Graham.
“It’s so when they go out to the public they have a really good grasp of what it’s all about,” she said.
In the first three years of the program, Graham estimates that more than 100 of 240 applicants have gone on to join the fire or paramedic services.
“The Emergency Services Corp is going to help us immensely, and we’re discussing joining the program with our board of directors as we speak,” Perillo said. “In 16 months, it got Minquadale 12 applicants, half of which they retained. I think it could prove very successful here.”
Claymont offers six fire fighters lodging at the fire hall in exchange for committing to 48 volunteer hours each week.
Otherwise, there’s just a lot of old fashioned arm twisting that goes on.
“I’m always talking to people,” McGinnes said. “I am always bring it up as part of the conversation. I own the Country Corner General Store down the street and I’m always trying to get my customers to come down and get an application.”
In the meantime, companies are trying to be creative with the resources they have. Many neighboring companies have mutual aid agreements with neighboring departments. Brandywine Hundred, Claymont and the Talleyville fire companies all coordinate schedules so a paid crew is available at all times. They also help one another on major calls. A similar agreement is in place for the Belvedere, Elsmere and Mill Creek departments.
“The volunteer fire service still has a lot of years left and a lot of good people,” McGinnes said. “It’s a viable service – just one that’s changing – and I don’t think anyone would deny that.”
