Why Should Delaware Care?
Delaware’s volunteer fire company system saved the state of Delaware over $320 million in 2022. Fire companies, however, are struggling to find volunteers as they continue to experience a rise in the volume of service calls as Delaware’s population grows and the number of volunteers falls.
Community-Powered Journalism
This story was developed following discussions at a Spotlight Delaware Community Listening Tour stop. Find out more about the tour by clicking here.
Mike Lowe stopped talking every time a call for service squawked throughout the Laurel Fire Department. He sat in front of a mammoth ruby-red fire engine next to a row of firefighter helmets and turnout coats.
He paused until the call was complete and the voice on the speaker crackled off.
Lowe, deputy chief of the department, was interrupted often.
“You guys good,” Lowe asked as a crew swiftly jumped onto an ambulance behind him. A crew member said yes as the station door rolled open, and the ambulance drove away.
Lowe joined the department in 1980 when he was 22 years old, and there was a waiting list to enter. At the time, there were less than 200 fire calls and between 400-500 Emergency Medical Services (EMS) calls every year.
In 2024, the Laurel Fire Department is on pace to have five times the number of EMS calls, with 556 fire calls thus far. Emergency calls have tripled statewide over the past 30 years, according to the 2021 Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment and Retention Task Force report.
As Delaware’s population ages and booms, volunteer fire companies across the state are struggling to respond to the growing number of service calls with a dwindling number of volunteers year over year.
The lack of volunteers has led companies to turn to paid part-time and full-time employees to staff fire trucks and ambulances. Hiring, retention and financial challenges have only compounded the struggles facing the First State’s first responders.
The volunteer fire company system saved the state more than $320 million in Fiscal Year 2022, according to the 2022 Delaware State Auditor Volunteer Fire Service annual report.
Many attribute societal changes, an increase in responsibilities and lack of free time to the drop in volunteers. A recent shift to a more rigorous training program has led to difficulties in recruiting young volunteers.
“They have a lot of things pulling at them to get that little piece of volunteer time that they have — and that’s what we struggle to do,” Lowe said.
In August, Gov. John Carney signed House Bill 127 into law, allowing county governments to impose a “fire protection fee,” which would be used to help fund volunteer companies and the increase in paid staff.
Then-Delaware State Auditor Kathy McGuiness recommended that the Delaware legislature create a fund independent of Grant-In-Aid to fund Delaware’s fire service in her 2022 report.
Delaware fire and emergency services need their own line item in the state budget “to ensure Delawareans are provided these necessary resources in a safe and efficient manner.”
Neighbors helping neighbors
The first volunteer fire company in the state, the Friendship Fire Company in Wilmington, dates back to 1775.
Today, the state has 60 volunteer fire companies, 20 substations and three ambulance stations that provide fire, rescue and EMS services to most communities in Delaware. The only exception is Wilmington’s fully paid fire department.
Roughly 6,000 people volunteer to serve as firefighters, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) or support members statewide.
Volunteer fire companies serve as a cornerstone of many small towns across the state, with many fire halls also functioning as banquet halls, polling places and chicken dinner fundraising locales.
In the past, volunteer fire companies served more as a gathering place for locals who typically responded to one or two calls a day. Volunteers could hold down professional full-time jobs and be able to respond to the rare calls throughout the work day.
“It was a social club, and on the side they went to fires every once in a while,” Lowe said.
Small town residents usually joined the company as a teenager, had their wedding reception at the fire hall and, eventually, had their funeral there as well, Lowe recounted.
“The firehouse used to be one of the central hubs of the community,” added Steve McCarron, a 32-year member of the Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Company and a newly elected Sussex County Council member. “I wanted to get the heck out of the house, and fire companies certainly helped fill that void,” McCarron said.
Lowe, who used to work as a paralegal in Georgetown, could leave work and respond to a fire down the street. Today, the scenario is harder to realize with two to three calls a day.
“That’s a bit for an employer to bite,” Lowe said.
The dynamic of the companies changed from social club to volunteer company to volunteers supported by paid staff to, now, paid staff supported by volunteers. As call volumes grow and volunteers decrease, more and more fire companies are needed to triage one house fire than before.
“Now, you’re a career department supported by volunteers,” Lowe said. “It’s completely turned around.”
Training the next generation
Norman “Jay” Jones Jr., executive manager of the Delaware Volunteer Firefighter’s Association, spoke on a recent morning underneath a framed picture of Benjamin Franklin, a founder of the first all-volunteer fire company in the U.S.
Jones, a third-generation firefighter, joined the Ellendale Volunteer Fire Company at 15 years old. He joined the company as part of an eight-person class in 1998.
Today, only two members of the class remain active firefighters, he said.
It’s become more difficult for fire companies to recruit young firefighters and retain them. Many are busier with sports, work or after-school activities than in years before.
“You don’t see the kids in the firehouse like you used to anymore to kind of have that pool to build from,” Jones said.
The training program for new Delaware firefighters recently changed from a curriculum that could be completed on weekends over the course of two years, to a more intense, compact program that is completed in three months.
Many lauded the program for producing ready-to-go firefighters who are nationally accredited, but some also said it may discourage young, busy kids from joining.
“We have the best luck with kids we bring in at a young age, and this is disqualifying young, active kids from being in that training program,” McCarron said. “It’s unfair to make kids make those decisions.”
The previous training model allowed for more balance between activities and training, he added.
Additionally, if a person has a family, it’s tough to get them to commit to the more intense training, but it’s worth it for the experience and career opportunities at the end, Lowe said.
“What you try to focus on is that carrot at the end,” Lowe said.
McCarron’s 18-year-old daughter was recently voted into the fire company as a full member. He hopes his 12-year-old son follows suit in a couple of years when he’s eligible.
“I look forward to them joining me in this,” McCarron said.
Get Involved
Interested in volunteering your time as a firefighter, emergency medical technician or support staff at your local fire company? Learn more about how to join here: https://joindelawarefire.com/
