By Michael Pound, The Associated Press
AMBRIDGE, Pa. (AP) -- It’s no secret that volunteer fire departments across the country are struggling to keep their rosters full. Increased financial demands on families, more rigorous training standards and even a decline in shift work are factors in a 10 percent drop in the number of volunteer firefighters across the country from 1983 to 2001, according to the National Volunteer Fire Council.
The problems are the same for volunteer departments in western Pennsylvania. But several Beaver County communities may have found a way to boost their numbers by getting residents hooked on the firefighting fraternity before they’re old enough to become full-fledged members.
Fire companies in the communities of the Ambridge Area School District are starting to reap the benefits of the only school-district sponsored firefighting class in the state, a course that in its third year had to be closed to enrollment because too many wanted to get in.
“The first year we had eight students,” said David Drewnowski, Ambridge fire chief and one of the founders of the course. “The second year, we had 12 people sign up.
“This year we came into the class and said, ‘You’ve got to be joking,”’ he said. “We had a full class of 40, and the school had to turn some students away.”
Other successful examples are the Firematics educational and training programs in Ambridge, Baden, Harmony Township and, especially, Economy, where group organizer Tony Blum has a full class of 15 for the first time since the program was resurrected about five years ago.
“What we see is that these kids are not only willing to put in the time in our session and in the high school class, but they’re really pitching in with the fire department, too,” said Blum, who also is police chief in Conway. “They help out a lot at the station, and to the extent they are allowed to, they help out on fire calls as well.”
Why the new interest? Both Blum and Drewnowski said it’s hard to say, but Economy resident Luke Sciulli, a 16-year-old student at Quigley Catholic High School and a member of Economy’s Firematics program, the decision to join was the fulfillment of a longtime interest.
“It seems like it was always something I had been curious about,” Sciulli said. “I heard about Firematics from a friend, and as soon as I was 14, I joined.
“Now, I’m helping on fire calls and doing other stuff with the department,” he added. “It’s pretty cool, and it’s something I want to continue to do.”
Drewnowski said he wanted to start the Essentials of Firefighting class at Ambridge Area High School three years ago in large part because of the declining numbers of firefighters in the volunteer company, whose 18 members back up the borough’s paid department of four full-timers and three part-timers.
“I was hoping it would help us, and it would help the other departments in the school district,” Drewnowski said. “I thought there would be a benefit to the kids as well, getting them involved in the community a little bit.”
The three-days-a-week class is taught by firefighters who visit the high school for classroom training. The students also attend one after-school session a month at the Ambridge fire station on 11th Street for hands-on training with that department’s equipment.
The students learn first-aid and other medical skills, are trained to use equipment that is typically found at their hometown departments and even get to try their hand at some practical exercises.
“One of the best things we’ve done is to go through a maze with air packs on down at the Ambridge fire station,” said Tony Blum’s son David, 16, a student at Ambridge Area High School who is enrolled in the course this school year. “It’s stuff like that that really gives you a feel for what you might be doing on an actual fire call.”
David Blum also said the in-class work is tailored to give students experience with all facets of being a firefighter.
“We work with the radios, so we know what to do if we’re ever asked to make a call,” he said.
Besides the school credits the students earn for completing the course, Drewnowski said they earn enough training credits to be certified by the state fire academy to become a department member once they reach age 18.
“They can join one of their home departments, or if they’re going to college, they’re ready to join any department in the state,” he said.
A big part of the program’s cost is covered by the school district, which pitches in $3,000 a year to pay for instructors’ fees. The fire departments in the school district’s communities also pitch in money to pay for supplies and equipment.
“The guys in all the departments have been incredibly supportive,” Drewnowski said. “We were taxed a bit this year with the full enrollment, but everyone really stepped up and made sure we had everything we need to keep going.”
Blum said the Economy Fire Department ran a junior firefighters program similar to the current Firematics program years ago, but it died for lack of interest. Blum was among those longtime department members who decided to try to rekindle some interest about five years ago with Firematics, an offshoot of the Boy Scouts of America’s Explorers program.
“We had enough kids to sustain the program for a few years once we got it going again,” Blum said. “It’s just grown from there.”
The Economy Firematics group does some of the same things that the high school course requires, but it also gives members a more complete taste of what the life of a volunteer fire company is like.
Blum said the program is self-supporting because members conduct their own fund-raisers and keep their own budgets and books. With money they’ve raised, they’ve paid for the program and even bought uniforms for their members.
“That’s some real-life experience that they can use no matter if they become firefighters or not,” Blum said. “They also get to know some about the workings of government and they develop a sense of being a responsible member of the community.”
Sciulli said Firematics members also spend some time at Economy’s three stations, helping with work details and learning on the fly.
“While you’re washing a truck, you talk to the guys about the equipment and how everything works,” he said. “It’s real hands-on, and that’s the best way to find out if this is something you want to do in the future.”
Sciulli and fellow Quigley student Nathan Cleland, 15, both seem to be sold.
“You get a really good sense of everything that’s involved,” said Cleland, of Economy. “I love every part about it, and I’m ready to keep going. I’d even like to find a paying firefighters job someday.”
A half-dozen of the current Firematics members in Economy have earned certifications that allow them to contribute when the department’s members answer a call. They also must be covered by the department’s insurance policies, which permit limited activities by junior members, Cleland said.
At an accident scene, some program members are able to help remove a victim from a mangled car; others can clean up or help police reconstruct the scene. On a fire call, Cleland said, the Firematics members do everything from helping to move hoses and manning hydrants to refilling air packs and helping keep track of the firefighters on the scene.
“And there is a lot of cleanup stuff we can do, like sweeping up spills at an accident or collecting everything after a structure fire,” he said. “It’s great experience.”
Tony Blum said the help of the Firematics on a call gives the full members the ability to focus the more serious tasks of controlling a fire or helping an accident victim: “We can concentrate on the big stuff because we know that the little stuff is being handled by those guys.”
That doesn’t get tedious?
“I love it,” Sciulli said. “You’re helping. It may only be a small part of the whole thing, but you know you’re doing something to help.”
If the ultimate goal of the Ambridge course and the Firematics programs is to ensure that Ambridge-area fire departments will have a new supply of members in the near future, the programs have to be considered a success.
Blum said that in the last year, six veterans of Economy’s Firematics group have gone on to become full-fledged firefighters in the borough. And Drewnowski said the Ambridge volunteers have welcomed five junior firefighters to their ranks, all of whom have said they hope to become full members of the department when they reach age 18.
“What these guys do for us is a little hard to measure, but it’s invaluable,” Blum said.
“It is really gratifying to see the payoff for these kids, after they put in all that time and they become full members of the department.”
And in the cases of David Blum, Cleland and Sciulli, the experience they’ve gained in the programs has led them to believe they’ll be ready to join their fire departments when they are old enough to do so.
“I love doing it now,” Sciulli said. “A few days ago, we got back from a vacation in San Diego and the department got a call. I hadn’t even unpacked, but I was headed out the door. When I’m 18, I’m going to give them as much time as I can.”