Oct 16, 2017 3 min read

In 1995, the political scientist Robert D. Putnam published an essay called “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital,” which bemoaned the fact that Americans were disengaged from both their communities and political involvement, and pointed to a decline in membership in a host of organizations, encompassing everything from the Knights of Columbus to the parent-teacher associations at local elementary schools.

Twenty-two years later, Putnam’s hypothesis of Americans withdrawing from the public square could well be reflected in another community pillar that is experiencing declining interest and membership – volunteer firefighters.

As an article by Rick Shrum in the Sunday edition of the Observer-Reporter noted, the ranks of volunteer firefighters have thinned dramatically in the last 40 years, both in Washington and Greene counties and across the commonwealth. Where Pennsylvania once had 300,000 volunteer firefighters, it now has 50,000. There were once six for every one there is today.

The reasons for this decline are manifold. First, being a volunteer firefighter involves a considerable commitment of time and effort. At least 144 hours of training must be completed before a volunteer firefighter can suit up, and they then must be available to respond at all hours and in all circumstances, whether it’s in the middle of the night, the middle of a meal or the middle of a Steelers game.

This can be a burden, particularly for individuals in time-strapped, two-income households, or those who have to wrestle with long commutes to work. We would also argue that the mobility of today’s society, particularly its young people, probably has something to do with the dwindling number of volunteer firefighters – the likelihood of drawing volunteers for such an arduous job becomes harder when families are not deeply rooted in the places where they live, and could easily pull up stakes and move across the region or country to pursue jobs or other opportunities.

Then, of course, there’s the danger that comes with being a volunteer firefighter – rushing into a burning building is not for the faint of heart.

Earlier this year, Robert Kagel of the Chester County Department of Emergency Services told The Philadelphia Inquirer that “we’ve been heading this way for a pretty long time. We’re not at a point where no one’s going to show up if somebody calls for help. But I feel confident saying we are at a crisis level today. If we ignore the issue, we’ll go from crisis to catastrophic.”

Lawmakers have tried to offer some carrots to potential volunteer firefighters, including earned income or real estate tax credits. Another program offers full scholarships at Community College of Allegheny County to volunteer firefighters within that county. Another intriguing idea would involve dividing counties into zones and having a corps of paid firefighters in each one, with a squad of volunteers ready to provide assistance. This would offer a more realistic and cost-effective approach than communities moving from volunteer to paid firefighting companies.

As Shrum’s Sunday story stated, more proposals and more creativity are needed. And they can’t wait.