Thursday, April 13, 2000 - Fewer volunteers around to fight fires - By Dawn Souza - Eagle-Tribune Writer

It's 2 in the afternoon. The Chester Fire Department, which moved into a new station last year, is made up of about 30 volunteers. Among Chester's volunteers are (from left) Deputy Chief Steve W. Child, Firefighter/EMT Michael Doucette, Capt. Jack D. Cadieux and Chief Stephen W. Tunberg. A candle accidentally left burning in a bedroom ignites some curtains and a home begins to burn. The call goes out to the town's volunteer firefighters, but barely a handful are able to get there.

That scenario is one many small Southern New Hampshire towns could face on any given week day. "During the day, you're lucky if you get a skeleton crew," said Hampstead fire Chief Chip Hastings, who leads a team of 35 volunteer firefighters. When not enough volunteer firefighters signal they're on their way, small town fire chiefs must call in help from neighboring towns. As small towns like Hampstead continue to grow into bustling bedroom communities, daytime fire protection becomes more of a concern.

While there are more homes and businesses where fire could strike, fewer volunteer firefighters are able to leave their day jobs to get there. Others work too far away to makes responding to a call reasonable. Gone are the days when volunteer firefighters were the town's farmers and mill workers, ready to respond on a moment's notice.

"Daytime response is a national problem; it's not unique to New Hampshire or New England," said Martin P. Carrier, a volunteer deputy chief with the Merrimack Fire Department and the state's representative on the National Volunteer Fire Council. Volunteers account for about 5,000 of New Hampshire's 6,000 firefighters. Nationally, about 73 percent of fire departments are staffed totally with volunteers, according to the National Fire Protection Association. In 1998, volunteers accounted for about 800,000 of the nation's 1.1 million firefighters.

Compounding the problem of daytime response is a steady increase in calls for help. Unlike years ago, fire departments handle a lot more than the occasional fire calls. For example, about 100 of Chester's 252 calls last year were for medical situations. In all, Chester saw a 40 percent increase in its calls between 1998 and last year, fire Chief Stephen W. Tunberg said. But only two calls last year were for structure fires.

In Plaistow, calls to the fire department grew from 657 in 1998 to 754 last year, according to fire Chief Donald Petzold. Chief Petzold, a full-time chief, said those rising numbers and concerns about daytime fire coverage were the driving force behind Plaistow's decision to hire its first two full-time firefighters. Starting this summer, the firefighters will work day shifts.

Chief Tunberg, a volunteer chief, predicts Chester, too, will eventually need a few full-timers to cover days. He said the town's population is booming, as many new subdivisions are built. Calls to the department will most likely continue to increase, he said.

Fewer volunteers, more commitments People are busy. That's a key reasons volunteer fire departments nationwide are attracting fewer people. "Family demands today are taking a lot of time. ... And people are working longer hours, so they're not available as often," said the state's Deputy Fire Marshal J. William Degnan. "But then again, I see people who work 60 or 70 hours a week that still volunteer." Deputy Chief Carrier said more employers are reluctant to let employees dash off. For those that do volunteer, there are lots of things that restrict when they can help.

Hampstead Selectman Joseph A. Guthrie, who was a volunteer firefighter in North Andover, Mass., many years ago, said many people work out of town or over the border and have too long a commute to get to an emergency. "We have the same problems here that every other town has," Mr. Guthrie said. He said there was recently a small fire in the town garage one afternoon and only four volunteer firefighters and the chief were able to respond. Mr. Guthrie said it "was a good thing" it wasn't a major fire. If it were, mutual aid would have to have been called in from other towns to help battle it. Deputy Chief Carrier said many people have jobs that require travel. "That makes them just plain not available," he said. Some drop out because they end up rushing away from jobs too often for automatic alarm systems going off without reason.

"False alarms. That really eats away at a lot of them," Deputy Chief Carrier said. "They don't mind volunteering when they're needed, but false alarms are frustrating." But around the state, many towns are offering incentives to volunteers. After all, without volunteers, towns would be forced to create full-time departments -- complete with salaries, benefits and other expenses to cover with tax dollars.

A few years ago, Hampstead started paying its volunteers an hourly wage for the calls to which they respond. The pay scale ranges from $5.50 to about $12 an hour, depending on experience and training. It doesn't amount to much, but does provide a little extra cash. "It buys some clothing or, if you save it up, it helps with Christmas shopping at the end of the year," Chief Hastings said.

Who are these volunteers? In Chester, the fire department's 30-person roster include people from all walks of life. Chief Tunberg is a schoolteacher in Manchester. Deputy Chief Steve Child is a letter carrier in town. Capt. Jack D. Cadieux works for Public Service Company of New Hampshire. Around the region, most volunteer departments are staffed by both men and women. In some cases, husbands and wives volunteer together. Of the 35 volunteers on the Hampstead department, about a half-dozen are women, including Chief Hastings' wife, who is a certified emergency medical technician. Chief Hastings said many volunteers are self-employed trade people.

But, just because people are self-employed and working around town, it doesn't always make it any easier to free up time. "They can't afford it," said Chief Hastings, himself a self-employed roofer and carpenter. "Most of the good guys that we had in the past were self-employed, builders and trade people. They could respond to a call, but then ended up working until midnight to make up for the lost time on their job.

Becoming a volunteer firefighter requires time commitments. There is a lot more to it than just showing up for a call. Richard A. Mason, director of the state's Division for Fire Standards and Training, said there are no state standards for volunteer firefighters. However, he said, most towns require volunteers to be certified to at least the nationally accepted "basic firefighter" level. Mr. Mason said that certification takes 184 hours of training, something many people with full-time jobs just can't take time to do. Becoming a volunteer emergency medical technician requires an additional 120 hours, he said. Local departments also host in-house trainings.

Chief Tunberg said volunteers take classes at night and on weekends to get certified. The process can take several months to complete. He said most volunteers go on to take advanced training. Deputy Chief Carrier said town officials realize that untrained volunteers not only put the public at risk, but each other.

"Firefighting is a team effort. Every firefighter has to have confidence in everyone else," he said. But why do these men and women volunteer, dedicating hours to training and risking their lives? Some do it because it is a family tradition. Deputy Chief Child, who has volunteered in Chester for 30 years, followed in his father's footsteps.