As volunteer fire companies struggle to find personnel, a leader in the Pennsylvania house is offering recruiting advice.
State Rep and Appropriations Chair Stan Saylor says it’s important to recruit when people are younger
“If you’re waiting until they come out of college, you have lost them,” Saylor said. “They’re paying off their debts, looking for jobs, or moving to different communities. I believe it’s important for us to put more efforts into recruting kids in high school, so they’re aware of what’s going on in local communities.”
“That way when they come back, they’re going to have that same commitment they had before they left,” Saylor said.
Saylor said recruiting new volunteer firefighters is immensely important, because there could be an enormous cost to the state if VFD’s become extinct.
“If we don’t save our volunteer fire companies, Pennsylvania tax payers are probably going to pay a $13 billion tax increase to pay for the paid fire companies,” Saylor said. “Not that our paid firefighters don’t do a outstanding job, but that’s a huge financial burden in all the people in our communities.”
In an effort to recruit younger members, many VFC’s in the area sponsor junior firefighter programs for those who are under 18 years old. Such as the Connoquenessing VFC which has a program for teenagers as young as 14.
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