This is a time of testing for the nation’s
volunteer fire departments, and insurers will be watching carefully
to see if they can fulfill their historic mission of protecting
property as they take on ever-greater burdens for responding to
other types of emergencies.
“The volunteer fire service faces significant
challenges in overcoming a basic lack of resources—both financial
and in human capital,” reads a March 2004 report by a section of
the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). (The report,
entitled “A Call for Action: Preserving and Improving the Future
of the Volunteer Fire Service,” can be found at www.vcos.org.)
According to the National Volunteer Fire
Council, more than 19,000 of the nation’s approximately 26,000
fire departments are all-volunteer, and nearly 4,000 others are
mostly volunteer. In communities with fewer than 25,000 residents,
more than 90% of firefighters are volunteers.
Of paramount concern is the overall decline in
the number of volunteer firefighters through the U.S.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
reports that there were 816,000 volunteer firefighters on duty in
2002, up 4.1% from the previous year, but still well below the total
in 1983, when there were 884,600 volunteer firefighters on duty.
Numbers alone don’t tell the full story,
however.
“Most fire departments across the country have
experienced a steady increase in calls over the past decade,” the
NVFC reported in 2003. “The increase in calls, coupled with the
decline in the number of volunteer firefighters, means that fire
departments are having to do more with less.”
The IAFC report echoes that finding: “Demands
on volunteer fire departments have increased significantly over the
past 20 years. . . However, volunteer fire departments are asked to
address new problems, [such as] new duties surrounding homeland
security.”
For one thing, a diminished number of volunteer
firefighters has to contend with the effects of suburban and “exurban”
sprawl.
“Communities traditionally protected by
volunteer fire departments are experiencing greater growth” than
more urbanized communities, says Bill Jenaway, chief of the fire and
rescue service in King of Prussia, Pa., and a former officer with
Reliance Insurance.
“Urban dwellers often move to more remote
locations and continue to expect the same level of service they were
receiving previously,” reads the IAFC report. “Often, they do
not appreciate the funding constraints placed on rural communities.”
Compounding that is the fact that fewer and
fewer volunteer firefighters work in the community where they live.
“The small communities have lost many of their
available people during the day,” says Doug Haines, president of
Buckeye Insurance Group, Piqua, Ohio, himself a volunteer
firefighter.
“It has happened dramatically around us,” he
says. “Where we used to have 90% of our volunteers working in
town, now only one or two responders will have jobs in town.” As a
result, Haines’ department has had to hire fulltime emergency
medical responders.
Many volunteer departments have opted to hire
fulltime career firefighters or medical technicians to meet staffing
shortfalls, but efforts to do so have been hampered by the fiscal
crisis affecting state and local governments over the past two
years.
“Budget cuts over the last 18 months or so
across the country have made it tough,” says Gary Tokle, NFPA
assistant vice president for public fire protection. Federal funding
for communities to hire firefighters, first appropriated in 2002 as
a homeland security measure, has eased the crunch somewhat.
The survival of volunteer fire departments may
well depend on their ability to purchase equipment, however.
A minimum of $200,000-$250,000 needed to
purchase a modern pumper truck is the “entry fee” for running a
viable volunteer fire department, says Haines. “[The cost of
equipment] is going to force a lot more companies under than
manpower,” Haines says.
“You can’t buy a truck with chicken dinners,”
says John Buckman, chief of the German Township Volunteer Fire
Department, Evansville, Ind., and a former IAFC president who
co-authored the recent report. Yet, volunteer fire departments in
communities with fewer than 2,500 residents rely on department
fundraising for 19% of revenue, according to the NFPA.
“In many communities, local governments take
for granted the services provided by the volunteer fire department,”
reads the IAFC report. “They are not willing to assist with even
the most basic expenses, such as appropriate safety gear, functional
apparatus or station facilities.”
“Many communities have had to reduce their
capabilities by not purchasing needed apparatus, equipment, and
technology.”
According to the NFPA, roughly a third of the
nation’s nearly 50,000 fire stations are at least 40 years old,
half of all fire engines are at least 15 years old, and half of all
self-contained breathing apparatus units are at least 10 years old.
Despite the strains on volunteer fire
departments, there is still good news for insurers who rely on them
to protect property.
That best news is that there are fewer fires to
fight.
According to the NFPA, the total number of fires
in the U.S. fell steadily in a recent 25-year period, from 3.3
million in 1977 to 1.7 million in 2002. The number of structure
fires declined from 1.7 million to 839,000 over the same period.
However, the average property loss from
structure fires, adjusted for inflation, increased from $3,757 in
1977 to $5,674 in 2002 (not including losses on Sept. 11, 2001).
“There are fewer structure fires today than 20
years ago or even 10 years ago,” Buckman says. “We used to have
working fires regularly. Now it’s unusual.”
Haines credits four factors with reducing the
incidence of fires: (1) municipal restrictions on open burning, (2)
improved commercial construction, (3) rigorous inspections by
property insurers, and (4) increased fire safety awareness among the
general public.
“In my community, virtually every property is
sprinklered,” says Jenaway.
Buckman applauds the reduction in fires, but
cautions that it can breed complacency and loss of focus.
“Volunteer fire departments are strapped and
in some cases have lost their focus,” he says. “Emergency
medical service takes up so much time, but we still need to spend
time training for fires.”
The NFPA reports that nearly a quarter of the
nation’s firefighters, most of them volunteers, have had no formal
training in fighting structural fires, and that another 150,000 or
so lack certification in fighting structural fires.
The IAFC reports that: “Because departments
are responding to fewer fires, managers are often concerned about
the promotion of engine/command officers who lack sufficient
experience actually fighting fires.”
While volunteer fire departments face
unprecedented challenges, much has been done in recent years to give
insurers confidence that the departments are still up to the task of
preserving property.
According to Jenaway, what volunteer fire
departments may lack in money and manpower has been made up through
improved communications and information sharing.
“When I started in 1969, all we cared about
was jumping on an engine and running to a fire,” he says. Today’s
volunteer crews usually arrive at a fire with much more
comprehensive information concerning the construction and occupancy
of the burning building than in years past.
“Today’s communications abilities are much
greater than they were 30 years ago,” he says. Also, despite the
challenge of recruiting and retaining volunteers, “volunteer
departments have a similar if not greater number of staff at an
incident than [professional] fire departments in mid-sized cities.”
“Actually, things are not that bad,” Jenaway
says. “Volunteer fire departments are able to do much more today.”
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Hometown heroes
