Region's volunteer fire departments struggle with personnel numbers

Lt. Josh Boyd first considered becoming a volunteer firefighter at age 19. His roommate at the time was one, and hearing his stories motivated Boyd to give it a shot.

"I was just seeing what he was doing and the good things the department did for the community, and that just drew me to it," Boyd said.

Since 1999, Boyd has volunteered for the East County Fire Protection District, responding to calls for medical assistance and fires while maintaining a full-time job at Mondi in Jackson. The balancing act can be tough to manage, but Boyd said when he's needed, he can make the time to go out on call.

But not all volunteer firefighters have that luxury -- or flexibility. And they are in shorter supply these days, said Scott City fire chief Jay Cassout and others.

"We've got 14 to 15 guys, short of the 20 to 25 we used to have," Cassout said. "[I think] the change is just part of the times. Volunteers used to have more time to donate, but now it's more time-consuming."

An East County Fire Protection District truck rests inside the Indian Creek station Tuesday. (Glenn Landberg)

Nationally, 71 percent of firefighters are volunteers, he added. In the past decade, that number has decreased by almost 15 percent. For now, he said Scott City has the staff needed to serve the city and nearby rural communities, but he's concerned for the future.

"Our services haven't dwindled; the burden is just on fewer people," he said. "We have 15 people who when that pager goes off, they show up, so our services haven't been hurt. Whenever someone calls us for help, we are going to be there."

East County has 37 volunteer firefighters, not including its four board members. They often have between four and 10 volunteers show up when their pagers go off, assistant fire chief Kelly Allen said.

They serve 72 square miles of district, with three stations. Each station is equipped with main-line engines, reserve engines, tankers and ambulances. This particular district is pretty well-staffed, Allen said, especially for being volunteer-run.

For other stations, staff numbers vary. Larger stations such as Jackson and Cape Girardeau have "career firemen," Capt. Greg Hecht of Jackson Fire Rescue said. These men and women are on staff and employed by the city. Other firefighters are paid per call, but the amount varies.

For smaller departments, such as Scott City, volunteers are harder to come by.

Cassout said Scott City has two volunteers involved in a firefighter basics class that takes place over two weekends and is 36 hours long.

"When you have both the husband and the wife working outside the home nowadays, it takes away quality time with the family," Cassout said. "Some of the younger generation, they don't want to commit to that, which is understandable."

For East County, volunteers are required to attend two four-hour training sessions a month, Boyd said. There's additional requirements depending whether volunteers are EMTs, paramedics or first responders. For a smaller volunteer department, such roles often overlap.

Four fire districts respond to medical calls in Cape Girardeau County: East County, Millersville Rural Fire Protection District, Gordonville Fire Protection District and Fruitland Area Fire Protection District. With 80 percent of those calls being for medical assistance, Boyd said the district stays busy.

Allen said they have about 240 calls a year for East County. For Scott City, the department already has responded to 482 calls in 2015.

Cassout said while he considers his station a volunteer one, the men receive some pay based on their amount of training. For the most part, it just pays for gas, he said.

smaue@semissourian.com

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