Fire Companies in and around Centre County, PA, Rely on Fundraising to Save Lives

What comes to mind when you think about your local fire department? Maybe not online vehicle raffles, pay-to-play Bingo or summer carnivals — but that’s the reality for volunteer fire companies in and around Centre County that rely on fundraisers to keep their doors open.

Most volunteer fire companies receive funding from their municipalities and public donations, and some apply for grants or receive money from local service taxes. Fundraising has always been involved, but rising costs for equipment and operations have made it more of a necessity than before, according to Justin Butterworth, chief of the Hope Fire Company in Philipsburg.

“Our allotments that we get from the municipalities and our donations haven’t increased by 100% in the last 15 years, but the cost of fire apparatus has, so we’re trying to play catch-up, which is in the end just putting more pressure on bigger and more fundraisers to make up that difference,” said Butterworth, who has worked for the fire department for 23 years.

Butterworth estimated a fire truck that cost $350,000 15 years ago would cost close to $1 million today. Add in the cost of additional equipment, safety gear and maintenance, and you have volunteer companies shackled by steep operating budgets.

At least part of this inflation stems from the consolidation of the fire truck industry within the last 15 years, which now sees three large companies manufacture the majority of equipment for the United States. What that means is emergency service providers now have to think like nonprofit businesses.

“It’s an expensive business that isn’t properly funded, hence why you see us holding these fundraisers,” Butterworth said. “There’s very few businesses that are around that have to go and sell hoagies or hold events or beg for money to keep their business going … but for a fire company, closing is not really an option.”

To combat these costs, fire companies have ramped up fundraising efforts. During the COVID pandemic, where in-person fundraisers were limited, Facebook became the hub for online raffles and giveaways. Just about everything was up for grabs, from a Yeti cooler in Philipsburg to a 6,500 watt generator in Snow Shoe to a one-ton bag of wood pellets in Centre Hall. Fundraising & the budget

The online giveaways have remained popular and profitable. Most companies purchase the prizes with their own money and can make up that deficit by selling enough raffle tickets. Boalsburg Fire Company buys its prizes from local businesses as a way to give back to the community.

“It’s something we can do all year-round,” said Boalsburg Assistant Chief Nate Frey. “Just to generate a little more income coming in here, because the price of everything’s skyrocketing, and we’re trying to support our community with paying for this stuff.”

Fundraising only makes up about 40% of Boalsburg Fire Company’s operating budget, according to Assistant Chief Greg Alters.

“We are doing well funds-wise compared to some of the other companies in the county that are scraping to keep things going,” Alters said. “We’re very lucky to have the station we have, newer apparatus and stuff that we have — there’s companies out there that can’t do that.”

In addition to online giveaways, Mountain Top Fire Company in Sandy Ridge hosts a yearly carnival in August, complete with food, games and an auction. Fire Chief Tim Sharpless said fundraising makes up about 90% of Mountain Top’s operating budget, which he said is sustainable at this point, but service taxes may need to be implemented in the future.

“For now it is [sustainable],” Sharpless added. “I mean, the trucks are getting more money, and so at some point, something’s gonna have to change.” Other obstacles

Another challenge companies have faced is a decline in volunteers. According to a 2020 report by the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), firefighter volunteerism has decreased by about 25% since 1984.

The reality is that volunteering is more time-consuming than ever, especially with non-emergency duties like fundraising being so vital. For people who already work full time and have families, that’s a big ask.

“If somebody would present that to me now, I’d be like, ‘No thanks. I’ll find something else. I don’t have time for that,’” Butterworth said. “And I think that’s a big part of why our numbers are declining, not just here in Phillipsburg, not just at Hope [ Fire Company], but across the state, across the nation.”

So, why volunteer? At Boalsburg Fire Company, Frey said a big motivator is the “self-satisfaction” of helping people in the community.

“You have times you go help somebody, and we see them at their worst point of their accident, and then to see them come in here, walking again or healed up and OK, it’s nice to see that. It’s rewarding,” Frey said.

To deal with dwindling numbers, some fire companies have combined operations. Two years ago in Clearfield County, Houtzdale Fire Company and Ramey Fire Company merged into Houtzdale-Ramey Fire Company. By sharing their resources, Houtzdale-Ramey has a more sustainable pool of volunteers, equipment and fundraising revenue.

“From a budget standpoint, we’ve streamlined a lot of stuff,” said Fire Chief Jeff Arnold. “We’ve actually made a good chunk of money back.”

Merging also helps eliminate competition — a strange concept for emergency service providers, but a factor for companies who share the same fundraising audience. That’s part of the reason why Hope Fire Company is “actively in the process” of merging with Chester Hill Hose Company in Phillipsburg, and in the middle of merging discussions with Reliance Fire Company, according to Butterworth.

There are more than 30 total fire and EMS companies in Centre County alone, and most are accepting new volunteers online or via their Facebook pages. For Alters, the opportunity to change someone’s life through his service “100% pays for itself.”

Volunteer fire companies are relying on the people they serve to keep their doors open — a sustainable system as long as the community remains generous. Butterworth described it as an “everybody problem that needs an everybody solution.”

“There’s a lot of people that don’t really consider the fire company until they are involved in an emergency,” Butterworth said. “But if that doesn’t happen to somebody, a lot of times we’re not even an afterthought — we’re not a thought.” How to help

Fire companies are always in need of financial donations. For those interested, you can find website links, addresses and phone numbers to all of Centre County’s fire departments — which have donation and raffle info — at CentreCountyFire.com/stations-centre.shtml.