Volunteer firefighters have always had my respect.
I know pretty much why most of them do it -- pride in their community.
What I don't understand is how they do it. How do they find the time? I stopped at the grocery this week and it threw my schedule off.
Thank goodness we still have people making time for what amounts to an extra job that we may take for granted.
Too bad we don't have as many people like that as we used to. Even though folks might be willing it's getting harder to carve out time for the extras. And that's forcing volunteer fire departments to hire paid workers. It's a nationwide trend that's been going on for years, especially in fast-growing areas such as East Lincoln.
In a recent article, the Observer's Emily Almas wrote about how Lincoln County's volunteer fire departments are relying more on paid employees.
Back in March, the Alexis department missed a call for medical help because nobody was at the fire station. It was the first call they'd missed in 20 years.
Fire chief Brian Robinson said it was an embarrassing reminder that the world has changed. That meant the department had to change.
On Monday, Lincoln commissioners approved a new budget that includes money for the first two paid employees in the Alexis department. The budget also pays for additional employees in the East Lincoln and Denver departments.
So far, so good. But this probably won't be the last time commissioners hear from the fire departments about the need for more paid employees.
The world keeps changing too fast.
It was different in the 1940s and early 1950s when many volunteer fire departments organized in North Carolina. They were like community clubs bound by camaraderie and common goals. Many members were farmers who lived near the fire station and were usually available to make calls during the day.
"As farming eroded, people went looking for other jobs," said Paul Miller, executive secretary of the North Carolina Firemen's Association. "That may have taken them out of the county. They weren't around anymore. And that put a strain on the departments. They began to have trouble getting the trucks out the door and keeping up with increased call volume."
To meet the demands, Miller said 220 departments operate with a combination of volunteers and paid workers. A few shut down. But there are still 1,035 all-volunteer fire departments left in North Carolina.
I agree with Gaston Fire Marshal Jim Pharr that we need to find ways to retain volunteer firefighters. That could be anything from some sort of reimbursement system to providing day care for firefighters who have young children.
In the future, departments will probably rely more and more on combinations of employees. That's the direction changing times are taking us. But we can't afford to let go of our volunteers. Not now, at least.
Distributed by the Associated Press
