They do it as many as 30 times a year, rolling up the firehouse doors to celebrate with area children as a way of keeping in touch with the residents they serve.
The parties have also helped attract volunteers by bringing new people into the station to see how things work.
We have a lot of activities for the community. One of the things in ... any kind of volunteer service, is you gotta have activity, said volunteer Lt. John Mitchell.
As of July, the Columbia Fire Departments Ballentine station had 24 volunteers, more than any other in Richland County bucking a two-decade local and national trend of declining numbers of volunteer firefighters.
Other departments in Richland and Lexington counties have not been as successful in attracting volunteers, prompting concerns about those departments abilities to adequately respond to emergencies.
Ballentine firefighters attribute their success to the strong feeling of interdependence that exists among them.
All of us have gotten up from the dinner table and gone, so were expected to do that, Mitchell said. I dont want (them) to be out there trying to cut somebody out of a car and be in a house fire and be shorthanded because weve all been out there and been shorthanded.
At the same time, the Ballentine area has experienced significant growth in the past few years.
Between 1990 and 2000, the population increased from 15,631 to 23,752 a 52 percent increase, according to census figures.
The station has had to respond to an increasing number of emergency calls. From July 2003 to June 2004, the station handled 662 emergency calls, more than any other volunteer-staffed station in Richland County.
GOVERNMENT INCENTIVES
Because of increased demands on firefighters, including homeland security, the government has tried to influence recruitment and retention as well.
You used to hear, Firefighting is a local issue, said Jim Bowie, executive director of the South Carolina Firemens Association. They dont say that now.
South Carolina is one of three states that gives a tax deduction $3,000 to volunteers who can prove their service.
The Firemens Association has also established a retirement fund using money that fire departments receive from fire-insurance premiums.
With 25 years of service, Bowie said, a volunteer can collect a monthly retirement check between $20 and $200, depending on the department. Most volunteers only stay for about four years, but Bowie said benefits can help retain veteran firefighters.
A firefighter might be more likely to respond to a middle-of-the-night call, he said, because of those benefits.
Theyre kind of hooked, Bowie said.
Lexington County now refers to its volunteers as paid on demand, meaning volunteers get $10 every time they respond to a call. Volunteer firefighters in Richland County receive $8 a call.
Other area departments have tried various policies to retain volunteers. Those policies have had mixed results.
Irmo Fire District Chief Mike Sonefeld was visiting an Ocean City, Md., department last year when he saw a volunteer carrying a sleeping bag into the firehouse. Volunteers at the station work on shifts, he learned from the chief.
The idea seemed a good fit for Irmo, Sonefeld thought.
Volunteer firefighters from all over Lexington County, and from even as far away as Augusta were drawn by the idea. Sonefeld also introduced other perks at volunteers request, including a weight room and an Xbox video game system.
But the time commitment to training for volunteer firefighting which can take more than a year is still driving away recruits.
Between January and June, Irmo went from six volunteers to 20 and a waiting list. But nine of those recruits left recently, and the department might have to hire part-time firefighters.
CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
Most chiefs said one key to attracting volunteers is to get them interested before they turn 18. Until that age, though, labor laws limit minors from being full-fledged firefighters.
Some stations have begun Explorer programs to get students involved, but the Lexington Technology Center in District 1 has tried a different approach.
The school added an introductory firefighting course to its public safety curriculum two years ago and now boasts 120 students, said director Ken Lake.
Students can train on the schools ladder truck and learn CPR and search-and-rescue techniques. Lake said the school had not kept track of how many students had signed up to volunteer.
But sometimes, as Ballentine has learned, being connected to the community is the best recruiting tool.
For more than a decade, the station has also held a Halloween party that attracts about 2,500 residents.That also helps us in terms of recruiting other volunteers, Mitchell said. The next thing you know, youll get an application.
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