By Jeremy Stocker, Assistant Fire Chief, Snohomish 22
Snohomish 22 has given up the balancing act of maintaining a volunteer program. Once brimming with willing volunteers, the district’s program was weighed down in the last 20 years, with increased cost of living, increased call volume,
and tough training requirements. Time and time again we had to be inventive to even the scales.
John Collum
says... Posted Tuesday, October 1, 2024
The Volunteer tree has died, and the volunteer picking is slim or gone. In small rural districts in particular the requirement for volunteers has driven many the small number of prospects away. If a prospect does inquire about his responsibilities and the impact of training and response will have on his or her family life it is daunting, and as they learn about the legal liabilities it becomes more intimidating.
With the CFR 1910 regs. looming the impact on the budgets and new requirement's, unknown, the impact may further hinder recruitment and retention when adopted. I don't have an answer, if there is one.
We have resorted to hiring full timers as budget allows but that is also problematic. the pool of responders has seen the wages and benefits in the I-5 corridor and don't even look at the small districts. Keep the info current it helps us find answers.
John Collum Comm GHFD#8
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