The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
ANSWERING THE CALL
Volunteer fire departments continue to serve communities
“We have a group of dedicated people who believe in community involvement.” — Scott Hildenbrand, Hambden Township fire chief
Scott Hildenbrand and Timothy Adams will tell you the commitments to volunteer firefighting and public service go handin-hand.
Hildenbrand, 55, was 19 years old when he joined the Hambden Township Volunteer Fire Department in Geauga County in 1981. He has been its chief since 1995.
“When I was a kid growing up in Chardon, you could hear the fire department sirens all over town when they went out on a call,” Hildenbrand said. “I thought it was exciting and great way to protect the community.”
Hildenbrand’s early experiences as a volunteer firefighter
set him on a course in public service that saw him join the Chardon Police Department in 1984. He became chief deputy of the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office in 2003 and in January 2017 succeeded the retired Dan McClelland as sheriff.
Pulling double duty is no problem for Hildenbrand, a state-certified firefighter, fire safety instructor, fire inspector and emergency medical technician who also is president of the Geauga County Fire Chiefs Association.
“The jobs are separate in some respects. In other respects, they overlap,” Hildenbrand said. “You learn things on one job you can use on the other job.”
Adams, 68, joined the Grafton Township Volunteer Fire Department in 1979. He was its chief for many years and now is assistant chief. The retired business owner is one of two Ohio representatives on the National Volunteer Fire Council and past president of the Ohio State Firefighters Association.
“Becoming a volunteer firefighter allowed me to give something back to my community,” Adams said.
The fire departments in Hambden Township and Grafton Township are part of a network of volunteer departments in Ohio providing fire and emergency medical and rescue services.
According to figures provided by the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of the State Fire Marshal, 740 of the state’s 1,192 fire departments are staffed by volunteers rather than career firefighters.
The National Fire Protection Association published estimates that of the 1,160,450 local firefighters in the U.S. in 2015, 70 percent (814,850) were volunteers and 30 percent (345,600) were career firefighters. Hildenbrand said his department, also known as Hambden Fire and Rescue, currently has 35 volunteers working out of its station on Old State Road (Route 608). The department has 10 pieces of equipment and handled 666 calls in 2016. An estimated 400 of those calls were for emergency medical service..
Hambden Fire and Rescue is incorporated and works for the township on a contract basis. The department’s annual budget is around $325,000, Hildenbrand said.
Grafton Township Volunteer Fire Department handles about 220 calls per year, an average of 160 of those calls for emergency medical service, Adams said. The department has one station on Route 83, 22 volunteers, eight pieces of equipment and an annual budget of about $75,000.
Both departments offers small stipends to volunteers. Both use pagers, cell telephone text messaging and county 911 services to summon volunteers for responses to calls for service.
The staffing level at the Hambden Township is good, according to Hildenbrand.
“We have a group of dedicated people who believe in community involvement,” he said.
The department also draws upon graduates of its Explorer program for young people between the ages of 14 to 18.
Adams said the staffing level in the Grafton Township department is down from a peak 20 years ago of 36 volunteers.
“People still care, but they just don’t have the time to volunteer for anything,” Adams said. “Lifestyles have changed in the last 30, 40 years. Husbands and wives now have two jobs. It’s happening across the whole country.”
The National Fire Protection Association estimates the number of volunteer firefighters nationally went down from a peak of 897,750 in 1984 to 814,850 in 2015.
Fulfilling the state’s requirements for training and recertification of firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics is another challenge faced by all volunteer fire departments in Ohio.
Training programs call for anywhere from 36 to 260 hours of study at costs of up to $5,000. Since 2008, firefighters in Ohio have had to be tested every three years for recertification.
There are programs geared to volunteer firefighters that offer financial assistance for training program, including one from the Ohio State Fire Marshal.