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Volunteers Needed

WAYMART — The number of people volunteering with fire companies has been going down for decades, leaving communities wondering how to reverse that trend. ...
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WAYMART -- The number of people volunteering with fire companies has been going down for decades, leaving communities wondering how to reverse that trend.

Now, state legislators think they have a way to make volunteering worthwhile.

State lawmakers want to encourage more people to volunteer with local fire departments like the Waymart Volunteer Fire Company.

In order to do that, a bill in Harrisburg would give those volunteers an incentive in the form of money to join the ranks.

When catastrophe hits, the vast majority of firefighters who answer the call are volunteers.

In Waymart, that's pretty clear. Volunteer is in the name of the fire company and plastered on the front door and sides of the department's fire engines.

"It`s tough to get volunteers now, they`re a dying breed unfortunately," said Chief Shawn Vinton..

Chief Vinton knows all too well how difficult it is to get volunteers.

"It`s not just running calls. It`s the fundraisers, work nights, training, maintenance, takes up a lot of time."

And time is money. So Senator Lisa Baker has introduced a bill to compensate volunteers in the form of a tax credit (SB 299). The catch? The bill would leave the decision up to local municipalities, like Waymart, where 17-year-old David Zdziarski is a volunteer.

"I think it will get more younger people in this like I am, there`s not too many young people in our fire company. There`s only two young members here," said Zdziarski.

State officials say in the past 30 years, five out of six volunteer firefighters or EMTs are no longer volunteering. That would mean if you took the dozen or so pieces of turnout gear at the Waymart Volunteer Fire Company, you`d be down to two pieces of gear.

"The funding, there`s not enough money there, people don`t want to volunteer their time," said volunteer firefighter Jordan Thompson.

Faced with a dwindling number of volunteers firefighters hope the bill, if passed, helps. But those same volunteers admit more needs to be done to save the future of volunteer departments.

"It can`t hurt, anything is better than what we have now," added Chief Vinton.

If passed, the bill would make that tax credit available for volunteer firefighters and EMTs if the borough or township gets on board.

At the Waymart Volunteer Fire Company, the chief said there are about 20 volunteers who go out on calls but the department could always use more.

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