Whenever there is an emergency in Marion County, chances are a volunteer firefighter is going to appear on the scene.
The county has six volunteer fire departments: Foxworth, Morgantown, Pine Burr, South Marion, Southwest Marion and Tri-Community. Each of the departments are not manned but are at the mercy of individuals who are able at a “drop of a hat” to stop what they are doing to attend to the crisis. These individuals could be on their jobs, eating dinner with their family or even sleeping in their own beds. The radio goes off and these men and women hit the scene.
In addition to serving as a firefighter, there are also some who also serve as first responders. The first responder tends to the victim being sick or injured and does what can be done to help the individual until the ambulance arrives. Currently there are three ambulances that cover the entire county. Depending on where the ambulances are in proximately to the emergency, first responders may make the difference in life or death. A total of 771 medical calls were made in the county volunteer fire departments areas in 2019, the most of all calls the county departments received.
In 2019, the different volunteer fire departments were called out 1,503 times. Some of the calls are mutual aid, meaning helping another department out for a fire or a motor vehicle wreck. The departments covered a total of 187 motor vehicle accidents, some with injuries, some without and some with just property damage.
When someone thinks of a firefighter the thought comes of a fireman running into a burning home, carrying a hose to fight the fire, yet fires are not the biggest issues. There were only 90 structure fires and 126 grass/woods fires in 2019.
One of the biggest problems departments face is lack of volunteers. According to a 2014 report from the National Fire Protection Association, 70% of all firefighters are volunteers as well as 85% of all departments. The problems with the world’s busy schedules, there are less and less volunteers.
Southwest Marion Fire Department Chief Calvin Williamson agreed the biggest issue is lack of volunteers, especially during the workday.
“Not only is there a shortage of volunteers but also training for the volunteers. With everyone having a busy schedule, it is hard to get volunteers to come to training,” he said.
Doug Miller with Southwest Marion Volunteer Fire Department said most people do not realize that the vast areas of the county and also the nation are covered by volunteer fire departments.
Miller said people do not realize how important it is with volunteering and training and the effect it has on the communities and citizens. Each department has a fire rating and the higher the fire rating is, the more citizens pay for homeowners’ insurance. The number of volunteers responding to calls and the amount of hours of training completed are two of the aspects in determining the fire rating.
Williamson said a person does not have to fight fires to be a volunteer. Volunteers are needed to help with paperwork, traffic control, medical calls and many other items. In the volunteer departments there are no paid administrators so there is plenty of work to do.
To become a volunteer, contact your local fire department.
