Nyah Marshall
nj.com
(TNS)
The Winslow Township Fire Department in Camden County once had 140 volunteer firefighters serving in nine stations, including in some firehouses dating back to the early 1900s.
But, as a nationwide volunteer firefighter shortage has hit local communities over the last decade, the South Jersey township’s firefighter ranks have dwindled to just 35.
Because of “critically low” staffing, Winslow will close three of its four remaining volunteer fire stations by the end of the year and consolidate the department into one headquarters, Fire Chief Marc Rigberg announced last month.
The Albion, Elm and Tansboro fire stations will close, leaving Station 25-3 on Cedar Brook Road as the department’s sole location, the chief said.
“At many times we are spread too thin with staffing and are unable to properly respond to calls for service with enough qualified firefighters and in a timely fashion,” Rigberg said in a statement. “It is desired that by forming one large station, our volunteer firefighters will have an easier and more effective ability to respond.”
The township has been sounding the alarm on the declining interest in becoming a volunteer firefighter for the last few years.
In 2022, Winslow Township’s Cedar Brook Volunteer Fire Company temporarily ceased operations due to low staff levels — despite call volume increasing.
Winslow tried several tactics to attract volunteers, including providing a $60 to $90 stipend for each six-hour volunteer period. The department also offered to cover training and equipment costs, provide a retirement investment plan and other incentives, the chief said.
However, budget constraints, along with overextended staff made it challenging to support multiple stations, officials said.
“We just cannot sustain the amount of stations and equipment at this point anymore,” Rigberg said.
Many volunteers juggle other responsibilities, including family, jobs, financial obligations and school. That makes it difficult for volunteers to fulfill the demands of training, incident response, equipment maintenance and other commitments, the chief said.
The declining number of volunteer firefighters has been an issue across New Jersey, not just in Camden County, Rigberg said.
The majority of firefighters in the U.S. are volunteers, according to the National Volunteer Fire Council, a non-profit membership association. In 2020, there were 676,900 volunteer firefighters in the United States, down over 9% from 2018, according to stats from the association.
In a much smaller South Jersey township — Upper Deerfield in Cumberland County — the municipality had to close one of its three volunteer fire companies last year due to increasing tax rates and the expenses needed to keep it open.
Shuttering the 94-year-old station was the most cost-effective solution, Upper Deerfield council members said when they voted on the plan. The decision should save the township about $100,000 annually, according to officials.
The Winslow Township Fire Department covers nearly 60 square miles, including the small borough of Chesilhurst, which shares fire services with the township.
With a shortage of volunteers and a growing population threatening response times, several measures have been implemented to ensure the department operates efficiently, officials said.
The department added mutual aid from neighboring towns to its dispatch team and recently integrated paid career firefighters into its stations.
Consolidating the three volunteer stations should not have an impact on response times, Rigberg said in his May 14 notice.
Still, the changes will continue to be evaluated to ensure the community’s needs are met, he added.
“We take the delivery of fire and rescue service extremely serious and our goal is to deliver that service in the best, safest and most effective means possible,” Rigberg said. “There is no doubt that these actions are hard and not what we desire.”
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Nyah Marshall may be reached at Nmarshall@njadvancemedia.com.
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