A few decades ago, I served as a volunteer fireman. I proudly displayed the “Cannon Beach Fire Department” frame around my car’s license plate. We met at the station on Tuesday evenings for training, followed by beer.
For some of us, training sometimes included practice maneuvering the fire truck in reverse back inside the station. One of the volunteers, whose day job was driving a log truck, did it with his eyes closed, (Not literally.) We were paid $2.00 per meeting and $2.00 per fire call; even way back then not enough to compromise our volunteer status.
Once, I volunteered to assist EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) training by being a literal pincushion, for their practicing giving injections and taking blood samples. A major perquisite was the annual American Legion crab feed. Members of the volunteer department ate – and drank – for free.
Not all volunteer fire departments are thriving. In Sonoma County, where I spent the past twenty-plus years before moving back north, eleven volunteer departments are struggling with budgets and lack of volunteers and political bickering. A year ago the county had fourteen volunteer contingents. Response times have increased in rural area. Departments who viewed each other as competitors are now consolidating or putting up a united front for funding and administrative services.
Sonoma County is a microcosm of national trends. An aging population combined with those in the workforce commuting to urban areas and able to respond to emergencies in their rural communities only at night or on weekends.
