$686K Coming To Fund Montco Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — The third most populous county in Pennsylvania is the recipient of a $686,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help fund a four-year recruitment effort designed to build back volunteer firefighting numbers countywide.

The Montgomery County Fire Chief's Association said it plans to use the federal dollars for a four-year recruitment campaign to hopefully bring on new volunteers, and retrain existing ones, during a time when volunteer firefighting numbers have dwindled.

The grant money means the campaign can be carried out with no costs to taxpayers.

"The purpose of this grant is to help us increase and retain the number of trained firefighters in our communities," Limerick Fire Department Deputy Chief Glen Russell said in a statement. "We are so grateful to be a recipient."

The comprehensive, multi-phase volunteer recruitment outreach effort will target more than 80 volunteer fire companies across Montgomery County, and the program will include the use of a website, targeted residential mailings and brochures, hands-on efforts at community events, digital advertising, social media management and public relations efforts, according to the Fire Chief's Association.

The group said it was pleased to not have to dip into taxpayer money for the recruitment program and thanked FEMA for its support through the Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) grant.

"We hope with this campaign that the community will see we are ordinary people looking to give back to their community," Montgomery County Fire Chief's Association President George Wilmot said in a statement. "We come from all different walks of life."

The organization's tagline for the four-year recruitment campaign is, "Ordinary People. Trained for the Extraordinary," highlighting the fact that everyday citizens are able to join the ranks of volunteer fire departments across the county and elsewhere.

A news conference to announce the grant funding and the launch of the recruitment campaign was held Monday afternoon at the Abington Township Fire Department's Public Training Facility.

The Fire Chief's Association said that potential volunteer firefighters need to be aware that prior emergency response experience is not necessary when joining a volunteer company, and that organizations now offer state-of-the-art training and great free of cost to members who join up.

"Not only are we looking for firefighters, but we need administrative volunteers, EMTs, fire police, and junior firefighters," association President Wilmot stated.

Montgomery County is home to a large number of volunteer fire companies.

Pennsylvania itself has a strong history with the volunteer firefighting service; the very first volunteer department in the nation was said to have been founded by Ben Franklin in the City of Philadelphia.

To learn more about the recruitment program in Montgomery County, check out this website containing additional information.