Willow Grove Volunteer Fire Company Looks to New Members to Carry On its Proud Tradition

The Willow Grove Volunteer Fire Company (WGVFC) has a proud 104-year history of serving the residents of Upper Moreland and surrounding communities.  

Now, with the help of a $101,000 grant, that tradition has a chance to continue for the next century.

According to Rich Drennen, a WGVFC member who worked on the grant, the FEMA “Safer Grant” is explicitly given to firefighters for recruitment and retention of staff.

The grant proposal, which has a term of four years, includes the broadcast of two 30-second commercial videos, which are expected to express the need for new recruits and highlight the camaraderie among members and their work environment.

According to Drennen, a production company should be chosen to start these commercials by Aug. 8. Drennen said that Cheltenham Fire Company has also procured this grant and its commercials can be seen now.

Drennen added that the use of social media sites, including the WGVFC Twitter and Facebook pages, will be revamped, as well as the current company website www.tiller10.com.

“We realized we needed to add to the membership and keep the membership up,” Drennen, a four-year member, said.

According to lieutenant Tom Winterberg, who has been with the company for over 15 years, the number of volunteers received this year averaged 8 to 10.

“That was a real high number for us this year,” Winterberg said. “We usually get 2 to 3 a year.”

The company’s chief, , offered several reasons for the recent decline in recruitment.

Perlmutter said that economics has played a large role in the decline of new recruits. He emphasized that being a member of the company is a volunteer position, with primary on-duty hours taking place at night and on the weekends.

According to Perlmutter, there are anywhere from 35 to 50 active volunteer members serving the Willow Grove area.

He understands that in the aftermath of the recent economic downturn, it would be hard for some families to volunteer time and effort to become a firefighter when they have trouble keeping two jobs just to support their families.

Perlmutter also attributes the decline in part to the rigorous training firefighters must first undergo before walking into a blazing building.

“We demand a lot of mandatory training,” Perlmutter said. “What we do is very serious.”

According Winterberg, initial training puts recruits on a six-month probationary period, where they have to study a thick document that familiarizes the recruits on all firefighter equipment, gear and procedures.

This training is simultaneously followed up by practicing such procedures at the A station, located near Davisville and York roads.

The WGVFC has two stations on Davisville Road.

Furthermore, the recruits undergo a 160-hour, three-week intensive training program at the county level, in which they attend classes over the weekends and one night a week.

Winterberg said that the training doesn’t cost a recruit anything, as it is either paid or taught in-house through the company.

Depending on how far along recruits are with their training, new recruits may accompany company active firefighters on calls and assist them at the scene. Such recruits are designated with yellow hats, while interior firefighters (active firefighters entering a burning building) are designated with black hats.

“It’s professional-grade, without getting paid,” Winterberg said.

It is estimated that 80 percent of new recruits make it through their full year of training to earn the black hat.

“I just loved doing it,” Dave McCann, a 13-year WGVFC firefighter, said. “It’s a lot of training to get in, but you’re out doing things for the community. It’s very rewarding in that way.”

“When I first got here, it was a whole new world for me,” Station A Captain Brandon Lee said.

Lee, a member for 13 years, said he joined to be a part of something that’s positive, and was surprised to find a different angle to that commitment.

“I consider this my second family,” Lee said, explaining that the positive nature of being a firefighter wasn’t only saving property and lives, but also being close to like-minded people.

“The highlight of the day is when the pager goes off, and I know who’s going to be there,” Lee said.

Lee, who joined as a junior recruit, recalled how more senior firefighters, like Chief Perlmutter, made the effort to make him a full-fledged firefighter.

Perlmutter said that new recruits are often young, sometimes not even out of high school.

“We need people of all ages, we’re not exclusionary in any way,” Perlmutter said.

He explained that new members from 16 to 18 are referred to as junior members, and must first get their parents permission. He added that school is made a number one priority, and should grades slip, the junior member is asked to take a leave of absence to bring up grades.

Brian Drennen, whose father is Rich Drennen, became a member of the WGVFC at 16. He credits his uncle, Robert Drennen, a former Philadelphia frefighter and Upper Moreland’s current fire marshal, for becoming a member.  

And, like Lee, Brian Drennen, who is now 20, credits the more senior members for encouraging him to become a firefighter.

“This place here really helped,” he said. “They never gave up on me.”

Perlmutter pointed back to Rich Drennen, whom he described as an “atypical new member,” considering Rich Drennen’s age and position.

Aside from being a father of an adult son, Rich Drennen isn’t a firefighter, but rather the company’s official photographer.

“Nontraditional volunteers are important,” Perlmutter said.

With that, the WGVFC is also looking to add members to its auxiliary unit, in which WGVFC members have special duties aside from fighting fires, which include coordinating in-house business and recreation, as well as reaching out to the public to host various fire-safety events.

For more information, visit the WGVFC website at www.tiller10.com.