‘There is Something for Everyone’

Local Fire Departments Call for Help as Recruitment Lags

By JAQUELYN CARLO
SUNY Institute for Local News
OTSEGO COUNTY

Volunteer fire departments across Otsego County are continuing to face recruitment and retention challenges, even as they ramp up community outreach through statewide campaigns like RecruitNY.

Departments in Milford, Mount Vision and Unadilla participated in this year’s RecruitNY weekend, a coordinated effort on April 18-19 designed to open firehouse doors and encourage residents to consider volunteering.

While the events succeeded in raising awareness, they produced few—if any—new applicants, underscoring a persistent struggle for rural emergency services.

“We have found that our events that engage the community can help,” said Unadilla Fire Department Chief Tyler Post. “They don’t always produce applicants. However, they do show the community we are out there working on adding new members to our rolls.”

In Unadilla, the campaign generated conversation and coordination but no immediate recruits.

“Most recently our RecruitNY event produced no applicants,” Post said. “It did give us an opportunity to work with our partners in law enforcement and discuss how we can continue to support each other.”

That outcome reflects a broader trend felt across Otsego County, where smaller populations, demanding training requirements and rising costs continue to strain volunteer departments.

At the Milford Fire Department and Emergency Squad, recruitment events saw modest participation, with only a small number of attendees converting into volunteers.

“I consider them successful because each time we have received at least one application to join our department,” said firefighter and department Secretary Devin Kiser. “The number of attendees are low, so I would say that in terms of [turnout] it could be considered unsuccessful.”

Over the two recruitment days in mid-April, Milford brought in three new volunteers—a gain, but one that highlights how difficult it is to build and sustain membership.

Mount Vision Fire Department fared worse this year in terms of turnout.

“We were unsuccessful drawing anyone to our recent open house event,” said Chief Joseph A. Malecki. “However, it was a good day for our members.”

Despite the lack of public attendance, Malecki said the event still provided value internally.

“Our volunteer members were able to get together to spend the day together,” he said. “Our volunteers were able to give our apparatus, equipment and station some Saturday afternoon TLC.”

While recruitment events have produced limited results, the need for volunteers remains urgent—particularly during daytime hours when many members are working their full-time jobs.

“Our staffing levels fluctuate based on availability of our volunteers,” Malecki said, “and that availability fluctuates based on day and time of day.”

Ideally, a fire engine responds with a crew of at least four. But in smaller communities, that level of staffing is not always guaranteed.

“In a perfect world, we’d love to be able to recruit at least four more people that are available during the weekday, during the day,” Malecki explained, noting that weekday coverage is often the most challenging. “We could use any help we could get, day or night and any day.”

He then referenced the proverb, “Many hands make light work.”

Kiser echoed that unpredictability in Milford.

“We always need more volunteers,” he said. “How many individuals we have showing up for calls is very dependent on the time of day. Most of our volunteers work full time during the day and cannot make calls within that time frame.”

Even in departments that have added members in recent years, gaps remain.

“In the past three years we have added 23 members to our roster,” Post said of Unadilla. “This brings our total members to 53.”

However, more members does not necessarily translate into more available responders.

“Those 23 people and the other 30 members no longer have the same amount of time to commit as members in the past,” Post revealed.

Beyond recruitment, volunteer fire departments across the region are also grappling with financial pressures and evolving standards in training and equipment.

“Our biggest challenge is meeting the strict standards and acquiring the funds to support the standards,” Post said. “Training and safety are important—we are fully committed to being in compliance. These new standards add cost and those costs are hard to fund.”

Fundraisers help to bridge the gap, but they come with trade-offs.

“We work a lot of fundraisers,” Post said about the Village of Unadilla. “These are great to help with our budget gaps, but they are additional time spent away from our other responsibilities.”

Kiser said Milford faces similar financial hurdles.

“Most departments are having challenges with the rising costs of utilities and fire equipment prices,” he said. “Our department has received many grants for new equipment—which we are extremely grateful for, as we would not be able to complete necessary upgrades and replacements to some of our equipment without it.”

In Mount Vision, infrastructure concerns add another layer of difficulty.

“Other challenges our small department faces include: aging apparatus and equipment without appropriate funding to replace; an aging firehouse without appropriate funding to replace; retention of volunteers due to growing training requirements; and a decrease in general societal support for first responders,” Chief Malecki said.

The challenges facing Otsego County’s volunteer fire departments are particularly acute in rural areas, where smaller populations limit the pool of potential volunteers and longer distances can increase response times.

Unlike urban or paid departments, volunteer agencies rely almost entirely on community participation—meaning every new recruit can make a significant difference.

Departments must also compete with modern work schedules, family commitments and longer commutes, all of which reduce the time residents can dedicate to volunteering.

“Capacity is a tough one to quantify,” Post said. “I would say we need funding to fill our gap.”

Despite the challenges, local fire officials emphasize that volunteering is not limited to fighting fires and remains accessible to people of all backgrounds and skill levels.

“The volunteer fire service needs all types of people because there are so many different types of work to be done,” Milford’s Kiser said. “A lot of people believe that by putting in an application you want to run into a burning building—that’s not true.”

Kiser detailed the wide range of non-firefighting roles that support emergency response.

“There are so many different roles. Administration tasks, fundraising, traffic control, scene security, pump operators, scene support, and so many more,” he said. “I can’t go into the burning building without someone completing all of those tasks. They are all important. There is something for everyone.”

Malecki delivered a similar message.

“You need no prior experience to volunteer for your local fire department and there is seriously a job for everyone,” he said. “We provide all training for the job that you’d be fulfilling.”

Roles can include “fundraising, station maintenance, apparatus maintenance, recordkeeping, social media interaction, fire pump operation, traffic control, Emergency Medical Services, and so many more opportunities,” Malecki said.

For those who do join, fire departments offer more than just a chance to help others—they provide a sense of purpose and community.

“The volunteer fire service can be a very rewarding use of your time,” Malecki said. “Not only are you serving your neighbors and community, but you are truly joining a ‘brotherhood.’”

He said many volunteers discover unexpected personal benefits.

“Most of our volunteers become close lifelong friends,” Malecki said. “Most of our volunteers either join for the camaraderie or join to serve their community. But all seemingly find a piece of their life that they may or may not have known they were missing.”

As departments across Otsego County continue their recruitment efforts, they hope more residents will step forward—not just during organized campaigns like RecruitNY, but year-round.

“The calls for help come day or night, every day,” Malecki said.

And for many departments, the message remains simple: The door is open, and help is needed.

This story was created by student reporters through the OnNY Community Media Lab, a program of SUNY Oneonta and the SUNY Institute for Local News.