Sacramento Fire Department, Why No Volunteers?

Like many jurisdictions the City of Sacramento is having budget problems. Public safety is under pressure. The City is already browning out fire stations (scheduled temporary closures) and threatening to layoff Firefighters. The Firefighter’s Union is negotiating with the city to avoid the layoffs.

No one wants the reduction in public safety that the closure of stations and layoff of firefighters represents. It is a fearful thought that the Fire Department might not be able to respond quickly enough to an emergency if the City goes through with layoffs.

It certainly begs the question; has the City considered the use of volunteer fire fighters? In the traditional sense of a citizen with a pager who shows up at a fire when paged, no, but there is a reserve program.

The Reserve traces its history back to 1953 when it began as the Sacramento Fire Auxiliary for Civil Defense. Headquartered today at Station 70 (1910 Arica Way), the 50-member Reserve unit operates a class A structure pumper, a heavy rescue/overhaul squad vehicle, and a commissary unit. The Reserve is dispatched to multiple alarm fires, Level 3 Haz-Mat incidents and other emergencies whenever additional resources are required. The Reserve provides supplemental staffing, food, drinks, and EMS standby at the scene of emergencies, They also have a direct role in decontamination at Hazardous Materials incidents. -source Sac Fire Website

So why not volunteers in the traditional sense? If Firefighters are laid-off and Fire Stations are browned out, maybe citizen firefighters could operate the equipment? Capt. Jim Doucette, 29 year veteran and Public Information Officer for the Sacramento Fire Department had this to say about volunteers:

The department is not against volunteers in principle but the Fire Service has changed so much over the years and there are so many other jobs Firefighters do other than fighting fires,  the 18 weeks of training and continuing education required, it isn’t practical for volunteers. Plus the sheer number of calls they run, he believes it would be hard to find people who would respond on a 24/7 basis. There is a volunteer fire house in the City, old Station 9 on Florin-Perkins Road operated by reserve Firefighters that are not paid. They do not respond to calls on their own, they supplement greater alarm fires.

Chris Harvey, the Sacramento Fire Fighter’s Union PIO had this to say:

The majority of Firefighters in the US are volunteers, mostly rural, urban areas have reserves. The Union is not against adding more Reserve Firefighters, anyone can sign up to be a Reserve. They don’t reach the level of training and certifications that full time permanent Firefighters must have for haz mat, swift water rescue, confined space rescue, high rise buildings, paramedic etc. Plus the background investigations for past criminal behavior and credit problems disqualify many candidates. It isn’t the average guy off the street. We’re not against more reserves and anyone can sign up.

They both expressed that Reserves are one thing but the level of training required to be a Firefighter in a high call volume urban department like Sacramento is not practical for volunteers. But volunteers can and do fight fires in many areas in the country. They respond when called, operate the equipment and fight the fires. Why shouldn’t the City of Sacramento increase its reliance on this proven resource?

Here are some interesting statistics concerning the use of volunteer fire fighters in the US taken from the National Volunteer Fire Council Website;

• Nearly 8 of every 10 firefighters is a volunteer
• Volunteers, if paid, would cost taxpayers an estimated $37 billion per year
• 75% of the 31,000 fire departments are all volunteer
• 807,900 volunteer firefighters in the U.S.
• Serve urban, suburban, rural areas

Figures taken from NFPA US Fire Dept. Profile Through1991, NASF Rural Fire Protection in America, 1993

Sacramento already uses Reserve Firefighters, why not expand the program to neighborhood Fire Stations with localized volunteers who can be called out to help? Increased use of volunteers in Sacramento could mitigate browned out fire stations and help bridge the budget gap until the economy improves and the City can afford adequate staffing levels. It would be worth the City’s time to find out how many citizens would be willing to sign up on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis.

That being said Firefighters are heros that dedicate themselves to the protection of our lives and property. Not one paid firefighter should lose their job. But the unfortunate reality of the situation we find ourselves in calls out for a creative solution.