Whitemarsh Township fire companies Barren Hill and Spring Mill Fire Companies are like thousands of volunteer fire companies nationwide who are in desperate need of volunteers.

In just Montgomery County alone, there are 92 volunteer fire companies who rely on volunteers to keep these integral emergency response services active.

We recently spoke with members of Barren Hill and Spring Mill Fire Companies including Rob Walls, Lieutenant at Spring Mill and Rescue Diver on one of Montgomery County’s two Dive Teams, Wayne Masters, Chief at Spring Mill, and Renard Rose, President & Deputy Chief at Barren Hill about their experience and insight into being volunteer firefighters.

Q: How did you get involved? Is this your day job?

(Rob) I started off as a member of the dive team in 2013. I saw advertisements for volunteers needed and I inquired. I then became a member and started training with the dive team. I am one of few that are both firefighters and dive team members. The majority of members are volunteers like me who have other day jobs or are retired.

Q: Who volunteers to be a firefighter?
(Wayne) We get members that come from all different walks of life. We’ve got plumbers, blue-collar individuals, painters, contractors, and we also have business people, former law enforcement, former members of the Navy, people that run their own auto body shop, and people that work for other townships. Some are retired, laid off of work temporarily— it’s kind of the beauty that we’re all family under one roof yet we all come from very different walks of life.

Q: What happens when there is a fire?

(Wayne) Everyone gets alerts for any emergency that takes place. It’s their discretion if they can make it out and join us or not. When there is an active building fire or emergency of some sort, we can’t guarantee that we’re going to get 30-40 people out since it’s on a volunteer basis. Those who choose to respond go to the station first, use our trucks, apparatuses, or whatever is needed for the emergency.

Q: Is there someone on standby at the station 24/7?

(Wayne) We do not have crews who sleep at the firehouse, our members respond from their homes when we are dispatched. We are fortunate enough that our members are committed to keeping our community safe. Because all of these members are volunteers, they make the choice to get out of their warm bed to respond to these calls.

What worries me is, what happens if no one responds to an incident! This almost never happens, but we are relying on volunteers, who are not required to respond. This is why we are always looking for more volunteers, to make sure that this doesn’t happen. We have plans in place if a unit does not respond within a certain timeframe. However, elongated response times will occur.

Q: What is the need for volunteer firefighters?

(Renard) We’re in need of all types of volunteers, from firefighting applications to administrative members. We are currently in need of a secretary and a treasurer as well!

Q: What do you personally get out of volunteering?

(Renard Rose) I volunteer because I take pride in helping my community.

Q: What can someone who is interested in volunteering expect to have the opportunity to do?

There are a number of opportunities for someone that wants to volunteer depending on what they want to do. If they want to be a firefighter they could have the opportunity to fight fires. They can perform different types of rescues like vehicle rescues, technical rescues, and industrial rescues.

Additionally, there are opportunities to deal with hazardous material incidents, some volunteers simply direct traffic while an incident is occurring. We also have a need for administrative staffers to keep the fire company running.

There is an active need for volunteer firefighters and support staff not only in Whitemarsh Township, but across the nation.

Individuals who are interested in volunteer firefighters opportunities in Whitemarsh Township can visit here for more information.