EMS chief Bryan Boehle with an ambulance outside the Pennington Road Fire Company and First Aid Unit building. (Photo by Albert Rende.)
Volunteers of the Penninton Road Fire Company and First Aid Unit ready for a call for service. Pictured are Jeff Ludwig, Greg Palotas, EMS Deputy Chief Jenna Bullock, and EMS chief Bryan Boehle. (Photo by Albert Rende.)
By Lacey Ross
Somewhere in Ewing an alarm goes off. A dispatch center radios for emergency services.
There is no immediate response.
The dispatcher pages again.
This is called a re-tone: when a dispatch has to page its firefighters and emergency units over and over again because no one is available to respond.
Re-tones are a frequent occurrence these days in Ewing Township, according to volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician (EMT) Jeff Ludwig. Ludwig, who has been a volunteer at Pennington Road Fire Company for more than three years and is deputy chief of the first aid squad, said a dwindling number of volunteers has left the township’s emergency fire and EMT services in a “dire” situation.
“I’ve seen that happen before where we continue to be paged and no one can respond,” he said. “They’ll page us up to seven times, worst case scenario, and it’s tough to get people to respond because of the odd hours and the shortage of people.”
When that happens the call then goes to one or more of the neighboring fire companies until a truck is able to respond, but according to Ludwig, response times are still affected, and even a matter of a few minutes can make a difference during a real emergency.
“The services that we could provide are delayed,” he said. “The worst examples are if circumstances could change during that time. A fire could spread to more precarious places, for example. There’s a lot of implications and complications with us not being able to get the manpower.”
There are three fire companies that service different sections of Ewing Township: The Pennington Road Fire Company covers the Route 31 corridor up to Charles Ewing Boulevard, as well as the area behind Ewing High School for fires and also provides a First Aid Unit that covers the entire township; The Prospect Heights Fire Company covers Federal City Road down to Spruce Street, Olden Avenue and the city line, as well as the area across from Ewing High School and the Department of Transportation; and The West Trenton Fire Company covers the area surrounding Mercer County Airport.
While all three companies can respond to an emergency call in any section of the township if needed, firefighters from each echo the need for more volunteers in order for the community to maintain this free service.
The township currently spends about $500,000 for the salaries of nine career firefighters who respond to emergencies on weekdays, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Additional hours, as well as weekends, are covered entirely by volunteers, but that could soon change, according to Business Administrator Jim McManimon.
“We have a great group of men and women [volunteers], but just not as many as we need,” he said. “We need more, or we have to start hiring other people.”
The township provides trucks and fire apparatus for each of the volunteer fire companies and also gives each firehouse $190,000 to support its yearly operations, McManimon added.
Residents could see a future increase in property taxes if the township needs to go in that direction and can’t find another way to generate revenues. The money would pay for more full-time employees’ salaries and benefits, as well as their training, said McManimon, who also volunteers as a member of the West Trenton Fire Company’s fire police.
“The career firefighters are there in support of our volunteers,” he said. “As long as the township can maintain its group of volunteer firefighters, we can maintain our day shift the way it is.”
In a situation where too few volunteers are available during evening hours or over the weekend, the career firefighters usually respond to emergency calls, but when that happens, the township has a has to pay them for their additional time, McManimon said.
Maintaining the volunteer units allows Ewing residents, who never know when they will need to use these services, to save money, according to Ludwig.
“There are people out there who are willing to commit their time at no cost, but it’s the hassle of finding those people and reaching out to them,” he said. “The more hands we have the faster things will get done.”
The Pennington Road Fire Company currently has about 25 active volunteer firefighters, according to its chief, Steve Luck, many of whom are dual licensed as EMTs. Last year, the company responded to 486 calls, but could use more help.
“Any of the three fire companies are always looking for help of almost any kind,” said Luck, who has been a volunteer in Ewing for 25 years. “Basically we can find a job for anyone who wants to offer any special talent or help. Remember that lessening the burden on the responding members allows them be better trained and prepared to answer calls for help.”
The shortage of volunteers could stem from a number of economic issues, including the need for men and women to work more than one job, or the fact that in many families both spouses have to work full-time jobs to support themselves and their children, McManimon said.
“Many people used to have only one job,” he said, adding that volunteer firefighters often can’t leave their jobs to respond to a call. “People can’t afford to work just one job anymore. If you are married, you have a two-income family or if you have young children, one spouse is out working a job.”
The Prospect Heights Fire Company responded to about 600 calls in 2013, according to Doug Brower, president and deputy chief, who has been with the company for 33 years.
“We get more fire calls every year and we need more manpower and more volunteers to help spread out that load,” he said. “Some people are working two jobs and it makes it more difficult for them to respond.”
While all three companies get a lot of support from local businesses and residents, Brower said it is still a struggle to get the word out to the community about the value of more volunteers.
“There are a lot of people in Ewing who don’t know it’s a volunteer fire company,” he said. “We respond and they are very thankful for our services and then they find out we are volunteers and they’re surprised.”
For Brower, the benefits of volunteering go beyond the reward that comes from saving lives and homes. To him, the firehouse is like a second home and his fellow volunteers are his second family.
“It’s a family,” he said. “You have fun with your family. You get frustrated with your family. Whatever you have at home, you have at your firehouse. You have all types of emotions and feelings, but when it comes down to it and that bell goes off, it’s teamwork and you get the job done.”
The West Trenton Fire Company has between 40 and 50 volunteers in total, but only some are actual firefighters. Others work behind the scenes, helping out on the business end of things, planning fundraisers, directing traffic during emergencies or even helping with cleanup after a storm. According to Ralf Brandmaier, chief of the West Trenton Fire Company, all kinds of volunteers are needed at all three companies.
“Any kind of help would be accepted and appreciated, whether you want to be a firefighter or do something inside,” he said. “If we have someone who is an accountant, he can do our accounting for the firehouse so that we don’t have to pay somebody to do our accounting. If we get an electrician, we can use them to do our electrical work. If we get a mechanic then that’s someone who can help with maintenance of the trucks.”
Each company pays for and provides full training for its volunteers, said Brandmaier, who has been a volunteer since 1977. The West Trenton Fire Company also provides scuba training since it has volunteer rescue divers for emergency situations that require them.
Many use their training for more than just volunteer work because the process provides life skills that can be used any number of ways, Brandmaier said.
“The training that you get is great,” he said, adding that many volunteers have gone on to get full-time firefighting positions in New York City or other jobs related to the field. “The knowledge that you get as a firefighter, you can take that anywhere. There are opportunities for advancement.”
Ludwig, who is 22-years-old, did not originally plan on being a firefighter, but now hopes to turn his training and volunteer experience into a career, possibly working with Homeland Security or in the field of emergency management.
“When I joined the fire department, it became that I eat, sleep and hang out there all the time, but the knowledge I’ve gained is exponential,” he said. “It continues to grow every day.”
Since there are so many different capacities of volunteers needed, there are few requirements. Firefighters need to be over the age of 18, but those wishing to begin training earlier can volunteer as junior firefighters.
Anyone interested in more information about volunteering can e-mail questions to ewingvolfire@gmail.com. The firehouses also welcome visitors, said Brandmaier, who encourages community members to stop by if they think they can help.
“Help is needed,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to stop in and ask questions, take a walk around the firehouse. Come out and ask questions and see if that’s what you’d like to do.
Learn more about all three companies and volunteer opportunities by visiting their web sites: penningtonroad.org, stvfc.org and phvfc.org.
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