Local News

Texas Needs Volunteer Firefighters

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Tony Maples Photography

 

Chisholm Trail Fire Department Chief Mark Padier has tackled grass fires, cut people out of cars, and fought structure fires by himself while waiting for backup many times. Being alone as a first responder is a reality that Texas firefighters know all too well since there’s currently a shortage of volunteers.

Padier told TWC News, “There are a lot of guys who have been by theirselves [sic]. A lot of time everybody else is at work or vacation, or whatever. You know, you’re just, you’re it.”

Volunteering as a firefighter is a huge commitment to one’s community, and it is certainly not a decision to take lightly. Eighty percent of Texas firefighters are volunteers, but people making the pledge to volunteer has dropped 10-15 percent in the past decade across the United States.

If more people don’t join as volunteers soon, funding will need to be pulled from elsewhere to pay firefighters. State Firefighters’ and Fire Marshals’ Association of Texas Executive Director Chris Barron says, “Something else is going to suffer, whether it’s equipment, or apparatus, or new programs that fire departments couldn’t institute because they’re going to have to pay labor costs.”

Hopefully, more people will find their calling as a Texas firefighter soon.