Amogerone Volunteer Fire Company
Greenwich, Connecticut
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It's hard to get good volunteer firefighters in Greenwich. Here's why:
n
A minimum age requirement of 18 for new
firefighters (boys age 16 and older were previously encouraged to join the
volunteer fire service and to remain as active members following graduation from
high school, and they frequently did not leave town and remained active
firefighters) n A formal training requirement of a minimum of 140 hours for entry-level personnel, imposing a substantial impediment to recruitment of increasingly busy and preoccupied town residents n The increasing, and very high (approximately 90%), rate of out-of-town college attendance by graduates of local high schools[1] n A substantial decline after 1980 in the proportion of town residents engaged in blue-collar employment, a traditional source from which prospective volunteer firefighters have been drawn (and, conversely, homeowners who can afford $1+ million homes are frequently unlikely to want to serve as volunteer firefighers) n The high median age of residents of the town (40.2 vs. national norm of 35.3[2]) n Increased societal mobility, as a result of which the sons and grandsons of firefighters — from among whom substantial numbers of firefighters have previously been drawn — no longer reside in town and/or have no interest in the fire service n Reduced public perception of the need for volunteer firefighters, occasioned by both evolving culture and the town taxpayers’ willingness and ability to fulfill core firefighting requirements using career personnel. That's why we need you! Sign up today.
[1]Only 8.5%, or fewer than 5,000 people, of the town’s total nominal population is between the ages of 18 and 30, considered historically the “prime” ages for commencement of volunteer firefighting. The majority of these nominal residents are believed to be college students not physically present in town throughout the year. [2]U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000. |
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