Time to volunteer?

SEELEY LAKE – "Giving back to my community has always been important to me," said Jaycee McGraves, Seeley Lake Fire Department volunteer Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) since January 2019. "The training is there and I love to learn and be able to take that training, pass it on and help others."

With a core group of volunteers, the Seeley Lake Fire Department continues to do their best responding to the medical and fire calls throughout the District. However Chief Dave Lane said Seeley Lake is feeling the same pressure as many other rural areas across the country where volunteers are aging out and it is harder and harder to recruit volunteers.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, 84% of the fire departments in Montana are completely volunteer and 9% are mostly volunteer. With the national decline in volunteerism, this leaves residents in rural communities waiting longer for emergency response, if there is a response at all.

According the National Fire Protection Association's U.S. Fire Department Profile 2017 released March 2019 there has been a downward trend of volunteer firefighters per 1,000 people protected since 1986. The high was 8.05 volunteers per 1,000 people protected in 1987 dropping to 5.8 volunteers per 1,000 people in 2017.

A local look

The Seeley Lake Fire Department is responsible for medical and fire suppression services to 80 square miles surrounding Seeley Lake. This includes just south of Salmon Lake, west to Placid Lake, east to Kozy Korner and north to the Summit on Montana Highway 83. The District estimates they cover approximately 400 square miles through mutual aid agreements and service requests.

The Department's call volume nearly doubled from 169 calls in 2005 peaking at 332 calls in 2017, the year of the Rice Ridge fire. While calls were down to 261 in 2018 they were back to 305 in 2019.

At the beginning of November 2017, the Seeley Lake Fire Department had 24 volunteers including 16 EMTs. In January 2017, there were eight members certified for interior attack on a burning structure.

Currently there are 19 volunteers on the Department's roster, with 13 considered active and three new recruits since the start of 2020. Of the 19 volunteers, the Department has four interior structure firefighters including Lane, 10 volunteers that are exterior structure firefighters and 13 EMTs. Several of the EMTs have endorsements but Lane is the only one with Advanced Life Support credentials.

Rita Rossi has been a volunteer with the Department since 2001 and an EMT since 2002.

"I volunteer because I want to help people and find satisfaction in knowing I'm out there for the community doing what I can to make a difference," said Rossi

"We need volunteers," said Lane. "We are covering the calls [never missing one since he has been chief] but people are going to get tired and need a break. If they take a break, it works the rest of the crew harder."

Declining volunteers

While there are many reasons for the decline in volunteers in Seeley Lake, Lane highlighted lack of housing and job availability as major barriers. This limits new people rotating through the community. When people have to commute for work or housing, they don't have time to volunteer.

Lane said the time commitment for the initial training is very high. It often takes recruits three to six months to get through their probation and entry task books to become members. EMT classes are 110 hours and firefighter classes are even more. While the Department pays for lodging, travel and meals while attending training, they do not pay wages and often this puts a strain on home responsibilities.

Once recruits complete their probation period and become members they are required to attend a membership meeting, EMS training and fire training each month for two-three hours each. Volunteers are also encouraged to come in on their own time and respond to calls as often as they can.

"Volunteering on the fire department take a lot of commitment. It takes hours of training, being up all hours of the night sometimes and taking care of the sick and injured," said Rossi. "It takes courage, strength, structure and discipline."

"We all encourage each other to stay sharp and come in on their own time," said Shelley McGraves who joined the Department in March 2018 as an exterior firefighter and driver. She was named the Department Volunteer of the Year in 2019. "We want to get numbers up so there isn't that burn out."

Lane also added discouraging remarks on social media are not helping with recruitment.

"I don't have the trained staff to do all the things we need to do," said Lane. "We all are doing our best and the trainings are going to continue."

Get involved

Lane said there is a standardized application, interview, background check and drug test. During the interview process the applicant sits with the chief and other volunteers who are part of the interview panel. Everyone gets the same list of programmed questions that help the interview panel assess a person's life experience and personality whether they have any prior fire and/or EMS experience.

"Our process is very fair. During the interview, we explain this is our process – we are going to interview you, we are going to background check and then we're going to do drug test. If you have a problem with any of that, let's talk about it now or in private," said Lane. "I have not turned down anybody who has gone through the complete process since I've been here."

Lane said they have a place for everyone in the department. While they do background checks and drug testing, neither is not an automatic disqualification. He believes volunteers can do what they want on their own time within the sideboards of the Code of Conduct. However if there is an incident and a volunteer is impaired, the department will not support them.

"We just want people to talk to us," said Lane.

Current incentives for Seeley Lake volunteers include:

• Accident and sickness insurance at no cost to member.

• Stipends for paid call/on call response and transports at night and during the weekends.

• Training – including EMT and fire classes for active members.

• Retirement benefit after the five year vesting period.

• No out of pocket cost for SLRFD ambulance services

• Potential reinstatement of gym membership at no cost to member

• Potential Life Flight subscription membership at no cost to member

• Uniforms provided.

While the incentives are great, Rossi and the McGraves agree, the reason they volunteer is to help people.

"Volunteering is rewarding. It's the many people of the community who come together whether in this capacity or just helping out a neighbor that makes a great community," said Rossi. "Without volunteers some people would be helpless in a time of need. Volunteering brings many minds together to come up with better ideas to meet a common goal."

Shelley added she gets to know the members, learn the area, work with great people who have the heart to volunteer, receive free training and help new volunteers learn.

"That is what I feel like the world needs to come back to – help each other out, be neighborly, be friendly and be willing to help each other," said Shelley. "I just want to see our community thrive. If I can help that's fantastic."

Future goals

For Lane one of the biggest reasons to maintain a volunteer department is the financial impact to the community should it be paid. Lane said he would love to have two EMTs 24 hours a day, seven days a week to cover medical calls. This would require the Department to hire six EMTs.

In Great Falls, EMTs are currently being hired for $28,700 per year and paramedics start at $37,200 per year. Missoula is slightly lower. Based on these rates and a 30 percent increase for benefits, it would cost Seeley Lake around $300,000 a year to hire six full time paramedics for 24 hour, seven day a week coverage, something that is not in the budget.

One of Lane's long-term goals is to hire three paramedics.  This would provide the community with 24-hour Advanced Life Support service. He is taking steps towards this by increasing the revenue for the Department.

Lane said one way to increase funding would be to make EMS an essential service in Montana, one of the few states where it is not. That would open up tax money for salaries and benefits. Without that, Lane said there is not enough tax revenue in town to pay those salaries.

Lane would also like to see the Montana legislature create a tax abatement for property taxes like in Pennsylvania. Lane has also seen other incentives including utility assistance for volunteers that is granted at the local level when volunteers meet the general requirements. This would add one more incentive to volunteering.

"The chief is really willing to help you, if you have any questions or if you want extra training, he is willing to go over it with you," said Jaycee. "Just call and get your questions answered."