The numbers go to the root of a growing challenge facing the Keystone State, where fire companies are overwhelmingly all-volunteer: getting and keeping members.

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The Sellersville Volunteer Fire Department's recruitment efforts received a six-figure shot in the arm Monday when it was presented a $660,052 federal grant that specifically earmarks about $570,000 to fund initiatives geared at recruiting and retaining firefighters.

“Everybody has to fight for members,” said Sellersville Fire Chief Harry McElhare Jr. “This is going to help us.”

Sellersville plans to use the grant money to:

Cover the cost of physicals and immunizations for new members.
Provide insurance for firefighters killed or dismembered in the line of the duty.
Expand a cadet training and mentorship program.
Pay for required training for new members.
Hand out annual benefits over the next four years of $500 to $1,000 to top-performing firefighters.
Give non-monetary length of service awards — such as plaques — to long-serving members.

The $91,000 or so not used for recruitment and retention will pay for two new thermal imaging cameras that detect heat sources and 37 sets of gear and clothing for firefighters.

The gear sets include coats, pants, boots and helmets. They'll replace 25-year-old outfits that have worn material and, in some cases, do not meet new standards.

A 2005 grant allowed the department to get 32 such new fire suits, meaning essentially all active 70 members have up-to-date gear sets, McElhare said.

Sellersville already has one thermal imaging camera, but the addition of two more will allow the department to keep one on each engine and ladder truck, the main equipment that responds to emergencies.

In fires, the camera can detect heat or flames behind walls without having to open those walls. It can also indicate if someone is trapped inside a building.

Without the grant, Sellersville, which operates on about a $150,000 annual budget, would not be able to buy the new equipment in one go or offer the recruitment incentives, officials said.

The challenge of mustering up volunteers is by no means an issue specific to Sellersville, area firefighters said.

Riegelsville Chief Todd Myers said people are having a harder time locating the hours for important volunteer activities like firefighting because of busier work and family schedules.

“You have a husband and wife usually both working full-time jobs. The kids are involved in various sports. People have trouble finding the time,” Myers said.

The unpaid volunteers who join up in Riegelsville are required by the department to complete a 120-hour training course in their first year. They've got to be ready to devote time not only to emergency calls, but fundraising, maintaining equipment and ongoing training. The hours add up.

While busier schedules play a key role, Plumsteadville fire Chief Brian DuBree thinks part of the problem is a diminishing commitment to volunteerism.

“Fifteen or 20 years ago people were more dedicated to the community,” DuBree said. “Now for a lot of people here this is just a place to live.”

Pennsylvania has 23 paid fire departments and 71 departments with paid and volunteer firefighters. The other 2,289 departments are stocked by volunteers.

Sellersville's grant money comes from a U.S. Fire Administration's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, which is run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Pennsylvania has received 472 Assistance to Firefighters grants totaling $42,593,451, according to Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Specter. That's more than any other state.

Specter and Congressman Patrick Murphy presented the fire department with the check Monday at a firehouse ceremony also attended by Upper Bucks state Rep. Paul Clymer and Bucks County Commissioner Jim Cawley. All praised the work of volunteer firefighters.

Said Specter, “Firefighters are number one in the line of homeland defense and this funding will enable our firefighters to more effectively and efficiently tackle the Herculean feats they do on a daily basis.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Christopher Ruvo can be reached at 215-538-6371 or .

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