| West Virginia lawmakers could be paying special attention in the coming months to problems the 400-plus volunteer fire departments in the state are facing.
The lack of volunteers is reaching a crisis level, becoming a significant public safety issue.
The number of volunteer firemen who are able to actively respond to calls, continues to decrease in Calhoun County.
Volunteer fire units are the backbone of America's on-going efforts to protect homes, businesses and the public.
In nearly all communities, they turn out when something happens that requires special assistance, over and above fighting fire.
A joint select panel was named Monday by Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, D-Logan, and House Speaker Rick Thompson, D-Wayne, who asked the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to launch the study.
"This committee can spend the next 10 months looking at why the number of volunteer firefighters in West Virginia has declined, and what we can do to reverse that trend," said Tomblin.
Seventy-three percent of the nation's fire-fighting forces are volunteer, and a rural state such as West Virginia is particularly dependent.
The state has only 11 paid fire-fighting departments.
Recruitment is a real problem, said Sissonville VFD Chief Thomas Miller.
"What do we have to offer a new member? We can't pay them. Gas at $3.65 a gallon to run calls comes out of their pockets. They have to give up time away from their families and work place. They have to take 80 hours of training minimum, before they ever get to run a call. And they have to sell hot dogs or do other things just to get to help," he said.
Miller said the Legislature hasn't done much to help firemen.
"Efforts to get even simple incentives in the form of a property tax waiver on one vehicle, or a free license plate, or a free hunting license have all been killed in the Legislature," he said.
The fire chief also indicated that America is losing its sense of community identity, what with numerous school consolidations and centralization.
"It is a tremendous sacrifice, one that we as communities cannot take for granted," said delegate Mike Caputo.
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