A law signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro last month is meant to make it easier for qualified firefighter applicants to complete their training. A person who receives fire suppression training at their workplace can now put that experience toward receiving the necessary certification to become a volunteer firefighter, cutting back on the amount of training hours they would need to complete on their own time.

The legislation was introduced by Republican state Sen. Michele Brooks of Mercer County. She noted in a memo that volunteer firefighters must complete around 206 hours of training before they can enter a burning building.

We should all favor of any legislation that helps the helpers in our communities.

Municipal fire officials have watched as heightened training requirements have caused younger generations to shy away from volunteer fire service, making staffing local fire departments more difficult.

Training requirements, obviously, need to be stringent. Sending an inadequately prepared firefighter into a blazing building increases the danger for everyone on the scene. But it makes sense to be able to apply workplace fire suppression training toward the hours required to become a volunteer firefighter.

We suspect the law won’t have much of an impact on volunteer numbers but, as Duane Hagelgans, chief of Blue Rock Fire Rescue in Millersville, said, it’s a “step in the right direction.”

Hagelgans, a professor of emergency management at Millersville University, has written about the challenges facing volunteer fire companies and other volunteer emergency services.

Most fire departments across the commonwealth are volunteer. We are deeply grateful to anyone — professional or volunteer — willing to risk life and limb to save their fellow humans and, when the need arises, beloved animals.

But we find it unsettling when firefighters have to sell hoagies and soup to buy the equipment they need to save our lives. Volunteer fire and other emergency service companies have to do so much merely to survive. One alternative — professional fire services, fully funded by tax dollars and offering salaries — simply aren’t a realistic option for most municipalities.

And that’s likely to be the reality for the foreseeable future, because of the frustratingly fragmented nature of Pennsylvania governance and the resistance to consolidation — Pennsylvania has 2,558 municipalities.

The system of governance in our commonwealth is strange, but it’s the system we have, so we’re going to need to keep relying on volunteer fire companies. And state lawmakers and municipal officials are going to need to continue to find ways to bolster the companies’ resources.

Benuel King, the treasurer of White Horse Fire Company in Gap who has spent 16 years as a volunteer firefighter, said he’d like to see incentives  such as tax breaks to encourage people to volunteer.

This seems like an excellent idea. And as this newspaper reported, some Lancaster County municipalities, including East Hempfield Township, already offer a tax rebate for volunteers.

In an April 2024, R. Keith Vogt explained how he challenged the East Donegal Township supervisors in 1998 to consider providing taxpayer money to fund the operational costs of the Maytown-East Donegal Fire Department, instead of relying on volunteer firefighters to raise money. The supervisors took up the challenge and established a board of directors to oversee the use of public funds provided to the department and to review its expenditures.

“Because our fire department is fully funded, our men and women can spend more time training instead of fundraising,” explained Vogt, who chairs that board.

This approach, used in other municipalities as well, seems wise and effective. And because of it, Vogt’s department has the equipment it needs — including two boats for river rescue and a new $1.2 million rescue unit delivered last year — as well as 32 members certified at the Firefighter 1 level, 20 certified at the Firefighter 2 level, 12 emergency responders, nine emergency medical technicians and two paramedics.

A bill working its way through the Pennsylvania Legislature, House Bill 393, would allow second-class townships to set aside a higher amount of tax revenue for fire and EMS companies.

Most townships in the state are second-class, meaning they have fewer than 300 residents per square mile.

According to Spotlight PA, the state Legislature “gave some local governments the ability to levy higher property taxes to fund fire companies and EMS providers” last year. Now, House Bill 393, which was introduced by Democratic state Rep. Chris Pielli of Chester County, would expand that opportunity to second-class townships. The bill has passed in the Democratic-controlled state House, with an admirable number of House Republicans voting in favor of it.

Given the importance of volunteer fire companies, we hope that lawmakers will vote in favor of the bill if it reaches the Senate floor — it’s now in the Senate Local Government Committee.

Politicians like to praise emergency responders — and they certainly should, because these brave folks deserve appreciation. But more tangible evidence of support, in the form of funding, would help.

And the helpers deserve that, too.

— LNP, Lancaster via TNS