Volunteers Play Vital Role

It was good to see local municipalities gather together to discuss the very important topic of emergency services last week.

The discussion took place in Amenia, where townspeople count on volunteers to people their fire department and rescue squad. The same holds true in Millerton and North East, and in Pine Plains. In fact, throughout the Harlem Valley residents rely heavily on volunteers who give up their free time to man ambulances, firetrucks and other rescue vehicles so they can answer our emergencies at any time of the day or night.

But keeping those respondents is becoming increasingly difficult with each passing day. There are a number of reasons why.

Money. Many of these volunteer rescue squads cannot afford to run on the small budgets they have. Training is not free, nor is equipment. And often times volunteers can barely afford to volunteer. It takes time away from their jobs and from their families (think day-care or babysitting fees, etc.). And then there are out-of-pocket expenses for gas and wear and tear on their vehicles, which they may use to respond to emergency calls, etc. There are expenses built into volunteering, like medical bills or missed days of work, that most of us never think about but that add up for the volunteer.

People. There are never enough volunteers to fully populate the emergency service squads that help care for all of us in the community. Volunteers give of their "free" time on top of working regular jobs and having families of their own. To attempt all of that plus being a volunteer takes Herculean strength and an iron will. For this all volunteers should be sincerely thanked. Their dedication, however, does not compensate for the fact that towns everywhere are in need of more bodies volunteering their time and energy. If more people don’t volunteer, soon towns and villages may have to turn to paid services, which already back up many of the volunteer services in the area.

Support. Again, most of our towns currently have volunteer services, but for how long? It’s difficult, nay impossible, to predict, especially when there are so many challenges for municipalities in maintaining their volunteer squads. What improves the situation, however, is when the departments know how much they are appreciated, and when the communities in which they serve show their support. This can be done in numerous ways, but financial support is probably most appreciated. So head out to those pancake breakfasts and those spaghetti dinners. Everything counts and the moral support means a lot to the firefighters and EMTs.

More support. It also makes a big difference when the volunteers see their hometown leaders out there trying to think of ways to support them and the volunteer system. The meeting in Amenia was one such example of this. Brainstorming with other communities in similar situations is a good idea. In fact, an intermunicipal solution may be one way to stave off the full-time hired services that most towns fear.

Thinking outside of the box, and one’s own town, may make the difference in the case of the disappearing volunteer emergency services, and why not, so long as a solution is found. Just make sure that all the while the volunteers who give so much of themselves are thanked for all they do.