Greg Quatchak, chief at Ingomar Volunteer Company, is running out of ideas.
The McCandless resident has been part of Ingomar VFC 187 for 50 years, and chief for 24. It was a family thing, following his father’s footsteps.
Living on Harmony Road, across the street from the main station, he fondly remembers his dad volunteering.
“I signed up as soon as I was 17,” said Quatchak, now 67. He is being recognized in December for 50 years of service.
Recruiting doesn’t seem as easy these days, he acknowledged.
“Things have changed,” Quatchak said. “Volunteer fire departments are facing tough challenge,s and our call volumes are steadily increasing annually. People are busy.”
Wess Amara, a lieutenant at the Ingomar VFC, works remotely in IT, so he can do his job while manning the station if needed. He’s an immigrant from Tunisia and feels it’s his duty to serve.
“It’s my way to give back and help me feel better about myself,” he said.
But Amara agrees things are different than what they used to be.
“There’s a message issue. We can’t encourage young people. It’s a cultural shift,” Amara said.
Ingomar VFC has 10 to 12 active volunteer firefighters, but Quatchak said it would ideal to have closer to 20. The company also has volunteers who perform administrative duties.
The Ingomar station has recruitment events throughout the year, and several people do show interest. But they tend to shy away after learning about the commitment, saying they’ll return after family and life get less busy, Quatchak said.
He understands this and hopes they do return. But that doesn’t help with current shortages.
One day in November yielded seven emergency calls. Quatchak expects to have 700 calls just this year for Ingomar.
‘It goes in cycles’
The other McCandless firefighting units, Peebles Volunteer Fire Company and Highland Volunteer Fire Department, also experience high volumes, he said. Quatchak estimates Peebles will receive 1,000 by the end of the year.
Highland is busy, too.
“We have already surpassed 750 calls for the year and receive anywhere from 65 to 85 calls per month on average, so I project well over 800 calls for the year,” said Seth Merriman, recruitment coordinator for Highland. “With increasing call volumes and training requirements as the years go on, the demand on our volunteers has drastically increased.”
Shawn O’Brien, Highland president, said recruiting often “comes in waves.”
“If we get one to two people, then there’s a chance their friends will also join,” he said. “It goes in cycles.”
Merriman agreed.
“I think we have had our good years and our bad ones as well, but retaining the members is a whole other battle in itself. We have gone whole years without a single application, but we have had years where we have taken up to 10 in one year. We had one of those years back in 2021, but have unfortunately lost more than half of those 10 or so members,” he said.
Quatchak said all three firefighting entities are required to attend every emergency call. Unfortunately, a bulk of the calls are false commercial alarms, which they have to answer. He said McCandless council recently approved a decision to require businesses to pay for repeat false alarms. But that doesn’t help the volunteer who is getting up to answer them.
An obvious alternative is to have a paid fire department for the town, which Quatchak and Amara said would be a big expense for the taxpayers. They’re hoping it doesn’t come to that.
They still get calls for cats in trees or locked doors, and they don’t mind because it makes such a difference when they see the gratitude of the people they help.
Amara said visiting local schools and talking about fire safety is one of his favorite things to do.
‘Essentially a free associate degree’
There are some worthwhile incentives for volunteer fire departments in the area.
The Allegheny County Fire Volunteer Education, Service Training Scholarship Program, or FireVEST, provides full scholarships for an associate degree or certificate program at Community College of Allegheny County, as well as training at the Allegheny County Fire Academy, according to www.ccac.edu.
Of the 200 scholarships offered per year, 150 are for new recruits in exchange for a commitment of five years of service to a volunteer fire department in Allegheny County, while 50 scholarships will be awarded to existing volunteers in exchange for a commitment of five additional years of service.
Merriman said there’s a project in progress with North Allegheny School Board and the county fire academy in which students can start at the academy during school as early as their sophomore year and would graduate with essentials of firefighting completed. That gives them the required training and qualifications to be an interior firefighter, as well as CPR/AED and first aid.
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“This would send them off already qualified to participate in the FireVEST scholarship through CCAC, essentially giving them a free associate degree of their choice,” Merriman said.
Quatchak said he has a member who just earned a degree using the scholarship. And both McCandless and Allegheny County offer a tax credit of up to $500 each, a combined amount of $1,000.
Local volunteer firefighters also receive free access to county pools, ice rinks and ski slope facilities.
There’s a real community and family feel for the volunteers, a lot of camaraderie, said Quatchak. The Ingomar station still looks as new as it did when it opened in 2012. The station features a well-equipped fitness center for volunteers and their families. There’s a lounge and social area, kitchen, meeting rooms and areas for in-house training.
A smaller substation is located on Old Perry Highway.
The state requires 180 hours of training, including passing four modules. Quatchak said he doesn’t put pressure on a potential volunteer to complete training within a certain time period.
“If you’re showing progress and you’re going to training, we allow them to take as long as they need,” Quatchak said.
For residents living in Marshall and interested in the Marshall Volunteer Fire Department Township, visit www.marshallvfd.org. Franklin Park Volunteer Fire Company can be found at www.franklinparkvfc158.org. Visit www.bradfordwoodspa.org to find residential volunteering opportunities at the Bradford Woods Volunteer Fire Company.