Gov. launches campaign to recruit more volunteer firefighters

CANFIELD, Ohio (WKBN) – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine launched a statewide campaign Friday aimed at getting people interested in serving as volunteer firefighters.

Locally, the East Palestine Fire Chief Keith Drabick says his department has actually seen an increase in membership since he took over two years ago but still, he says there needs to be more volunteers across the board.

The biggest obstacle to getting volunteers is the time commitment.

“It’s very hard for someone who works 40-60 hours a week to be a volunteer and get all the training they’re required or should be required to have,” Chief Drabick said.

In Ohio, the minimum requirement to serve as a volunteer firefighter is a 36-hour course but at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center, the 184-hour Firefighter 1 course is the class to get started in firefighting.

“The fire marshall for the state of Ohio, he reimburses the tuition to anybody who completed the class, so essentially the Firefighter 1 class for everyone is free,” said Andy Frost, MCCTC Public Safety Coordinator.

About 70 percent of Ohio’s fire departments are volunteer-based, and according to the governor’s office, the number of emergency calls has increased in recent years. However, the number of volunteer firefighters has gone down which is why the state launched this campaign.

“There needs to be more. There can never be enough. No department has enough people,” Drabick said.

DeWine said part of his campaign is public service announcements that will appear on TV and online showcasing volunteer firefighters in an attempt to get more Ohioans to volunteer themselves.

“People don’t realize that without volunteers, there’s just nobody coming when you call 911,” said Frost.

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