State House interim study examines rural firefighter retention

Smith Studies Rural Firefighter Retention

OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 30th) – Rep. David Smith, R-Arpelar, last week held an interim study to examine issues surrounding recruiting and retaining volunteer rural firefighters.

The packed study was held before the House Public Safety Committee on Oct. 21 at the State Capitol.

"Living in rural Oklahoma, I know the importance of rural firefighters," Smith said. "We've got 60 and 70-year-olds fighting fires because we can't get some of the younger people to come up."

Smith said rural firefighting is much more than just fighting brush fires. Firefighters are often the first line of defense for home and business owners. He related his own experience of his family's two-story house burning down within a matter of 30 minutes despite the efforts of four rural fire departments.

"The only thing they could do by the time they got there was save my outbuildings," Smith said. "To me, since nobody got hurt, and they saved my tools so I could build another house, I was pretty OK with that. But y'all do more than what you're given credit for, and we know it."

Smith invited fire coordinators from across the state to participate in the study.

Luke Underwood is one of 11 rural fire coordinators from across the state representing 840 rural fire departments – those that serve communities with populations of less than 10,000. Each department faces similar issues, he said, noting the study was necessary and in fact overdue.

"The issue of retention is a serious struggle across the state, and I'm not sure the solution other than some type of incentive," he said. "I hate sitting here saying that we have to come up with some type of incentive to get someone to volunteer to be a firefighter, but it's just where we're at. It's not uncommon for these departments to struggle to keep people on their roster and to keep them active."

Underwood is in charge of the Caddo District, which includes the seven southeast counties in Oklahoma and 121 fire departments. He said when he started, rural firefighting was more a community effort where everyone pitched in to help their neighbors, and it was a time when 18-year-olds thought it was cool to get to man the fire truck. Now, people are busier with sports and other activities that consume much of their time. He related his own experience in serving as a rural fire coordinator and as a part-time deputy sheriff as well as owning a real estate business with his wife with whom he has three daughters. The family also goes to church twice a week, including school and other activities.

"I'm one of the busiest people you'll ever meet in your life," Underwood said. "But I understand that volunteering your time means you're going to have to make sacrifices. It's my opinion that peoples' hearts are different now," Underwood said.

He said he's heard talk of expanding retirement eligibility, but he's not sure if it's doable or even the right answer.

Rep. Danny Williams, R-Seminole, asked if a $1,000 per month stipend would make a difference, and Underwood said it couldn't hurt as money tends to pique peoples' interest.

Ed Barton, the rural fire coordinator for the Eastern Oklahoma Development District (EODD) based in Muskogee, said rural fire departments are struggling financially. For many, the biggest part of their budget comes from annual forestry grants of about $10,000, he said. Another problem is the state adding more training requirements on top of existing volunteers who have had enough, he said.

"We're all for training, but we've got to make that training feasible for volunteers," he said. No volunteer is going to drive to Oklahoma City for mandatory training on their own dime, he said.

This issue is what sparked the idea for the study. Smith held meetings with rural fire coordinators earlier this year in which several expressed concern about additional mandatory training requirements put on unpaid volunteers. Smith reached out to the state fire marshal for a solution, and the study was a way to further the discussion.

Other study presenters included Ernie Moore, retired rural fire coordinator and retired executive director of the EODD; Mark Goeller, state forester and director of forestry services for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry; Clayton Webb, fire chief for Buckhorn; the Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association; Kyle Ramer with the Jacktown Fire Department in Lincoln County; Sheri Nickel, deputy director of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association; and Bryan Miller, fire chief for Alva.

David Smith serves District 18 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes Hughes and Okfuskee counties and parts of Coal and Pittsburg counties. Rick West serves House District 3, which includes part of LeFlore County.