NVFC Program is 'Insurance' for the Future

BALTIMORE, Md.-- Firefighters in Elkridge, Md. can look forward to at least one new recruit this year. And in many ways, she'll already be an old hand.

Fifteen-year-old Sara Giddings first decided she wanted to be a firefighter in first grade, when she won a chance to ride on a fire truck. Now, almost 10 years later, she is Deputy Chief of Elkridge's Junior Firefighter program and poised to become an active participant in the department in just a few months.

The National Volunteer Fire Council, together with emergency vehicle manufacturer Spartan Motors, believes their new National Junior Firefighter Program will mean more recruits like Sara in the future.

Like Elkridge, many departments around the country already have Junior Firefighter programs, but the NVFC is now unifying them so that departments can interact with each other and participants can receive unified training.

"We launched the program together to encourage youth to join America's fire service at an early age so that they could become volunteer firefighters or career firefighters later in life," said NVFC executive director Heather Schafer.

The program is designed to capture the interest of young people, and connect them with adult volunteers in fire departments and other emergency-rescue organizations throughout the country.

Students ages 14-21 will be able to volunteer on-site alongside trained emergency personnel in fire safety and prevention activities, training, classes and general education.

Schafer says programs like theirs are very necessary.

"Nationally, nearly three-quarters of all fire departments are staffed by volunteers, yet the number of volunteers has been declining since the 1980s."

"It's an insurance policy in the security of our nation," says Spartan Co-Founder Bill Foster.

He said that by catching kids before they become couch potatoes (or worse), the program ensures that personnel-strapped fire departments always have bodies that are eager and willing to lend a hand.

Elkridge's Junior Firefighter Coordinator Mike Barnett was with Sara and the rest of the Junior Firefighters Saturday at the Firehouse Expo in Baltimore when the new program was unveiled.

"It's wonderful to see a national campaign for the junior firefighters where they will hopefully be able to network with other organizations and learn how other programs operate," he said.

Elkridge's program began in 1998, since then it has grown into a bustling and thriving entity.

"The juniors help out at department functions at the station, plus they do their own training and fundraising throughout the year," he said. "They are the future of the fire department, the heroes of tomorrow."

Vicky Giddings, a mom who is doubly invested in the Elkridge department, shared similar sentiments.

Vicky is mom to Sara and her twin sister, Emily. Emily is the department's Junior Chief.

"From day one, both of them loved it," Vicky said. "It has helped them so much."

She said the program helped the twin girls strike out on their own as individuals. It also taught them a sense of community and of respect for their elders. Even though Sara is the only one of the two who wants to continue in the fire service (Emily wants to be a kindergarten teacher), Vicky is emphatic about the benefit the program has had for her girls.

"They have goals for their lives and they are meeting them."

Participants in the National Junior Firefighter program will be able to register and track their volunteer hours online. They will earn incentives for their volunteer work, participate in a national awards program and research their local departments online.

For more information on the National Junior Firefighter Program, call the National Volunteer Fire Council at 202-887-5700 or click here.