Honoring Volunteers Before They Vanish

It was a touching occasion in a beautiful setting. Residents scattered about Modjeska Canyon met for a potluck on Saturday at Arden, the renovated estate of the great turn-of-the- century stage actress Helena Modjeska. Their purpose was to thank their volunteer firefighters for a job well done.

I never turn down a chance to return to Arden, for me the most poetic spot in Orange County. But this visit was serious business. Some people would like to see volunteer fire departments eliminated. They’re inadequate for modern times, goes the criticism. As you can imagine, that sentiment is making some of the volunteers countywide feel a little underappreciated.

The volunteers at Modjeska’s Station No. 16 know their constituents love them. And Supervisor Todd Spitzer, who sits on the Orange County Fire Authority board, was there to vow his support for the Modjeska volunteers’ future.

Even so, you can bet the Fire Authority, which covers 21 cities and the unincorporated areas, will soon overhaul the volunteer firefighter operation. Its board has authorized a strategic planning team to recommend changes in the volunteer system, officially called the “reserve” system.

We don’t know yet which way things will go.

“We can only assure you that volunteers will definitely play a future role,” Fire Authority Battalion Chief Scott Brown said. “But we need to retool the system.”

The volunteers may not like the final plan. For different reasons, the plan might also displease the Orange County Professional Firefighters Assn. It wants volunteers eliminated and replaced by professionals.

A new plan may wind up a compromise between those two positions.

Right now, the Fire Authority has 61 stations. Seven are completely staffed by volunteers, and volunteers play backup roles at 18 others.

So what’s wrong with the current system? The professionals say volunteers, by the nature of their role, are undertrained and lack the commitment of career firefighters.

“Volunteer fire departments sprang up in this county in the ‘30s and ‘40s, when we were a rural county,” said Fire Capt. Dan Young, who speaks for the union. “Protecting orange groves and bean fields was of primary concern then. But we’ve become an urban county since those days.”

According to a new briefing report from Fire Chief Chip Prather’s office, a major worry is that the all-volunteer stations don’t always show up for calls when they should. Their response rate countywide is averaging just 53%. That means units from stations farther away have to roll to cover for them nearly half the time.

Is This Good Enough?

These volunteers all have to work their regular, full-time jobs, so they don’t always answer when paged. And when they do, sometimes they can’t move a firetruck out of the station because a properly trained vehicle driver wasn’t among those who showed up.

“You have to ask yourself, is that the kind of fire protection you want?” said Chief Brown.

Just as importantly, Prather’s report shows a disconcerting attrition rate among volunteers--up to 30% annually. That means not only leaving some stations short-staffed but losing valuable experience. And getting new volunteers will become increasingly difficult, the report says, as training becomes more stringent. The report also points out that attendance has been low among volunteers for their weekly training nights.

“Too many simply want to use volunteering as a stepping stone to getting a career firefighting job,” said the union’s Young. “When they see that’s not going to happen, they lose interest.”

The union wants to see 114 additional paid professionals hired to take over the all-volunteer stations. While that isn’t likely, Fire Authority officials might come up with a plan that could mean some paid professionals at all stations.

None of this brouhaha sits well with the people in Modjeska Canyon.

“Every time we drive by the fire station, we know you are there for us,” longtime canyon resident Bonnie Smith addressed the volunteers in front of Saturday’s Arden crowd. “We do not take you for granted.”

The Modjeska volunteers point out that their station’s response is a very credible 80% and that attendance is strong at their Wednesday night training sessions.

Leo Hetzel, who’s been a volunteer firefighter there for 25 years, mostly resents the implication that he’s poorly trained. Besides his academy training, his experience should be considered a valuable asset to the Fire Authority, he believes.

While Supervisor Spitzer gave assurances he was with the people of Modjeska Canyon, he also made a telling statement--that once the Fire Authority board begins to mull recommendations, “We’re going to slug it out.” With 23 board members, you can expect a lot of differing views.

On one issue, we’re all on the same side: We all want the best fire protection we can get.

As Bruce Newell, who heads Station No. 16 said, “If someone decided to replace us at our station with a full staff of highly trained, professional firefighters, how could we argue with that?”

The question is, what proposals would be acceptable short of that?

Bob Scheibel, a volunteer who by profession is a structural engineer, may have summed it up:

“We can’t tell you if it’s in the best interests of this community for us to remain a volunteer station, because we don’t know what alternatives will be proposed. All we can say is, for what our mission is, we think we do it well.”

Jerry Hicks’ column appears Monday and Thursday. Readers may reach Hicks by calling (714) 966-7789 or e-mail to jerry.hicks@latimes.com.