Rising Fuel Costs Forcing Local Fire Departments to Conserve

Rising fuel costs have forced volunteer fire departments to make some changes they hope are temporary.

With diesel now at over $6 a gallon, some departments have elected to not provide pool-filling services this summer.

The Freedom Township Volunteer Fire Company has decided that it will not be offering pool-filling services this year due to the rising cost of fuel.

“It’s not a decision we wanted to make, but with the cost of fuel we just can’t do it this year,” said Chief Ron Henry.

Henry said the trucks need to be fueled no matter how high the prices get, so they must try to conserve where they can.

Along with not filling pools this year, Henry said the fire company won’t be participating in any parades.

“It just comes down to cost,” he said. “The prices keep going up but we still need to operate.”

Friendship Volunteer Fire Company Asst. Chief James Musselman said a final decision hasn’t been made on whether to fill pools but said the company is looking to combine the service with training, so the fuel used is not necessarily wasted.

“We have to do driver training every year, so we are looking at maybe combining the two,” he said.

Both Henry and Musselman said after factoring in the fuel costs, their department will make little, if any money from what they charge to fill pools.

“Factoring in the fuel costs with what we charge, we are trying to figure out if we can do it or not,” said Musselman.

Volunteer fire departments have had a rough couple of years financially. The COVID-19 pandemic halted a lot of fundraisers, and supply chain issues have increased food costs, cutting into already thin profits once fundraising resumed.

Henry said that rising costs, coupled with the pandemic, have put volunteer services in a difficult situation but that the community can still depend on them.

“Yes, it’s been a challenge, but when the whistle goes off I can assure you we will be there,” he said. “We may have to cut back in some areas, but never in protection.”