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The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) has partnered with the Dunkin’ Brands Community Foundation to address a critical need of the nation’s fire service – attracting new members. The two organizations are working to build the next generation of first responders through the NVFC’s National Junior Firefighter Program. As part of the initiative, the Dunkin’ Brands Community Foundation is supporting $100,000 in scholarships and grants, which will be awarded to 10 outstanding junior firefighters and their departments on July 24.

“Through this scholarship program, the National Volunteer Fire Council is helping to uncover the fire service leaders who will serve our communities for decades to come,” said Paul Leech (chief administrative officer, Dunkin’ Brands) and Stephan Shelton (Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins franchisee, Long Island, New York), co-chairs of the Dunkin’ Brands Community Foundation. “All of us at the Dunkin’ Brands Community Foundation are privileged to have played a part in helping build the strength and capacity of the volunteer fire departments that Americans rely on each and every day.”

Over 72 percent of the nation’s firefighters are volunteers, yet there has been an estimated seven percent decline in the number of volunteer firefighters over the last twenty years. Communities all over the country rely on these firefighters for protection against disasters and emergencies of all kinds. Departments are facing a critical challenge to retain the firefighters they have and recruit the next generation of first responders.

While the number of volunteers is declining, the age of firefighters is increasing. Departments are finding it difficult to attract younger members due to a range of reasons, including increased demands on people’s time, longer commuting distances to and from work, the prevalence of two-income households, and increased training requirements.

In 2006, according to the National Fire Protection Association, 54.3 percent of firefighters (most of them volunteer) in departments protecting communities of 24,999 or fewer people were under the age of 40, compared with 65.5 percent in 1987. In communities of 2,500 or fewer (which are almost exclusively protected by volunteer departments), 50 percent of all firefighters were under the age of 40 in 2006, compared with 64.2 percent in 1987.

The NVFC launched the National Junior Firefighter Program in 2007, with assistance from Spartan Motors, Inc., in an effort to combat the nation’s retention and recruitment challenges. The Dunkin’ Brands Community Foundation gave the NVFC a grant to further the program by expanding the program’s web site and online database, adding more tools and resources, and establishing the scholarship and grant program.

The National Junior Firefighter Program provides resources and tools to fire and EMS departments to help them establish, expand, and manage a local youth participation program. It also helps motivate youth participants by helping them locate a local program, connecting them with a nationwide network of junior firefighters, and awarding them incentives as they reach benchmark hours of participation. The goal is to get more youth involved in the fire service while they are young, thus fostering a lifelong connection with the emergency services where they can continue to serve as volunteer or career firefighters or community supporters of the fire service throughout their adulthood.

The scholarship and grant program has been an enormous success, and hundreds of junior firefighters applied for the competitive scholarships by the May 15 deadline. Ten outstanding juniors have been selected to receive a $5,000 scholarship towards their higher education. Each of the recipient’s departments will also receive a $5,000 grant to help further their junior firefighter program. In addition, the number of juniors and departments registered for the National Junior Firefighter Program has more than doubled since the scholarship application period opened.

“We are thrilled with the number of applicants for this first year of the scholarship program as well as the increase in registrants to the National Junior Firefighter Program,” said Heather Schafer, Executive Director of the NVFC. “Retention and recruitment remains a challenge in the volunteer fire and emergency services. Getting youth involved is critical to the successful future of the fire service; today’s youth are tomorrow’s fire service. We are proud to partner with the Dunkin’ Brands Community Foundation to be able to offer support to junior firefighters and their departments.”

Winning junior firefighters and their departments will be honored during Firehouse Expo in Baltimore, MD on July 24. NVFC members receive a discount to Firehouse Expo.

New components of the National Junior Firefighter Program will be released in the coming months, including a resource guide for departments and a new online database for youth and departments. Learn more at www.nvfc.org/juniors.

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