There was a time when every small town in the Lehigh Valley had a volunteer fire company with a full roster and a waiting list to join. The firehouse was the center of community life, hosting dances, bingo nights, chicken barbecues, and the kind of gatherings that held neighborhoods together. The volunteers who staffed those companies were your neighbors, your coworkers, the people you saw at church on Sunday. They protected your home and your family for free because that is what you did in a small Pennsylvania town.
That tradition is in trouble.
The Numbers
Pennsylvania's volunteer firefighter ranks have dropped from approximately 60,000 to 38,000 since 2000. The decline has been called a volunteerism emergency by fire service leaders and legislators alike. In the Lehigh Valley, the impact is felt acutely. Chief Burgos of Emerald Star Hose Number 1 Volunteer Fire Company in Washington Township near Slatington reported that only 5 of his 25 volunteers showed up for a recent fire. The company needs roughly $148,000 annually just to break even.
The reasons for the decline are familiar: longer work commutes, two income households, increased training requirements, the physical and emotional toll of the job, and a younger generation that has not grown up in the fire company culture the way their parents and grandparents did. None of these factors are unique to the Lehigh Valley, but the impact is particularly significant in a region where volunteer companies are the primary source of fire protection for most communities.
Creative Solutions
Lehigh Valley communities are not giving up without a fight. Lehigh County approved a property tax break for resident volunteers in 2023, providing a direct financial incentive for people willing to serve. Upper Macungie Township launched a paid volunteer staffing program that offers $100 per 12 hour shift plus $10 per emergency call, up to $14,000 per year. It is a hybrid model that acknowledges the reality that pure volunteerism may not be enough anymore while preserving the community based structure that makes volunteer companies unique.
Fire companies themselves are leaning into their role as community institutions to attract members. Good Will Fire Company Number 1 of Trexlertown has been making fastnachts, the heavy fried yeast raised potato donuts that are a Pennsylvania Dutch pre Lenten tradition, since 1965. The annual fundraiser produces 3,000 dozen fastnachts, raises between $10,000 and $16,000, and requires 40 volunteers per six hour shift. Events like this do more than raise money. They keep the fire company visible and relevant in the community, which is essential for recruitment.
Why It Matters
If volunteer fire companies disappear, the cost of replacing them with paid departments would be staggering for small municipalities. Property taxes would increase dramatically. Response times could suffer during the transition. And something intangible but essential would be lost: the connection between a community and the people who protect it.
The Lehigh Valley's volunteer fire companies are not just emergency services. They are civic institutions with histories stretching back a century or more. Lehigh Township Volunteer Fire Company Number 1 was founded in 1944. Coopersburg Fire Company dates to 1904. Allen Township Fire Company has been all volunteer since 1944. Bushkill Township's founding members mortgaged their own homes to buy the first truck. These stories matter, and the communities they serve know it.
The fight to save volunteer firefighting in the Lehigh Valley is not just about fire protection. It is about preserving a way of life that has defined small town Pennsylvania for generations. The solutions will need to be creative, the support will need to be sustained, and the communities will need to show up for their fire companies the way those companies have always shown up for them.
