Sunshine Coast volunteer fire departments are sounding the alarm: more volunteers are needed to effectively respond to emergency calls.
Gibsons and Roberts Creek volunteer fire departments both have recruiting drives underway.
"We're looking for warm bodies. There is continuous turnover on the volunteer side of things, so we're always looking for people to come fill out the applications and keep them on file so we've got a resume bank," said Gibsons Fire Chief Bob Stevens. "Right now we're 36 out of 40. So we're down a little bit, but that's typically our annual turnover."
Stevens said the need is underscored by the fact that Gibsons is coming off its busiest year ever with more than 200 calls.
Meanwhile, Roberts Creek is running with 20 volunteers. Fire Chief Bruce Searle said 30 would be ideal, but a complement of 25 would be comfortable.
Searle and Stevens said they are looking for anybody, age 19 to 65, who is community minded and will rise to the call when their neighbours need help.
"They're the kind of people who like to help others. That's the kind of people we want to attract: people who care about their neighbours and want to give back to their communities," Searle said.
Searle said he is specifically looking for people who live and work in Roberts Creek so they will be able to get to the station quickly in the event of a fire or other emergency.
And women are very much welcome on any department's volunteer list, Searle said. He currently has two who serve in Roberts Creek.
"One of those women is coming up for 40 years in the fire department." Searle said.
Along with a $1,000-income tax credit, Searle said volunteers receive excellent training and certification in first aid, air brakes and firefighting.
Pender Harbour Fire Chief Don Murray said his department has recently had 10 new recruits sign up for the next training sessions, which should bring the department up to complement, but Garden Bay is still about five members short.
Similarly, Egmont's Fire Chief Peter Sly said his department could use more volunteers as the current 15 is about five short of a full complement.
If you are interested in volunteering, contact your local fire department.
