Volunteer fire companies facing financial hardships and dwindling numbers has been an ongoing trend for several years now, and the Port Matilda Volunteer Fire Company is no exception.
“What happens if it’s one of my family members or my property that is endangered right now…and when the call goes out — we don’t have the volunteers to respond,” Port Matilda Vol. Fire Company Chief Dean Rudy, Jr. said.
Right now, there are about 22 active members with an average of 10 responding per call. While each of them come when they can, filling calls during working hours is tough — causing them and the citizens they serve to rely on outside help.
“Within an eight minute response time from the time the pager goes off, now you have to wait on the Alphas to come in town or Philipsburg or Bald Eagle and…until they get paged and until they respond, you’re looking at an extended 10 minutes until they get here,” Rudy said.
Every minute counts when someone is in need, leaving people in the area waiting for help.
“If we’re not there within the first 15 minutes…it could reach the next stage of the fire. So there’s a lot of potential. Vehicle accidents, if they’re entrapped, and EMS can’t get them out until we get there, ya know you’ve taken possible time off their life,” Rudy said.
The fire company also faces financial struggles on top of small volunteer numbers.
A portable radio is something that every firefighter has when they enter a burning building. so they can communicate once inside. Now one of them alone costs $3,000 and the Port Matilda Volunteer Fire Company is down by six.
With dozens more things needing replaced, serviced and kept up to date, they are now reaching out to the community for support and volunteers.
For more information on how to volunteer, call (814) 692-4074 or email pmfc15secretary@yahoo.com