Volunteers are the backbone of the Argyle Fire District. 36 year veteran James Price has been there longer than anyone. He says, "I grew up, went to school here, decided to make my life here, I make my living out of the community. I decided to give back to it."
But James Price is doing that far less than he'd like these days because of the economy. He has to spend more time at the convenience store he owns in Bartonville since cutting staff. Price says, "It boils down to dollars. If I don't take care of my family, take care of my business.... I can't take care of my community. You have to prioritize."
Fire Chief Mac Hohenberger says Price is not alone. He's seen a huge decline in the amount of time volunteers can afford to give. Chief Mac Hohenberger says, "A lot of them are trying to help their families by finding a part time jobs. A lot of them looking for employment that they may have lost their jobs."
The Chief says it hasn't caused a hit to the district's response time, but they do sometimes show up with less people. He says, "We do have to call mutual aid more than before the recession and the fire does do more damage without the number of people there that we needed."
The Highland Village Fire Department is also feeling the heat of the recession. Chief Lonnie Tatum says, "I think we're seeing that across the nation."
Chief Tatum says at it's peak in 2006, the department had 56 volunteers. Now, there are 8 who are active. It leaves them working hard to maintain minimum staffing requirements. He says, "We do manage to do so by folks working extra time and working extra hours to keep the apparatus staffed."
While Chief Tatum understands the absences, he'd love to get his volunteers back. Argyle Volunteer James Price would love to be back. He says, "Like I said, this has been a large part of my life. 36 years. I'm addicted to it."
But James Price is doing that far less than he'd like these days because of the economy. He has to spend more time at the convenience store he owns in Bartonville since cutting staff. Price says, "It boils down to dollars. If I don't take care of my family, take care of my business.... I can't take care of my community. You have to prioritize."
Fire Chief Mac Hohenberger says Price is not alone. He's seen a huge decline in the amount of time volunteers can afford to give. Chief Mac Hohenberger says, "A lot of them are trying to help their families by finding a part time jobs. A lot of them looking for employment that they may have lost their jobs."
The Chief says it hasn't caused a hit to the district's response time, but they do sometimes show up with less people. He says, "We do have to call mutual aid more than before the recession and the fire does do more damage without the number of people there that we needed."
The Highland Village Fire Department is also feeling the heat of the recession. Chief Lonnie Tatum says, "I think we're seeing that across the nation."
Chief Tatum says at it's peak in 2006, the department had 56 volunteers. Now, there are 8 who are active. It leaves them working hard to maintain minimum staffing requirements. He says, "We do manage to do so by folks working extra time and working extra hours to keep the apparatus staffed."
While Chief Tatum understands the absences, he'd love to get his volunteers back. Argyle Volunteer James Price would love to be back. He says, "Like I said, this has been a large part of my life. 36 years. I'm addicted to it."
