The need to find and retain volunteer firefighters has gotten so bad for one station in Prince George's County, Maryland, that it's now closing.
"Our members are starting to clear out their lockers," said Marcus Jones, a board member of the Seat Pleasant Volunteer Fire Company.
The fire company was founded in 1915. In 1958, its members built the firehouse on Addison Road brick by brick.
Now, it's all but shuttered. Its kitchen is cold and dark and its bunks haven't been slept in for months.
We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our newsletter The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that's important for you, right in your inbox.
"We have been out of service for just over a year," Jones said.
Jones said he began volunteering with the fire company 16 years ago.
"A lot of our members were from this community. They grew up in Seat Pleasant or Capitol Heights," he said.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
This week, the fire company posted on Facebook that it's selling a fire truck. Once the truck is sold, it's unclear what will happen to the historic firehouse.
"Sad to see a company with such great history go down this way," one person said in response to the post.
"It was one of the busiest rescue squads in the country, according to Fire magazine, many years ago," Jones said.
For several years there's been a decline in the number and quality of volunteers, which impacted service. It's coverage area of Seat Pleasant and Capitol Heights is covered by other stations now, including a new career Shady Glen fire house operated by the county.
"Prince George's County is going to provide that service in a timely manner, but they're going to lose the community togetherness approach," Jones said.
"Unfortunately, we're just having difficulty recruiting some of our younger community members to join the fire and EMS department," Prince George's County Assistant Fire Chief for Volunteer Services Michael White said.
Career departments depend on volunteers for support, and the volunteer system saves taxpayer dollars.
Prince George's County Fire and EMS recently hired a full-time volunteer recruiter to help.
"Throughout the nation, because the cost of living has increased, people volunteering is becoming a thing of the past, unfortunately," White said.
The county doesn't expect to lose any other volunteer fire departments yet, but others are struggling to staff and stay afloat.
"The fire department is embodied in tradition so to see it go is a sad thing," Jones said.
Prince George's County Fire and EMS is urging people who are interested in volunteer firefighting and administrative duties to come out its open houses.
