Volunteers are the backbone of the Bluffton Fire Department

By Benji Bergstrand

When fighting a fire, every minute counts. Bluffton Fire Chief Jon Kinn knows this all too well. “A working fire can double in size every 5 minutes. A small fire in a room and its contents can turn into a full-blown structure fire in no time if no one is there to fight it,” Kinn said.

Fortunately, Kinn and the Bluffton Volunteer Fire Department are there to fight fires in and around Bluffton, but they are being asked to do so under increasingly difficult conditions as the number of volunteers dwindles while calls for service increase.

The proposed tax that will be voted on in November would help fund firefighter equipment if passed, but would not address the need for volunteers. “We saw a drop in volunteerism after COVID, but call volumes actually increased,” Kinn said. “It got worse pretty quickly.”

KEEP ON GOING

The trend Kinn is seeing locally is reflected in national numbers. According to the National Volunteer Fire Council, the number of volunteer firefighters hit an all-time low in 2020, while call volumes have tripled over the past 35 years.

Kinn is quick to point out that despite the need for volunteers, the department continues to provide high-quality fire protection. “Our rating with the Insurance Services Bureau is a 4, which is almost unheard of for a city our size,” Kinn said. “That rating shows the quality of our fire service and saves Bluffton residents money on their insurance premiums.”

Providing this level of service is not easy, and Kinn is aware of the toll it can take on volunteers. “I always want more from my members and myself,” Kinn said. “We always strive to do our best. It gets to the point where on some calls I get a little nervous about whether we’re going to have enough, and that’s where the peer support comes in.”

Mutual aid is a form of mutual assistance between neighboring departments to respond to emergencies by providing firefighters and equipment to fill gaps. Bluffton provides assistance to other departments as well as receives that service. The more Bluffton can provide its own service, the better the response times will be. “Our response time would be faster with more volunteers,” Kinn said. “I get there pretty quickly, but then I have to wait for the cavalry to arrive.”

Kinn said volunteering with the Bluffton Fire Department is an incredible service to the community. “Having local fire and EMS services instead of relying on a neighboring community is invaluable,” he said.

Kinn also sees great benefits for the volunteers themselves. “Volunteering in Bluffton is special because in a town this size, we all know each other, and that makes it even more meaningful to help out. The feeling you get from giving back to your town and your neighbors is priceless.”

For more information about volunteering with the Bluffton Fire Department, call Chief Jon Kinn's office at 419-358-2066.