Celebrating two milestones, Indian Mills Fire Company and EMS still needs help
A lot was going on March 10, 1942. The world was at war. The United States was three months removed from the attack on Pearl Harbor.
In Shamong, 32 people gathered on a Tuesday inside a school auditorium. Members of the community had discussed the idea of starting a fire company, and the Indian Mills Volunteer Fire Company was created.
Seventy-five years after the fire company was established and 25 years after the EMS squad was created, Indian Mills is still operating. However, like other volunteer firefighting organizations across the state, it is having some trouble recruiting.
Before Shamong had its fire company, Medford used to provide fire protection to Shamong Township. The first elected fire chief, Henry Wright, was charged with the task of building the fire company. One of the first things the company had to do was get a fire truck. The company paid what at the time was a lot of money for one: $1,200.
The company found ways to fund itself by having entertainment acts such as a minstrel show, bingo, barbecues, dances and whiskey drawings. It was even noted in the company minutes that on Dec. 6, 1979, Santa Claus contacted the company and asked it to take him around the township Hollybush to see the children. They assisted in fires, rushed to car accidents, searched for missing children and removed a horse from a pool.
With all of the history here that is shared with the fire and EMS squads, things have been getting a little tougher.
“We’ve got about 30 members, which includes the rescue squad,” Indian Mills President Charles Burgin said. “It’s a struggle, particularly in the daytime when everyone is at work. It’s a bedroom community that doesn’t have a lot of businesses to draw from. Some towns have it where if there is a call, they will leave their businesses, but in Shamong, there is very little of that occurring. The daytime crew consists of three or four people.
“If you look right now around the country, emergency volunteerism is down for a couple of reasons. One is it is difficult. To be a volunteer fireman, you have to go to school for 160 hours. You have to go to school for 260 hours to be an EMT. Most people can’t do that because of their families and careers. They can’t take that much time out of their schedules to do that. Also in this town, there are no apartments or townhouses for young people who are just starting out to move into. When we get new members that come through here, they are usually young people who live at home with mom and dad. They then move out, go to college, or they get married.
“Because this is a pretty affluent community, young people starting out can’t always move in, so they look for an apartment or townhouse in another community. The people who can go to school are the young people because they live with their parents. They can get their firefighter and EMT certifications. Then they move out, and we lose them. We need people to move into town and those who currently live here and own a house and will be here for awhile. However, they are usually the ones who can’t go to school. It’s a Catch-22.”
With the company responding to almost 500 calls a year and 400 EMT calls, the need to have personnel on standby is imperative to keep it functioning at a high level.
“The problem is not just us,” Burgin added, “it’s every volunteer fire company in the state of New Jersey. They are all struggling. A lot are switching over to paid people. In a town like this, I don’t think we can have paid people. It’s too expensive.”
It costs a lot to operate a volunteer fire company. Firefighter equipment can run anywhere between $2,000 and $3,000.
A lot of people assume part of their property taxes are paid directly to the fire and rescue crews, but it is not. The township gives a donation to the squad every year, but not enough to cover all of the expenses.
Indian Mills has had to find ways to raise enough funds for operating expenses. Recently, it was one of the last squads in the area that did not bill those who required help for EMS services, but that has changed. The bills will be sent to the insurance companies of people who needed help. The squad hopes this will help with revenue. However, to be able to bill, there has to be two certified EMTs in the ambulance. This is one reason why recruiting more EMTs is vital for the rescue squad.
Bruce Allen, who compiled the book of minutes from previous fire meetings, left a quote in the front of the collection: “Together the fire, EMS, rescue and the township are one and the same kind of people. As it always should be.”
