Avon Volunteer Fire Department needs recruits amid statewide firefighter decline

The Avon Volunteer Fire Department is looking for help. 

Avon Volunteer Fire Department Chief Bruce Appell said there were about 100 volunteer firefighters in town 40 years ago. Over the last decade, numbers have decreased and stayed consistent at about 50 firefighters. 

“There were just a lot more people that were members of the fire department and were active in the community,” Appell said. 

“Unfortunately, it hits the fire service or any public safety entity very hard because we are mission critical -- police, fire, EMS -- we are mission critical and need those numbers,” Appell added. 

The trend is consistent across the state.

According to data collected by the Office of the State Comptroller, there is an alarming 62% decline among volunteers since 2017. 

State Rep. Brian Lanue (R - Griswold) is working to get legislation passed that would make the first $2,000 in stipends tax exempt for first responders. 

“This will hopefully help retain them and encourage them to stay in the volunteer service and really catch the bug for what volunteerism is all about,” Lanoue said. 

The report speculates that fewer young people are being exposed to firefighting, but that is not the case for 18-year-old Zoey Hatinen. She is a member of the Avon Volunteer Fire Explorers. 

“Having so much family in it, even throughout my childhood, I realized how much we do for people and that I think has really spiked the interest in everything,” Hatinen said. 

Generations of her family have volunteered, including her grandfather Jamie DiPace, who is trying to get the word out to recruit and retain more firefighters. 

“Our main focus needs to be retention because those firefighters that stay here become the best recruiters,” DiPace, president of the board of directors, said. “Come and give it a shot, you have nothing to lose except for a little bit of time.” 

More information about becoming an Avon volunteer firefighter is located here.