Roxana firefighters unveil pilot cadet program

Members of the Roxana Volunteer Fire Company hope that a new cadet program for students will spread like wildfire throughout the county to help ease a shortage of volunteer firefighters.

The Gain Effective Membership – GEM – program is a collaboration between the fire company, Sussex County Councilman Rob Arlett, R-Frankford, and the Indian River School District. They announced the start of the program during an Oct. 24 press conference.

The pilot program is designed to draw middle school and high school students into the fire service to increase membership in local volunteer fire companies. Arlett said the goal is to preserve volunteer fire service in the county and provide a template for other fire departments to use.

He said the county's volunteer service is facing pressure as departments struggle to recruit new members and retain older ones. He said no one wants to see taxpayers' dollars going to a paid fire service.

In a recent report, Delaware Auditor Tom Wagner estimated it would cost more than $183 million annually to provide paid volunteer fire service in the state.

Arlett said as he visited various fire departments over the past year, retaining and recruiting volunteers was a recurring theme. “And there was no real system to deal with the problem,” he said.

The program was developed by Arlett and Roxana Chief Chris Uibel in conjunction with the school district. Uibel said eight mentors can work with as many as 30 cadets ages 10 to 14 to get the program started.

He said GEM will begin in late November at Millsboro Middle School where students can choose to take a daily 40-minute class. The program will eventually take place at Selbyville Middle School. Students will learn basic first aid and fire safety as well as leadership skills in partnership with the Delaware Fire School, Uibel said.

In addition, the chief said, two-hour classes will take place at Roxana fire hall on the first Sunday of each month for students not served at local schools. He said the program at the fire station would be more hands on with students participating in events and activities. He said after-school programs are also a possibility.

He said monthly fun events will be planned for all cadets in the program.

Uibel said fire departments keep a connection with students up to fifth grade through Fire Prevention Week activities. “After that, we don't see them. This helps fill the gap,” the chief said.

Uibel said they would also like to work with adult education programs to set up CPR and fire safety classes and even provide an emergency medical technician class.

“We are hopeful that neighboring departments will embrace the program to ensure that we have effective volunteers for years to come,” Uibel said.

“It has to become part of our culture in the county,” Arlett said. “We have to preserve the volunteer fire service in this state and do it we must partner with our schools.”

Terry Jester, president of the Delaware State Fire Chiefs Association, said he can see the program exploding throughout the state. “We are reaching the critical point in the state for keeping volunteers. This could be the savior for our volunteer fire service,” Jester said.

Arlett said taking the program to the high-school level is a natural progression.

In high school, Uibel said, the program could become a pathway for careers in the fire and emergency medical service fields as well as state police. He said it's possible for students to graduate as certified firefighters.

Contact Uibel at chrisu@roxana90.com for more information.