The Telkwa Fire Department is in desperate need of volunteers after its membership dropped to 15 from 21, the lowest it has been in years.
“We’ve been on a roller coaster, you have these ups and you have these downs, this is the second time we’ve gone on quite a downswing in membership,” said fire chief Randy Cunningham. “It’s really tough in the summertime getting people interested in joining because people are off on holidays or have plans.”
Cunningham said this year three members moved away and three decided being a firefighter was not something they wanted to do, leaving just the core group of 15, many of whom have been serving the village for years.
The last time their numbers were this low was roughly nine years ago when membership dropped to nine members. The amount of volunteers did temporarily jump back up to 23 after their annual membership drive.
Stuart Mckinnon has been with the department for eight years and moved up the ranks from firefighter to deputy fire chief within a year.
He said the reduced membership has put a burden on existing members.
“You do what you can with what you have,” said Mckinnon. “It puts more stress on the people we have. With more people, you share the workload. It’s a nice feeling to know that when you’re going to an emergency, you have the people you need.”
Erin Thomson has been with the department for almost two years.
“It’s definitely been a little bit more of a challenge,” she said. “If we do get a call, it’s like ‘oh, do we have enough volunteers right now, do I need to leave work to respond to this?’ . . . because we don’t have enough volunteers to cover.”
Currently, the Fire Underwriters certifies the volunteer department and requires a minimum of 15 members.
However, if their numbers drop below that, Cunningham said it will affect all residents of the village.
“If we can’t keep up our memberships or can’t keep up our certification as a fire department, then eventually residents of the village may have to start paying a higher home insurance because their fire department isn’t a fully-functioning one,” he said.
In an effort to increase memberships, the department is holding an open house on Wednesday, Sept. 3 from 7 to 8 p.m. inviting the public to come and see what the fire department is about and meet the volunteers.