Latest News from State Capitol and 55th District??

August 28, 2025

Helping Volunteer Fire Departments Recruit, Retain Personnel

There’s no other way to say it, volunteer firefighting is the cornerstone of emergency response throughout Pennsylvania.

Of the Commonwealth’s more than 2,400 fire companies, roughly 90% rely on volunteers. It is estimated that Pennsylvania has approximately 37,000 volunteer emergency responders, which is a far cry lower than the 300,000 in the 1970s.

With the numbers in decline, it is important that Harrisburg take action. But if you speak to 100 firefighters about the personnel shortage, you are likely to hear 100 different reasons for the problem and 100 different possible solutions. From my perspective, we should discuss all of them. This is why I was happy to support recent legislation focused on recruiting and retaining volunteer first responders.

Signed into law in July, Act 33 of 2025 aims to improve the training and education requirements to make achieving Firefighter I certification more manageable for trainees.

Feedback from fire companies about the training process included concern that enrollees in Firefighter I are only allowed to take one cumulative test to complete the course.

The Firefighter I class, offered and administrated by the Office of the State Fire Commissioner (OSFC), is a 180-hour endeavor. Even though the hours are split into four modules, until now, trainees were only tested with one final exam at the end. The new law allows aspiring firefighters to test after each module. The entire curriculum and testing requirements remain unchanged.

I could see how 180 hours of information being lumped into one test could be daunting. It is important to remember that new volunteer firefighters can include a variety of individuals of different age groups and in various stages of their professional work. Allowing them to demonstrate mastery of this information in a way that is better aligned to their learning style certainly does make sense.

Also, on the subject of volunteer firefighter training, Act 25 of 2025 provides a means for the OSFC to recognize on-the-job training a firefighter trainee may already have and count it toward their certification.

It is hard enough to recruit and retain volunteers, forcing a recruit to complete training they already have clears a bureaucratic regulation out of the way.

Another legislative proposal, House Bill 1306, would exempt length-of-service awards for volunteer firefighters from state income taxes by excluding distributions from a length-of-service award program from the definition of income related to the Pennsylvania Personal Income Tax. 

Recruiting new firefighters is important but so is retaining our existing volunteers. Some fire companies offer length of service award programs to volunteers who remain with the fire company for a dedicated amount of time. Obviously, it’s counterproductive to work so hard on increasing our number of volunteer firefighters and then taxing a financial award thanking them for their service.

House Bill 1306 is now up for consideration in the Senate.

If you have lived in western Pennsylvania for a lifetime or even just a few years, you have likely seen how volunteer fire service has become such a fixture in our culture.

Imagine being a volunteer firefighter. You have engaged in hours and hours of training and spend even more time performing maintenance tasks on equipment. When you are not performing any of these tasks or actively responding to an emergency, you are selling sandwiches, frying fish filets during the Lenten season or planning a gun bash. The work is certainly thankless, but the brave men and women who actively volunteer tell me it’s a labor of love.

And we should be glad they love what they do. Pennsylvania law requires local governments to provide fire and emergency medical services. State fire officials estimate that volunteer firefighters save Pennsylvania communities about $10 billion annually. It’s for this reason that community support of our local fire departments is so important, whether it be at neighborhood events, dropping off a case of water or simply expressing gratitude.

If you are currently a volunteer with a local fire company, I want to offer a heartfelt thank you for everything you do.

If you are interested in volunteering and not sure who to contact, visit www.pa.gov/agencies/osfc/volunteer to learn more.

Here are some additional news topics and reminders I would like to share.

Broadband Projects Open for Public Comment - The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority has provisionally approved $793 million in broadband expansion projects across Pennsylvania pending federal approval. The funding is through the authority’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.

Last Friday’s vote by the authority also opens a seven-day period of public comment on the projects prior to federal submission. Those wishing to view the draft proposal and possibly submit a public comment can learn more at broadband.pa.gov, selecting Funding and then the BEAD program.

Seniors Can Save Money on Auto Insurance – My upcoming Seniors for Safe Driving event provides seniors with reminders and updates for safe driving techniques. It is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 10, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Washington Township Volunteer Fire Company, 4078 Route 66 in Apollo. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation class is designed for drivers 55 and older. There is no exam nor on-the-road driving required to complete the course. You even get a 5% discount on your auto insurance for participating! The course is $17. To register, call 1-800-559-4880.

A Celebration of PA Barns - The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office invites you to contribute to the effort of documenting and celebrating the barns of Pennsylvania that define our state’s rural traditions.

Barns represent the agricultural heritage, craftsmanship and local pride found throughout the Commonwealth. Whether your barn is a centuries-old bank barn, a family-built dairy barn, or a recently restored structure, the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office wants to preserve its story. Visit pahistoricpreservation.com to find out how to submit your photos and background information and have your barn added to the Pennsylvania Inventory of Historic Places.


Representative Jill Cooper
55th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Jordan Frei
724.875.8450
jfrei@pahousegop.com
RepJillCooper.com / Facebook.com/RepJillCooper