When Sam Boak joined the Harmar Volunteer Fire Company in the 1990s, โyou could show up any time of day and there would be six guys sitting there having a good time.โ In a few short years, it became tough to get enough people to respond even when the sirens wailed. The number of volunteer firefighters in Pennsylvania plummeted almost 90% from 1970 to this year, according to the Pennsylvania Fire and Emergency Services Institute. It is estimated only about 38,000 volunteer firefighters remain in the state.
