Winslow Township, New Jersey closing 3 fire stations due to volunteer firefighter shortage
WINSLOW TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBS) -- Winslow Township Fire Department announced Tuesday it's closing three of its stations and consolidating them into one station at the end of the year due to a lack of volunteers. The remaining volunteer firefighters at Winslow Township's stations in Tansboro, Albion and Elm will be consolidated into one "super station" at the fire headquarters along Cedar Brook Road.
"To be honest with you, it's very sad," Chief Marc Rigberg said. "It's a struggle in today's world for us to bring people in due to a variety of reasons that challenge us."
Rigberg said the reasons range from a general lack of interest in volunteering to people who want to help but work multiple jobs and simply can't keep up with the training requirements.
In fact, the number of volunteer firefighters nationwide dropped 24% between 1984 and 2020.
"This is not just a Winslow Township problem," Rigber said. "It is a Camden County problem. It is a state of New Jersey problem, and it is a nation problem."
He said response times shouldn't be affected because the township does have career firefighters, but volunteers are still critical to supplementing their department.
Suzanne Childers lives next to the Tansboro station, and she said she's going to miss her neighbors.
"It's sad. It's going to be really sad to see them all go because I made a lot of friends there over the years," Childers said. "They're great because the guys look out for my property, the other properties around, and I look out for their property and help them out in any way I can."
Winslow Township is actively looking for volunteer firefighters, and if you're interested in volunteering, you can call 609-561-4225.