Pat Inzer joined the West Brighton Fire Department on Oct. 1, 1962, following in the footsteps of his father, who joined after World War II ended.
To say he’s put a good chunk of his life into the fire service is no overstatement.
Naturally, he’s saddened to hear talk of the declining volunteers and the uncertain future of a fire department that was organized in 1926 and started operating from a one-bay barn on Riverside Drive, near the Genesee River.
Its origins are one reason why the department’s drill team is known as the “River Rats.”
“Volunteer firefighters are like a brotherhood,” Inzer said. “When you join, it becomes your second family. We watch out for each other.”
And like brothers and sisters, they are leaning on each other as they await word on what happens next. Town and fire and ambulance officials are in the early stages of deciding how best to provide emergency services in the West Brighton Fire Protection District.
Several options are being explored, including the possibility of consolidating this district with another.
Inzer, who acknowledges that volunteer numbers are down, tells his brothers and sisters to keep an open mind, because no one has said to take down the department’s flag from its station on West Henrietta Road or told any of the volunteers they’re out.
In fact, the basic job may not change.
“We’re sad, but we have a job to do,” Inzer said. “We’re going to do it day in, day out, and we’re not going to allow what’s going on around us affect that. Our goal is to do what we can to provide the service we’re required to give. We have no intention of doing less than that.”
David Yantz, who is entering his third year as fire chief and has served 14 years as a volunteer, said West Brighton is a small department with a lot of history and a lot of responsibility.
A little more than 700 homes are in the fire protection district, but the bulk of it is commercial — including the heavily-trafficked East and West Henrietta roads. A good percentage of property is tax-exempt land owned by Monroe Community College and the University of Rochester.
Attracting younger volunteers has been difficult, for reasons that many organizations have troubles.
Parents of younger families are often working two jobs and don’t have the time to give to fire service, Inzer said.
Pat Inzer joined the West Brighton Fire Department on Oct. 1, 1962, following in the footsteps of his father, who joined after World War II ended.
To say he’s put a good chunk of his life into the fire service is no overstatement.
Naturally, he’s saddened to hear talk of the declining volunteers and the uncertain future of a fire department that was organized in 1926 and started operating from a one-bay barn on Riverside Drive, near the Genesee River.
Its origins are one reason why the department’s drill team is known as the “River Rats.”
“Volunteer firefighters are like a brotherhood,” Inzer said. “When you join, it becomes your second family. We watch out for each other.”
And like brothers and sisters, they are leaning on each other as they await word on what happens next. Town and fire and ambulance officials are in the early stages of deciding how best to provide emergency services in the West Brighton Fire Protection District.
Several options are being explored, including the possibility of consolidating this district with another.
Inzer, who acknowledges that volunteer numbers are down, tells his brothers and sisters to keep an open mind, because no one has said to take down the department’s flag from its station on West Henrietta Road or told any of the volunteers they’re out.
In fact, the basic job may not change.
“We’re sad, but we have a job to do,” Inzer said. “We’re going to do it day in, day out, and we’re not going to allow what’s going on around us affect that. Our goal is to do what we can to provide the service we’re required to give. We have no intention of doing less than that.”
David Yantz, who is entering his third year as fire chief and has served 14 years as a volunteer, said West Brighton is a small department with a lot of history and a lot of responsibility.
A little more than 700 homes are in the fire protection district, but the bulk of it is commercial — including the heavily-trafficked East and West Henrietta roads. A good percentage of property is tax-exempt land owned by Monroe Community College and the University of Rochester.
Attracting younger volunteers has been difficult, for reasons that many organizations have troubles.
Parents of younger families are often working two jobs and don’t have the time to give to fire service, Inzer said.
The many hours of required training also deters some would-be volunteers.
“There are a lot of nights away from home,” Inzer said.
To continue to provide service to the community, two paid firefighters work 24 hours, five days a week, a practice that began last month. That leaves weekends for volunteers.
“It’s hard to keep a good flow of volunteers coming,” Yantz said.
One way the department has been trying to buck the trend is making use of college students, particularly those who volunteer with fire departments back home and still want to contribute while they’re away at school.
Royce Terry, 18, is one. The Monroe Community College student, who is a firefighter with the Edmeston Volunteer Fire Department near Elmira, volunteers in West Brighton through the mutual aid bunk-in program. He loves it.
“West Brighton takes care of all their members,” Terry said. “Even though I’m not, I am treated like a full member.”
And, Inzer notes, people like Terry do their job well and have made a “couple of good saves.”
As many others have over the years. Inzer remembers being called away from vacation in the 1970s after someone known as the “basement burner” set fire to several apartment buildings.
“We came close to losing some good people,” he said.
Shared stories and memories of community service — as well as the dangers inherent in the duty — help make the volunteers a tight-knit group who do good work. And, many have been keeping an open mind throughout the process of determining the next step, Yantz said.
Their future is a regular subject for coffee table discussions, however. After all, many of the people have spent a good portion of their lives volunteering for West Brighton, he said
“It’s in the back of everyone’s head — what is truly going to happen?” Yantz said. “Everyone has a lot of questions. I hope everybody’s questions will be answered or at least they feel they are being heard.”
