Freemansburg has recently experienced confrontation between its volunteer fire department-supporting residents and a borough council concerned with costs and public safety.

An announcement of the negotiation for the city of Bethlehem to replace the 107-year-old No. 1 Volunteer Fire Company for fire service duties resulted in hours-long meetings and invective-laden shouting matches.

But it was noted time and again this is by no means a recent development. Nor is it merely a local problem.

Borough Council member Jim Smith said whatever faith the community puts in the dedicated work of volunteers, the governing body must consider the what-ifs. He said of 30 active volunteers, few are available during regular workday hours and 16 are not even borough residents.

Some residents and fire department members maintain that so long as mutual aid agreements are in place, municipalities will help each other through. But according to Smith and others, the worrisome national downward trend in volunteerism may soon mean every small town will be equally unable to field responders.

In a real emergency, says Smith, that can't be left to chance.

Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioner Edward Mann confirmed via a phone interview the vexing state of volunteerism and the challenges it represents.

"[This one] is not the only fire department in the commonwealth to have this issue," he said. Far from it. Mann said studies indicate the number of volunteer firefighters is dropping every year. In 1977 there were more than 300,000 statewide. That dropped by more than two-thirds in the 80s, and today he estimates only 50-60,000 total in a state of almost 13 million people.

"When I was a kid in Centre County, there were two companies in town," Mann recalled, "and [when alarms sounded] I could see guys running from banks and hardware stores … people could leave work because they owned the businesses.

"That's no longer the case."

Mann said nationally it is now difficult to muster the numbers necessary to properly respond to emergencies, and he doesn't see that changing for the better.

However, he also said the number of firefighters overall – paid city firefighters – has also been dropping as governments have been forced to tighten their belts during the recession. "I don't think you'll find one career fire department in the country with the same staffing levels as five-10 years ago. City departments are making it work because they don't have a choice."

Mann explained both groups are beginning to make up for shortcomings – in available jobs versus available people – because more volunteer units are offering paid positions to ensure at least somebody is around to respond to their calls. Unfortunately, that is not a reasonable solution in many locales, as funding is often as big a problem as staffing.

Mann said Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants are available to help, but most state grants can't be used for operational expenses; only equipment and training.

A misleading figure that Mann said is further hampering fire departments is a 50 percent drop in structure fires in recent years. He credits building materials, smoke detectors and public education for positive development, but adds rescues, accidents and emergencies of other kinds have doubled.

In effect, local firefighters are doing the same amount of work but without the visibility. "When the public doesn't see it, it's tough to justify the participation and expense of maintaining fire departments," Mann said.