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Marple Fire Company warns of steep volunteer decline and funding shortfall, outlines SAFER-backed plan to add six career firefighters
Summary
Marple Fire Company leaders told commissioners that volunteer ranks have fallen sharply while call volume and apparatus costs have risen; a FEMA SAFER grant will fund six daytime career firefighters on a temporary, multi-year basis, but township budget action will be required when federal reimbursement ends.
Capuzzi, president of the Marple Fire Company, told the Marple Township Board of Commissioners on Feb. 9 that the volunteer department is facing simultaneous pressures: far fewer volunteers, heavier call volume and sharply higher equipment and replacement costs.
"We have a dramatic increase in our call volume and a decline in active firefighters," Capuzzi said, noting the company now lists 57 members with 38 considered active and that only 18 members met a 20% response threshold last year. He said the company’s response district covers roughly 11 square miles and about 24,000 residents.
The presentation’s nut graf: county- and statewide trends are compounding local pressures. Presenters cited a Pennsylvania Office of the State Fire Commissioner study that, they said, showed volunteer ranks in the Commonwealth declined from roughly 300,000 in the 1970s to about 37,000 in 2025; they also said modern basic training requirements have grown substantially since the 1970s, making volunteer recruitment and retention harder.
Vince Delvacho, the fire company treasurer, reviewed revenues and expenses and described an operating outlook the company called unsustainable: "We're projected to bring in about $617,000; unfortunately, we're projected to spend about $773,000," he said, adding that fund-drive proceeds have fallen (presenters showed a decline from roughly $214,000 to $173,000 over a 10-year span) and that municipal contributions to fire services vary across neighboring townships. The treasurer said long lead times and rising prices are driving apparatus-replacement costs higher and noted examples of mid-order price increases.
To address staffing, the department described two near-term measures and one grant-funded step. The township-funded volunteer staffing-incentive program (SIP) places modest stipends for in‑station shifts and for home-response participation; officials said SIP has shortened nocturnal response times but does not solve the long-term shortage. The department also said it successfully applied for a FEMA SAFER grant late in 2025 to phase in six career firefighters beginning spring 2026: the plan would staff three firefighters per shift on a 2-2-3 schedule with daytime coverage reported as 6 a.m.–6 p.m. Presenters warned the SAFER funding is temporary and that, without renewed federal assistance, the municipality would need to absorb full personnel costs once the multiyear reimbursement period ends.
Commissioners asked about possible long-term revenue options, including a township-level fire tax or other broad-based assessment. One commissioner noted that fully replacing volunteers with around-the-clock career staffing in a township this size could ultimately require on the order of 16–20 full-time firefighters plus supervisory ranks; presenters and commissioners agreed that planning should begin now to phase in any major staffing changes.
Capuzzi and Delvacho said they would provide the board a copy of the presentation and thanked commissioners for time and consideration. Several commissioners volunteered to help develop a strategic budget plan for consideration during the next budget cycle.
What happens next: the fire company will email the presentation to the board; commissioners signaled interest in working on a long-term financing and staffing strategy during the upcoming budget process.
