A few hours after typing this, I will park myself on a metal folding chair and settle in to watch my eldest son graduate from firefighting academy.

I’m pretty proud of him.

Brunswick resident Heather D. Martin wants to know what’s on your mind; email her at heather@heatherdmartin.com.

I fully own that there is some plain ol’ mama pride going on here, naturally, but this sort of thing is good for all of us, because Maine (like most other places) has a shortage of firefighters.

That’s bad.

Exactly how bad is unclear, which is actually part of the problem. It turns out that although we know we are in a “crisis” level shortage of firefighters, we don’t know what that really means, or how bad said crisis actually is.

According to an article printed last year in the Lewiston-based Sun Journal, “fire departments are struggling to recruit and retain career, per diem and volunteer firefighters, leaving the dwindling numbers to handle a growing number of calls. In some cases, fire departments have merged or even closed,” but “the state doesn’t track the number of active firefighters, nor does the Maine Fire Institute.”

It’s not just Maine; the crisis is nationwide. The article notes that “the U.S. had more volunteer firefighters in 1986 than 2018, despite significant population growth. The number of career firefighters rose during that time period, but not enough to make up for the decline in volunteers.” It went on to say, “this is particularly problematic for Maine, where 95% of fire departments are fully or mostly staffed by volunteers.” Yoiks.

Firefighting as a career is a hard sell. The hours are miserable, the pay is low (or nonexistent), the stress is ridiculous, and the work is life-threatening.

When I did a search, I saw salaries in Maine range from $20,000 a year to $70,000 – with an average of $35,000. For literally running into burning buildings. So, clearly, it is not about the money or the perks. I think to be a firefighter, you have to already be a firefighter. Like, in your soul, you know?

If your house, place of work, or even your field has caught fire, the danger is immediate. Fire can spread quickly to consume entire neighborhoods with alarming speed. Lives are at stake.

To contain and extinguish the danger requires not only bravery, but training and education. Firefighters must make split-second decisions about the best and most accurate way to approach each blaze they encounter.

Our building methods have changed the way fires work. A wooden structure made the old-fashioned way with thick beams and organic materials burns much more slowly, and with less toxic smoke, than a modern building made with thinner framing and lots of plastic and chemical materials.

Buildings today burn faster and hotter and are more deadly. Great.

Lucky for us, Maine has several training centers for firefighters. Southern Maine Community College and Eastern Maine Community College are two, and a search will lead to others for those who are interested in becoming a firefighter.

As for me, while part of me wishes he’d continued with his 5-year-old self’s obsession and become an ornithologist (Do they ever encounter life-threatening situations watching birds in a meadow?) most of me is enormously proud.

Well done, kiddo. Here’s hoping that more like him take up the call and enter this dangerous, yet rewarding, career to keep the rest of us safe. We need you, and we thank you.