By Darrell Kirk, Journal contributor

In December 1736, a 30-year-old Benjamin Franklin cofounded Philadelphia’s first volunteer fire department, driven by a simple observation: it was only fortune that had prevented his city from catastrophic blazes. Nearly three centuries later, his warning resonates on San Juan Island, where Fire District 3 faces a critical shortage of volunteers needed to protect island communities.

“An Ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of Cure,” Franklin wrote in his 1735 letter to the Philadelphia Gazette, advocating for organized firefighting brigades. Today, Chief Monin of San Juan Fire & Rescue echoes that preventive spirit while confronting a modern challenge: persuading islanders to join a tradition Franklin helped establish.

“The volunteers for a combination fire department that’s a rural service model are the heartbeat of the organization,” Chief Monin said. “We rely heavily on volunteers. We need them. Without them, we can do our jobs, but it’s not effective. It’s not safe.”

The department’s volunteer shortage threatens more than just emergency response times. Some outer island stations now have only one or two volunteers nearby, far below the numbers needed for effective operations. The consequences extend beyond fire safety to affect property values and economic development — issues Franklin himself understood when he helped create the nation’s first property insurance company in 1752.

Without adequate volunteer staffing, fire stations risk losing their protection class ratings from the Washington Survey and Ratings Bureau, which assesses fire departments every five years. Poor ratings or no ratings at all mean residents cannot obtain fire insurance, a requirement for bank loans and property development.

“If you don’t have that insurance, then that really locks the rural areas out of being able to develop and get capital,” Chief Monin explained. “That’s where we started. The history of Fire District Three, starting in 1958, was basically born by volunteers. It was really the locals who needed fire stations in their areas to get fire insurance.”

Franklin would recognize the problem. His Union Fire Company was formed after a 1730 wharf fire caused massive damage that proper firefighting equipment and trained responders could have prevented. He noted the city had been saved only by calm winds that night, and warned Philadelphia against depending on such luck.

The 26 members of Franklin’s original brigade each agreed to bring six leather buckets and two linen bags to every fire, with members assigned specific roles to ensure an organized response. San Juan Fire & Rescue operates on similar principles, though with considerably more sophisticated equipment and training requirements.

The department’s recruit academy starts Jan. 3. The hybrid academy includes hands-on skills weekends, with graduating participants fully qualified as structure and wildland firefighters by May 3. The basic recruit academy gets everyone onboarded at a basic level as a firefighter. The academy offers the Red Card class for national wildland firefighter certification. The department also has a marine response unit working off the fire boat and rescue response services for heavy rescue. But Chief Monin emphasizes this isn’t casual volunteering.

“One of the things that’s been said among many chiefs is as you onboard a volunteer recruitment and you talk to the class, you let them know, ‘Thank you for volunteering, for applying. We’ve accepted your application,’” Chief Monin said. “That’s where the volunteering ends because we have standards and we have to train you. You have to maintain those standards. It’s ongoing and we expect you to show up if the community needs you.”

The challenge of maintaining volunteer rosters isn’t new. Franklin’s Union Fire Company quickly grew beyond its original 30-member capacity, prompting him to encourage surplus volunteers to form additional brigades. By 1752, Philadelphia had eight volunteer companies. But San Juan Island faces the opposite problem.

“What we’re seeing is that we have a station out there that is not serving anybody’s best interest now,” Chief Monin said. “We put a fire truck in it that costs a lot of money. We maintain the building that costs a lot of money and it’s just sitting there and there’s no purpose for it.” The problem: insufficient volunteers to operate the equipment effectively.

Demographic changes compound the problem. Three decades ago, affordable island property attracted self-motivated residents eager to volunteer. Today’s expensive real estate draws wealthy retirees and part-time residents less inclined toward demanding volunteer work.

Yet the rewards extend beyond community service. Chief Monin described a recent downtown Friday Harbor fire where volunteers arrived to assist just three staff members battling a blaze consuming multiple businesses.

“There’s no feeling like that when you’re overwhelmed and everything’s going to hell in a handbasket and you have people showing up dedicated to get up in the middle of the morning, put everything aside to go into town and save as many businesses as possible,” he said. “That sense of camaraderie—we’re all the same in that moment. Some of us are career, a bunch of us are volunteers, but we’re all the same in that moment where we’re gathering to do the best we can for the community.”

The department seeks volunteers aged 18 and older, offering various roles from active firefighting to support positions. Those who commit for five years typically become long-term members, forming the backbone of the service. The district provides top-quality equipment, ongoing training, and stipends, while the community offers additional recognition through local business discounts.

Writing under the pseudonym “A.A.” in 1735, Franklin urged Philadelphians to establish fire protection while they were still physically able to help their neighbors. On San Juan Island, with no neighboring fire departments to provide mutual aid, that same spirit of self-reliance remains essential.

As Franklin demonstrated nearly three centuries ago, volunteer firefighting serves both individual and community interests — a principle that remains as vital today as when he helped extinguish his first Philadelphia blaze.

Monin described a recent downtown Friday Harbor fire where volunteers arrived to assist just three staff members battling a blaze consuming multiple businesses.

“There’s no feeling like that when you’re overwhelmed and everything’s going to hell in a handbasket and you have people showing up dedicated to get up in the middle of the morning, put everything aside to go into town and save as many businesses as possible,” he said. “That sense of camaraderie—we’re all the same in that moment. Some of us are career, a bunch of us are volunteers, but we’re all the same in that moment where we’re gathering to do the best we can for the community.”

The department seeks volunteers aged 18 and older, offering various roles from active firefighting to support positions. Those who commit for five years typically become long-term members, forming the backbone of the service. The district provides top-quality equipment, ongoing training, and stipends, while the community offers additional recognition through local business discounts.

Interested residents can contact San Juan Island Fire & Rescue at 1011 Mullis St. or via email at kkuetzing@sjifire.org to learn more about the January 3 recruit academy. More information is available at https://www.sjifire.org/news/2025-11-10-2026-firefighter-academy-dates-announced/.