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The Federal Emergency Management Agency is taking a crucial step in the right direction.
The agency is providing the Willing Hand Hose Co., Montoursville's volunteer fire company, a $382,000 grant to assist in recruiting volunteer firefighters.
According to an article in Wednesday's edition of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette, the funding will help the company pay stipends to firefighters. Since the announcement, the company has seen several community members reach out about joining their firefighting ranks.
The grant can also be used to help pay tuition for volunteer firefighters pursuing careers as first responders.
The state has been confronted with a worsening shortage of volunteer firefighters for years.
"It's not a crisis, it's a disaster," York City Fire Chief William H. Sleeger told Fox 43, a Harrisburg-based TV station, in February. "There's nobody stepping up like that to fulfill the volunteer ranks."
As WNEP-TV reported in March. 50 years ago Pennsylvania had about 300,000 volunteer firefighters -- today the state has fewer than 40,000.
"We need volunteer firefighters so badly," Ron Barry, firefighter and coordinator of a training program at Connelsville Area Career and Technical Center in Fayette County, told the Capital-Star in May of 2022.
The structure of emergency services, particularly in our rural communities, relies on volunteer fire companies. And for decades, our communities have asked much of the men and women willing to take on that role -- we've asked volunteer firefighters to make enormous sacrifices and take incalculable risks.
We believe it is only appropriate that portions of our federal tax dollars and state tax dollars be used to address this understandable burden. We hope FEMA continues to expand how its allotment of federal tax dollars can be used to encourage joining our volunteer fire companies.
And of course, as we've editorialized before, we hope our communities -- our borough and township governments, our civic organizations and our neighborhoods and families -- can find ways of supporting our volunteer fire companies and of better expressing our appreciation for their immeasurable service.