Ryan Roberts
Ryan Roberts never sees an end to the amount of training the Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company needs to do. Covering three townships and a borough makes lacking any particular area of expertise a danger.
What may happen when firefighters respond to a call can change quickly and unexpectedly.
“We train on everything from vehicle accidents to structural fires to hazardous materials,” Robert said. “We also train on farm equipment rescues. We train on everything.”
Roberts, the president of the fire company, who was nominated for the Hometown Hero Award by the Saxonburg Area Rotary Club, has spent 42 years with the department.
Roberts, 59, and about 10 friends joined the department in their early 20s. He became the company president after serving as vice president for a long time.
Of the group Roberts joined with, he is the only remaining member. The relationships he built while working at the station helped keep him interested in staying.
“I’ve made a lot of friends there,” Robert said.
Like many volunteer organizations, Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company is struggling to find enough volunteers. Roberts understands that many times life will get in the way for a lot of perspective or current members.
“It’s challenging for the recruitment and retention team; we try to go to events and hand out pamphlets,” Roberts said. “We tell them what’s involved with firefighting and try to get their interest. We go to schools. We go to classes and teach about fire prevention, firefighting and try to recruit.”
Roberts, who is retired after working 27 years for Butler County 911 as a telecommunicator and supervisor, said that it is difficult to estimate how much time he spends at the station. He said he usually does about 20 hours a week. Most of Roberts’ time is spent with training.
“We train weekly,” Roberts said. “I don’t know, when I was younger it was more of an adventure. It’s more like a job now.”
Roberts’ toughest job comes with trying to sustain membership at the station. Recruiting and retention are always the forefront of his mind.
Trying to get and keep people involved is one of his favorite parts of the job. Roberts pitches recruits on building a good environment.
Roberts will go into the schools and give lessons on fire prevention. They will also go to nursing homes and community events to get out into the public and drive interest.
“We love doing that,” Roberts said. “We have a committee that does that. They are in charge of fire prevention, which are the younger children. Teenagers you can join our station at 14. We try to get them in early so they have an interest and stay with us.”
Getting all of the training materials to keep up with modern techniques is something Roberts works hard at. The Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company has a partnership with Butler County Community College to help out.
“We go through BC3 with the state fire academy,” Roberts said. “We also do our own in-house training. ”
Roberts said he has enjoyed his time with firefighting. That’s why he uses the ability to build relationships in his sales pitch.
“Camaraderie is a big thing,” he said. “As well as helping the community and building skills.”
