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When the last volunteer gets too old to fulfill the heavy duties that are an essential part of firefighting, who will put out the flames?
We are getting dangerously low on volunteer firefighters across Pennsylvania, and that puts homeowners in areas without a paid fire department at risk.
Consider that there were 300,000 volunteer firefighters statewide 50 years ago, and now there are fewer than 40,000, according to the state Fire and Emergency Services Institute.
This decline in the number of volunteers is not a new issue. In fact, over the past few decades, little has changed, though some have tried a few novel approaches.
But perhaps another approach being suggested in Lycoming County will help ease the struggle.
Muncy Area Volunteer Fire Chief Scott Delaney and several other individuals are pushing to see firefighting, EMT, corrections and law enforcement classes offered in local high schools.
The goal is to encourage young people to volunteer and participate in keeping their communities safe.
It's a good idea.
It's patterned after a three-year elective program that will enter its third year this school year at Williamsport Area High School.
By the end of their third year, students enrolled in that program may become certified as firefighters and EMTs.
These are college-level courses at the high school that count as 15 course credits at Pennsylvania College of Technology, but without the cost of college tuition.
Melanie Bertin, a homeland security vocational teacher at Williamsport High, has been working with officials in Lycoming County.
"In the very near future, voluntarism is going away," she said. "It's important for these students to take this class, see if it is what they like and learn to give back to the community."
We agree.
This is not just a good idea but an important one worthy of duplication at high schools across the state, given the declining state of voluntarism.
It's worth a shot.
Without willing volunteers, it's inevitable that the day will come where paid fire departments become the norm.
That, or houses will just have to burn to the ground, and nobody wants that.