Trafalgar volunteer firefighter Max Knapp is pictured in July 2003.
Daily Journal Archives
News from around Johnson County as reported on July 25 in the pages of the Daily Journal and the Franklin Evening Star from the last 112 years.
On this day in 2003, one of the main stories on the front page of the Daily Journal was about how volunteer firefighters seemed to be in short supply.
When the Franklin Fire Department advertised job openings the year before, nearly 200 people applied. But when the Trafalgar Volunteer Fire Department looked to recruit more help, it gained six new members.
“We’re ecstatic about six,” Trafalgar Fire Chief Tony Napier said.
While Franklin couldn’t hire every eligible applicant because of money constraints, it had a list of applicants ready for when they could.
But some of the county’s volunteer fire departments had trouble attracting new recruits.
Fewer county residents were volunteering for fire department work because of time demands, lengthy training requirements and training costs, department chiefs said. But as more people moved into the county, the number of vehicle accidents and medical emergencies were increasing.
Not every department struggled with staffing. But the number of people willing to volunteer was declining across the country at the same time fire departments faced a sharp increase in the volume of calls.
The Nineveh Volunteer Fire Department had 31 active personnel, which chief Jason Ramey thought was a good amount, he said.
Other volunteer departments, such as Trafalgar, Whiteland and New Whiteland, said they would’ve liked to increase their number of volunteers. But doing so wouldn’t be easy, since people are busier and the job became more demanding, the chiefs said.
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Other memorable Johnson County stories from this day
2014
A search was ongoing for the father of a young pilot who took off from the Greenwood Municipal Airport and died in a plane crash in the Pacific Ocean.
1994
A 17-year-old Edinburgh girl was arrested after leading police on a chase from Franklin to Columbus.
1964
The Johnson County Fair was preparing to open later that day.
