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The Yomiuri Shimbun A man who used the Matsumoto City’s subsidy program to learn how to operate mobile cranes poses before a mobile crane in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture.
By Masao Yamaguchi and Yuta Nagatani / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers
15:46 JST, December 23, 2024
MATSUMOTO, Nagano / TOKYO — The importance of local volunteer firefighters in helping residents evacuate and in responding to fires has been rediscovered since the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.
Municipalities are now increasingly trying to recruit and secure local volunteer firefighters in a number of ways, such as by helping people obtain a license to operate heavy machinery and advertising with vending machines.
As the number of local volunteer firefighters is on the decline, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry is currently creating a unified national manual on how to encourage citizens to participate in local volunteer firefighting squads. “We would like to build an environment where locals can continue to work as volunteer firefighters for a long time,” an official at the agency said.
The Matsumoto municipal government in Nagano Prefecture launched a program this fiscal year to subsidize the fees of classes for obtaining seven kinds of qualifications, including a license to operate fire trucks and a certificate to operate drones.
The subsidy program covers 100% of the cost for obtaining a fire truck driver’s license, as fire trucks are essential for firefighting operations. When people learn how to operate drones, bulldozers and other equipment, the program provides up to ¥100,000 to cover two-thirds of the cost. “I hope to quickly respond to floods and other disasters,” a company employee and local volunteer firefighter who obtained a certificate to operate heavy machinery said with enthusiasm.
The city has 1,695 local volunteer firefighters, less than 80% of the 2,169 required by an ordinance. “The purpose [of the subsidy program] is to secure young local volunteer firefighters. We hope applicants will enhance their skills while being active as volunteer firefighters,” said the head of the city’s fire and disaster prevention department.
The municipal government started seeking applicants for the subsidy program in August, and seven local volunteer firefighters in their 20s, 30s and 40s have applied as of Dec. 5.
Speaking vending machine
The Yomiuri Shimbun Masaru Shimada stands by a speaking vending machine that calls on customers to become volunteer firefighters in Omiya Ward, Saitama. The speaking vending machine is his brainchild.
“Would you like to become a volunteer firefighter and work together with people in your community?” a voice recording from a vending machine says, calling for customers to apply for a volunteer firefighting squad as they insert coins.
The speaking vending machine appeared in the downtown area of Omiya Ward, Saitama, in March. Masaru Shimada, 56, a local volunteer firefighter who works for leading beverage company DyDo Drinco, Inc., came up with the idea. “I remembered a vending machine that warned people about fraud, and I asked my company for cooperation,” he said.
The speaking vending machine says different things to help customers according to the season, such as: “Cut mochi rice cakes into small pieces so that they do not get stuck in your throat.”
“It is a unique idea that will help localities secure volunteer firefighters,” said the head of the local volunteer firefighters’ promotion office at the Saitama municipal government’s fire control bureau.
The Wakayama city volunteer firefighting squad cooperated with Wakayama University to hold an event at the university’s festival that called for people to join the squad. The Asahi Ward volunteer firefighting squad in Yokohama conducts exercises that are accessible for women.
According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, the number of local volunteer firefighters across the nation peaked at 2.02 million in 1954 and declined to the 740,000 level in April. The decrease continues due to the declining birthrate and other reasons. The central government again asked municipalities to secure local volunteer firefighters in February after the earthquake in Noto the month before.
“Securing local volunteer firefighters is an urgent issue in preparing for major natural disasters. We want to introduce measures to improve operational efficiency and reduce the burden on local volunteer firefighters in various parts of the country to attract people in a wide range of fields,” said an official at the agency, which will create the manual for municipalities to encourage people to become volunteer firefighters before the end of this fiscal year.
