Recruitment & Retention Award Presented to Upper Merion Township

Like many communities, Upper Merion was up against an ever-increasing call volume and limited volunteer availability.

These challenges led them to form the Upper Merion Township Public Safety Department in 2019, which consolidated police, fire, emergency medical services, and emergency management into one group that's overseen by a Public Safety Director/Chief of Police.

They believe this combined approach has allowed them to implement several changes that have greatly improved their recruitment and retention efforts, including:

• Improved and continuous marketing, , involving a better “word-of-mouth” stream within the first responder community, more outreach (yard signs, social media, ads, letters, etc.), and additional recruitment events, like a high school firefighter program and live-in program.

• Increased volunteer benefits, like Accident & Sickness Insurance Coverage, a Length of Service Awards Program (LOSAP), more training, permission for Township employees to respond/volunteer during work hours, stipends, and more.

They believe their comprehensive approach as a combination system, including increased marketing efforts and volunteer perks, has been highly successful in many areas, noting they've increased their volunteer/stipend members by 15 since 2023.

We applaud their efforts and service—and are proud to present them with this year's VCOS-VFIS Recruitment and Retention Award to help recognize their accomplishments!

This annual award is a joint venture of the Volunteer & Combination Officers Section (VCOS) of the IAFC and VFIS that recognizes a department that successfully achieved its retention and recruitment goals within the last year. Check out all of VCOS' award opportunities here.