Photo/Illutration Volunteer firefighter Noboru Sasaki talks on a radio inside a fire truck in Tanohata village in Iwate Prefecture on Feb. 20. Sasaki lost colleagues in the 3/11 disaster. (Akina Nishi)

Pools of volunteer firefighters are in short supply these days, notably in communities devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster that claimed the lives of more than 200 such individuals. The high toll highlighted the hazardous nature of the work.

Volunteer fire brigades traditionally play a vital role in protecting local residents in the event of a disaster.

The decline in volunteer firefighters is particularly apparent in Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, which bore the brunt of damage from the magnitude-9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake and the towering tsunami it spawned.

The trend in the three prefectures is much steeper than the national average.

Volunteer firefighters totaled 804,877 nationwide as of April 2021, a record low and down 8.9 percent from the figure for 2010, according to the central government’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

The combined number for the three prefectures was 10,714 fewer during the same period in 2021, or 13.3 percent, from that of 2010.

Records show that 254 volunteer firefighters died or were listed as missing in the 2011 disaster.

As a result, those considering volunteering their services are often talked out of joining by relatives and family members.

“Many people have quit or avoided joining after heeding what their relatives and girlfriends said,” noted a volunteer in Iwate Prefecture.

Many of the volunteers who perished had rushed to the seashore to close water gates manually before predicted tsunami hit coastal areas.

Ninety volunteers lost their lives in Iwate Prefecture during the course of helping local residents to evacuate or performing other duties.

The prefecture has since introduced a system that automatically closes water gates as soon as a tsunami alert or warning is issued, as part of efforts by officials to eradicate the negative image associated with emergency rescue operations.

To date, the system operates at 165 of 214 planned sites in Iwate Prefecture.

Neighboring Miyagi Prefecture currently operates an automatic system at 120 sites of 207 planned locations. In Fukushima Prefecture, the system has been introduced at seven sites.

As an enticement to join, Miyagi and Iwate prefectures issue discount coupons for volunteer firefighters to use at restaurants.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency is trying to help stem the continued decline across the nation by paying volunteer firefighters when they are deployed.

In April 2021, the agency directed local governments to pay a per diem rate of 8,000 yen ($69) from this April if volunteer firefighters take part in emergency activities to address fires and other disasters.

(This article was written by Hidemasa Yoshizawa and Mitomu Narita.)

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