Work without wages: the motivation for volunteer firefighters

American Journal of Economics and Sociology, The, July, 1993 by Alexander M. Thompson, III, Barbara A. Bono

However imperfect, it is clear that volunteer fire departments are a powerful instrument for furthering social integration, both for the firefighters themselves and the members of their communities. Their membership in these organizations provides women and men with a palpable means to struggle against the alienation of social isolation. Moreover, Chavis and Wandersman (1990) have suggested that a strong sense of community integration feeds back to support one's sense of control and empowerment, and thus further reinforces overall self-actualization.

The final aspect of alienation, self-estrangement, results from individuals engaging in activities for extrinsic rather than intrinsic rewards (Blauner 1964, 26-32; Seeman 1972, 495-500). Thus, our careers are a means of obtaining the wherewithal for our existence, though the activity may have no intrinsic value to us and contributes little to the self-actualization of our "species being." While for volunteer firefighters, the most obvious extrinsic reward of remuneration is absent, the survey suggests that they seek both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, though the former appear to dominate. Perhaps the most embracing intrinsic reward to volunteer firefighters is that this activity allows them to struggle effectively against alienation. To the extent that their volunteer labor empowers them, provides meaning to their work, and yields a degree of social integration, these rewards are immediately forthcoming from the activity which thus is an end in itself. Additionally, firefighters frequently cite the inherent excitement of the activity as a strong source of motivation.

The survey also elicited evidence of extrinsic, alienated motivation. One such objective is access to paid employment, most directly by acquiring firefighting skills and gaining employment at a career fire department. But being a volunteer firefighter provides access to a much broader range of potential employment. Within the volunteer department, individuals gain exposure to influential community leaders, and are in a position to demonstrate their employable attributes to these individuals. Moreover, a firefighter who is also an employer may be more likely to hire a fellow firefighter when other applicants have equal qualifications. Within the sample of volunteer firefighters, 46% were either self-employed or managers, and therefore likely to be engaged in hiring decisions. Less directly, these influential individuals may provide valuable referrals for firefighters. From the sample, only 8% of firefighters stated they were strongly motivated by "gaining opportunities for paid employment," while 27% averred this provided moderate motivation for their participation, and 65% claimed that the employment motive was minimal or non-existent. Asked if being a member of a voluntary fire department ever helped them to obtain employment, 22% answered in the affirmative. Still, this extrinsic motivation arises much less frequently and considerably less forcefully than the intrinsic motivations detailed above. Table 4 shows that a similar pattern emerged from the other extrinsic motivational factor surveyed, namely keeping taxes down. The predominance of intrinsic over extrinsic incentives for the overall volunteer population has been suggested by Gidron (1983). Sundeen (1990) also found that intrinsic motivational factors tend to intensify with the length of volunteer service, while extrinsic factors tend to diminish.