Chief James Seavey was 16 years old when he first joined the fire service as a volunteer firefighter. Seavey credited the opportunity to become a volunteer as his saving grace, taking what he dubbed “a troubled youth” and putting him on a life course that centered on public service.

“It not only got me out of a troubled youth, but it also gave me my career,” he said. “It was the conduit to do what I loved to do on a full-time basis.”

More than 30 years ago, the volunteer fire department was even more family centric than it is today. In most cases, only family members were recruited to join the service, while outsiders were deterred or simply not invited to the table. The cultural roadblock did little to deter Seavey, who contacted the volunteer department in his area monthly until he finally was allowed to join the department. He said it took seven months of pursuing the fire chief before he was welcomed into the service.

“Back then if you didn't have family in the fire service, you weren't welcome,” Seavey said. “They thought I would go away, but I called every month and kept hounding them until they finally let me in.”

Seavey's career is one marked by service. He works as a career firefighter in the District of Columbia Fire and EMS Department and has donated his time as the volunteer fire chief for the Cabin John Park (Md.) Fire Department since 1992. In addition, he has spent time volunteering for other surrounding area fire departments.

During his down time — if he has any, he joked — he participates on boards of directors and in other roles for several fire-service organizations. He has served as director, and is now the alternate director, for the state of Maryland on the National Volunteer Fire Council board of directors. He also serves as a board member of the eastern division of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and is an executive committee member of the Montgomery County (Md.) Volunteer Fire Rescue Association, among other appointments.

In addition, the chief has focused much of his career on strengthening relationships within the fire service on an international basis. Specifically, he has cultivated a relationship with the Halstenbek Volunteer Fire Department, located outside Hamburg, Germany. In this role, he developed a sister-city program that laid the foundation for international fire-service cooperation and understanding through a cultural, technological and educational exchange between the U.S. and German fire services.

Seavey said that throughout the years of his volunteer service he has witnessed several changes. Specifically, he said the reduction of paperwork spawned by the move toward a paperless process has reduced administrative costs and time.

“We've become such an electronic service,” he said. “The fire service was quick to adapt to modern technology and now we are almost paperless.”

He also said the volunteer fire service's culture has changed significantly, moving from one dominated by family members with a social agenda to the current culture, where departments are welcoming recruits from different backgrounds with enthusiasm.

“They are out there with open arms begging people to join,” he noted.

To recruit young volunteers, his volunteer department uses several different approaches. One specific approach that has been popular is a live-in program for college students. Students who attend local universities live in the station, Seavey said. They receive free room and board and also two meals per day when they are on duty. Currently there are four students living at the firehouse, he said.

The department also targets young professionals, including those from local companies that include IBM and Marriott. A recruiting team goes to the companies and pitches the benefits of being a volunteer firefighter, Seavey said.

“It's worked surprisingly well and what we are finding out is that these are people who might have been volunteers in their hometown,” he said. “They don't realize they can volunteer in metropolitan D.C., and having these folks who are trained in the fire service already has saved us a lot of money.”