The Dundalk station’s beloved 45-year holiday attraction won’t return this year as its core group of builders shrinks and ages, mirroring a broader volunteer shortage that has also left the fire company short on apparatus-qualified members

By Natalie Jones
Baltimore Sun

DUNDALK, Md. The Wise Avenue Volunteer Fire Company’s annual Christmas train garden has been canceled this year amid a decline in volunteers available to build and operate the intricate holiday attraction.

For 45 years, volunteers have poured tens of thousands of hours into planning, organizing and building the Dundalk fire station’s train garden each fall, setting up favorite recurring displays and elements with a local twist, like a Key Bridge replica.

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But the core group of volunteers who build the train garden is shrinking and aging, according to Bob Frances, a firefighter and spokesperson for the Wise Avenue station.

“We just don’t have people who have the ability and time to be able to do that anymore,” he said.

While the station has received an “overwhelming” response to the cancellation, Frances said few people have stepped forward to volunteer.

Construction of the sprawling train garden usually begins in late September or early October, with roughly 10 people taking charge before a late November opening. Planning often begins as volunteers review the current year’s setup, and maintenance occurs in the off-season. Volunteers must also balance work on the train garden with the station’s primary responsibilities: fire, rescue and emergency medical services.

Frances said the decision to cancel this year’s train garden is not for financial reasons. The display is “basically self-sustaining,” he said, and the station gets some discounts on new materials, as well as in-kind and monetary donations. However, the train garden is built in the firehouse rental hall, which renders the event space unavailable for up to four months out of the year. More volunteers could expedite the disassembly process.

This is not the first time that the Wise Avenue station has struggled to find volunteers to assemble the train garden.

In late 2005, fire company officials said the display would be canceled, pointing to time constraints, lost rental income and swelling utility costs. Only five people consistently helped with the display that year, according to previous Baltimore Sun reporting. However, a $4,000 donation from a local cardiologist and an outpouring of community support helped the station continue the tradition.

The cancellation also comes as the Wise Avenue station, like many other volunteer fire stations across the country, grapples with a shortage of volunteers even beyond the train garden. The volunteer fire company has about 100 to 125 total active members, according to Frances, with about 20 of those members being able to ride fire apparatus to respond to calls in the community.

Whether potential volunteers want to pitch in for the train garden or work in emergency services, the station is ready and willing to accept new members.

“From our perspective, we just need your time,” Frances said.

Have you seen similar community events cut back due to a lack of volunteers?

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