Alna Fire Chief Mike Trask said the light attendance an open house drew May 18 did not surprise him. The evening event, one of a number around Lincoln County aimed at recruitment, turned out much the same as the department’s other efforts in recent years to get new members, he said.

A firefighter’s wife filled out an application; if approved, she would become the second new member since town meeting in March, Trask said. But also since then, one member has moved out of town and left the department, he said.

The roster stands at 17, many of whom are at least middle-aged, department officers said. Younger residents the department would like to add to help see the department into the future are busy raising families, members said.

Trask said the attendance showed the same point he tried to make in seeking raises and a new life insurance offer for firefighters in March: that more incentives are needed to attract members. He asked for firefighters’ pay to hike from $12 to $18 an hour; town meeting voters agreed to $15 an hour and rejected the insurance proposal.

About $100 from the department’s non-profit arm went into the open house’s refreshments, department members said. Plastic helmets, left over from fire prevention events, sat in stacks nearby. The county fire chiefs’ association furnished fliers about volunteer firefighting.