When the Norwood Fire Department responded Wednesday to a residential fire alarm there were two firefighters on the truck.

Fifteen years ago there would've been six or eight, said Norwood Fire Department President Dominick Congiusti.

"We can't get guys to join," he said. "It's progressively getting worse."

When he had the ear of Assemblyman Robert Auth (R-Bergen), himself a former volunteer firefighter, at a ceremony in Norwood recently, he used the time to introduce the idea of offering online courses to new firefighters.

New volunteers in Bergen County currently have to attended classes at the county police and fire academy in Mahwah two nights a week for six moths, Congiusti said.

"The minute you tell them about this, they don't have the time. They can't do it," he said.

A bill is expected to be introduced in the state legislature Thursday that would allow volunteer firefighters to do some of their training remotely.

Auth says the change is necessary to help boost ranks in firehouses throughout the state. The bill would provide for about half of the new member course hours to be done online.

"Courses that are lecture-oriented, that don't require the physical part," he said, adding that skills such as learning how to put a ladder up correctly would still require attendance at the academy.

Garfield Fire Chief EJ Morano said when he joined the city's department in 1999 its roster included 150 members. Today, the five houses in Garfield are manned by 100 members.

"There were actually waiting lists," he said. "When the elders retired it would open a spot for a guy on the list. There were people who waited. They wanted to be volunteer fireman."

In addition to the beginners training, firefighters must also continue to take classes if they want to be an officer or to learn specialized skills such as working on a rescue rig.

Once they're on the department they also have to participate in fundraising, firehouse maintenance tasks -- and respond to calls.

Two income households and fewer people working at mom-and-pop shops that can close up to answer an alarm are making it more difficult for people to commit to the fire department, Morano said.

By allowing new and existing firefighters to shave the commute to the county fire academy in Mahwah and do the training after helping children with homework or having dinner, might make joining less cumbersome, he said.

"This might attract that kid who doesn't have much time but really wants to do it," Morano said.

Auth met with fire chiefs from Alpine, Bergenfield, Closter, Cresskill, Demarest, Dumont, Harrington Park, Haworth, Northvale, Norwood, Old Tappan, Rockleigh, Tenafly and New Milford last week to discuss the idea of online learning.

He also drew on the experience of his own son who earned his college degree in marketing a year early by taking online classes.

"Why wouldn't we be able to use that same methodology here," Auth said. "This is a no brainer."

After being introduced the bill would likely go to the Law and Public Safety Committee.

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @allisonpries. Find NJ.com on Facebook.