Fire Service Summits and Recruitment

• Two Year Recruitement and Retention Plan
  
• Final Report - Minnesota Recruitment and Retention Task Force
  
• Balancing Requirements - "Our number of responders per call is down again this year … We need to increase our mandatory training requirements …"
  
• Top Ten Tiger's Top 10 Tips for Recruitment & Retention
  
• May 2007 - USFA Retention and Recruitment for the Volunteer Emergency Services
• Australasian Fire Authorities Council (AFAC) Development of effective Recruitment and
  Retention Strategies for Volunteer Fire Services
  

• Report on The National Volunteer Fire Summit June 6, 1998
• Report on The National Volunteer Fire Summit December 2, 2000
• Report on Illinois Volunteer Fire Service Summit 1999
• Report from IAFC VCOS Blue Ribbon Report - Preserving and Improving the Future of the Volunteer Fire Service - March 2004
• Report from Report  from IAFC VCOS Red Ribbon Report - Leading the Transition in Volunteer and Combination Fire Departments - November 2005
  

On June 6, 1998, the National Volunteer Fire Council held a National Volunteer Fire Summit at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The purpose of the Summit was to examine the current state of the volunteer fire service in America, discuss critical issues affecting it, and make recommendations for action or further study to improve the service. A variety of groups from both inside and outside of the fire service were represented at the Summit.

Volunteer firefighters are the first line defenders against fires, medical emergencies, terrorist threats, hazardous materials incidents, trench collapses, high and low angle rescues, and other types of specialized rescue in many communities across the country. Volunteer firefighters comprise 75 percent of firefighters in the country, and protect 43 percent of the country’s population. In 1996, there were approximately 815,500 volunteer firefighters in the United States. Of the 31,503 fire departments in the country, 89 percent are all or mostly volunteer.

During the Summit, special presentations were given about critical issues facing the volunteer fire service today and for the future. One of the most critical issues is recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. Since the early 1980s, the number of volunteer firefighters in the United States has declined between 5-10 percent. During the same period, the number of emergency calls have sharply increased, as have the training requirements for volunteers, meaning volunteer fire departments have to do more with fewer people. Unlike 30 years ago, the public expects fire departments today to be able to respond to a wide variety of emergencies including fires, medical emergencies, chemical/biological and terrorist threats, hazardous materials incidents, and technical rescues.

Another critical issue is firefighter health and safety. While the number of volunteer and career firefighter deaths have declined nearly by one-half since the mid-1970s, there are still nearly 100 firefighter fatalities in the United States each year, and volunteers comprise the majority of these. Despite the fact that volunteers risk their lives freely to protect citizens of their communities, many volunteer fire departments, which often rely on funds raised by their volunteers, cannot afford insurance to provide comprehensive short and long-term medical and worker’s compensation protection.

The consensus among attendees of the Summit was that the volunteer fire service in the United States is at a critical juncture. There are many challenges facing volunteer fire departments today. At the same time, many of these departments are struggling to raise enough money to fund basic essentials such as apparatus and training. Some volunteer departments do not have enough money to purchase protective clothing for all of their firefighters, and many cannot afford the state-of-the-art protective equipment that is available today.

The future of the volunteer fire service depends on strong support, both financially and morally, from local, state, and Federal governments. The critical issues facing volunteer firefighters must be addressed and resolved. Summit attendees made recommendations about how to deal with these critical issues.

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