Several months ago I had the opportunity to have dinner with fire chiefs and officers from some West Virginia volunteer departments. They were on their way to pick up new apparatus for their departments, and it was interesting to hear how each department raised the money to purchase their new vehicles. The determination and commitment to their departments and their communities' protection were heart-warming.

In a letter sent to me after the dinner, one assistant chief wrote, “Until there is a day that the federal government realizes that the FEMA ‘lottery’ is not enough to help each and every fire department, regardless of size or location, we will struggle with funding, recruitment and regulation to the point of putting some smaller departments out of business.”

The chief raises a good point, but as I've asked before, do you really want to rely on the federal government to fund your department? Local governments need to financially support their local emergency services whether they are staffed with career, volunteer, paid-on-call or a combination of these.

An officer of a volunteer department said that he applied for FIRE Act grant money, but didn't receive it. He dug around, did some research and found other grants available to purchase the equipment his department needed. The volunteer fire service needs a unified resource for sharing this type of information. It needs research to support the purchasing power of volunteer departments, and it needs tax breaks or other incentives to draw volunteers.

A step has been made in the right direction, however. The IAFC's Volunteer and Combination Officer's Section has released a position paper, Improving Volunteer Fire Serviceability to American Communities, written by Chief Gary Scott and Chief John M. Buckman III. It's an extensive report on the current state of the American volunteer fire service at local, state and federal levels, but most importantly, it's a call to action.

The American volunteer fire service is in crisis. Two basic reasons are a lack of volunteers and a lack of financial resources. Yet the biggest threat to the volunteer fire service, according to the VCOS paper, is that it has no unified voice. While the National Volunteer Fire Council and the VCOS both have the interests of the volunteer fire service at the root of their missions, the position paper points out the lack of unified leadership or position on national legislative initiatives and research issues has a negative affect.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, America's citizens recognize the importance of first responders. They believe that if terrorists should attack, calling 911 will bring forth a legion to suppress and contain any evils that might be unleashed on them. As the VCOS paper points out, “Community protection and well-being depend on the experience, expertise and longevity of local emergency service providers.” Citizens take great comfort in assuming that behind those fire station roll-up doors, super-heroes are stored.

The timing of the VCOS position paper is excellent. As the presidential campaign begins to zero in on the election in November, the paper can be an effective tool to educate all levels of politicians to the needs of the volunteer fire service across America. However, to make it effective, every volunteer fire department needs to put this paper in the hands of the people who can help make a difference.

The VCOS is planning to distribute 1,000 copies of their position paper to Congress, every state fire marshal, and other local officials. They are also hoping to fund distribution of an additional 10,000 copies.

Should career departments be concerned about this position paper? Before you career chiefs dismiss it, think again. Much of this position paper can relate to full-time career departments, as there are numerous talking points that support the changing role and increasing needs of today's fire and emergency services.

The VCOS position paper has defined the problems and offers solutions. Distance and expense are no longer a barrier with today's Internet technology; hopefully, that will spur volunteer fire departments to communicate and speak with one voice — loud and clear.