Forecasting the future of the volunteer fire and emergency services is no easy task, nor is it an exact science, but there are several trends and challenges within the volunteer sector now that indicate what the future may hold. Primarily, I believe we'll see a continued emergence of combination departments, new and innovative solutions to the challenges of retention and recruitment, increased focus on health and safety, and increasing needs for funding. Each issue brings its own set of challenges and opportunities for a service that is ever-evolving and fulfilling an ever expanding role.

Over the past decade, a number of historically all-volunteer fire departments have been hiring career personnel to supplement their ability to deliver in a timely fashion a sufficient number of adequately trained personnel to the scene of an emergency, particularly during weekdays when many volunteer firefighters are at work.

According to the NFPA's U.S. Fire Department Profile, which covered 2005 through 2007, the number of mostly volunteer/combination fire departments increased by nearly 22%, from 4,092 to 4,989. The 2008 profile reveals a slight decrease in the number of mostly volunteer/combination departments to 4,830, which is likely explained by some of these departments moving to mostly-career status — the number of mostly-career and all-career departments both increased slightly between 2007 and 2008 — and a weak economy that made it difficult for more volunteer departments to hire career staff. I envision this trend continuing. Department leadership must recognize the warning signs signaling a need for change and know how to meet the challenges — and welcome the opportunities — of moving from a volunteer to a combination department when warranted.

Traditionally, the shift from volunteer to combination departments has been fueled by population growth in a jurisdiction, but we are seeing an increasing number of volunteer departments that are struggling to recruit and retain new volunteer personnel because of the demands of modern training standards and the significant time commitments that they impose, particularly on new recruits.

For the first time ever, the 2008 U.S. Fire Department Profile, published this year, revealed that a majority of firefighters serving in communities of 2,500 or less are over the age of 40. This encompasses more than 400,000 firefighters in all and approximately 45% of the total number of volunteer firefighters in the country. To put that in perspective, in 1987 approximately 65% of firefighters serving those communities were under the age of 40. As we look to the future, this trend is sure to continue unless innovative methods are employed to recruit and retain younger volunteers. The NVFC has developed retention and recruitment tools to address these issues, and has launched the National Junior Firefighter Program to attract youth to our services. The NVFC's Fire Corps program also has proved to be a great recruitment mechanism for departments across the country.

Fire-service leadership must actively promote a healthy and safe environment for our department members and lead by example. Unfortunately, we often forget that our health affects the lives of so many others who are depending on us to be there in times of need. Taking the time to implement a health and wellness program or making simple lifestyle changes — like healthy eating at the station, exercising as a group, quitting smoking and preventative health screenings — can lead to healthy and safe first responders. A healthy and safe fire and emergency service impacts the amount of firefighters we retain, our ability to recruit, how we train and the number of calls to which we respond. The benefits of a healthy and safe department have far-reaching implications for our firefighters, our department and our community.

In these difficult economic times, funding will continue to be a challenge for our emergency services. National-level funding through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program will continue to play an integral role in meeting basic needs for our departments. On the local level, departments will continue to feel the effects of budget cuts. Our personnel are pressed for time as it is; fund-raisers such as pancake breakfasts and spaghetti dinners simply are not the answer to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for much-needed emergency-response equipment.

I look forward to what the future holds and know that the National Volunteer Fire Council and the nearly one million volunteer firefighters we represent will meet these challenges and opportunities with a positive and proactive response, and most of all, with a shared passion for what we do.

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Return to the 2010 Decade Forecast: Sighs of the Times main page.

Or jump to another 2010 Decade Forecast perspective:

• Cultural Barriers
  By Kelvin Cochran, U.S. Fire Administrator
• Booming Woes
  By Denis Onieal, Superintendent, National Fire Academy
• Emerging Economy
  By Rob Brown, Chief, Stafford County (Va.) Fire Department
• Volunteer Issues
  By Philip Stittleburg, Chief, LaFarge (Wis.) Fire Department, and Chairman, NVFC
• Apparatus Advances
  By Peter Darley, President, FAMA, and Chief Operating Officer and Vice President, Darley Co.
• Expanded EMS
  By Gary Ludwig, Deputy Chief, Memphis (Tenn.) Fire Department, and Chairman, IAFC EMS Section
• Federal Deficits
  By Bill Webb, Executive Director, CFSI
• Safety First
  By Rob McLeod, Deputy Chief, Chandler (Ariz.) Fire Department, and Chairman, FDSOA
• Creative City Managers
  By Bill Wolpin, Associate Publisher/Editorial Director, American City & County magazine
• Renewed Hope
  By Meri-K Appy, President, Home Safety Council
• Budget Efficiencies
  By John R. Hill, President, Envizion Financial