NewsLocal NewsIn Your NeighborhoodSouthwest Iowa

Actions

Who answers the call? Not enough fire and rescue volunteers in rural America

Lewis Township in Pottawattamie County finds solutions amid shrinking pool of emergency services volunteers
Posted

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — Across Iowa and Nebraska, volunteer fire and rescue squads are struggling to find volunteers. In some cases, the firefighters and medics are mostly retirees. Forty years ago there were 200,000 more volunteer firefighters in the U.S. than there are now, according to the National Volunteer Fire Council.

  • With neighbors commuting to city jobs, or even busy with kids' sports schedules, qualified volunteers aren't always available. Lewis Township Fire Chief Jake Hardiman had to be creative to keep his rural department staffed.
  • "There's no cookie-cutter approach that works for everyone,” said Hardiman. “Everyone has different challenges. Everyone has different resources available."
  • Captain Andy Diller points to another strategy that works for Lewis Township: "We have people that want to become fulltime, career firefighters somewhere else. So we will absolutely train them as much as possible..."

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

Who answers the call in your community if there's an emergency?

I'm Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel in Lewis Township.

Whether you live in a rural community like this one or occasionally drive through there's a chance that, in an emergency, the neighbors responding will be volunteers. It's why the lack of fire and rescue volunteers in the United States is a worry.

Chief Jake Hardiman: "It's very difficult for us to try and find staffing during the day."

Covering Southwest Iowa, a common refrain from rural fire and rescue squads: they don't have enough volunteers. With neighbors commuting to city jobs, or even busy with kids' sports schedules, qualified volunteers aren't always available.

Forty years ago there were 200,000 more volunteer firefighters in the U.S. than there are now, according to the National Volunteer Fire Council.

Lewis Township Chief Jake Hardiman is one of two career firefighters in the department. The rest are volunteers.

"There's no cookie-cutter approach that works for everyone,” said Hardiman. “Everyone has different challenges. Everyone has different resources available."

A common solution: mutual aid. Neighboring communities in Pott. County back each other up.

Captain Andy Diller points to another strategy that works for Lewis Township: "We have people that want to become full-time, career firefighters somewhere else. So we will absolutely train them as much as possible..."

Lewis Township has several younger volunteers on the roster. It's the opposite in Malvern. In September, I introduced you to the two grandmothers who staff the town's rescue squad during the day.

Another solution for Lewis Township is to have volunteers work specific shifts.

"We have a freezer full of ice cream and Snickers bars and frozen pizza and so that way if you're here hanging out watching a football game and a call comes in, you can go on that call," Diller said.

Even for those who don't want to be firefighters or EMTs, there are other ways to volunteer for local fire departments such as fundraising or helping with paperwork.