Rural volunteer fire departments struggle to fill aging ranks - Entrepreneur Generations

Small-town fire departments, like Winside Volunteer Fire and Rescue, are short on volunteers and struggling to keep the ranks full. Populations in small towns are aging, on average, "and that’s reflected in those who serve some of the most important public safety chores: fighting fires and answering rescue calls, from highway accidents to heart attacks and slips and falls," reports Paul Hammel of the World-Herald. The Winside, Nebraska fire department serves a population of 427.

Small-town departments in Nebraska and Iowa have deployed several strategies to help fill the ranks, from recruiting high-school-age "cadets" as helpers, reimbursing training costs and paying a small stipend to answer calls, Hammel writes. "As an incentive to volunteer, the Nebraska Legislature passed a law this year granting a $250-a-year income tax credit for those who volunteer for fire and ambulance services. In Iowa, a similar law went into effect in 2013."

Nationally, about 31 percent of firefighters in towns under 2,500 in population are age 50 or older, officials told Hammel. Adding, this figure is probably higher in Nebraska’s smallest towns.

Russel prince, 79, is one of five volunteer firefighters in Nebraska
honored this year for 50 years of service. (World-Herald photo)

Russel Prince, 79, was one of five volunteer firefighters in Nebraska honored this year for 50 years of service, Hammel writes. "He quit taking rescue calls three decades ago due to the time-consuming training required and, because of his age, cut back his role on fire calls in recent years mostly to driving pumper trucks and helping with equipment,"

Prince tells Hammel he remembers when volunteers wore raincoats to fires, not the fire-protective bunker gear now used. He recalls when the Winside department got their first ambulance in 1974 - a federal surplus 1964 Ford station wagon, Hammel writes. “I told them if they needed help to holler," said Prince, who retired in October. The department now has 34 volunteers, and Prince said he stayed on the last few months so he could reach the 50-year milestone.

"The numbers of volunteer firefighters in both Nebraska and Iowa have slowly dwindled over recent decades, and with rural populations projected to continue to fall, it’s prompting concern," Hammel writes. "In Nebraska, an estimated 12,000 volunteers answer fire and rescue calls over 72 percent of the state, from suburbs like Gretna and Waverly to rural areas like Winside, 18 miles northeast of Norfolk."

Michael Dwyer, secretary-treasures of the Nebraska State Volunteer Firefighters Association, told Hammel that the issue is a concern for anyone in the volunteer industry. “The fact is we have an aging workforce and we don’t have that rush into the fire service,” Dwyer said.

Officials say a growing time conflicts of chlidren, school and family makes it difficult to persuade young people to volunteer, Hammel writes. Adding, population decline also makes it harder to find volunteers, and the average age in most rural counties is rising. "About half of Nebraska’s 93 counties had median ages of 45 and above in 2010, compared with only two counties in 2000."

 A 2013 report from the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Center for Public Affairs Research concluded with the warning, “policymakers need to act,” Hammel writes.  Bill Halleran, president of the Iowa Firefighters Association and fire chief in Sigourney, told Hammel that new incentives can be found, but there’s no easy solution. “I honestly don’t have an answer for it," he said. "That’s the hard part," Halleran said.

from The Rural Blog http://ift.tt/2gl2mum Rural volunteer fire departments struggle to fill aging ranks - Entrepreneur Generations

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