- Author
- Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Title
- Recruitment and Retention in the Volunteer Fire Service: Problems and Solutions. Final Report.
- Coporate
- Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, DC
- Report
- FA-185, December 1998, 184 p.
- Distribution
- AVAILABLE FROM: U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), 16825 South Seton Ave., Emmitsburg, MD 21727. Telephone: 301-447-1000. Website: http://www.usfa.fema.gov
- Keywords
- fire fighters | fire departments | training | legislation | fire statistics | rescue
- Identifiers
- retention; recruitment; National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC)
- Abstract
- From 1993-1997, the National Volunteer Fire Council and U.S. Fire Administration held a series of workshops across the country that brought together volunteer fire service members from all 50 states to discuss the problem of recruitment and retention. At each of the workshops, attendees provided reasons why people don't volunteer as much in the fire and rescue service today as they did in the past. Reasons noted most frequently include lack of time, apathy, and excessive requirements. Virtually all of the workshop attendees said that it is harder to muster a strong cadre of volunteers today than 20 years ago. Despite the challenges of today, the workshops revealed that some volunteer fire departments still maintain strong memberships because they have taken steps to adapt to today's society and hectic schedules. People are willing to volunteer in the fire and rescue service provided the following are true: the experience is rewarding and worth their time; the training requirements are not excessive; the time demands are manageable; they feel valued; conflict is minimized. It may seem easy to make all of these factors converge in a service activity where lives and property are saved, and where injured persons are given emergency care. But this is not the case. The fire and rescue service is one of the most demanding volunteer activities today. The physical demands and time demands associated with training, running emergency calls, maintaining the station and equipment, fundraising, and operating a non-profit corporation are grueling if not managed properly. As in past years, many people are willing to volunteer in the fire service. Yet, today more than ever, it takes strong coordination and leadership to make the fire service the place where people will turn to give time. This report discusses the core problems of recruitment and retention in the volunteer fire service, and provides solutions to these problems as suggested by fire chiefs and firefighters from all across the country who attended the workshops.