- Author
- Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Title
- Retention and Recruitment in the Volunteer Fire Service: Problems and Solutions.
- Coporate
- Federal Emergency Management Agency, Washington, DC
- Report
- FA-138, September 1993, 75 p.
- Keywords
- fire fighters | fire departments
- Identifiers
- retention; recruitment; National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC)
- Abstract
- In an effort to address the problems of retention and recruitment in the volunteer fire and rescue service, the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) conducted a study to define solutions to the specific problems that have caused the volunteer retention rate to diminish and to identify innovative recruitment methods. By a national screening process, 16 volunteer fire service representatives were identified from communities geographically distributed across the nation - each well versed in retention and recruitment issues. They convened for a milestone workshop at the National Fire Academy, Emmitsburg, Maryland, in March 1993. The twofold purpose of this National Retention and Recruitment Workshop was to better define the issues and elicit some of the more creative ideas in retention and recruiting. In addition, an extensive literature search was conducted. A significant finding that emerged from the intensive 1-1/2 day workshop was that the issues vary considerably from region to region, state to state, and even within parts of some states. This report addresses the general problems that face the volunteer fire and rescue service nationwide. Similar research is needed to identify problems particular to specific regions or states. The distinct problems of the retention and recruitment of ethnic minorities and women were addressed at the workshop.