Fire-ology firegeezer on 29 Apr 2007 06:11 am
Volunteers fading in rural areas
WITH THE CONTINUED CHANGING GROWTH AND JOB patterns, many rural volunteer fire departments are having more difficulty covering calls. Increased activity levels combined with members being out of the district during daytime is putting pressure on the departments to start hiring paid firefighters.
Actually, this is a trend that started 40 years ago. But it is now reaching into the more remote rural areas. People are much more likely to travel several miles to their jobs now, leaving their home areas unpopulated - and thus uncovered - during the daytime.
This issue is coming to a head next month in San Diego County where there has been a 4-year study and current proposals to consolidate most of their outlier volunteer departments into a county paid system.
