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Fighting Fires For Free, Aging Volunteers Struggle To Recruit The Next Generation
by rd95

    There's no easy solution. Going to paid fire and EMS everywhere would cost a fortune. A National Fire Protection Association study figured that volunteer firefighters donate about $140 billion worth of labor each year. Even so, many departments have a hard time affording basic equipment, according to Kimberly Quiros with the National Volunteer Fire Council.

    "Time and again you hear stories of departments that, you know, are using old gear, that's not necessarily the safest, or old fire trucks and old equipment, or not able to afford the resources that they really need," says Quiros.

    And that can affect most anybody. Though bigger cities have paid fire service, volunteers cover most of the country. So, if you have a wreck on a rural stretch of highway, say Interstate 70 in Gove County, Kan., Steve Hirsch says you'd better hope it happens near the county's one well-equipped fire department.