VOLUNTEERS WANTED

• Volunteers comprise 70% of firefighters in the United States. Of the total estimated 1,160,450 firefighters across the country, 814,850 are volunteer.1

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• Communities served by volunteer firefighters depend on them to be their first line of defense for many types of emergencies. Volunteer firefighters are summoned to a wide array of emergencies across the country every day including fires, emergency medical incidents, terrorist events, natural disasters, hazardous materials incidents, water rescue emergencies, high‐angle and confined space emergencies, and other general public service calls.

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• The public relies on the volunteer emergency services to be their first line of defense in these emergencies. Volunteers spend an enormous amount of time training to prepare for these emergencies.

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• The majority of fire departments in the United States are volunteer. Of the total 29,727 fire departments in the country, 19,762 are all volunteer; 5,421 are mostly volunteer; 1,893 are mostly career; and 2,651 are all career.2

 

• The time donated by volunteer firefighters saves localities across the country an estimated $46.9 billion per year.3 The cost savings provided by fire service volunteers is tremendous. For many communities, switching to a career staffing model is not feasible

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1 U.S. Fire Department Profile Through 2001. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy , Massachusetts , December, 2002. 

2 Fire Protection in Rural America : A Challenge for the Future. National Association of State Foresters, 1993. 

3 U.S. Fire Department Profile Through 2001. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy , Massachusetts , December, 2002.

4 U.S. Fire Department Profile Through 2000. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy , Massachusetts , December, 2001. 

5 Fire Facts . U.S. Fire Administration Web Page.