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ural Pennsylvania�THE CENTER FOR

A Legislative Agency of the Pennsylvania General Assembly

Volunteer FirefighterRecruitment and Retention

in Rural Pennsylvania

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania Board of Directors

Senator John R. Gordner, ChairmanRepresentative Mike Hanna, Treasurer

Dr. C. Shannon Stokes, Pennsylvania State University, SecretarySenator John Wozniak

Representative Tina PickettSteve Crawford, Governor’s Representative

Dr. Nancy Falvo, Clarion UniversityDr. Keith T. Miller, Lock Haven UniversityDr. Robert F. Pack, University of PittsburghWilliam Sturges, Governor’s Representative

Mr. Walt Whitmer, Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development

This project was sponsored by a grant from the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a legislative agency of thePennsylvania General Assembly.

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania is a bipartisan, bicameral legislative agency that serves as a resource forrural policy within the Pennsylvania General Assembly. It was created in 1987 under Act 16, the Rural Revital-ization Act, to promote and sustain the vitality of Pennsylvania’s rural and small communities.

Information contained in this report does not necessarily reflect the views of individual board members or theCenter for Rural Pennsylvania.

Copies of the full report are available by contacting the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, 200 North Third St.,Suite 600, Harrisburg, PA 17101, telephone (717) 787-9555, email: [email protected].

Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment andRetention in Rural Pennsylvania

A report by

Robert S. D’Intino, Ph.D.

Pennsylvania State University Schuylkill

May 2006

Table of ContentsProject Summary

Thanks to Benjamin Franklin,who organized the nation’s firstvolunteer fire company (VFC) inPhiladelphia in 1736, volunteerfirefighters continue to respondto fire and other emergencies inPennsylvania and the nation.This 270-year-old tradition,however, may be in jeopardy asincreasing job demands, familycommitments and other factorshinder volunteerism.

Since rural Pennsylvania reliesheavily on volunteers, the Centerfor Rural Pennsylvania spon-sored research in 2003-2004 tobetter understand firefighterrecruitment and retention issuesand identify strategies that mayhelp increase firefightervolunteerism in rural areas.

Using qualitative and quantita-tive methodologies, the re-searcher conducted a literaturereview, surveyed senior-levelfire officials in 32 states and firechiefs in rural Pennsylvania, andsurveyed rural Pennsylvaniafirefighters.

After analyzing the researchresults, the researcher concludedthat recruitment and retention ofvolunteer firefighters is anational problem and not uniqueto rural Pennsylvania. Theresults indicated that ruralvolunteer firefighters are morelikely to join their local firecompany because of theircommitment to community andbecause of their families’connection to the fire company.The results also showed thatfinancial benefits may play onlya small role in motivating peopleto volunteer and remain active.

Introduction .............................................................................. 5

Methodology .............................................................................. 5

Results .............................................................................. 6

Literature Review......................................................... 6

A Brief History of Volunteer Firefighting.................. 6

Declining Volunteers ................................................ 6

Today’s Volunteer Fire Companies .......................... 7

Benefits Provided to Volunteer Firefighters ............. 8

Survey of State Fire Officials ....................................... 8

Current Critical Issues ............................................ 8

Firefighter Training ................................................... 9

Recognition.............................................................. 9

Volunteer Firefighter Incentive Benefits .................. 9

Retention ................................................................. 9

Recruitment ........................................................... 10

Conclusion............................................................. 10

Pennsylvania Volunteer Fire Companies ................... 11

Fire Chief Interviews ............................................. 11

Survey of Volunteer Firefighters ............................ 12

Conclusions ............................................................................ 15

Policy Considerations ............................................................. 16

References Cited .................................................................... 17

Defining RuralTo identify rural volunteer fire companies, theresearchers used the Center for Rural Pennsylvania’s1990 definition. A VFC was considered rural if it waslocated in a county where more than 50 percent of thepopulation was defined as rural by the 1990 Census.In 2004, there were approximately 957 rural firecompanies, or 39 percent of the statewide total of2,448 VFCs.

Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment and Retention in Rural Pennsylvania 5 The Center for Rural Pennsylvania

Introduction

Methodology

Across the nation and in Pennsylvania, the numberof volunteer firefighters has been declining for morethan 30 years. While state and local governments haverecognized the decreasing numbers of volunteers, theyhave been hard pressed to identify specific measures tocontrol the decline and recruit new volunteers.

In 2003-2004, the researcher conducted the projectto identify and evaluate the most effective strategiesfor increasing recruitment and retention of volunteerfirefighters. The research included both quantitativeand qualitative methods as follows:

Literature Review: Using library and Internetsources, along with personal contacts with fire serviceofficials in Pennsylvania and other states, the re-searcher collected published and unpublished reportson volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention. Theoverall literature review helped put historic patterns ofrecruitment and retention in perspective and identifysuccessful recruitment and retention models.

Interviews with top fire service officials in otherstates: The researcher contacted 41 state fire officialsin 32 states to discuss recruitment and retentionpolicies. The names and telephone numbers of officialscame from Internet searches and personal recommen-dations. The interviews were conducted by telephoneand were semi-structured using open-ended questions.Officials were asked about the number and types offire companies in their state and state policies andprograms for volunteer fire companies (VFCs). Inaddition, officials were questioned about training,recognition, financial benefits for volunteers, femalevolunteer firefighters, and recruitment and retentionissues. They were also asked for any studies or reportson volunteer firefighters that had been completed intheir state. The interviews were used to identifysuccessful practices to recruit and retain volunteers andto develop a national perspective on the issues.

Field interviews with Pennsylvania rural firechiefs and active firefighters: Using the PennsylvaniaState Fire Commissioner’s list of volunteer firecompanies, the researcher interviewed 35 rural Penn-sylvania fire chiefs in person or by phone. Using asimilar process, the researcher also conducted inter-views with 41 rural volunteer firefighters.

The 35 chiefs were asked open-ended questionsabout their service areas, fire calls, recruitment and

retention issues, recognition programs, femalefirefighters, firefighter training, and relationships withother local fire companies and EMS responders. Thechiefs were also asked to identify and explain policychanges they would recommend to assist volunteerfirefighters. The interviews included additionalquestions on what the chiefs considered to be theirdepartment’s best practices in terms of recruitment,retention, training and leadership.

The 41 volunteer firefighters answered open-endedquestions about why they became firefighters and whattheir expectations were as volunteers. They alsoanswered questions about volunteer recruitment,retention, fire company leadership and training, andthe financial benefits volunteers should receive. Theinterviews helped the researcher to gather qualitativeinformation on firefighter recruitment and retention.

Survey of volunteer firefighters: The researcheradministered a six-page survey to 707 firefightersstatewide. Of those surveyed, 701 firefighters from225 rural VFCs responded to the survey, for a responserate of 99 percent.

The survey, which used a Likert scale for responses,asked respondents how strongly they agreed or dis-agreed with statements concerning recruitment,retention, leadership, and recognition. Respondentswere also asked to complete a demographic profile toinclude, age, gender, education, fire company rank andyears of service.

In rural Pennsylvania, volunteer firefighters aretypically the first responders to fires and other emer-gencies. Without sufficient active volunteers, rural firecompanies may not be able to continue to provide fireservice and rural Pennsylvania may need to considerpaid service as the only viable option for fire services.

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania 6 Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment and Retention in Rural Pennsylvania

ResultsLiterature ReviewA Brief History of Volunteer Firefighting

Contemporary concerns about volunteer firefighterstaffing problems began with the President’s NationalCommission on Fire Prevention and Control, estab-lished in 1968. As a result of the commission’s 1973report, America Burning, the National Fire Preventionand Control Administration (NFPCA) was created in1974. The NFPCA provided federal leadership to thestates to help them create state programs for fireeducation, training and research.

In 1974, Pennsylvania Governor Milton Shappestablished a Governor’s Commission on Fire Preven-tion and Control. The commission published its finalreport, Pennsylvania Burning, in 1976. The reportrecommended establishing the Office of the State FireCommissioner to provide command and coordinationfor Pennsylvania’s then 3,000 fire companies; a centralstate fire data collection system; a state master plan forfire prevention and control; a cohesive fire educationand training program for firefighters and fire officers;and regional firefighting schools to support firefightertraining. Some of the recommendations proposed inPennsylvania Burning were implemented over time,and, to this day, serve as the organizational structurefor the commonwealth’s paid and volunteer fire services.

Declining VolunteersSince the early 1970s, state and local governments

have been concerned with the decline in volunteerfirefighters. A 1993 study published by the NationalAssociation of State Foresters reported a national dropin active volunteer firefighters from 884,600 in 1983to 815,500 in 1993, an 8 percent decline in 10 years.Explanations for declines in volunteer firefighters havebeen attributed to national social changes, difficultiesin finding new volunteers, and problems with retainingexisting volunteers.

According to a 1998 National Volunteer Fire Counciland U.S. Fire Administration report, Retention andRecruitment: Problems and Solutions, 11 factors havecontributed to reductions in the number of men andwomen joining and remaining in the volunteer fireservice. These 11 factors included time demands,training requirements, increasing call volume, changesin the ‘nature of the business’ of firefighting, changesin urban and suburban populations, changes in socio-logical conditions (two-income families and timedemands), leadership problems, federal legislation andregulations, increasing use of combination departments,

higher cost of housing (in affluent communities), andaging communities.

The impact of these and other factors has made itmore difficult for VFCs to recruit and retain members.A 1992 survey by the Pennsylvania Department ofCommunity Affairs (now the Department of Commu-nity and Economic Development) found that 79percent of the responding VFCs reported problemswith recruiting, 51 percent reported active membershipdeclines in the prior decade, and 37 percent reportedno growth in membership over the prior decade. Oneimplication of this decline was that 61 percent reportedproblems with insufficient volunteers responding toMonday-to-Friday daytime emergencies. The studyconcluded: “….requirements on volunteer time haveincreased. If there are no more or even fewer volun-teers, then there are fewer people bearing a largershare of the workload. Prolonged situations like thislead to disenchantment and burn-out.”

The 1998 National Volunteer Fire Council and U.S.Fire Administration report, mentioned previously, alsofound that volunteer fire service is a tradition in manygenerations of firefighting families, but that, “unfortu-nately, it is also a tradition in danger of weakening andpossibly even dying out.” The report also says: “Firedepartments can no longer count on the children ofcurrent members following in their parents’ footsteps.Nor can they count on a continuous stream of localpeople eager to donate their time and energy to theirvolunteer fire department. Departments cannot evenrely on members staying active in the volunteer fireservice for long periods of time.”

Recognizing that many VFCs are facing a recruit-ment problem, the council noted that recruitmentsolutions must begin with an assessment of VFCsstaffing needs and the volunteer skills and abilitiesmost needed to maintain VFC performance. The reportfound that person-to-person recruiting by activevolunteer firefighters was the most successful recruit-ing method and that many retention problems could betraced to the following sources: demands on volunteertime and the need for increasing firefighter trainingrequirements, additional call volume, changes ineconomic and social conditions in suburban and ruralareas, and VFC leadership problems and internalconflicts within the fire company. Participants targetedleadership issues as the most important problem forretention across the country. This sentiment wasechoed in numerous other studies that pointed to poorleadership and management practices as one of the


main reasons volunteers left the fireservice.

An unpublished State Universityof New York at Buffalo Ph.D.dissertation (Sargent, 1992) onsatisfaction and retention ofvolunteer firefighters found thataltruism ranked first as the mostsatisfying reason for volunteering.The eight top reasons for activefirefighters to stay on the job werealtruism, skills, thrills, workenvironment, management, socialrelations, material issues, andrecognition. Retention policiesidentified as important by the activevolunteers were managementquality and skill development,quality of the work environment,and altruism. The researcher alsonoted that the lack of VFC leader-ship and management skills mightbe retention issues worthy offurther investigation.

Fire service reports written overthe past 30 years indicate Pennsyl-vania VFCs were experiencingincreased difficulties in recruitingand retaining sufficient active firecompany members. Furthermore,there is a distinct risk that somerural VFCs lack sufficient activefirefighters to adequately respondto all emergency service calls. ThePennsylvania Fire and EmergencyServices Institute’s 2001 report,Funding for Pennsylvania Emer-gency Services … Beyond 2001,stated a concern that VFCs wereexperiencing “a steep and steadydecline in the number of volunteersattracted to these vital services inPennsylvania.”

The continuing decline in thenumber of active rural volunteerfirefighters may eventually forcePennsylvanians to pay directly forfire protection. In July 1999,DCED reported that the averagewage and benefit compensation fora paid firefighter was $55,000. ThePennsylvania Fire and Emergency

Services Institute (2001) calculatedthat staffing 2,000 fire companieswould cost municipalities about$2.2 billion.

Fire service studies suggest themost serious fire company prob-lems involve recruitment, retentionand volunteer availability torespond to calls, followed by a lackof funding sources, absence ofcommunity support, issues involv-ing insurance costs, trainingrequirements, and governmentregulations. Rural VFCs varygreatly in their ability to recruit andretain volunteer staff.

To encourage recruitment andretention, most published reportssuggest financial benefits be used torecruit and retain volunteerfirefighters. While volunteer firechiefs and firefighters encouragepublic and private financial incen-tives to support their firefightingmission, financial benefits representonly one part of a complex story.Although money may assist andencourage volunteer firefighters tojoin and remain active members intheir VFC, financial benefits are notthe primary reasons why individu-als choose to become and remainvolunteer firefighters.

While many fire service reportsreviewed provided policy sugges-tions, these reports did not priori-tize their suggestions. Furthermore,no field tests were conducted todiscover which recruitment and

retention policies were mosteffective in influencing individualsto become volunteers and remainactive. Therefore, little empiricaldata concerning volunteerfirefighter motivation exists.

Today’s VolunteerFire Companies

According to the U.S. FireAdministration, in 2005, there were17,438 all-volunteer fire companiesin the U.S., or 72 percent of thenation’s 24,294 fire companies.

The states with the most VFC’swere Pennsylvania, New York, andTexas, each with more than 950VFCs. On a per capita basis, how-ever, the states with the most VFCswere North Dakota, South Dakota,and Vermont, each with more than 25VFCs per 100,000 residents. Nation-ally, Pennsylvania ranked 17th in thenumber of VFCs per capita.

U.S. Fire Administration datashowed there were nearly 431,500volunteer firefighters nationwide.Forty percent of these volunteerswere found in Pennsylvania and thesix surrounding states of Maryland,West Virginia, Ohio, New York,New Jersey, and Delaware. On aper capita basis, the most volunteerswere in North Dakota, SouthDakota, and Vermont, each withmore than 450 volunteers for every100,000 residents. Nationally,Pennsylvania ranked 8th in thenumber of active volunteerfirefighters per capita.

Throughout the U.S., the averageVFC had 25 active members. Thestates with the most activefirefighters per VFC were Dela-ware, New York and Maryland,each with more than 50 activemembers per VFC. Among the 50states, Pennsylvania had 33 activemembers per VFC, or the 8th highestnumber in the nation.

Fire service reportswritten over the past 30

years indicatePennsylvania VFCs areexperiencing increaseddifficulties in recruitingand retaining sufficient

active fire companymembers.


Benefits Provided toVolunteer Firefighters

Among the 50 states, volunteerfirefighters received a variety ofbenefits. Benefits were grouped intofive categories: workers’ compensa-tion, death benefits, retirementpension, property or income taxrebates, and health care benefits.

According to data from severalsources, 44 states, includingPennsylvania, provide workers’compensation benefits for volunteerfirefighters injured or killed whileon duty. Twenty-seven statesprovide death benefits, and 20states provide retirement pensions.Seven states provide income tax orproperty tax rebates and only onestate, Louisiana, provides volun-teers with health care benefits.

It is important to note that not allbenefits were mandated and someVFCs do not participate. (See Tableon Page 9.)

Survey ofState Fire Officials

Through the interviews with 41state fire officials in 32 states, theresearcher found general agreementabout the increasing problem offinding volunteers who wouldrespond to Monday-to-Fridaydaytime emergencies. For example,an official from Illinois estimatedthat 25 percent of VFCs sometimeswere unable to respond to daytimeemergency calls, while officials inDelaware, Nevada, and Texas saidup to 50 percent of VFCs weresometimes unable to respond duringweekdays. To solve this problem,an Ohio official said that his state islooking into paying part-timefirefighters to cover trouble areasduring weekdays, but funding maybe a problem. When asked whythere were not enough firefightersavailable during the weekday, theofficials said that in rural areas

more volunteer firefighters mustcommute long distances to theirjobs and thus are unavailable fordaytime fire emergencies.

Current Critical IssuesState officials’ suggested that

volunteerism, in general, wasdecreasing, thereby negativelyeffecting recruitment and retentionof volunteer firefighters. Othercritical issues included funding,firefighter deaths by heart attack,increased firefighter training andqualification requirements, and newresponsibilities for homelandsecurity. State officials also men-tioned the need for additionaltechnical training for new hazards,such as biological and chemicalspills. Many state officials sug-gested that communication withlocal community and municipalleaders needs to be improved.

Number of Volunteer Fire Companies Per 100,000 Residents, 2005

Data source: U.S. Fire Administration


Firefighter TrainingAccording to the interviews, most

states required little or no formaltraining or qualifications to serve asa volunteer firefighter. Officialsexplained that since most states donot fund firefighting training, theyhave no power to enforce anytraining requirements. VFCs arecommunity-based and do not paymuch attention to state trainingrequirements unless there arefinancial incentives.

Most states had a formal state fireacademy that provided free ordiscounted training and certificationfor volunteer firefighters. State fireacademy courses were offered free in18 states, including Pennsylvania.Other states offered training at low orreduced costs.

One of the more innovativeeducation programs was in Ken-tucky, where a fleet of trucksdelivers free comprehensivefirefighter training to local VFCs.This mobile fire academy provideslocal training without the expenses oftravel, food, and lodging. Pennsylva-nia has an “Academy on the Road”program that has proved quitepopular with rural VFCs.

RecognitionAll of the state fire officials said

VFCs and firefighters desire publicrecognition and appreciation. Moststates listed various recognitionprograms, but little is known abouttheir impact on volunteer recruit-ment and retention.

Volunteer FirefighterIncentive Benefits

Officials said they believe non-financial incentives are moreeffective at motivating and retain-ing volunteer firefighters thanfinancial benefits. A commonopinion was that financial benefitsdo not motivate volunteers; however,constant fire service related expenses

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Firefighter Benefits by State

made it difficult for volunteers,especially those with lower incomes,to continue their volunteer service.

RetentionState officials are concerned

about retention of volunteer


firefighters. In the opinion of theseofficials, conflicts among VFCmembers or officers were a com-mon reason why members left.State officials also talked aboutlocal residents either moving awayfor jobs or commuting longdistances. Successful retentionpolices, according to state officials,included helping volunteers feelappreciated by their communities,sponsoring public awarenesscampaigns for new volunteers,providing medical insurance andretirement plans, allowing volun-teers to specialize rather than beingresponsible for all firefightingduties, and providing local training.

RecruitmentRecruitment in rural areas was a

problem, according to all stateofficials interviewed. There were,however, recruiting success stories.Minnesota, for example, found

retirement benefits helped recruit-ment. Other states, like Texas, foundhigh school recruitment very effec-tive.

Some officials thought it waseasier today for women to becomevolunteer firefighters. A Massachu-setts official suggested bettermarketing campaigns to recruitmore women volunteers. A Michi-gan official also suggested the needto actively communicate thatwomen are welcome to join thevolunteer fire service. A Minnesotaofficial said 80 percent of hisstate’s VFCs have womenfirefighters.

ConclusionThe state fire officials agreed that

volunteer firefighters spent most oftheir time on fundraising instead oftraining. If more financial re-sources were available for VFCs,recruiting and retention efforts

Pennsylvania Volunteer Fire Companiesin Rural and Urban Counties, 2005

would be more successful. Offi-cials’ also strongly emphasized thatfirefighters, and not apparatus andequipment, are the most importantassets of the volunteer fire service.

The interviews with state fireofficials illustrated how muchinformation was unavailable at thestate level, particularly about ruralVFCs. Many states had no fire callreporting system, or if the state didhave a program, only some VFCsparticipated. While state fireofficials communicated with theirVFCs, some rural fire companieswere operating below the radar oftheir state fire agencies. Most stateofficials possess only a generalestimate of their number of volun-teer firefighters. In general, thediscussions with state officialshelped confirm information fromthe literature review rather thanaccumulate innovative ideas orpolicies.

Source: Pennsylvania Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, (2005) The Feasibility of Regionalizing Pennsyl-vania Volunteer Fire Companies.Note: Rural counties were identified by using the Center for Rural Pennsylvania’s 1990 rural definition.


Pennsylvania VolunteerFire Companies

According to a 2005 report bythe Pennsylvania LegislativeBudget and Finance Committee,there are 2,354 VFCs in Pennsylva-nia; 40 percent are located in ruralcounties.

Fire Chief InterviewsThe researcher interviewed 35

fire chiefs from across ruralPennsylvania. The chiefs wereasked to comment on volunteerfirefighter retention, recruitment,training, certification, leadership,female firefighters, financialsupport, and municipal relation-ships, and to offer recommenda-tions for fire company best prac-tices.

The chiefs identified careerrequirements as the main factoraffecting the retention of volun-teers. Firefighters who move awayfor job pursuits or who mustcommute long distances for workaffect volunteer turnover the most.Adding to the turnover rate is therealization of how much time isrequired to obtain training andassist with fundraising. Theserequirements put too many timeconstraints on firefighters and keepthem away from their families.Several chiefs offered that bothgood and poor leadership wouldaffect retention of volunteers.

Successful recruitment oftenstems from a new volunteer havinga family member or friend alreadyinvolved in the fire company. Thechiefs offered that activefirefighters must make a concertedeffort to recruit new communityresidents and not simply rely onexisting residents. Some also notedtheir success in recruiting collegestudents.

The chiefs expressed someskepticism about recruitmentprograms that rely too heavily on

newspaper ads, open houses, orapparatus demonstrations. Apersonal one-on-one approach wascited as the best recruitmentmethod.

A wide variety of perspectiveswere offered with regard to femalefirefighters. Some chiefs expressedconcerns about the physical demandsof the job, while others were confi-dent of a woman’s ability, citingactive and successful recruitment ofwomen.

Many volunteer fire companiesrecruit members in the 14-to-18-year-old age bracket as a result ofvisiting local schools and youthgroups, such as the Scouts. Somechiefs also mentioned that a numberof volunteers referenced presenta-tions made while they were inelementary school as having alasting impact.

For many VFCs, part of therecruitment screening effortinvolves an interview, a criminalbackground check and, for someVFCs, a drug test. The degree ofscreening varies among fire compa-nies from a written process to apersonal interview. Oftentimes,members vote to accept or rejectnew recruits. Chiefs said thatduring the selection process, it isimperative to present a realisticdescription of the demands ofvolunteer fire service, including theneed to complete the 88-hourtraining requirement. All chiefscited the need for physical condi-tioning and many did not view ageas an issue.

The cost of maintaining a firecompany is of great concern to thechiefs participating in the interview.They said volunteers understandthat active service costs money,since many must purchase theirown safety gear. This promptedstatements about the need forfinancial support to cover the costof firefighter training. Chiefs saidthat while most volunteers do not

want to be paid for their services,they would like to have funding fornew apparatus and equipment.Some chiefs suggested state incometax credits, educational tuitionassistance, a pension program, andfree license plates as legitimateincentives and rewards for peopleto serve as volunteer firefighters.

It was evident from the inter-views that some rural VFCs havemixed relationships with municipalofficials. Some chiefs enjoyedstrong working relationships thatincluded significant financial support.Others stated that municipalitieswithin the VFC service area do notaccept any responsibility for funding.

The chiefs discussed conflictsover how municipalities distributeForeign Fire Insurance Tax (FFIT)revenues. In the commonwealth,every out-of-state insurancecompany must pay 2 percent of theproperty/casualty insurance premi-ums it writes in the state into theFFIT. In 2005, this fund receivedmore that $74.4 million. Funds aredistributed to municipalities basedon population and real estatemarket values. The municipalitythen gets to decide how to distrib-ute these funds; when more thanone VFC serves a municipality,funding conflicts may arise.

Most of the chiefs said theirmunicipalities paid the workers’compensation insurance, and/orprovided free municipal waterservice. Some VFCs receivemunicipal funding through propertytax revenue, funded from the 0.5 to3 mills of fire tax assessment onproperty. However, these practicesare inconsistent statewide and manyVFCs receive less than 10 percent oftheir annual operating budget fromlocal municipalities.

As a final part of the interview,fire chiefs were asked to offer aleadership or management recom-mendation to help other VFC firechiefs. The chiefs said that leaders


need to be selected for ability andnot popularity. Competent firefighting skills are critical, butstrong administrative and peopleskills are also critical. Chiefs mustlead by example and that includestheir active participation in recruit-ment and training. Chiefs mustknow the needs of members interms of training and personaldemands so that the right training isoffered at the right time. Weekendtraining over a 16-hour period willnot work for people who have jobsand families. Smaller coursesoffered in modules work best.

The chiefs said that while finan-cial incentives of some kind arehelpful, they alone are not thereason volunteers come to or staywith a fire company. The sense ofgiving back to a community, thecamaraderie, and the feeling thattheir work is appreciated are allfactors contributing to successfulrecruitment and retention ofvolunteer firefighters.

Survey of VolunteerFirefighters

To get another perspective onrecruitment and retention, theresearcher surveyed 701 activevolunteer firefighters. The researcheralso interviewed an additional 41firefighters. Below are the surveyresults and, where appropriate,comments from the interviews.

Descriptive ProfileThe average firefighter that

responded to the survey was 31years old and had been a firefighterfor 11 years. Ninety-one percent of

the respondents were male and 29percent had two or more years ofcollege education.

When the respondents first joinedthe VFC, they had, on average, fivefriends and two family memberswho were already firefighters.Sixty-nine percent were part of afamily firefighter tradition.

On average, the respondents hadvolunteered 64 hours for the VFCin the 30 days prior to the survey.In addition, the average firefighterresponded to 124 calls over the past12 months, or one call every threedays.

Fifty-nine percent of the respon-dents were firefighters or apparatusdrivers, and the remaining 41percent were officers, such ascaptains, lieutenants and fire policeofficers.

The average VFC in the surveyhad 90 members; however, only 28were considered active. Among theactive members, on average, threewere female and 25 were male.

Being a Volunteer FirefighterSurvey respondents had high

levels of satisfaction and motiva-tion as volunteers. Ninety-sevenpercent of the respondents wereproud to be volunteer firefighters,96 percent enjoyed participating asa volunteer firefighter and 93percent enjoyed the excitement offirefighting. Eighty-three percentsaid that volunteering broadenedtheir perspectives and allowed themto explore their strengths. Seventy-three percent said volunteeringmade them feel needed.

The majority of respondents also

indicated selfless reasons for beinga volunteer firefighter. Accordingto the survey, 95 percent of respon-dents said being a volunteerfirefighter enabled them to “givesomething back” to their commu-nity. An equally high percentagesaid it was important for them toprotect their community as afirefighter. In another question, 88percent of the respondents said itwas important to serve theircommunity.

During the firefighter interviews,many firefighters talked about theirfamilies’ tradition of firefighting,some going back generations. Sonsand daughters of fire chiefs (andsons-in law and daughters-in-law)appeared to be especially likely tobe volunteer fire officers. Manyjoined in their early teens and thefire service has been a part of theirlife since that time. In addition,many noted the friends they havegained and the positive atmospherein their firehouse. They alsodiscussed the excitement andadrenalin rush associated with firecalls as a major motivator.Firefighters talked about thesatisfaction of helping people intheir time of need or how they feltwhen someone in their communitysays, “You saved my life.”

Firefighter RetentionMore than 90 percent of survey

respondents indicated their commit-ment to their VFC and planned tocontinue volunteering. This com-mitment may be partially based onthe support of family and satisfac-tion with the fire companies’leaders. According to the survey, 89percent of respondents had familywho supported their volunteerefforts and another 77 percent saidtheir family commitments allowedthem enough time to be a volunteer.According to the individual inter-views, many firefighters noted thatsuccessful VFCs must focus on

The chiefs said that while financial incentives of somekind are most helpful, they alone are not the reasonvolunteers come to or stay with a fire company. The

sense of giving back to a community, the camaraderie,and the feeling that their work is appreciated are all

factors contributing to successful recruitment and reten-tion of volunteer firefighters.


strong family involvement. Withoutfamily involvement and support,many active volunteers would nothave a safe environment in which toleave their children when respond-ing to emergencies.

On leadership satisfaction, 81percent of respondents were verysatisfied with their company’sofficers and leaders. During theinterviews, firefighters said theywanted competent officers who ledby example and were constantlyinvolved in training. They defined agood leader as a person who keptan eye on everything in the VFCand was careful with the company’smoney, in addition to being a goodcommunicator and willing to tryout new ideas. Firefighters also saidthey want to be proud of theofficers who lead them. Commentssupported the idea that leadership isvery important for creating apositive view of VFC service.

There were, however, somenegative aspects to being a volun-teer. For example, 69 percent of therespondents said fundraisingrequires too much time and effort.In addition, 74 percent said theywould like to receive some finan-cial benefits for their time andefforts. However, only 40 percentsaid financial benefits would be amajor reason to continue volunteer-ing. Many firefighters interviewedsaid there were no incentives forinactive members to become activefirefighters. However, some saidthe way to retain members was toprovide opportunities to be produc-tive and take pride in the firecompany.

During the individual interviews,a prominent theme was the diffi-culty of retaining new recruits.Many respondents observed thatwhile their VFC was not losingmany firefighters, it was notgaining any either. In general, therespondents noted that a VFC mustrecruit at least 10 new members to

retain two for the nexttwo or three years. Thereasons for losingmembers focused onthe time demands ofVFC fundraising andtraining. Suggestionsfor retaining volunteerfirefighters includedreducing the costburdens of training,improving understand-ing of what VFCs dofor their community,providing officers with additionalmanagement training, and providingfinancial benefits, such as pensionplans, income tax credits, and highereducation tuition.

Responding to CallsAccording to the survey, 44

percent of respondents couldanswer fire calls during their paidworking hours. In addition, 66percent said their job allowed themthe flexibility to do work as avolunteer firefighter.

Some participants said their VFCwas able to respond to all emer-gency calls during the weekdaybecause it usually had memberswho worked near the fire stationand who could leave work. Otherssaid their VFCs had members whoworked second- or third-shift jobsand were able to staff daytimeemergency calls.

SafetySixty-four percent of respondents

had concerns for their personalsafety when responding to firecalls. However, when asked abouttheir equipment, 85 percent saidtheir current safety equipmentwould protect them in a fireemergency. Similarly, 75 percentsaid their VFC had enough engines,trucks and rescue equipment to getthe job done.

RecruitmentSurvey respondents would

encourage friends (91 percent) andfamily members (88 percent) tobecome active volunteers. Whenasked about women firefighters, 88percent said they should be ac-cepted as active VFC members andanother 86 percent said womenvolunteers could do an excellent job.

Less than one-half of respondentssaid that current VFC recruitmentmethods attract enough newmembers. In addition, less thantwo-fifths of the respondents saidthat financial benefits are a majorreason to become volunteers.

To increase the number ofrecruits, the interviewed firefighterssuggested more active recruitment intheir community, especially at localcolleges, vocational and technicalschools, high schools, elementaryschools, and scout meetings. Theyalso suggested reaching out to retiredpersons and producing videos toshow what firefighters actually doduring an emergency call.

Recruitment and RetentionIncentives

Based on fire service reports andindividual firefighter interviews,the researcher identified 15 incen-tives that could be used to recruitand retain volunteer firefighters. Toassess the effectiveness of theseincentives, respondents were askedto rank how strongly they agreed or

Suggestions forretaining volunteer firefighters

included reducing the costburdens of training, improving

understanding of what VFCs do fortheir community, providing officers

with additional managementtraining, and providing financialbenefits, such as pension plans,income tax credits, and higher

education tuition.


disagreed with each incentive fromthree different perspectives:encouragement to join, encourage-ment to become more active, andencouragement to continue to be avolunteer firefighter in the future.

As the table above shows, each ofthe potential incentives was seen ashaving a positive impact on recruit-ing and retaining volunteerfirefighters. In each instance, morethan 60 percent of the respondents

strongly agreed the incentive wouldencourage firefighters to join andremain active in the VFC.

For recruitment, the top fourproposed incentives were rankedvery closely: providing collegetuition for volunteer firefightersand their families; providing state-of-the-art personal protectiveclothing; providing state incometax credits for volunteerfirefighters; and providing state-of-

the art firefighting apparatus andequipment. Ranked fifth and sixthwere the proposed incentive toprovide fire service health insur-ance and the incentive to providevolunteer firefighters with state-of-the art radio communication.

For the incentives regardingencouragement to be a more activefirefighter, the most popularincentive was again a state programto provide Pennsylvania college

Impact of Potential Incentives to Recruit and Retain Volunteer Firefighters

* Top four incentives


tuition for volunteer firefightersand their families. The volunteerfirefighters scored the proposedincentives to be more activefirefighters almost exactly the sameas they scored the incentives toinitially join a VFC. The scoreswere the same for 13 of the 15proposed incentives.

The top incentive to continuebeing an active volunteer firefighterwas the proposal to provide volun-teer firefighters with state-of-the-

Conclusions

art personal protective clothing.Tied for second place were theproposals to provide state-of-the artfirefighting apparatus and equip-ment, and state income tax creditsfor volunteers.

During the individual interviews,volunteer firefighter participantsstated very clearly that, as volun-teers, they don’t want or needfinancial support. Nevertheless,many firefighters said some finan-cial help would be appreciated for

current members and recruiting new members, andproviding mandatory training for all members.

Interviews with rural volunteer firefighters foundindividuals were proud to serve their communities asvolunteers. They were knowledgeable about theoperations and administration of their own VFC. Manyhad positive comments about their own firefightertraining and wanted additional training. Commentsabout leaders in their VFC ranged from very positiveto very negative. Many firefighters suggested thatadditional fire officer leadership and managementtraining would help firefighters be more effective.While some of the firefighters interviewed did notwant or expect financial benefits, others would acceptsome financial support for training, travel expenses,new personal fire protective gear, line of duty deathbenefits, life insurance, medical insurance, stateincome tax credits, college tuition assistance, or apension plan. However, while many of the respondentswould appreciate financial incentives as a thank youfor their time and efforts, they indicated that financialincentives were not primary motivators to serving theircommunity.

The four highest ranked incentives to encourageindividuals to join or be more active volunteerfirefighters were proposals to provide Pennsylvaniacollege tuition, improved personal protective clothing,state income tax credits, and new firefighting apparatusand equipment.

For retention incentives, the volunteer firefightersselected two distinct sets of top ranked preferences:one set consisted of better personal protective clothing,better firefighting equipment, and better radio equip-ment, while the other set consisted of financial benefitsfor state income tax credits, college education tuition,and fire service health insurance.

Since the publication of Pennsylvania Burning in1976, state fire officials have expressed concerns abouta steady decrease in the number of volunteerfirefighters serving in the commonwealth. Informationcollected from fire service literature and interviewswith other state and Pennsylvania fire officials indicatethat volunteer firefighters are dedicated to communityservice and work hard to support the tradition ofvolunteer firefighting. Nevertheless, rural VFCsreported difficulties in obtaining sufficient funds andstaff for their fire emergency operations. For example,36 percent of the rural Pennsylvania fire chiefsinterviewed reported their VFC had been unable torespond to one or more fire emergency calls over thepast two years.

From the perspective of state fire officials around thenation, there was agreement that volunteer firefightersspend most of their time fundraising and should bespending more time training. The key issues for theseofficials were funding, new apparatus and equipment,personal safety equipment, training, leadership andmanagement, recruiting and retention, and state andmunicipal incentives for volunteer firefighters.

Rural fire chiefs agreed that VFCs must be managedas businesses if they are to survive. Other issues ofimportance for fire chiefs were maintaining fireemergency operations; funding new apparatus andequipment; providing adequate personal safety equip-ment; training; leadership and management; recruitingand retaining volunteers; and offering adequate stateand municipal incentives for volunteer firefighters.Communication with municipal officials ranged fromexcellent to nonexistent. Most fire chiefs wanted moreopportunities for leadership and management training.When asked to identify their most important concerns,the majority of chiefs cited fundraising, retaining

all of the time, effort and personalexpenses they invested to become atrained firefighter and to keep theirVFC operating. The firefighters alsodiscussed the relationship betweentheir municipality and their VFC.Some of the participants said theyopenly communicated with theirmunicipality, while others did not.The focus of these discussionsrevolved around having enoughfinancial resources for fire protectionto serve their community.


The researcher offered the following policy consid-erations to improve recruitment and retention of ruralPennsylvania volunteer firefighters.

1. Establish and support a statewide fire serviceinformation management system administered bythe Office of the State Fire Commissioner.

Interviews with rural fire chiefs and firefightershighlighted many examples of perceived inefficientuses of federal or state VFC grant funds. A statewidefire service information system would help to alignrequired emergency service. This can be accomplishedby a comprehensive fire service information manage-ment system that would both document current VFCapparatus, equipment, and staffing resources andprovide baseline information to more effectivelyevaluate future state and federal VFC funding.

This program could be implemented through theOffice of the State Fire Commissioner, which employsthe Pennsylvania Fire Information Reporting System(PennFIRS.)

2. Review the recommendations of the PennsylvaniaLegislative Budget and Finance Committee’s report,The Feasibility of Regionalizing Pennsylvania’sVolunteer Fire Companies.

In June 2005, the Legislative Budget and FinanceCommittee released a report on VFC regionalization.The report states that regionalization cannot be man-dated or occur in isolation. It also stated that promo-tion of regionalization efforts is just one of severalsteps that need to be implemented to preserve andenhance volunteer fire services in Pennsylvania.Recommendations in the report included the following:

• Develop a comprehensive statute to plan, guide andcoordinate the commonwealth’s fire services system,as was done in 1985 for the state’s emergencymedical services system.• Under the Office of the State Fire Commissioner,initiate an ongoing program to streamline the state’sVFC structure. This effort should focus on thesystematic promotion of regional partnerships andcooperative service arrangements between andamong the state’s individual VFCs.

3. Establish state government coordination andsupport to improve communication between ruralVFCs and the municipalities they serve.

One of the issues frequently mentioned by the ruralfire chiefs and volunteer firefighters was the perceived

unfairness between the funding municipalities give toVFCs and the number of calls VFCs respond to withinmunicipalities. Poor communication between VFCsand their local municipal governments can result inmisunderstandings about financial responsibilities.Some chiefs and volunteers also said some municipali-ties do not provide funds if the VFCs are not locatedwithin their municipalities. The critical issue tohighlight was the broader observation that VFCresponse areas do not always conform to municipalboundaries. But funding appears to more closelyconform to government boundaries rather than serviceperformance activities. This provides a justification forconsidering broader countywide or statewide fundingsources to better match funding with the provision ofservices. The rural fire service can only functionthrough extensive use of mutual aid agreements and,thus, municipal funding should support this.

4. Establish a VFC grant assistance programmanaged by the Office of the State Fire Commis-sioner that would employ fire service grant applica-tion writers to help rural VFCs receive morefederal and state grant funding.

Retired volunteer fire chiefs or fire officers may behired as private contractors to travel an assignedregional circuit to assist rural VFCs with fire servicegrant applications. Contractors should be geographi-cally located to serve the various rural regions of thecommonwealth. Assistance in grant writing andapplication preparation would be cost-effective becausesome rural VFCs simply do not have the expertise orexperience to successfully complete federal grantapplications.

5. Provide funding for Act 100 of 1990, whichreimburses fire and emergency companies thatrespond to emergencies along limited access high-ways, excluding the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Fire chiefs and volunteers noted inconsistent andinequitable reimbursements for vehicle emergency andfire calls on limited access highways. In 1990, the statelegislature established a program to reimburse fire andemergency companies that respond to accidents alonglimited access highways, excluding the PennsylvaniaTurnpike. Governor Robert Casey, however, elimi-nated funding for this program when he signed the billinto law. Funding should be restored to this program.

Policy Considerations


6. Additional firefighter and fire officer trainingcourses should be taught to volunteers at their localfire stations or county fire schools.

One of the most innovative ideas learned from thestate fire official interviews was Kentucky’s decision tooperate a mobile state-of-the-art fire academy. Themobile fire academy provides local training and savesvolunteer firefighters’ time and financial expenses fortravel, food, and lodging. The Pennsylvania State FireAcademy’s mobile Academy on the Road was ex-tremely popular with chiefs and firefighters.

7. Produce and implement a professional qualityvolunteer firefighter recruitment campaign, adminis-tered by the Office of the State Fire Commissioner, toinclude a variety of media marketing tools that maybe distributed to all 2,400-plus VFCs.

A statewide volunteer firefighter recruitment pro-gram would help communicate to the general publicthe numerous services provided by volunteerfirefighters and may encourage more volunteers to jointhe rural fire service. This recruitment program shouldcoordinate with the 1-800-Fire Line national recruit-ment campaign as a public entry point for learningabout volunteer service opportunities.

More than 90 percent of rural VFCs are staffed bymen aged 18 to 50. Innovative recruitment policiesand programs must continue to target and recruit thisdemographic group, but must also be expanded toencourage new volunteers including women, youth,and retired people.

8. Recruitment and retention motivation incentivesshould focus on the specific incentives that ruralvolunteer firefighters reported were most impor-tant to them.

Interviews with state fire officials found recruitmentand retention to be a national problem, especially inrural areas. Success stories included recruiting highschool students and women. According to the Pennsyl-vania fire chief interviews, recruitment success wasgenerally based on personal contacts that often in-volved family members or friends. Many of theinterviewed chiefs were skeptical about previousrecruitment programs because they often involved somuch time and effort with little positive return.

Some of the most influential recruitment and reten-tion incentives mentioned by the volunteer firefightersincluded college education tuition, state income taxcredits, health insurance and the provision of betterpersonal protective clothing, firefighting apparatus andequipment, and more effective radio communicationequipment.

References CitedAmerican Economics Group, Inc. 2001. TaxSavings and Economic Impact of New York StateVolunteer Firefighters. Report Prepared for theFireman’s Association of the State of New York.

Congressional Fire Services Institute. 2001. FireService Issues.

Federal Emergency Management Agency andNational Fire Protection Agency. 2002. A NeedsAssessment of the U.S. Fire Service.

Federal Emergency Management Agency. 2004.Firefighter Life Safety Summit: An Initial Report.

Governor’s Commission on Fire Prevention andControl. 1976. Pennsylvania Burning.

Lancaster County Firemen’s Association. 2004.The Pennsylvania Fireman 2004 PennsylvaniaEmergency Services Directory and Buyers Guide.

National Association of State Foresters. 1993. FireProtection in Rural America: A Challenge for theFuture.

National Commission on Volunteer Firefighters.1974. America Burning.

National Fire Protection Association. 2001. U.S.Fire Department Profile Through 2000.

National Volunteer Fire Council and United StatesFire Administration. 1998. Retention and Recruit-ment: Problems and Solutions—Final Report.

Pennsylvania Department of Community andEconomic Development. 1992. PennsylvaniaVolunteer Fire Company Survey Results andAnalysis.

(continued on Page 18)


Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.1999. Supporting Volunteer FireServices in Pennsylvania: A Report on Survey Results. Directed by General Assembly House Resolution No.67 (1999 Session) under the administration of the Governor’s Center for Local Government Services.

Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. 2002. A Study of Volunteer Fire and Emergency MedicalServices in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Fire and Emergency Services Institute. 2001. Funding for Pennsylvania Emergency Services …Beyond 2001.

Pennsylvania Fire and Emergency Services Institute. 2004. A Call for Action: The Blue Ribbon ReportPreserving and Improving the Future of the Volunteer Fire Service.

Pennsylvania Fire and Emergency Services Institute. 2004. Fire Service Funding Guide.

Pennsylvania Legislative Budget and Finance Committee. 2005. The Feasibility of RegionalizingPennsylvania’s Volunteer Fire Companies.

Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission. 1977. Fire Service Needs in the Commonwealth.

RAND Science and Technology Policy Institute. 2003. Protecting Emergency Responders, Volume 2: Com-munity Views of Safety and Health Risks and Personal Protection Needs.

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania. 2002. Answering the Call—Recruitment and Retention of PennsylvaniaFirefighters.

Sargent, J.H. 1992. Satisfaction and other determinants of length of service of volunteer firefighters. Unpub-lished doctoral dissertation, State University of New York at Buffalo.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management. 2002. Volunteer Fire Assis-tance (VFA) Program Report (formerly Rural Community Fire Protection Program).

U.S. Fire Administration. 1999. Improving Firefighter Communications. U.S. Fire Administration TechnicalReport Series, USFA-TR-099.

U.S. Fire Administration. 2002. National Fire Academy Volunteer Incentive Program.

U.S. Fire Administration and Federal Emergency Management Agency. 2002. New Tool Kit for VolunteerFirefighters.

Willing, Linda F. 1994. “Rethinking Recruitment.” WFS Quarterly, Vol. IX, nos. 2 & 3 (Spring & Summer).

References Cited (continued from Page 17)

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania200 North Third St., Suite 600Harrisburg, PA 17101Phone: (717) 787-9555Fax: (717) 772-3587www.ruralpa.org1P0506 – 400

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