Almost 200 new volunteer firefighters have joined rural fire departments in Oklahoma two years after successful legislation eliminated the age limit for new volunteers, according to state lawmakers. House Bill 2005, authored by Rep. Mike Sanders and Sen. AJ Griffin, …
Fire chiefs in rural Cache Valley say when someone calls 911, they always manage to send a team to help, but the harsh reality is they don’t have enough volunteers to handle daytime calls. “It’s a tough time to scare …
They’re often the first ones on the scene of major emergencies, but their numbers appear to be dwindling. Volunteer firefighters help communities in ways both obvious — fighting fires— and overlooked — improving communities’ home insurance rates through ISO ratings. …
The state Senate is set to vote on one of a series of bills aimed at providing more money to politically powerful volunteer fire companies who say their ambulance services are losing money. The bill to be voted on Thursday …
The Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office announced that Texas independent insurance agents, who operate in their communities under the Trusted Choice brand, have created a grant program for volunteer fire departments (unsupported by tax revenues) to award at least six …
Kanawha County, West Virginia, officials are refusing to give taxpayer funds to five volunteer fire departments that haven’t shared their financial statements with the County Commission. The commission voted last year to check financial data before releasing county funds to …
Fire departments in eastern Kentucky are struggling to find enough volunteers. Pike County Emergency Management Director Doug Tackett told the Appalachian News-Express that volunteer departments are finding different ways to compensate for the lack of firefighters, but the problem is …
While calls to volunteer fire departments are on the rise, the ranks of these volunteers are dwindling in Middle Tennessee and officials hope a younger generation will step up to the service. Volunteer fire departments account for about 80 percent …
West Virginia lawmakers appear willing to help the state’s volunteer fire departments with their workers’ compensation expenses. The House and Senate exchanged bills this week that would dedicate insurance policy surcharge revenues toward these costs. The volunteer departments are bracing …
West Virginia’s volunteer fire departments are turning to state lawmakers for help with insurance and recruitment. A bipartisan House bill introduced this week would tap liquor revenues to provide $5 million a year for these volunteer departments. Most West Virginia …
