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There are 9 million New Yorker’s throughout the state that are served by a volunteer fire department. However, over 75% of the volunteer departments have seen a decrease in the number of individuals who want to volunteer and serve their communities.
On Top of decreasing volunteers, there has been an increase of calls for service by these departments. From 1997 to 2020, there has been an increase of 29% for calls for service. With this, calls for aid to other departments have increased, with a 151% increase between 2000 and 2020, the national average is only a 61% increase.
New York State looks to help increase recruitment and retention for volunteer fire departments throughout the state. Legislation proposed will give communities the opportunity to pay modest compensation to eligible volunteer firefighters, and also create a state fund to cover the costs with firefighter training.
The funding by the state is to help offset possible lost wages when a volunteer firefighter misses work due to training or serving their community on a call.
