Abstract
Many rural volunteer fire departments in the US are contending with decreasing numbers of volunteers. General social change and changes specific to firefighting have created retention and recruitment challenges for rural fire departments across the nation. The present study examines volunteer fire chiefs’ perceptions of these challenges in a state where there has been a long-term decline in the state’s rural population. The study draws on data collected from a statewide survey of volunteer fire department chiefs in North Dakota. This study found that chiefs did not see turnover as a major problem, but chiefs did report the need for many more volunteer firefighters and much more training to improve their departments. Consistent with national studies, chiefs identified age, time demands, government mandates, and personality conflicts as turnover triggers. In contrast with national studies, chiefs did not report loss of interest as a significant trigger. Finally, the study examines the sizable gap reported by chiefs between the number of active and inactive volunteers on department rosters and suggests how inactive volunteers might be utilized to recruit.
Appendix A: Survey Questions
| Category | Questions |
|---|---|
| Organization | 1. In what year was your department first formed? |
| 2. What county is your department located in? | |
| Demographic | 1. How old are you? |
| 2. What is your sex? | |
| 3. What is the highest level of education you achieved? | |
| Some grade school, Grade school, Some high school, High school diploma, Some college, Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree, Ph.D. degree | |
| 4. What is the status of your employment? | |
| Full-time, Part-time, Self-employed, Disabled, Unemployed, Retired, Student | |
| 5. What category best describes what you do for a living? | |
| Managerial and professional, Technical, sales, and administrative support, Service, Farming, forestry, fishing, Precision production, craft, and repair, Operators, fabricators, and laborers, Other | |
| 9. How many years have you served in fire or EMS? | |
| 10. How many years have you served as chief of a volunteer fire department? | |
| Commitment | 1. Please rate how frequently your department gets the following types of calls. |
| House fire, Other structural fire, Grass/wildland fire, Auto accident, Medical, Fire alarms, Carbon monoxide, Mutual aid, Vehicle fire, Electrical wires down, Other | |
| 2. What is the approximate number of calls your department responds to per year? | |
| 3. What is the approximate number of members in your department? | |
| 4. Of the members in your department/squad, how many do you consider to be active volunteers? | |
| 5. Do you have enough volunteer first responders in your department to provide service 365 days a year, 24 h a day? | |
| 6. If you do not have enough volunteer responders to provide service 365/24, approximately how many more would you need? | |
| Turnover | 1. How often do you think the volunteers in your department consider quitting? |
| 2. What is your perception of the turnover in your department? | |
| 3. If you were to describe turnover in your department compared to 10 years ago, has it decreased a lot, stayed the same, or increased a lot? | |
| 10. To what extent is there a risk of your department “going out of business” in the near future (next 5 to –10 years)? | |
| 11. To what degree do the following issues contribute to turnover? | |
| Federal mandates, State mandates, Boredom, Time commitment, Threat of Injury, Danger, Issues related to training, Personality Conflicts, Old age, No drinking in the fire house, Other | |
| Retention | 1. To what degree would the following decrease turnover in your department? |
| Pension, Annual tax credit, Recognition, Less training, More training, Allow drinking in the fire house, Other | |
| 2. Please indicate the degree to which you think the following things are needed for your department. | |
| More government involvement, Less government involvement, Equipment, Discipline specific training, Other training, New ways of organizing, More volunteers, Less volunteers, Other | |
| Recruitment | 1. How often do you use the following methods of recruitment? |
| Newspaper, Church, Word of mouth, Fraternal organizations, Sportsmen’s clubs, Relatives, Other |
Note: Questions for “Organization” and “Demographics” were borrowed from Perkins (1989)’ study as were questions (#1, #2, and #11) for “Turnover.” Questions for “Retention” and “Recruitment” were borrowed and modified from NVFC’s (USFA, 2007b) study.
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