National, county fire departments face shortage of volunteers

It’s estimated that 240 million calls are made to 911 in the US each year. As more people have access to phones and emergencies increase, the number of first responders has not. Nationwide, in communities of 2,500 or less, they have seen a reduction of 20 percent in a two year period (2015-2017) of volunteer and career firefighters, according to the National Volunteer Fire Council.

“I think every department in this county is experiencing a shortage of volunteers, even, speaking for the City of Pullman,” said Tim Tingley, Colfax Fire Department. “Pullman had some good responses last time, but t...