Our opinion: More must be done to address shortage of volunteer emergency responders

This comes as the number of calls to which they respond continues to climb for most of those groups. A Telegraph Herald report last spring talked to 23 tri-state-area departments who depend on volunteers. Collectively, they responded to more than 5,000 emergency calls in 2021.

Every one of them reported needing volunteers. Altogether, more than 600 firefighters support those area volunteer departments, but they could use about 175 more to all reach full strength.

Meanwhile, the region’s population is aging and calls are climbing. Fewer volunteers and more calls is a recipe for burnout.

In Asbury, Iowa, for example, a volunteer recalled when he joined the force 25 years ago, the community was running at about 130 or 140 calls a year. In 2021, that number had climbed to 473.

Much like the Telegraph Herald, the Omaha World-Herald presents an annual award to an individual or group recognized for outstanding contributions to the region. This year, the Midlanders of the Year award went to volunteer firefighters. The wildfires that struck Nebraska in 2022 left no corner of the state untouched. The combination of drought and high winds left more than 200,000 acres burned, the state’s second-largest fire year on record. Three volunteer firefighters died.

This wasn’t California, where we expect to hear about wildfires. This was Nebraska, Iowa’s neighbor to the west. This is the Midwest. This is the Heartland. Where volunteers make up a huge part of rural firefighting manpower. Would Iowa be prepared for such fires? Would Illinois or Wisconsin?

Wisconsin Rep. Travis Tranel, R-Cuba City, recently told the TH that a priority of his this year will be to remove regulations for volunteer fire departments. A bill from Tranel and Wisconsin Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, passed the Legislature in 2021 but was vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers. The change would have made the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians exam optional for emergency medical responders in the state, lowering training costs.

In vetoing the measure, Evers acknowledged the critically important work of rural emergency services departments and the immense challenges the state faces, where more than half of its nearly 800 emergency medical service providers are operated exclusively by volunteers or through a combination of volunteers and paid staff. The veto came from a reluctance to lowering qualification requirements.

No one wants to skimp on training, but removing some obstacles to build these forces is imperative. Citizens depend on rapid response when an emergency occurs. Allowing their ranks to continue to dwindle would mean the collapse of our emergency response system.

Both Evers and Tranel believe they can find a way to bring some needed relief with new legislation.

Tri-state lawmakers must continue to seek ways to address this growing challenge. Legislative measures could build incentives to expand the volunteer corps with length-of-service award programs or increases to the annual state tax credit available to volunteer firefighters. Elected officials from all three states should do their part to codify ambulance service as an “essential service,” which would allow it to qualify for state aid. As it stands now, nothing in state code requires governmental agencies to have EMS available.

And citizens can do their part by considering joining this vital group of volunteers. The work of volunteer firefighters and emergency workers is critically important for health care access, particularly in our rural communities.

On this, the one year anniversary of the deaths of two Mineral Point, Wis., firefighters killed in an accident as they rushed to the scene of an emergency, let us take a moment to thank our firefighters and consider what we can do to expand their ranks.