The future is weighing heavily on the volunteer fire department.
The need is as critical as ever — more so now that today’s firefighter is more than a person with a helmet and a fire hose. Modern day firefighters go through months of training to receive basic certification that must be followed up with ongoing education.
They still put out fires, but also they must have training in emergency medical response, rescue techniques on land and on water, personal safety education, building construction and more.
“Anybody who doesn’t know who to call, calls the fire department,” said Matthew Britt, Randolph Community College coordinator/instructor of fire and rescue services.
Randolph County officials have struggled with this question for several years. Those people in charge of county fire departments have been sounding the alarm for much longer.
Like many counties, Randolph County has a training program for firefighters through Randolph Community College (RCC). It even includes a youth fire academy. In a proactive response, local government authorities included long range planning to address the problem in the county’s 20-year Strategic Plan.
With programs in place, the question now is, how did we get to a point where fire departments struggle to find staff and what can be done about it?