Volunteer firefighting has been on a decline across the nation since the 1980s. Michigan is also experiencing a shortage of volunteer firefighters.
Since 1984, the amount of people volunteering at fire departments nationally has fallen more than five percent, according to the National Volunteer Fire Council. But it also says emergency calls have tripled in the last 30 years. Lieutenant Michael McLeieer, president of the Michigan State Firemen's Association, says many local fire departments are pooling their resources to accommodate the lack of personnel.
“We're finding more and more people are not working in the same communities where they're living; they're actually traveling a long distance away, so they're not available during those daytime calls,” he says.