Ryan Krings is a busy man.
Not only does he have a full-time job as a firefighter with Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue, where he works about 56 hours a week, but he's the volunteer chief of the Winneconne-Poygan Fire Department. Though Krings isn't paid as volunteer chief, he works about 20 hours a week there on top of coaching football at the high school.
When Krings started work as a volunteer firefighter 32 years ago, 10 other people volunteered with him. Today, he said the department is lucky to get one new volunteer a year.
A full roster for the Winneconne-Poygan Fire Department, which protects the Village and Town of Winneconne and the Town of Poygan in Winnebago County, should be 62 volunteers.
Right now, the department has 38. And although the station has all the necessary equipment to respond to fire emergencies, it often sits empty.