The sound of sirens is one that Reedy Volunteer Fire Chief Joshua Hand is all too familiar with.
"If we do get a fire call, it’s not a strange thing to say we still don’t have enough manpower with all the county,” Hand said.
But on top of the stress of responding to a call is another obstacle, having enough firefighters to respond.
"You’re still looking at an extra 15 minutes before another fire department gets there to help you out, and a lot can happen in those 15 minutes,” he said.
Fire departments across Roane County and the surrounding area are struggling to get enough firefighters to respond to calls.
Just this past weekend, a fire on Market Road in Spencer took eight departments to contain, some coming from other counties.
"Everybody helped from Arnoldsburg, all the way to Ripley," Hand said.
Roane County has six fire departments, all of them volunteer. The lack of firefighters has led to changes in the county.